Jakob Ingebrigtsen breaks the World Indoor 1500m record; his time of 3.30.60 beats the old mark by almost half a second; the Norwegian won Olympic gold over the distance in Tokyo last year
Friday 18 February 2022 09:34, UK
Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen has broken the World Indoor 1500m record to enhance his reputation as one of the world's leading middle distance runners.
The Norwegian shaved almost half a second off the old mark held by Ethiopian Samuel Tefera, clocking 3 minutes 30.60 seconds at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in Lievin, France.
The 21-year-old tucked in behind his pacemakers for the first half of the race before surging clear of everyone except Tefera, who remained in touch until 300m from home.
Ingebrigtsen covered the final lap of the 200m track in 27.57 seconds to finish more than three seconds clear of Tefera.
"This is always a fast race and its a really nice arena," Ingebrigtsen said.
"I like to finish strong; I think it's nice for the crowd but it's also nice for me to speed up going into the finish."
In Tokyo last year, he became the first man from his nation to win the 1500m, powering away from his rivals down the final straight.
