Two world record-breakers will be among the athletes in action at the Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais as Mondo Duplantis and Jakob Ingebrigtsen have been announced for the fifth Gold level meeting in the 2023 World Athletics Indoor Tour&nbsp;series.
Returning to compete in Lievin, France, on 14 February, Ingebrigtsen will be back at the scene of the world indoor 1500m record he set earlier this year. Duplantis, meanwhile, will be on the hunt for another win after his victories in Lievin in 2020 and 2021.
With his 3:30.60 performance in February, Norway&rsquo;s Ingebrigtsen took almost half a second off the previous world record that had been set by Samuel Tefera in 2019. A month later, Ingebrigtsen claimed silver behind Tefera at the World Indoor Championships before an outdoor season that featured world 5000m gold, world 1500m silver, a 1500m and 5000m double at the European Championships and a 1500m Diamond Trophy win.
Since last competing in Lievin, Sweden's Duplantis has improved the world pole vault record to 6.21m, first clearing 6.19m and 6.20m indoors in March, the latter mark gaining him world indoor gold, and then 6.21m outdoors when winning the world title in Oregon in July.
He followed that with victories at the European Championships and Wanda Diamond League Final. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/62112341c159a8a6c7525818.jpg" alt="Mondo Duplantis competes at the 2022 Muller Indoor Grand Prix in Birmingham" />
Mondo Duplantis (&copy; AFP / Getty Images)
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The Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais is the fifth of the seven meetings that in 2023 will make up the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold series. The season starts in Karlsruhe, Germany, on 27 January before stops in Boston, Torun, New York, Lievin, Madrid and Birmingham.
Keely Hodgkinson and Jake Wightman have already been announced for the Birmingham World Indoor Tour Final, while Katie Nageotte and Sandi Morris have been named for the Millrose Games in New York.
The men&rsquo;s 1500m is among the <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-indoor-tour/news/world-indoor-tour-calendar-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">scoring disciplines</a> on the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold for 2023.. Each athlete&rsquo;s best three results will count towards their overall point score. The athlete with the most points in each scoring discipline at the end of the tour will be declared the winner and will be awarded a USD$10,000 bonus. They will also be offered a wild card entry for the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 24.
For further information on the Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais, visit the <a href="https://meetinglievin.com/en/blog-english/345-armand-duplantis-and-jakob-ingebrigtsen-come-back" target="_blank" rel="noopener">event website</a>.&nbsp;
<h3> 2023 World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold calendar</h3>
27 Jan &ndash; Init Indoor Meeting, Karlsruhe, Germany 4 Feb &ndash; New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, Boston, USA 8 Feb &ndash; ORLEN Copernicus Cup, Torun, Poland 11 Feb &ndash; Millrose Games, New York, USA 14 Feb &ndash; Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais, Lievin, France 22 Feb &ndash; World Indoor Tour Madrid, Madrid, Spain 25 Feb &ndash; Birmingham World Indoor Tour Final, Birmingham, UK&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-indoor-tour/calendar-results?season=2022%2F23" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full calendar of all Gold, Silver, Bronze and Challenger World Athletics Indoor Tour meetings</a>

Mondo Duplantis and Jakob Ingebrigtsen have been announced for the fifth Gold level meeting in the 2023 World Athletics Indoor Tour

World record-holders Duplantis and Ingebrigtsen to return to Lievin

On 15 August 1979, Sebastian Coe set a world record over 1500m at Zurich&rsquo;s fabled Weltklasse meeting.
It was hardly unexpected. The British athlete had set world records for 800m and the mile at separate meetings in Oslo a month earlier and it was known he was looking for a fast run in Zurich.
Breaking a world record is a unique moment in the career of an athlete, Coe says, but what gave this particular moment added significance was the record he broke and the man who set it. Coe ran 3:32.03 (ratified as 3:32.1), to shave just over a tenth of a second off the record Tanzania&rsquo;s Filbert Bayi set when winning at the Commonwealth Games in Christchurch five years earlier.
Bayi ran 3:32.16 (3:32.2). But it was the way he ran it that makes Coe characterise that record as &ldquo;one of the best on the books&rdquo;. Despite the form he carried into Zurich, a new record was &ldquo;no gimme&rdquo;. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/604eb7887b09bf073554856b.jpg" alt="Filbert Bayi en route to the world record in the 1500m at the 1974 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, New Zealand" />
Filbert Bayi en route to the world record in the 1500m at the 1974 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, New Zealand (&copy; Getty Images)
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Bayi was an instinctive front runner. His world record in Christchurch resulted from a bravura demonstration of the tactic. As with the most recent Commonwealth men&rsquo;s 1500m in Birmingham won so dramatically by Australia&rsquo;s Oliver Hoare, the Christchurch final was of Olympic quality. Among Bayi&rsquo;s opponents were New Zealanders John Walker and Rod Dixon, Kenyans Ben Jipcho and Mike Boit, Australia&rsquo;s Graham Crouch and England&rsquo;s Brendan Foster.
Some might be intimidated by a field of such quality. Not Bayi. He blasted out from the gun, running the first 400m in 54.9 and reaching 800m well clear of his pursuers in 1:52.2. Inevitably, the pace eased: 1200m was reached in 2:50.8. On the final bend, Walker, Jipcho, Dixon and Crouch were closing the gap. Bayi surged one last time, finishing off Jipcho, Dixon and Crouch. Walker was last to yield, as a 41.4 final 300m took Bayi to a glorious world record and gold medal.
Recalling the race at the World Athletics Heritage Mile Night in November 2019, Bayi said he was confident he would win &ldquo;when I hit the last 200 metres&rdquo;. His rivals were battling each other, but &ldquo;I was able just to concentrate on myself. If someone had come close to me, I could have just gone fast with my last kick.&rdquo;
Sounds simple, but Walker assured the audience it was not.
&ldquo;Filbert ran an extraordinary race. I was coming from behind, but I was never going to catch him,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;He went straight out from the gun and went to the front and broke the world record. That was never heard of in European racing.&rdquo;
Never heard of, perhaps, but Europe certainly heard all about it. The Commonwealth race was held in the early hours of Saturday morning, UK time, and it led every sports bulletin on the BBC&rsquo;s Saturday sport coverage. Bayi set a template for future 1500m runners. Almost every big 1500m these days goes off at the sort of pace Bayi set, although it remains a rare brave soul who does it solo.
Coe&rsquo;s Zurich run was a more structured affair &ndash; in its planning, at least. Kenya&rsquo;s Kip Koskei would set the pace initially and then Boit would take it up for as long as he could or, at the least, stay close enough to provide some competitive stimulus.
Such plans were thrown out the window within seconds of the start. Koskei hared off at a great rate. Without hesitation, Coe followed. Within a couple of hundred metres, Koskei and Coe were already some 5-10 metres ahead of the rest. Among those in the pack was Australian runner Steve Foley who would finish third in a personal best. He knew the pace would be on, but this?
&ldquo;I thought, &lsquo;bloody hell: this is fast&rsquo;.&rdquo; 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/62fa2524822eed8ce2dcddb7.jpg" alt="Seb Coe breaks the world 1500m record in Zurich in 1979" />
Seb Coe breaks the world 1500m record in Zurich in 1979 (&copy; Getty Images)
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Fate and Koskei&rsquo;s over-exuberance meant that the Zurich 1500m would be not all that dissimilar to Bayi&rsquo;s race after all. At 400m in 54.25, Peter Coe, Seb&rsquo;s father and coach, was yelling that it was too fast. The second lap slowed to 58.9 (1:53.19): now, he shouted it was too slow!
&ldquo;My father, yelling from the infield, relayed the blunt and unambiguous message that unless I went for it alone from roughly half-way, I would fail in the attempt,&rdquo; says Coe. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t need a second opinion. He was a numbers man to his fingertips.&rdquo;
With two laps to go, Coe had moved into the lead. The capacity crowd chanted &ndash; &ldquo;Coe! Coe! Coe!&rdquo; &ndash; spurring him to a 56.3 third lap, which took him from one second down on Bayi&rsquo;s pace to 1.3 seconds ahead. Where Bayi had Walker coming up behind him in the final straight, Coe had no-one. He gave almost all that margin of safety back, getting to the line with a stride to spare.
&ldquo;By only a couple of tenths of a second, I broke Bayi&rsquo;s record &ndash; and it was the hardest of the 11 that I broke,&rdquo; adds Coe.
<h2>Catch me if you can</h2>
&lsquo;Catch me if you can&rsquo; summed up Bayi&rsquo;s bold approach to racing. Appropriately, it is also the title of <a href="https://www.meyer-meyer-sport.co.uk/dd-product/catch-me-if-you-can-revolutionizing-my-sport-breaking-world-records-and-creating-a-legacy-for-tanzania/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an autobiography he has written with journalist and publisher Myles Schrag</a>, detailing not just his running career and the lifelong friendships formed, but also his contribution to Tanzania as an educator and sports administrator. He has set up a school and a foundation in his name to improve his country and community. 
<div><a href="https://www.meyer-meyer-sport.co.uk/dd-product/catch-me-if-you-can-revolutionizing-my-sport-breaking-world-records-and-creating-a-legacy-for-tanzania/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/62fa29771151104a8ddbf50a.jpg" alt="Filbert Bayi's 'Catch Me If You Can'" /></a>
Filbert Bayi's 'Catch Me If You Can'
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The recent Commonwealth Games in Birmingham gave Bayi and Coe the opportunity to catch up. Bayi presented his successor as 1500m world record-holder a copy of the book, inscribed: &ldquo;My friend, we will remain friends for life. Thank you for everything. Filbert Bayi.&rdquo;
Reflecting on their friendship, Coe says: &ldquo;Our paths first crossed in the Emsley Carr Mile at Crystal Palace in 1977. It was my big breakthrough, my first front and back page lead. We became friends in the athlete village in Moscow (1980 Olympics) where he got a silver in the steeplechase.
&ldquo;It was great to sit and watch athletics with him in Birmingham. It&rsquo;s one of those friendships that has endured for well over 40 years. There is a bond between world record-holders of mutual respect, and I was delighted to receive a signed copy of his book.&rdquo; 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/62fa2a241151104a8ddbf50d.jpg" alt="Sebastian Coe and Filbert Bayi with Dame Louise Martin and Tessa Sanderson at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham" />
Sebastian Coe and Filbert Bayi with Dame Louise Martin and Tessa Sanderson at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham
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This anniversary of Coe's world record-breaking run falls on the first day of athletics action at the European Championships in Munich (15-21), where Norway's Olympic 1500m champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen will defend his 1500m and 5000m titles and Britain's world 1500m gold medallist Jake Wightman will contest the 800m.&nbsp;
Since Coe's&nbsp;3:32.03 in Zurich, the world record has been taken to&nbsp;3:26.00, achieved by Morocco's&nbsp;Hicham El Guerrouj in 1998. Could that mark soon be under threat?
"My instinct is that record will stand for some time yet," says Coe, "even with athletes of the calibre of&nbsp;Jakob Ingebrigtsen,&nbsp;Timothy Cheruiyot and&nbsp;Jake Wightman keen to assume the title of fastest man ever over 1500m."
One thing is for sure - there will continue to be some fierce battles on the track while they attempt it.
Len Johnson for World Athletics

