by Perri Williams
There was no shortage of high-class competitive action at the Silesia Diamond League today as two World Records were set; Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the 3,000m and another record from Mondo Duplantis in the Pole Vault. This twelfth leg of the league series kicked off today in Chorzow, Poland with three Irish athletes in action; Rhasidat Adeleke, Sarah Healy and Nick Griggs.
Kicking off the Irish interest was Nick Griggs in the 3000m. What race this was. Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen made no secret that he was out to do low 7.20s, the target being Daniel Komen’s twenty-eight-year-old world record. In the press conference yesterday he joked about taking two seconds off the world record. Ingebrigtsen shattered the field to record 7.17:55 shattering the world record by three seconds. For once the uber confident Ingebrigtsen looked like he had perhaps surprised himself. For Nick Griggs to be part of this high-class world record breaking field is an extraordinary experience for the nineteen year old.
From the onset, with two pace makers at the helm, Ingebrigtsen was tucked in behind, in third, with Yomif Kejelcha (Ethiopia) keeping an eye on him in fourth place. After the first lap Ireland’s Nick Griggs was to the rear of the field in fourteenth place, handing on to the field as much as he could, careful not to let the starting pace of the big names interfere with his own race plan.
Ahead of Griggs the race continued to unfold. At 1km Sisk the pace maker took the field through 1km in 2:27.06 with Kejelcha tucked in behind him. The field had already started to string out. Griggs was holding his own still clinging to a group of about eight athletes.
At the 2km mark, the pace was one second off the World record pace. Ingebrigtsen clocking 4:55.21 compared to 4:53 clocked by Komen twenty-eight years ago. In that 1996 effort Komen ran 59.09 seconds for his final 400m on what has become to be regarded as one of the greatest records in the annals of track and field. Ingebrigtsen knew he had the capability of a 57 second last lap. In a post-race interview the Norweigan stated “I had to keep working in the middle of the race …. to find a good rhythm and work on my breathing. I knew I had to wrap up the pace the last 800m to challenge the world record”. True to his words, there was a massive final wrap up over 800m with the pacing lights being left behind. With 250m to go it looked like Aregawi was closing in. A quick peak over his shoulder, by Ingebrigtsen sorted that out. Over the final 200m he powered impressively towards the finish, crossing the line in 7:17.55 to a new world record.
In a post-race interview he was asked “After the Paris upset in 1500m you were missing something, do you think that with this amazing World record that you have filled this gap?” Ingebrigtsen retorted with one emphatic word and no further explanation; “No”.
For Nick Griggs, he finished 12th in 7:39.52 moving up a few places in the final 300m. Races such as these are fantastic experience for Griggs, who at the tender age of nineteen, needs to keep building his experience of top international races. Already this year the Tyrone teenager has competed in his first European Senior Championships over 1,500m. Subsequently he recorded a 7:36.59 over 3,000m to finish tenth at the London Diamond League, shaving five seconds off the Irish u23 record. For young athletes like Griggs the gap between 1,500m and 5,000m in championship running can be massive. Griggs runs well over the intermediate distance of 3,000m. In time he will bridge this gap.
The 400m was built up to be an almost replica of the Olympic final. Six of the eight Olympic finalists were present, including Ireland’s Rhasidat Adeleke. There has been a lot of pressure on the Irish sprinting sensation, a lot of expectation. At twenty one she already shows signs of having a big career ahead of her. Over the next few years she will build up the strength she is currently lacking. A strength that will move her from waning over the final 100m to powering ahead. In typical Adeleke fashion her first 200m was incredibly fast, with Paulino, the Olympic Champion struggling to keep with her pace. With 100m to go, it looked like Adeleke would be in the top three. However, the signs of fading were already beginning to show with 80m to go. Behind her Kaczmarek the Olympic bronze medalist was coming through strongly. The winner Marileidy Paulino crossed the line to a new meeting record of 48.66 with Nasar the Olympic silver medalist second in 49.23. Kaczmarek finished third with Adeleke fourth in 50.00.
Sarah Healy lined up in another high-class field, alongside the favourite’s Diribe Welteji (Ethiopia) and Britian’s Georgia Bell. With 400m to go it was Welteji, her team-mate Hailu and Bell who were about ten meters ahead of the rest of the field. Sarah Healy was in tenth place. With 100m to go Healy was in eight. She came through nicely to finish in 5th place in 3:59.65. The race was won by Welteji in 3:57.08. One minute later Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis broke yet another world pole vault record as he sailed over 6.26m.
While Adeleke, Griggs and Healy were racing in Silesia, just north in Tampere, Finland Cathal Doyle and Luke McCann were taking part in the seventh stage of the Motonet World Bronze Level series. McCann has been holding good form since Paris, continuing to train with his On team-mates from his base in Switzerland. He finished third in the 1,500m in Tampere with a time of 3:36.80, two seconds behind the winner Waleed Suliman of the United States. Despite his superb Olympic performance in reaching the semi-final of the 1500m, it was not quiet the race Cathal Doyle expected. Doyle finished 14th in 3:42.47.