Just five days before Sifan Hassan and Peres Jepchirchir clash at the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships Gdynia 2020, their recent world record-breaking feats have been ratified.
Jepchirchir&rsquo;s 1:05:34 women-only world half marathon record and the one-hour world records from Hassan (18,930m) and Mo Farah (21,330m) are now official.
Jepchirchir produced her record-breaking run on 5 September 2020 at the Prague 21.1KM, an invitational-only elite half marathon held on a 16.5-lap course in Letna Park in the Czech capital.
The 26-year-old Kenyan, who won the world half marathon title in 2016, was paced through the first five kilometres in about 15:20. She broke away from the rest of the lead pack just a few minutes later and reached 10km in 30:32.
Her pace slowed over the waning laps, most covered in just outside four minutes, but she held on to win in 1:05:34, finishing well inside the previous women-only world record of 1:06:11 set by Ethiopia&rsquo;s Netsanet Gudeta at the 2018 World Half Marathon Championships in Valencia on 24 March 2018.
&ldquo;I was hoping to run about 1:04:50, but I&rsquo;m so happy,&rdquo; said Jepchirchir, who set a world record of 1:05:06 in a mixed gender race in Ras Al Khaimah in 2017, a mark which stood for seven weeks. &ldquo;I was really tired in the last five kilometres.&rdquo;
Hassan and Farah, meanwhile, stormed into the record books at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Brussels on 4 September, the night before Jepchirchir's race in Prague.
Hassan&rsquo;s record came after a titanic battle with Kenya&rsquo;s world marathon record-holder Brigid Kosgei, although it later transpired the latter had been disqualified for stepping on to the infield in the closing stages.
Moving into the final quarter of an hour, the world record seemed certain to be bettered, given that Hassan and Kosgei were more than a minute ahead of world record pace. Having swapped the lead several times, Hassan finally broke away from Kosgei after the gun sounded to mark the final minute. 
<img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/LargeL/dd5c629c-f6a9-4bef-984c-944ef404aeec.jpg?cachebuster=0ee5e285-315a-4cc4-b278-b48a52f4c5b2" alt="Sifan Hassan" width="600" height="400" />
 The Dutch world 1500m and 10,000m champion reached 18,930 metres as the hour elapsed, beating the previous mark of 18,517m set by Ethiopia&rsquo;s Dire Tune in Ostrava on 12 June 2008.
&ldquo;I didn't feel good before the start of the race,&rdquo; said Hassan, who last year set a world record for the mile. &ldquo;After 30 minutes of racing, I finally felt better. When there were only two minutes left on the clock, the fun began.&rdquo;
The men&rsquo;s race was also decided in the closing stages. Running alongside training partner Bashir Abdi of Belgium for most of the way, Farah had slipped outside of world record pace half way through. In the final 10 minutes, however, the two men managed to get back on world record schedule. 
<img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/LargeL/c76d4902-139f-45fe-b5e6-8988c9dc3093.jpg?cachebuster=eb712b26-493f-488d-a9ce-026aa6800947" alt="Mo Farah" width="600" height="400" />
 Abdi took the lead with about five minutes remaining and passed through 20,000m in 56:20.2, a world best for the distance, but Farah regained the lead in the final minute and sprinted clear to take the victory.
His distance of 21,330m broke the previous mark of 21,285m set by Ethiopia&rsquo;s Haile Gebrselassie in Ostrava on 27 June 2007.
&ldquo;I was very excited to be back on the track,&rdquo; said Farah, who had announced his retirement from track racing at the end of the 2017 season. &ldquo;With just 10 laps to go, it became tough so I was happy that Bashir took the lead, but I felt great with just one minute to go. A fast last lap is still my best tactic.&rdquo;
World Athletics

Peres Jepchirchir’s 1:05:34 women-only world half marathon record and the one-hour world records from Sifan Hassan (18,930m) and Mo Farah (21,330m) have been ratified.