On 15 August 1979, Sebastian Coe set a world record over 1500m at Zurich’s fabled Weltklasse meeting.

"A bond between world record-holders" – when Coe broke Bayi's world 1500m record

More than 1500 athletes from 145 teams are set to compete at the World Athletics U20 Championships Cali 22 between 1-6 August.
Here we take a look at the women's and men's distance events at the Pascual Guerrero Olympic Stadium. 
<h2>Women&rsquo;s 800m</h2>
USA appears to hold the strongest hand in the women&rsquo;s 800m due to the formidable duo they are sending to Cali: Juliette Whittaker and Roisin Willis. Whittaker, 18, ran her PB of 1:59.04 to take the US U20 title in Eugene last month, the second time this year she has run below two minutes. Willis &ndash; whose mother Breda Dennehy-Willis was a 5000m Olympian for Ireland in the Sydney Olympics &ndash; finished second to Whittaker at the US U20 Championships in 2:00.32 and ran her PB of 2:00.03 in early June. The 17-year-old rising star also won the US high school 400m title last month in 52.64.
Going up against them are several strong candidates for gold, among them Switzerland&rsquo;s Audrey Werro, who won the European U20 title last year at this distance and who lowered her PB to 2:00.28 in Geneva last month, a Swiss U23 record. Slovenia&rsquo;s Veronika Sadek should also feature, a 2:01.52 athlete this year.
Ethiopia will have Ksanet Alem, who ran 2:01.61 for 800m and 4:06.29 for 1500m in Spain last month. Britain&rsquo;s Abigail Ives should also be in the mix, a 2:01.88 athlete this year. Kenya&rsquo;s Nelly Chepchirchir looks the stronger of their duo &ndash; she has run 2:02.00 this season. Australia&rsquo;s Claudia Hollingsworth and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Wezam Tesfay should also go close, with season&rsquo;s bests below 2:03. 
<h2>Men&rsquo;s 800m</h2>
Ethiopia&rsquo;s Ermias Girma appears to have a great shot at winning his first major international title when the 17-year-old takes on the world&rsquo;s best teenagers in Cali. He clocked a hugely impressive 1:44.36 in Lokeren, Belgium, in May and lowered his 1500m best to 3:36.28 later that month. However, his sole race since then came at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon where he was knocked out in the 800m heats after finishing fourth in 1:49.36.
Kenya&rsquo;s Noah Kibet could be the biggest danger. The 18-year-old won bronze in this race last year and clocked a season&rsquo;s best of 1:44.89 in Ostrava in May before reaching the 800m semifinals at the World Championships in Oregon. &nbsp;
Poland&rsquo;s Kacper Lewalski should also have a huge say in the medal shake-up. The 19-year-old was sixth in the world U20 800m final in Nairobi last year and won silver at the European U20 Championships. He clocked 1:44.84 on home turf in Silesia at the end of last season and this year he has a best of 1:45.48.
Eritrea will have a big contender in Abderezak Suleman, who has run 1:46.56 this year, while Djibouti&rsquo;s Abdo-Razak Hassan should also feature, a 1:46.75 athlete this year. Three other athletes in the entries &ndash; which total a whopping 62 competitors &ndash; have run under 1:47 this year: Italy&rsquo;s Francesco Pernici, Ethiopia&rsquo;s Mersimoi Kasahun and USA&rsquo;s Samuel Rodman. 
<h2>Women&rsquo;s 1500m</h2>
Ethiopia has the two quickest U20 women in the world this year and, as such, Birke Haylom and Mebriht Mekonen will be hoping to lead the field home in Cali. Haylom, 16, ran her PB of 4:02.25 at altitude in Nairobi back in May, which given the thin air of the Kenyan capital suggests she can go much quicker. Her 17-year-old teammate Mekonen ran her PB of 4:03.29 to finish seventh in Ostrava back in May, and she followed that up with a 4:03.60 in Montreuil, France, just two days later. Kenyan duo Brenda Chebet and Purity Chepkirui could put up the strongest fight. Chebet is a 4:05.50 athlete this year while Chepkirui is the reigning world U20 champion who has run 4:08.08 this year. She also won silver at the African Championships last month.
The European charge will be led by Norway&rsquo;s Ingeborg Ostgard, the European U20 champion who lowered her PB to 4:09.91 in Oslo in June. Spain&rsquo;s Mireya Arnedillo is also a contender, given she was sixth in the world U20 1500m final last year and has since lowered her PB to 4:11.06. USA will be represented by Addison Wiley and Mia Barnett. Wiley is the US U20 champion and has run 4:15.53 this year, while Barnett has run 4:11.32. Others of note include South Africa&rsquo;s Danielle Verster, Switzerland&rsquo;s Lilly Nageli, Australia&rsquo;s Nicola Hogg and Japan&rsquo;s Azumi Nagira, who have all run 4:15 or faster this year.&nbsp; 
<h2>Men&rsquo;s 1500m</h2>
Kenya&rsquo;s Reynold Kipkorir Cheruiyot looks the standout athlete in the men&rsquo;s 1500m field, possessing a PB of 3:34.02 which he ran in Heusden, Belgium, earlier this month. Before that he had finished a close fourth in the Kenyan Trials for the World Championships in Oregon, clocking 3:34.77 at altitude in Nairobi. His teammate Daniel Kimaiyo will also have eyes on gold in Cali &ndash; the 17-year-old clocked his PB of 3:36.09 to win the Kenyan Trials for Cali in Nairobi earlier this month.
Ethiopia will send a strong pair into the event in Ermias Girma and Adihana Kasaye. Girma is also entered for the 800m in Cali and he possesses a PB of 1:44.36 in that event, speed which could be put to great use in the 1500m final. He has a 1500m best of 3:36.28 which he ran in May. Kasaye recently finished third in the African Championships in 3:38.27 and his PB of 3:36.38 was run indoors in February.
