Jakob Ingebrigtsen smashes 3,000m world record, Mondo Duplantis soars to new pole vault mark

Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen shattered the long-standing 3,000 metres world record by more than three seconds, while Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis broke his own pole vault world record by clearing 6.26m at the Silesia Diamond League meeting on Sunday.

Ingebrigtsen finished in seven minutes and 17.55 seconds, erasing the record set by Kenya’s Daniel Komen in 1996, when he ran 7:20.67. It was the longest-standing men’s athletics world record in individual track events.

The 23-year-old Norwegian was in shock when he crossed the line and looked at his time, putting his hands on his head in disbelief. Ingebrigtsen received a cheque for US$50,000 and posed with it in front of the clock at the Silesia Stadium in Chorzow.

“It feels special, amazing. I was hoping to challenge the world record here but, based on my training, I can never predict exactly what kind of time I am capable of,” he said. “I would not have imagined I could run 7:17, though. At the beginning the pace felt really fast but then I started to feel my way into the race and found a good rhythm.

“The 3,000 is a tough distance. After four-five laps you feel the lactic acid but you need to get going. The conditions were difficult with the heat today but it is the same for everyone.”

Three days ago, the Norwegian had exacted a small measure of revenge over American Cole Hocker by winning the 1,500m in Lausanne in 3:27.83, two weeks after Hocker shocked the Olympic field to win gold in Paris.