Cheptegei shatters 16-year 5,000m record as Diamond League resumes
Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei made the Diamond League’s first event of the year a historic occasion, smashing Ethiopian great Kenenisa Bekele’s 16-year-strong world record in the 5,000metres.
The world champion came in with the intention of breaking the long-standing time “even if by micro seconds” but the 23-year-old went much better, knocking just shy of two seconds off the time – and running 22 seconds faster than he ever has on track – to finish in 12min 35.36sec.
Guided by trackside lights illuminating world record pace, Cheptegei’s feat was witnessed by a crowd of 5,000 at the Louis II Stadium as he serenely built up a significant lead on the rest of the field.
His smile as he crossed the line, casually stopping the clock on his watch as he did, was evidence of a plan executed to perfection.
A total of 11 reigning world champions were on the start lists for the first event of a reduced Diamond
League season. It did not disappoint and, in what was a night of exceptional middle-distance times, Scotland’s Laura Muir finally broke Dame Kelly Holmes’s 21-year-old British record in the 1km, with 2:30.82. But she finished behind Olympic 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon, who kicking away to finthe ish in 2:29.15 – putting the Kenyan second on the all-time list.
Muir’s training partner Jemma Reekie finished fourth, with a fivesecond personal best, close behind Ireland’s Ciara Mageean, who also ran a national record in third.
The British personal bests kept coming, as Laura Weightman also had a notable return to the track, coming third in the 5,000m with a personal best to go second on the British all-time list.
Then, Scotland’s Jake Wightman took more than two seconds off his 1500m personal best, recording a time of 3:29.47 to finish third.
Earlier, Andrew Pozzi equalled his personal best in the 110m hurdles with a 13.14sec run for second behind Spain’s Orlando Ortega.
Adam Gemili had a less spectacular night, though, finishing fourth in the 200m in 20.68, a time well outside his best.
World champion heptathlete Katarina Johnson-thompson had a frustrating night in the high jump, barely managing 1.84m – 14cm outside her best – to place in sixth.