USA&rsquo;s Nathan Green ran his PB of 3:37.46 to reach the NCAA final in June and he went on to take the US U20 title at the same track in Eugene last month. Luxembourg&rsquo;s Vivien Henz has broken his PB four times this year and it currently stands at 3:38.89, while Hungary&rsquo;s Ferenc Soma Kovacs has run 3:39.88 and should also feature in the final. 
<h2>Women&rsquo;s 3000m</h2>
Ethiopia appears to have a great chance of reclaiming this title from Kenya as they send to the line the two fastest U20 women in the world this year in Medina Eisa and Tsiyon Abebe. Eisa, 17, clocked 8:41.42 to finish third at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Rabat last month, where Abebe, 15, lowered her best to 8:44.82 in sixth.
Kenya will have high hopes of retaining the title won last year by Teresiah Muthoni Gateri and they look to have two great chances with Betty Chelangat and Nancy Cherop, who have run 8:51.33 and 8:52.86 this year.
Finland&rsquo;s Ilona Mononen is the fastest European with the 9:02.00 she ran last month and the reigning European U20 champion will be looking to improve on her fifth-place finish in last year&rsquo;s world U20 final.
There are five other athletes in the field who have run below 9:20: Agate Caune of Latvia, Ina Halle Haugen of Norway, Siona Chisholm of Canada, Kate Peters of USA and Sofia Benfares of Germany. 
<h2>Men&rsquo;s 3000m</h2>
Ethiopia&rsquo;s Diriba Girma looks to hold a strong chance of retaining this title for his nation following Tadese Worku&rsquo;s victory in Nairobi last year. The 19-year-old is the quickest in the field this year via the 7:38.79 he ran indoors, and he will be joined in Cali by Melkeneh Azize, who ran 7:42.95 indoors.
Uganda also has a strong contender for gold in Dan Kibet, who has run 7:45.73 for 3000m and 13:19.38 for 5000m this year. Kenya&rsquo;s challenge is led by Edwin Kimosong Kisalsak, who has run 7:50.71, while teammate Felix Kiptarus Korir should also put in a bold showing.
There is a pair of strong entrants from Europe in Ireland&rsquo;s Nick Griggs and Denmark&rsquo;s Joel Ibler Lilleso. Griggs was European U20 champion over 3000m last year and clocked a European U20 indoor mile record of 3:56.40 in March before smashing the Irish U20 record with 7:53.40 this month. Lilleso was European U20 champion at 5000m last year and clocked 7:48.34 for 3000m indoors. He lowered his 5000m best to 13:29.58 last month.
Sweden&rsquo;s Jonathan Grahn has clocked 7:54.66 indoors this year, while Australia&rsquo;s Thomas Diamond, Djibouti&rsquo;s Hassan Idleh Diraneh and Mexico&rsquo;s Ian Sanchez are the others who have dipped under the eight-minute barrier this year. 
<h2>Women&rsquo;s 5000m</h2>
Ethiopia scored a 1-2 in this event at last year&rsquo;s championships in Nairobi via Mizan Alem and Melknat Wudu and they look capable of repeating that feat in Cali. Wudu, the silver medallist at 5000m and bronze medallist at 3000m last year, tops the entries with the 15:08.65 PB she ran to finish fourth at the African Championships last month, while she also set a 3000m PB of 8:45.76 in Doha in May. She will be joined in Cali by teammate Medina Eisa, who lowered her PB to 15:14.01 last month.
Uganda&rsquo;s Prisca Chesang won bronze in this race last year in Nairobi and the 18-year-old is sure to put in another strong showing after clocking 15:34.19 at altitude in Kampala, Uganda, last month. She clocked her PB of 15:05.39 in Hengelo last year.
Spain&rsquo;s Carla Dominguez was fifth in the world U20 final last year and the European U20 champion showed strong form earlier in the summer, clocking a 5000m PB of 15:38.61, though she didn&rsquo;t finish a couple of 5000m races she lined up for in June.
Kenya is sure to have its typical strong showing and they&rsquo;ll be represented here by Maureen Cherotich and Jane Ghati Chacha. Cherotich was sixth in the world U20 final last year and clocked a PB of 15:41.26 at altitude in Nairobi earlier this month, where Chacha was runner-up in 15:50.53. Also among the entries is Finland&rsquo;s Ilona Mononen, who has run 15:43.20 this year. She is also entered for the 1500m and 3000m. 
<h2>Men&rsquo;s 5000m</h2>
Ethiopia&rsquo;s Addisu Yihune finished fourth in the world U20 5000m final in Nairobi last year, but the 19-year-old looks likely to leave Cali with a medal &ndash; quite possibly gold. He&rsquo;s the quickest U20 in the world this year with the 13:02.10 he ran in Grosseto, Italy, in May, and he will be backed up here by teammate Gebeyehu Belay.
They will face stiff competition from an athlete beaten into fifth place in Nairobi last year, Eritrea&rsquo;s Merhawi Mebrahtu, who also finished fourth in the 3000m at those championships. He clocked an Eritrean U20 5000m record of 13:04.49 in Huelva, Spain, in May and was knocked out in the heats of the 5000m at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22. Mebrahtu&rsquo;s compatriot Samuel Habtom should also feature strongly &ndash; the 18-year-old was the world U20 bronze medallist at 3000m last year and lowered his 5000m best to 13:13.74 in May, then finished 17th in the world 10,000m final in Oregon.
Uganda&rsquo;s hopes are led by Peter Maru, who was fifth in the world U20 1500m final in Nairobi last year and who lowered his 5000m PB to 13:07.42 in Oslo last month. He will be joined by teammate Rogers Kibet, the promising 17-year-old who clocked a world U18 lead of 13:14.68 in May.
One to watch from Japan will be Keita Sato, the 18-year-old who set a national U20 record of 13:22.91 in May. Kenya&rsquo;s hopes will be carried by Samuel Kibathi and Nelson Mandela, with Kibathi the faster of the two on personal bests with 13:35.60.
Cathal Dennehy for World Athletics

