Ingebrigtsen not Jackson broke the World Record at Brussels Diamond League
Brussels’ re-vamped King Baudouin Stadium, with its super-fast new track, was able to celebrate a world record on Friday in the penultimate Diamond League meeting of the season – courtesy of the endlessly talented Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the men’s 2000m.
On a night when Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson, hoping to get closer to – or even past – the women’s world 200m record of 21.34, had to settle for a Diamond League record of 21.48, the 22-year-old Norwegian won his battle with the clock over the final 600 metres to set a new mark of 4:43.13.
Sweden’s world and Olympic pole vault champion Mondo Duplantis, the centre of attention at the end of a hot and humid evening, then had three efforts at improving his world record to 6.23m, the last of them tantalisingly close.
Ingebrigtsen’s victory was a first outdoor world record for the 22-year-old Norwegian, who set a world indoor 1500m record of 3:30.60 last year and, at this season’s Paris Diamond League meeting, ran a two miles world best of 7:54.10.
After the huge blow of a second successive defeat to a Briton in a world 1500m final Ingebrigtsen, who said at the time he had been feeling under par, has re-grouped in a spectacular way, recovering in Budapest to retain his world 5000m title and then taking time out back home in Sandnes before venturing out for more mythical activity.
As he lined up, Ingebrigtsen raised a single finger into the air – and there was certainly no wind for him to be testing.
The pace target for the halfway mark was 2:21, but the time had drifted out at that point to 2:22.28. Ingebrigtsen, however, looked calm and comfortable, and after the last pacer moved aside with just over 600 metres remaining, the redoubtable Norwegian was off on his solo mission.
The crowd roared and rose to him as he drove around the final bend in his quest to erase the formidable mark of 4:44.79 set in Berlin in 1999 by Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj – whose outdoor world records for the 1500m (3:26.00) and mile (3:43.13) the prodigiously talented young Norwegian already covets.
“It’s always fun to break a record,” Ingebrigtsen said. “This one qualifies as a world record and not as a world best. I knew I was able to break this one, but I had some kind of virus 10 days ago and I didn’t really know how I would be feeling today.
“However, I felt really good and ran a good race. To be honest, this record wasn’t a difficult one for me. Sure, when you have to do it alone, it’s really tough, but I got great help from the pacemakers. Actually,
they were able to help me more than I expected.”
Jackson had described herself before this race as “right there, so close, knocking on the door” of the world 200m record of 21.34 set by the late Florence Griffith-Joyner of the United States in winning the 1988 Olympic title.
She remains on the doorway after another massively impressive performance that fell just short of her ambitions as she clocked a time 0.07 slower than the one she produced to retain the world title last month.
Even what she had described as the “Jamaican weather” proved insufficient to get her over the threshold. But as she also reminded everyone on the eve of the racing, if she was not successful here, she had “another shot” at the Diamond League final in Eugene from September 16 to 17. That is going to be a shot worth witnessing…
On the night she was followed home by Anthonique Strachan of The Bahamas in 22.31 and Jenna Prandini of the United States in 22.47.
“You just have to put in your best and that’s what I did today,” said Jackson, who now owns three of the four fastest times in history. “It felt really good tonight, I definitely feel like I’m getting there, closer to that record. But it’s also important to have some fun and I really had fun tonight.
“It has been a good season and I hope to get one more win and to get closer to that record.”