World records ratified for Jepchirchir, Hassan and Farah

In the aftermath of Friday night&rsquo;s world record* performances in the one-hour races at the Wanda Diamond League exhibition meeting in Brussels, the two triumphant athletes &ndash; Britain&rsquo;s Mo Farah and Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands &ndash; reflected very differently upon their successes in a rarely run but nevertheless prestigious event.
While the 37-year-old Briton, who has had extensive experience of road running since turning from his stellar track career in 2017, was clearly not surprised by gaining the first world record of his career, Hassan, ever excitable, seemed dazed by her effort in breaking clear of Kenya&rsquo;s world marathon record-holder Brigid Kosgei &ndash; retrospectively disqualified for stepping off the track &ndash; in the final few minutes.
&ldquo;It was very strange,&rdquo; said the Dutch world 1500m and 10,000m champion, who &ndash; in a King Baudoin Stadium empty of spectators but full of recorded crowd reaction &ndash; reached 18,930 metres as the hour elapsed, beating the existing mark of 18,517 metres set by Ethiopia&rsquo;s Dire Tune in 2008.
&ldquo;The first 30 minutes were really hard for me, I really struggled. It was supposed to be easy but it was very hard. But after 30 minutes I was feeling more relaxed. Maybe it was because, before I started, I was a little bit sick, and I threw up.
&ldquo;But I am very happy because it was a strong field and I still won. At the end I thought Brigid would run away from me. She was very strong but I said to myself I would try to do my best.&rdquo;
Asked why she had reacted in such a way given all the titles she had won, she responded: &ldquo;Physically I was feeling good and my legs did OK, but I think mentally, because you have to go for an hour, it was very hard for me.
&ldquo;I really have a respect for those who run long distances, because it is really so hard mentally. You have to be so patient.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know about long distance races, so when I was running with Brigid I tried to help her but I didn&rsquo;t know how to help. I wanted to do some work, and it was so windy. But she was keeping to me and so I thought, &lsquo;OK, I will have to go faster, when am I going to go?&rsquo;
&ldquo;I really appreciate that this race was put together &ndash; I want to say thank you so much for putting it on after the difficulties the world has been having with the coronavirus. It has been great to have something to focus on and I am thankful that I have been able to achieve the record.&rdquo; 
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 Asked if she spoke to Kosgei afterwards, she responded: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s always very hard to talk with the long distance runners. They are always quiet. I wanted to say to her congratulations, even though I won, what could I say? But the long distance runners don&rsquo;t talk a lot, they are more quiet&hellip;&rdquo;
Hassan finished with a wild sprint, long legs reaching, arms pumping, apparently full of energy after her long and sickly start to the race. How could she explain it?
&ldquo;This was very strange,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;It was so difficult at the start of the race but it got easier and easier. Maybe it was something in my mind. When we had three minutes left I thought &lsquo;Oh, I can make it!&rsquo; So I started to sprint. The last few minutes were like a normal competition. I was enjoying it more.&rdquo;
Despite her record-breaking run in Brussels and her exploits over 13.1 miles over the past two years, she has no immediate plans to move even further up in distance. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think about the marathon,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I am more focused on the Tokyo Olympics still if it will be next year. But I am going to focus on Tokyo and more on the track.
&ldquo;I do think about the half marathon. The marathon will be harder. But this race has given me a lot of confidence. It is not easy to run for an hour.&rdquo;
Asked if she intended to run at the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships Gdynia 2020 on 17 October, she said: &ldquo;Yes. That is what I plan to do.&rdquo;
Farah, sitting next to his friend and training partner Bashir Abdi, said the race had pretty much gone according to their plan. The result being a new mark of 21,330 metres &ndash; eclipsing the 2007 mark of 21,285m set by Ethiopia&rsquo;s Haile Gebrselassie.
Abdi finished eight metres behind, and had earned a world best of his own en route by beating Gebrselassie&rsquo;s 20,000m mark of 56:26 as he went through as leader in 56:20.2.
Farah said the pair had worked hard on their pacing while preparing for this event at altitude in Font Romeu in the Pyrenees. &ldquo;It was about staying with the pace, and then if we felt great towards the end of the competition, push on,&rdquo; he said.
Abdi added: &ldquo;The first 10,000 metres was more controlled. It was about getting to the second half of the race.&rdquo; 
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 Farah, whose hour of effort ended very close to where Hassan had come to a halt near the start of the back straight, explained why it took an announcement from the Master of Ceremonies &ndash; &ldquo;The record is yours, Mo!&rdquo; &ndash; to bring him to a halt.
&ldquo;When I passed the finishing line for the last time I saw I had 24 seconds left, but then I couldn&rsquo;t see another clock, so I just kept on running to be sure I had done it. I just kept going!&rdquo; he said.
Farah added that the Wavelight system of differently coloured flashing lights on the inside of the track indicating pacing targets had worked very well for them. &ldquo;It helped us a lot. Sometimes you get pacemakers who go off too fast. So this system puts them in the right place. And I think that, going forward, it&rsquo;s great that athletes and spectators have this new option.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been nice to get back into a competition with all that is going on in the world.
&ldquo;Records are not easy things to break. It is nice to know you have broken a world record owned by someone who has achieved such a lot in his career.&rdquo;
When the question was put to Farah about how sure he was of winning and earning the world record, it was answered first, with a grin, by Abdi: &ldquo;Very sure!&rdquo;
Farah, who set a world best over two miles indoors back in 2015, responded: &ldquo;I knew what I had been doing in training and I knew I was capable of beating the record. But doing it in competition is totally different.&rdquo;
Mike Rowbottom for World Athletics
*Pending the usual ratification procedure