World Athletics U20 Championships

A look at the women's and men's 800m, 1500, 3000m and 5000m

WU20 Cali 22 preview: distance

The name Peter Maru is yet to grip the global athletics audience, but the Ugandan prodigy dreams of a long and successful career in long-distance running.&nbsp;
He plans to launch his mission by winning the men&rsquo;s 5000m title at the Pascual Guerrero Olympic Stadium during the World Athletics U20 Championships Cali 22 in Colombia from 1-6 August.
&ldquo;My main target in Cali is position one,&rdquo; Maru said, a day after his debut at the just-concluded World Athletics Championships Oregon22 in Eugene, USA.
During day seven of the championships, Maru finished 14th in his 5000m heat, running 13:47.65.
&ldquo;The problem I got was fatigue,&rdquo; he said. The 19-year-old landed in Eugene two days before his race after a 24-hour journey from home through Amsterdam in the Netherlands and Seattle.&nbsp;
&ldquo;This was the longest trip in my life,&rdquo; Maru added. He did not advance to the final in Oregon, but the trip to the west coast is a big part of his career growth.
&ldquo;Here I ran the senior championships. That is more experience that I have got and going to Colombia, I will do better,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;
This season, Maru qualified for Cali in the 1500m after posting 3:45.65 in second place during the national trials at Namboole Stadium in Kampala on 19 March. He also beat the qualifying standard for 5000m after clocking 13:08.89 for second place during the Castiglione International Meeting in Grosseto, Italy, on 22 May.
Maru will make his second successive appearance at the U20 global showpiece, just like five of the 11 runners for Uganda. At the previous edition held at Kasarani Stadium in Kenya&rsquo;s capital Nairobi last year, Maru earned a respectable fifth place finish in the 1500m final.
He has since opted to run the longest track race of the championships in Cali. &ldquo;In the 5000m, I will run the finals,&rdquo; he said, determined. &ldquo;And I like the 5000m because I will come (back) with a medal.&rdquo;
After Nairobi, Maru had hoped to continue running but with a scholarship in the USA. His plans changed after he was signed up by a management company and he was placed in the same training camp as world half marathon champion and record-holder Jacob Kiplimo.
&ldquo;This year, I got a manager and you see the way I was performing,&rdquo; he said of his season progress. &ldquo;He has helped me with getting facilities, races in Europe and good programmes for training.&rdquo;&nbsp;
There has been a shift in results. He began with a second-place finish at the Cursa dels Nassos 5km in Barcelona, Spain, on New Year&rsquo;s Eve and is now the fourth-best 5000m runner on this season&rsquo;s world U20 top list after posting a personal best time of 13:07.42 in eighth place during the Bislett Games Wanda Diamond League meeting in Oslo, Norway, on 16 June.
&ldquo;I prepared a lot,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I do a lot of mileage, I have a lot of speed. My body is okay, so the problem (in Oregon) was fatigue only, but in Cali, I think everything will be okay.&rdquo;
Maru comes from a poor background and he hopes that, by using his talent, he will have control of his future.
&ldquo;I have this talent and I didn&rsquo;t want to waste it so that in the future, it can help me. I pray to God that from next year, I will bring my family up,&rdquo; added the third-born from a family of three boys and five girls.
His biggest inspiration is his senior training partner Kiplimo, who bagged bronze medals over the 10,000m finals at the Tokyo Olympics in Japan last August as well as at the World Championships in Oregon.
Coincidentally, Kiplimo won two of Uganda&rsquo;s last three long-distance running medals at the World Athletics U20 Championships &ndash; 10,000m silver in Tampere in 2018 and bronze in Bydgoszcz in 2016.&nbsp;
Maru will now look to follow in his footsteps.
Darren Allan Kyeyune for World Athletics&nbsp;
&nbsp;
<h3>Peter Maru &ndash; quick CV</h3>
Name: Peter Maru Date of birth: 3 April 2003 Home district: Kween, eastern Uganda Disciplines: 1500m, 5000m PBs: 1500m - 3:40.10, 5000m - 13:07.42 Favourite race: 5000m Role model: Jacob Kiplimo Global inspiration: Mo Farah Favourite food: Posho (maize flour) and milk Favourite colour: White Favourite holiday destination: Boston, USA&nbsp;
<h3>Uganda&rsquo;s medal record at the World Athletics U20 Championships</h3>
Nairobi 2021:&nbsp;Prisca&nbsp;Chesang (5000m bronze) Tampere 2018:&nbsp;Jacob Kiplimo (10,000m silver), Peruth Chemutai (3000m steeplechase silver) Bydgoszcz 2016:&nbsp;Jacob Kiplimo (10,000m bronze) Eugene 2014:&nbsp;Joshua Cheptegei (10,000m gold) Moncton 2010:&nbsp;Jacob Araptany (3000m steeplechase bronze), Annet Negesa (800m bronze) Bydgoszcz 2008:&nbsp;Benjamin Kiplagat (3000m steeplechase silver) Beijing 2006:&nbsp;Abraham Chepkirwok (800m bronze) Grosseto 2004:&nbsp;Boniface&nbsp;Kiprop (10,000m gold) Santiago 2000:&nbsp;Dorcus Inzikuru (5000m gold) Annecy 1998:&nbsp;Paskar Owor (800m bronze) Lisbon 1994:&nbsp;Julius Achon (1500m gold) Seoul 1992: Francis Ogola (400m bronze)

The Ugandan prodigy dreams of a long and successful career in long-distance running, starting in Cali

Inspired by Kiplimo, Maru targets world U20 title after Oregon lessons

Britain&rsquo;s Jake Wightman stunned the Olympic champion, the defending world champion and himself at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 on Tuesday (19), running the race of his life to take the 1500m title.
Winding up to a world-leading PB of 3:29.23, the 28-year-old European and Commonwealth bronze medallist left Jakob Ingebrigtsen with no response as he surged down the home straight, eyes fixed firmly ahead. As the finish line neared, the Briton first raised his arms wide and then threw his hands to his head in disbelief, Norway&rsquo;s Olympic champion Ingebrigtsen following him home in 3:29.47 and Spain&rsquo;s Mohamed Katir coming through for bronze in 3:29.90.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s my son,&rdquo; came the voice over the loudspeaker, the race having been called by in-stadium announcer Geoff Wightman &ndash; father and coach of the winner, &ldquo;and he&rsquo;s the world champion.&rdquo;
Left disappointed after a 10th-place finish at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Jake Wightman went back to work. He focused on building his strength over the winter, returning to some cross country racing and doing over-distance work as he refocused on Oregon.
Achieving his aim of staying under the radar through the rounds, he took his place on the Hayward Field start line with Ingebrigtsen to his left and Katir to his right. Kenya&rsquo;s Abel Kipsang, who had the season&rsquo;s quickest time going into the race, went straight to the front and led from Ingebrigtsen and Kenya&rsquo;s defending champion Timothy Cheruiyot, with Wightman sitting in behind them. Ingebrigtsen, who broke the world indoor 1500m record with 3:30.60 in February, moved to the front with two laps to go, with Kipsang and Cheruiyot on his shoulder and Wightman tracking their every move.
At the bell it was Ingebrigtsen from Cheruiyot and Wightman, with Kipsang running wide on his shoulder. Judging the race to perfection, the Briton first surged past Cheruiyot, moving into the lead ahead of Ingebrigtsen with just over 200m to go.
As he left the bend, the anticipated kick from Ingebrigtsen never came. Glancing over his shoulder, the Norwegian looked like he knew he was beaten and settled for silver, followed by Katir and his Spanish teammate Mario Garcia, running a PB of 3:30.20 for fourth.
Wightman&rsquo;s British compatriot Josh Kerr &ndash; the Olympic 1500m bronze medallist &ndash; finished fifth in 3:30.60, just ahead of Cheruiyot (3:30.69) and Kipsang (3:31.21).
&ldquo;It probably won&rsquo;t sink in until I have retired,&rdquo; said Wightman, who has run 1:44.18 for 800m and clocked a 3000m PB of 7:37.81 indoors in February. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s mad. I had such a disappointing year in Tokyo last year. I don&rsquo;t think people realise how crushing it was to go in with such high expectations and come away hoping for a medal but ending up 10th.&rdquo;
His parents &ndash; both former elite marathon runners &ndash; were at Hayward Field to see him win, his father on the commentary mic and his mother, Susan, in the stands.
&ldquo;Dad can be a bit of a robot on the mic sometimes,&rdquo; smiled Wightman junior, whose time in Oregon is the third-quickest in World Championships history. &ldquo;Some say robot, some say professional. I hope he broke that down today. My mum was in tears, so someone was crying.&rdquo;
Reflecting on the race, he added: &ldquo;The strength for me is that if I can get there with 200m to go, I will always make a move because it&rsquo;s how I feel best running. As soon as the opportunity was there to go past, I just wanted to be leading the bend. The only perk of having a good 800m PB in races like that is if you are still there with 200m to go, which I haven&rsquo;t managed to be in previous years.
&ldquo;Even when I was coming down the home straight I felt strong, but Jakob is a beast and I never knew if he was going to come past.&rdquo;
But he didn&rsquo;t. Wightman's last lap was timed at 54.84, Ingebrigtsen&rsquo;s was 55.24. In Tokyo, the Norwegian clocked 54.42 for the final 400m.
&ldquo;I was feeling good, but I couldn't keep up with Jake in the last 200m,&rdquo; said Ingebrigtsen. &ldquo;I'm owning it. I am very disappointed by not winning, but I'm very happy for him. He is a great runner.&rdquo;
He will now refocus on the 5000m, the heats for which take place on Thursday.
It was the 5000m that Katir contested at last year&rsquo;s Olympics, the 24-year-old finishing eighth, but after setting national records at 1500m, 3000m, 5000m and 10km last year his decision to race the shorter event in Oregon paid off as he bagged the bronze with his second-fastest ever time.
Just behind him was European U23 silver medallist and NCAA runner-up Garcia, who runs for the University of Mississippi and achieved the fastest ever time by a collegiate athlete.
Cheruiyot has been some way off his best form this season and although making his presence felt in the early stages, he didn&rsquo;t have the strength in the finish and faded out of medal contention.
Ethiopia&rsquo;s Samuel Tefera won the world indoor title ahead of Ingebrigtsen and Kipsang in Belgrade in March but finished ninth in his semifinal in Oregon, missing out on the final.
Jess Whittington for World Athletics
&nbsp;
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 75%; border-color: #ffffff; border-style: solid;" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #fd5249; text-align: center;" colspan="3">MEN'S 1500m MEDALLISTS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #e9c968; text-align: center;">🥇</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #e9c968;">Jake Wightman 🇬🇧 GBR</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #e9c968;">3:29.23 WL</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #ced4d9; text-align: center;">🥈</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #ced4d9;">Jakob Ingebrigtsen 🇳🇴 NOR</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #ced4d9;">3:29.47 SB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #bd895e; text-align: center;">🥉</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #bd895e;">Mohamed Katir 🇪🇸 ESP</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #bd895e;">3:29.90 SB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #34495e; text-align: left;" colspan="3">&nbsp;&nbsp;<a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/oregon22/results/men/1500-metres/final/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;

World Athletics Championships, Oregon 2022

Britain’s Jake Wightman stunned the Olympic champion, the defending world champion and himself to win the 1500m title

Wightman gets "whirlwind" win to beat Ingebrigtsen to world 1500m title

Faith Kipyegon&rsquo;s supporters were so confident she would win the women&rsquo;s 1500m at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 that they put the Kenyan in an uncomfortable position.
&ldquo;I was facing a lot of pressure,&rdquo; said Kipyegon, the two-time Olympic champion in the 1500m. &ldquo;Everybody was expecting something special from me. Everybody was like, &lsquo;Faith, we believe in Faith,&rsquo; so it was a real pressure. But I managed it.&rdquo;
In other words, their Faith was not misplaced.
With her trademark kick, Kipyegon regained the world title on Monday (18) that she first won in 2017. She claimed an unprecedented fourth medal in the event. And Kipyegon indeed did something special, clocking 3:52.96, the second-fastest time on US soil after her own 3:52.59 at the Prefontaine Classic in late May on the same Hayward Field track.
After crossing the finish line, Kipyegon, 28, kissed the track and blew kisses to the crowd on &lsquo;Women in the Spotlight&rsquo; day.
The fast-paced race saw Kipyegon and three other runners quickly leave the rest of the field behind with a first lap in just under 59 seconds.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m so grateful to have won the gold medal,&rdquo; Kipyegon said. &ldquo;This was my big target. I did do it. I was really looking forward to this championship. I was really, really prepared for this race.&rdquo;
World indoor champion Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia was with her nearly every step until Kipyegon pulled away with about 300 meters to go. Tsegay took the silver in 3:54.52, upgrading from the bronze she won in 2019. She was also just a bit slower than she was at the Pre Classic, where she ran 3:54.21.
&ldquo;I was expecting more from this race, but my opponents were more experienced and lucky so I have to be grateful for the silver,&rdquo; said Tsegay, 25, who also will run the 5000m later in the week.
Great Britain&rsquo;s Laura Muir, in her fifth World Championships final, at last secured a medal, claiming the bronze with a season&rsquo;s best of 3:55.28. Muir, 29, finished six seconds ahead of Ethiopia&rsquo;s Freweyni Hailu, the largest gap in World Championships history between third and fourth.
Sofia Ennaoui of Poland ran a season best of 4:01.43 for fifth. The US placed two runners in the top 10: national champion Sinclaire Johnson was sixth, clocking 4:01:63, while Cory McGee was 10th with a time of 4:03.70.
The third Ethiopian runner, Hirut Meshesha was 12th in 4:05.86 after helping Tsegay push the pace for the first half of the race.
&ldquo;To tell you the truth, I knew the Ethiopian lady was going to be fast,&rdquo; Kipyegon said. &ldquo;I knew she was a front-runner, and we ran really quick and I thank God I won.&rdquo;
While the two Ethiopians controlled the early part of the race, Kipyegon stayed on their heels. Muir also clung to the lead group. &ldquo;To be honest, I didn&rsquo;t look at the clock at all the whole race,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;After the first couple of hundred meters, I knew this was very, very fast. I thought it&rsquo;s not going to help to look at the clock right now; it&rsquo;s probably better not to look.
&ldquo;For me, it&rsquo;s all about racing. It&rsquo;s not about times. I&rsquo;m really pleased I stuck with it and went with them and it paid off.&rdquo;
Kipyegon has placed first or second in every major championship since 2015. Three years ago, she was coming off maternity leave after having her daughter and placed second behind Sifan Hassan, whose 3:51.95 is the championship record. Kipyegon also earned a silver in 2015.
Hassan decided not to contest the 1500m this year.
After Kipyegon won her second straight Olympic gold medal, Muir called her &ldquo;the greatest of all time.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I can say thank you so much,&rdquo; Kipyegon said at the post-race press conference in Oregon, with Muir at her side. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m really grateful; she is really a nice lady. Before the race, I talked with her and I wish her all the best. Laura, let&rsquo;s continue like this. This is the spirit of sports.&rdquo;
Kipyegon added that she was happy that Muir, the Olympic 1500m silver medallist, won her first World Championships medal.
&ldquo;She has been really fighting since 2017 in London and also in 2019 in Doha,&rdquo; Kipyegon said.
The Kenyan said she will skip the upcoming Commonwealth Games and prepare for the Diamond League meeting in Monaco.
She wouldn&rsquo;t speculate about possibly breaking the world record. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t talk about it right now,&rdquo; Kipyegon said. &ldquo;Let me focus myself and see what is possible. I will be trying my best to lower my personal best and to run a good race.&rdquo;
In the meantime, she will spend time with her daughter. &ldquo;She is everything to me,&rdquo; Kipyegon said.
Karen Rosen for World Athletics
&nbsp;
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 75%; border-color: #ffffff; border-style: solid;" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #fd5249; text-align: center;" colspan="3">WOMEN'S 1500m MEDALLISTS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #e9c968; text-align: center;">🥇</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #e9c968;">Faith Kipyegon 🇰🇪 KEN</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #e9c968;">3:52.96</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #ced4d9; text-align: center;">🥈</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #ced4d9;">Gudaf Tsegay 🇪🇹 ETH</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #ced4d9;">3:54.52</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #bd895e; text-align: center;">🥉</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #bd895e;">Laura Muir 🇬🇧 GBR</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #bd895e;">3:55.28 SB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #34495e; text-align: left;" colspan="3">&nbsp;&nbsp;<a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/oregon22/results/women/1500-metres/final/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;

Kenyan great regains the title she won five years ago

Gold again for Kipyegon as she wins 1500m in Oregon

On a day when the focus was on putting women in the spotlight, three of the all-time greats of female athletics turned in truly stirring performances to light up Hayward Field at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 on Monday (18).
Venezuela&rsquo;s Yulimar Rojas, Kenya&rsquo;s Faith Kipyegon and Belgium&rsquo;s Nafi Thiam all maintained their global dominance with golden performances, while in the men&rsquo;s high jump final Mutaz Essa Barshim won his third straight world title by soaring over a world lead of 2.37m.
There was no bigger favourite at these championships than Rojas, but if the Olympic champion and world record-holder felt the pressure of defending her world title in Eugene, she sure didn&rsquo;t show it. Rousing the crowd in her typical effervescent style, Rojas set off down the runway for her second attempt and hopped, skipped and jumped her way to gold with a 15.47m effort, the second longest in World Championships history. Rojas knew at that point gold was assured, but the 26-year-old still had bigger ambitions.
On the final attempt she jumped 15.39m &ndash; officially &ndash; though her expression on exiting the pit told the story about how much distance she&rsquo;d given away on the board. Not that it mattered, with Rojas jumping to her feet and saluting the crowd, dancing as she went to retrieve her nation&rsquo;s flag &ndash; something she&rsquo;ll likely be doing many more times in the years ahead. 
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3RQvgHLZs2U" width="100%" height="475" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
 &ldquo;I wanted a longer jump, but I am happy to return to this beautiful stadium, to see the crowd,&rdquo; said Rojas. &ldquo;I came with the goal to get closer to my world record. The wind affected my run-up, I tried to adjust, but the most important thing was to win the medal and stay consistent over 15 metres.&rdquo;
Jamaica&rsquo;s Shanieka Ricketts took silver with 14.89m while USA&rsquo;s Tori Franklin claimed bronze with 14.72m.
There was an equally peerless performance in the women&rsquo;s 1500m, where Kipyegon cemented her place as the greatest 1500m runner of all time &ndash; winning her fourth global 1500m title and setting a high bar for future generations to follow.
But she was made to work for it, with a breathless, lung-bursting pace churned out from the gun by chief rival Gudaf Tsegay, the Ethiopian blasting the opening lap in 58.82, and hitting 800m in 2:03.18.
If her rivals wanted to stay with Tsegay, then they&rsquo;d have to go to a dark place. In addition to Kipyegon, only Britain&rsquo;s Laura Muir and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Hirut Meshesha were willing to gamble and stick with it. For Muir it paid off. For Meshesha it didn&rsquo;t, and the Ethiopian fell to pieces on the final lap, finishing 13th.
With a lap to run up front it was down to three, and down the back straight Kipyegon could wait no longer. She powered to the lead and kicked away, hitting the line in 3:52.96 ahead of Tsegay (3:54.52) and Muir (3:55.28). It was the 10th fastest time in history and the second fastest ever in the US, behind the 3:52.59 she ran on the same track in May.
&ldquo;The Ethiopians controlled the race and I knew they were planning something special but for me, I was well prepared,&rdquo; said Kipyegon, who said she is targeting a PB at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Monaco next month. &ldquo;Everybody was expecting something special from me. Everybody was like, &lsquo;Faith, we believe in Faith,&rsquo; so it was a real pressure. But I managed it.&rdquo;
Thiam&rsquo;s victory in the heptathlon went down to the wire, and that was due to an inspired effort by Dutch rival Anouk Vetter. Thiam had come into the day with a 61-point advantage over Vetter, which she extended with a 6.59m long jump (to Vetter&rsquo;s 6.52m), but the Dutchwoman claimed the lead in the javelin with a 58.29m throw to Thiam&rsquo;s 53.01m. Given there were two seconds&rsquo; differences between their 800m PBs &ndash; the gap between them equating to 1.3 seconds over 800m &ndash; the stage was set for a thrilling finale. 
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2lgL2ONrMZU" width="100%" height="475" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
 Vetter tried to keep Thiam in her sights through the opening lap but the Belgian put broad daylight between them down the back straight, with Thiam producing an inspired kick through the final 200m to hit the line in 2:13.00, a two-second PB. That left her on 6947 points, with Vetter taking second with 6867 and USA&rsquo;s Anna Hall &ndash; who raised the roof by leading the 800m home in 2:06.67 &ndash; taking bronze with 6755. Poland&rsquo;s Adrianna Sulek was fourth with a national record of 6672.
In the men&rsquo;s high jump, Barshim once again showed his capacity for timing his best performances when it matters most, the Qatari recording a perfect series up to 2.37m to heap pressure on his competitors. It was a level no one else could match, with South Korea&rsquo;s Sanghyeok Woo taking silver with a national record of 2.35m and Ukraine&rsquo;s Andriy Protsenko &ndash; who fled his native country in March with his family, training in Spain and Portugal since &ndash; winning bronze with 2.33m.
&ldquo;Three world golds in a row is something that has never have been done before. I came here to secure that,&rdquo; said Barshim. &ldquo;Defending my Doha title and being recovered after injury are the most amazing things that could happened to me. Sometimes it&rsquo;s difficult to show jumps and technique that people like and expect to see from me. It takes so much work, dedication and passion.&rdquo;
Morocco&rsquo;s Soufiane El Bakkali maintained his supremacy in the men&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase, which could best be summed up as a 400m steeplechase. The first kilometre was a complete dawdle, covered in 2:58.01, with the second kilometre not much quicker at 2:54.43.
At the bell there were still 11 men in contention in the leading pack, with reigning world champion Conseslus Kipruto of Kenya tracking Eritrea&rsquo;s Yemane Haileselassie and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Getnet Wale. Down the back straight, El Bakkali powered along the outside of the pack, the Olympic champion sweeping to the lead around the turn and showing the vast range of gears that has won him so many big races in recent years &ndash; and which has now won him a first world title.
He hit the line in 8:25.13 ahead of Ethiopia&rsquo;s Lamecha Girma (8:26.01) and Kipruto (8:27.92). &ldquo;I am very strong in the 400m and it worked out for me,&rdquo; said El Bakkali, who covered his last lap &ndash; over five barriers &ndash; in 57.35 seconds.
Earlier in the day, Gotytom Gebreslase made it a double victory for Ethiopia in the marathons, following in the footsteps of Tamirat Tola 24 hours earlier by taking a convincing win in the women&rsquo;s in 2:18:11. Race favourite Ruth Chepngetich, the 2019 champion, led the lead group past the 18km mark but then dropped out due to stomach problems. 
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pcBUGyLQfVE" width="100%" height="475" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
 That carved close to three minutes off the championship record set by Paula Radcliffe in 2005, but the fate of the gold medal remained in doubt until the closing two kilometres, with the 27-year-old Ethiopian then breaking clear of Kenya&rsquo;s Judith Korir, who set a PB of 2:18:20 in second.
&ldquo;The Kenyan runner asked me to pass her, but I stayed patient,&rdquo; said Gebreslase. &ldquo;Towards 40km, I felt strong and decided to leave.&rdquo;
Israel&rsquo;s Lonah Salpeter claimed bronze in 2:20:18. Eritrea&rsquo;s Nazret Weldu was next with a national record of 2:20:29 while USA&rsquo;s Sara Hall was fifth with 2:22:10. In a race of impressive depth, athletes one to nine set the best times for their respective places in the championships&rsquo; history.
In the men&rsquo;s 200m heats, world champion Noah Lyles took a relaxed attitude to his 200m heat, waving his hand at competitors halfway down the home straight, and given those antics his time of 19.98 (-0.3m/s) was all the more impressive. It was the first ever wind-legal sub-20 in the heats of a global championships.
Chief rival Erriyon Knighton looked to be running well within himself when coasting to victory in 20.01 (2.1m/s), while Alexander Ogando of Dominican Republic broke new ground with a national record of 20.01 (0.5m/s) to win his heat.
Aminatou Seyni of Niger was quickest in the women&rsquo;s 200m heats with a national record of 21.98 (1.1m/s), beating 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (22.26). World leader Shericka Jackson ran a composed 22.33 (2.5m/s) while US champion Abby Steiner clocked 22.26 (0.9m/s).
In the women&rsquo;s discus qualification, gold medal favourite Valarie Allman had some nervous moments after fouling her first two attempts but the world leader put the crowd&rsquo;s worries to rest after launching a 68.36m effort to advance. Jorinde van Klinken of the Netherlands was next best with 65.66m.
Cathal Dennehy for World Athletics

On a day when the focus was on putting women in the spotlight, three of the all-time greats of female athletics turned in truly stirring performances

Rojas, Kipyegon and Thiam add to their legendary status in Oregon

<h2>Women's 1500m</h2>
<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/oregon22/timetable/bydiscipline/women/1500-metres" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Timetable</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/world-rankings/1500m/women?regionType=world&amp;page=1&amp;limitByCountry=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">world rankings</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/records/toplists/middle-long/1500-metres/outdoor/women/senior/2022?regionType=world&amp;timing=electronic&amp;page=1&amp;bestResultsOnly=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 world list</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/records/all-time-toplists/middle-long/1500-metres/outdoor/women/senior?regionType=world&amp;timing=electronic&amp;page=1&amp;bestResultsOnly=true&amp;firstDay=1900-01-01" target="_blank" rel="noopener">world all-time list</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/disciplines/middlelong/1500-metres" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how it works</a>
As it stands, few could argue with Faith Kipyegon&rsquo;s claims to being the greatest female 1500m runner of all time. But if the 27-year-old can reclaim her world title in Oregon &ndash; and make it a fourth global outdoor championships gold &ndash; then the debate will be fully over.
Based on recent form, it will take something very special to stop her. The Kenyan was beaten to gold by Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands at the last edition of these championships in Doha in 2019, but since then she has been close to unbeatable at her favoured distance, her sole loss coming at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Florence last year after a thrilling home-straight duel with Hassan.
But as good as she is on the circuit, Kipyegon always saves her best for championships, and in Tokyo last year she retained her Olympic title in style in 3:53.11. She also clocked a blazing 3:51.07 in Monaco, the fourth fastest time in history. Kipyegon has tasted defeat over 800m and 3000m already this season, but when it comes to the women&rsquo;s 1500m final on Monday, 18 July, it&rsquo;s hard to envisage anyone getting the better of the Kenyan, who possesses a change of gears that so often proves unstoppable.
At the Diamond League meeting in Eugene in late May, Kipyegon took on many of her chief rivals and prevailed with a racing style that has become her trademark &ndash; coasting to the shoulder of the leader on the final lap and exploding off the final turn &ndash; clocking 3:52.59 on a damp, cool day ahead of Ethiopia&rsquo;s Gudaf Tsegay (3:54.21).
Those times put them well clear of the others on the 2022 world list, but one athlete who has been laying low so far this season due to health issues &ndash; and who, at her best, can trouble Kipyegon &ndash; is Hassan. The Dutch star ran her first race of the season on Friday 8 July, clocking a modest 15:13.41 for 5000m in Portland, USA. Hassan, the Olympic champion at 5000m and 10,000m, is also entered for both of those events in Oregon but she plans to contest just two, unlike in Tokyo, with the decision on which event to drop to be made in the coming days.
Her coach, Tim Rowberry, recently told Letsrun.com that she &ldquo;is trying to take things slowly so she doesn&rsquo;t burn herself out next year while building up for Paris&rdquo;, adding that Hassan fasting during Ramadan &ldquo;interrupted training more than usual&rdquo; this year so Rowberry &ldquo;felt it was necessary to postpone her races leading into Prefontaine rather than interrupt the slow training build up.&rdquo; 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/20d035dd-451a-4d5b-9bcd-ce8800d8a427.jpg" alt="Gudaf Tsegay at the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019" />
Gudaf Tsegay at the World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
 Tsegay, the world indoor 1500m record-holder, will be hoping to bring the gold medal in this event back to Ethiopia for just the second time in the event&rsquo;s history following Genzebe Dibaba&rsquo;s victory in 2015. She was a dominant winner of the 1500m at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade earlier this year and proved her endurance is in good order with a runner-up finish in Oslo last month over 5000m in 14:26.69. She will be joined by a pair of strong compatriots in 21-year-olds Hirut Meshesa and Freweyni Hailu.
They followed her home in Belgrade as Ethiopia swept the medal rostrum, with Hailu second and Meshesha third. Hailu, who was fourth in the Olympic final in Tokyo, clocked a season&rsquo;s best of 3:58.18 to finish second in Rabat last month, where Meshesha took victory in 3:57.30, with Meshesha backing that up with victory in Rome in a cagey race in 4:03.79.
Hopes will be high among the home fans that a US athlete can reach the podium and they have a strong contingent in Sinclaire Johnson, Elle St Pierre and Cory McGee. Johnson took victory at the US Championships with a blazing kick, while the PB of 3:58.85 she ran to finish fourth to Kipyegon in Eugene in May shows she can also be competitive in a fast race. St Pierre, the world indoor 3000m silver medallist, could also be a threat, particularly in a fast race.
Britain&rsquo;s Laura Muir has yet to clock a 1500m time this year that&rsquo;s truly indicative of her ability &ndash; her best is the 4:02.81 she ran in Birmingham in May &ndash; but the Olympic silver medallist proved her vast range of gears is in full working order last month when clocking 1:57.23 in a mixed 800m race in Stretford then following it up with a 1:58.09 runner-up finish in Oslo.
Australia will have a strong trio in Jessica Hull, Georgia Griffith and Linden Hall. Hall was sixth in the Olympic final last year and has a season&rsquo;s best of 4:00.58, while Griffith is just ahead of her on season&rsquo;s bests via the 4:00.16 PB she ran in Rabat. Hull has been in outstanding form this year, setting national records over a mile and 3000m, and she finished fifth in 3:59.31 in Eugene in May.
Uganda&rsquo;s Winnie Nanyondo finished fourth in the world indoor final in Belgrade and with a season&rsquo;s best of 4:00.25, she will have her eyes on a spot in the final &ndash; at the very least.
&nbsp;
<h2>Men's 1500m</h2>
<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/oregon22/timetable/bydiscipline/men/1500-metres" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Timetable</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/world-rankings/1500m/men?regionType=world&amp;page=1&amp;limitByCountry=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">world rankings</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/records/toplists/middle-long/1500-metres/outdoor/men/senior/2022?regionType=world&amp;timing=electronic&amp;page=1&amp;bestResultsOnly=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 world list</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/records/all-time-toplists/middle-long/1500-metres/outdoor/men/senior?regionType=world&amp;timing=electronic&amp;page=1&amp;bestResultsOnly=true&amp;firstDay=1900-01-01" target="_blank" rel="noopener">world all-time list</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/disciplines/middlelong/1500-metres" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how it works</a>
At the age of 21, Jakob Ingebrigtsen has very nearly done it all. He&rsquo;s won European titles, an Olympic gold medal and, earlier this year, he became the fastest indoor 1500m runner of all time, clocking 3:30.60 in Lievin.
But there remains one gaping hole on the Norwegian star&rsquo;s CV: he has yet to win a medal at the World Athletics Championships. But it will come as a huge shock if he doesn&rsquo;t fill that void when the men&rsquo;s 1500m final takes place on 19 July.
Ingebrigtsen said he will &ldquo;for sure&rdquo; double over 1500m and 5000m in Eugene and his favourite event is up first, where he will seek to avenge his defeat at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade earlier this year. Ingebrigtsen was the overwhelming favourite for that 1500m title but in the end he had no response to the final surge from Ethiopia&rsquo;s Samuel Tefera, who took gold in 3:32.77.
&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t feel that great,&rdquo; he said after the race, and it was only when he returned home and tested positive for Covid-19 that he came to realise why. Ingebrigtsen has been unbeaten since, though, winning in facile fashion over a mile in Eugene (3:49.76) before clocking 3:46.46 in Oslo.
However, a long line of challengers are taking aim at his throne.
Chief among them is Kenya&rsquo;s Abel Kipsang, who was fourth in the Olympic final last year but who has turned in a string of displays this year that suggest the 25-year-old Kenyan is ready to claim his first global medal at an outdoor championship. He earned bronze behind Tefera and Ingebrigtsen in Belgrade and finished fourth behind the Norwegian over a mile in Eugene in May. His season&rsquo;s best of 3:31.01 was run at altitude in Nairobi in May, and at the Kenyan Trials last month he took victory over world champion Timothy Cheruiyot in 3:34.55.
Cheruiyot has yet to recover his best form but the Olympic silver medallist finished third over a mile in Eugene and he has the championship pedigree to navigate the rounds and again contend for a medal. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/2fbc39c1-4a41-4ca6-b210-1de7a61684de.jpg" alt="Timothy Cheruiyot storms to the 1500m title at the IAAF World Championships Doha 2019" />
Timothy Cheruiyot storms to the 1500m title at the World Championships Doha 2019 (&copy; Getty Images)
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 Britain&rsquo;s Jake Wightman fell short of his goal in Tokyo last year, fading to 10th place in the Olympic final, but he put a renewed emphasis on endurance work through the winter and spring, running cross country and setting indoor PBs twice over 3000m &ndash; the goal being to build an engine strong enough to handle three hard rounds of world-class 1500m racing.
He seems to be bearing the fruits of that work already with an impressive victory in Rabat last month in 3:32.62 before he outkicked rivals Neil Gourley and Josh Kerr to win the British 1500m title. The slower it is in the final, the more of a danger Wightman will become &ndash; so long as he can advance through the rounds.
Kerr, the Olympic bronze medallist, clocked a blazing 3:48.87 mile indoors in Boston but he has yet to truly fire so far in the outdoor season, his best of 3:35.92 coming in Birmingham back in May. But he proved in Tokyo he is adept at finding an extra level once he gets to major championships and it will be no surprise to see him back on the podium.
Tefera will lead the Ethiopian challenge and the two-time world indoor champion will be looking to win his first global outdoor medal, though he might need to shake off some rust when it comes to the 1500m given he has only raced over 3000m and 5000m since that victory in Belgrade in March.
Australia&rsquo;s Ollie Hoare has enjoyed a breakthrough year and he finished second to Ingebrigtsen in Oslo in an Oceanian mile record of 3:47.48. He finished fifth in the world indoor final in Belgrade, 11th in the Olympic final in Tokyo, and he looks capable of contending for his first global medal in Oregon.
The US challenge will be led by Cooper Teare, the 22-year-old University of Oregon star who unleashed a big kick to take the US 1500m title in Eugene last month. He ran a 3:50.17 mile indoors this year and clocked 3:51.70 for the mile to finish sixth behind Ingebrigtsen in Eugene in May.
Cathal Dennehy for World Athletics

Expected highlights in the women's and men's 1500m

WCH Oregon22 preview: 1500m

Polish middle-distance runner Marcin Lewandowski has announced his retirement from athletics.
The 34-year-old won 10 medals at world and continental level across a span of 12 years. His collection includes the 2010 European 800m title and the 2019 world 1500m bronze medal.
Lewandowski posted the news on his Instagram account earlier this week, explaining that a disrupted build-up to his outdoor season meant he was not in shape to challenge for medals at this year&rsquo;s major championships.
&ldquo;After my daughter's accident during her rhythmic gymnastics class [just before the World Indoors], I decided to stay at home until Midia was fully recovered,&rdquo; he wrote. &ldquo;Due to the fact I did not have the opportunity to train abroad, I was not able to prepare properly to defend my bronze medal from the World Championships and my silver from the European Championships and I am not interested in places outside the podium.
&ldquo;Was it a difficult decision? I didn't even think for a second because family is the priority. It was the same when I pulled out of the World Indoor Championships even though I was in great shape.
&ldquo;It was a beautiful 16 years of running &ndash; an amazing adventure that is now over. Something ends and something begins because in November I will become a dad again.&rdquo;
Lewandowski first made a name for himself as an 800m runner, placing fourth at the 2006 World U20 Championships and then winning the 2007 European U20 title. He reached the Olympic semifinals in his first year as a senior athlete in 2008, then made it to the World Championships final in 2009.
He landed European gold in 2010, following it with silver at the 2011 European Indoor Championships and fourth-place finishes at the 2011 and 2013 World Championships. After winning the 2015 European indoor 800m title, Lewandowski earned European silver in 2016 and went on to place sixth at the Olympic Games later that year, but then started to switch his focus to the 1500m.
His tactical prowess and strong finishing speed meant he was a formidable opponent at major championships. He won the 2017 European indoor title, then placed sixth in the 1500m at the 2017 World Championships later that year. In 2018 he won his first global medal when taking 1500m silver at the World Indoor Championships. He earned the same colour medal at the 2018 European Championships.
Lewandowski retained his European indoor 1500m title in 2019, then went on to earn his first and only outdoor global medal in 2019, placing third at the World Championships in Doha. His most recent podium finish was his 1500m silver at the 2021 European Indoor Championships.
Although best known as a championship performer, Lewandowski clocked several speedy performances throughout his career. He holds the Polish indoor and outdoor records for 1000m (2:14.30 / 2:17.67), 1500m (3:30.42 / 3:35.71) and the mile (3:49.11 / 3:56.41).

The 34-year-old won 10 medals at world and continental level across a span of 12 years

Two-time global medallist and four-time continental champion Lewandowski retires

Two-time world indoor 1500m champion Samuel Tefera will go up against Olympic bronze medallist Josh Kerr at the M&uuml;ller Birmingham Diamond League, the second meeting of the 2022 Wanda Diamond League series, at the Alexander Stadium on Saturday 21 May.
Tefera often performs well in the UK. In 2018 he won the world indoor 1500m title in Birmingham, then he returned to that city in 2019 and set a world indoor 1500m record of 3:31.04. Later that year at the Diamond League meeting in London, Tefera won the Emsley Carr mile in a world-leading 3:49.45.
Last week Tefera successfully defended his world indoor 1500m title in Belgrade, beating Olympic champion and world indoor record-holder Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the process.
Kerr, who has a 1500m PB of 3:29.05, is ranked second on the British all-time list. He took down the British indoor 1500m (3:32.86) and European indoor mile (3:48.87) records in Boston in February and goes into this summer as a proven championship racer with a realistic focus on winning medals.
&ldquo;Making the podium in Tokyo might have been a surprise to some people, but it wasn&rsquo;t a surprise to me,&rdquo; said Kerr. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t race too often, but I build consistent training blocks. I&rsquo;m not one for big training camps and expensive facilities, but I work hard, and I have great belief in myself. I just keep my head down and stack the good days.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve enjoyed running fast this winter and I definitely want to continue that form and take down the British outdoor 1500m record, but it&rsquo;s winning medals this summer that counts. My goal in Birmingham is to lay down a marker for the rest of the season as I prepare for the World Championships and Commonwealth Games.&rdquo;
Organisers for World Athletics

Two-time world indoor 1500m champion goes up against Olympic bronze medallist 

Tefera takes on Kerr in Birmingham

Men's world indoor 1500m&nbsp;record 3:30.60&nbsp;Jakob Ingebrigtsen&nbsp;(NOR) Lievin 17 February 2022 &nbsp; The world indoor 1500m record set by Jakob Ingebrigtsen at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in Lievin last month has been ratified.
Running 3:30.60 at the Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais on 17 February, Norway's Olympic champion took almost half a second off the previous record of 3:31.04 that had been run by Ethiopia's Samuel Tefera in Birmingham on 16 February 2019. 
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 Paced by Julien Ranc, and then Erik Sowinski, Ingebrigtsen passed through 600m in 1:24.66 and 800m in 1:52.86. He reached 1000m in 2:20.98, bang on target, and then started to pick up the pace for the final two laps. By the time he reached the bell in 3:03.04, he had opened up a significant gap on his one remaining opponent: Tefera.
Ingebrigtsen covered the final lap in 27.57 seconds, reaching the finish line in 3:30.60 to take 0.44 off Tefera's record. Tefera finished second in 3:33.70 and Spain&rsquo;s Ignacio Fontes was a distant third in 3:37.39.
"I wanted to break the world indoor record last year, even though it wasn&rsquo;t the main goal then," said Ingebrigtsen, who set a European indoor record of 3:31.80 when winning in Lievin in 2021.
"I want to improve and run faster than I have done before. It&rsquo;s everyone&rsquo;s dream to win championships and beat records. This is my first world record; hopefully more will come, but this is a big dream come true."
He will next race at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade 22 where he will again go head-to-head with Tefera, the defending champion, in the 1500m.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-indoor-championships/belgrade22/news/preview/1500m-preview-men-belgrade-ingebrigtsen-tefera" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-indoor-championships/belgrade22/news/preview/1500m-preview-men-belgrade-ingebrigtsen-tefera">Race preview.</a>
&bull;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-indoor-tour/news/hauts-france-lievin-ingebrigtsen-world-indoor-1500m-record" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-indoor-tour/news/hauts-france-lievin-ingebrigtsen-world-indoor-1500m-record">Full event report</a> World Athletics

The Olympic champion's 3:30.60 is now official.

Ratified: world indoor 1500m record for Ingebrigtsen

The past six winners of the women&rsquo;s world indoor 1500m title have all either been Ethiopian or Ethiopian-born: Genzebe Dibaba (2018 and 2012), naturalised Netherlander Sifan Hissan (2016) and Swede Abeba Aregawi (2014), Kalkidan Gezahegne (2010) and Gelete Burka (2008). The sequence is unlikely to be broken in Belgrade.
In physical terms, Gudaf Tsegay might be only 1.63m (5ft 4in) tall but metaphorically the 25-year-old stands head and shoulders above the rest of the 22-strong entry list. In February last year she relieved Dibaba of the world indoor record with her sensational 3:53.09 run in Lievin and, 13 months on, the form book suggests that the clear world leader will succeed her compatriot as world indoor champion.
Tsegay ran a scorching 3:54.77 in Torun on 22 February, the second fastest in history, and 3:57.38 in Madrid on 2 March. Nobody else has cracked four minutes indoors in 2022. The next quickest is also Ethiopian. Axumawit Embaye, who won in Karlsruhe in 4:02.12, finished second to Aregawi in Sopot in 2014 and fourth in Portland in 2016 &ndash; behind Hassan and Ethiopian team-mates Dawit Seyaum and Tsegay.
Tsegay has won all nine races she has contested at all distances in the past three indoor seasons. Her last indoor defeat dates back to 8 February 2019, when she finished fourth over 3000m in Madrid.
She has not lost a 1500m race indoors or outdoors since the 2019 World Championships final in Doha, when she finished third behind Hassan and Kenya&rsquo;s Faith Kipyegon. Her last indoor defeat at the distance was on 10 February 2018, when she placed third at the World Indoor Tour event in Boston.
Even when she fell on the opening lap of the mile race at this year&rsquo;s Lievin meeting in February, she picked herself up, resisted a mid-race challenge from Embaye, and&nbsp; proceeded to win comfortably in 4:21.72, breaking the 20-year-old meeting record.
Tsegay is on a run of three global bronzes, having finished third in the 2016 world indoor 1500m final, the 2019 world outdoor final in Doha and in the 5000m final at the Tokyo Olympics last year. Barring unforeseen disaster, the 2014 world U20 silver medallist&rsquo;s long pursuit of a Midas touch seems destined to finally meet with a golden global success in Belgrade.
Heather Maclean could be a danger in a tactical affair, having gone from fifth to first with a 29.71-second last lap at the US Indoor Championships. Josette Norris, who finished second in that race, has also displayed great form this year. 
Other potential podium placers include Ethiopia&rsquo;s 2019 African Games 800m champion Hirut Meshesha, who was second in Karlsruhe in 4:02.22, and Uganda&rsquo;s Winnie Nanyondo. Fourth in the 800m at the 2019 World Championships, Nanyondo improved her Ugandan indoor 1500m record to 4:03.54 in Torun.
Simon Turnbull for World Athletics

World Athletics Indoor Championships

A look at the contenders in the women's 1500m at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade 22.