In the aftermath of Friday night’s world record* performances in the one-hour races at the Wanda Diamond League exhibition meeting in Brussels, the two triumphant athletes – Britain’s Mo Farah and Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands – reflected very differently upon their successes in a rarely run but nevertheless prestigious event.

Hassan and Farah reflect on record-breaking runs in Brussels

Britain's Mo Farah and Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands set respective men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s world one-hour records* at the Wanda Diamond League exhibition meeting at the King Baudouin Stadium tonight.
Britain&rsquo;s multiple world and Olympic champion held off the challenge of his training partner, home athlete Bashir Abdi, to set a new mark of 21,330m &ndash; eclipsing the 2007 mark of 21,285m set by Haile Gebrselassie. Abdi finished eight metres behind.
Hassan&rsquo;s record also came after a titanic battle with Kenya&rsquo;s world marathon record-holder Brigid Kosgei, although it later transpired the latter had been disqualified for stepping on to the infield in the closing stages.
The Dutch world 1500m and 10,000m champion reached 18,930 metres as the hour elapsed, beating the existing mark of 18,517 metres set by Ethiopia&rsquo;s Dire Tune in 2008.
Moving into the final quarter of an hour, Tune&rsquo;s mark seemed certain to be bettered, given that both women were more than a minute ahead of world record pace. The only question remained &ndash; which champion would secure it?
As they shadowed each other, swapping the lead but never getting away from each other, it was impossible to predict who would triumph. Hassan said afterwards that she thought Kosgei would &ldquo;run away from her&rdquo;.
But when the gun went to mark the final minute with the pair halfway down the back straight, Hassan moved ahead once more, and this time it was decisive.
Looking once behind her, the Dutch athlete took off, pumping her arms, going for broke. Kosgei, baring her teeth, did everything in her power to stay in touch, but there was no catching up, and when the 60 minutes elapsed, Hassan slowed to a halt halfway down the back straight after a crazy sprint finish.
"I didn't feel good before the start of the race, I even puked," revealed Hassan. "After 30 minutes of racing, I finally felt better. It was in the final 20 minutes that I gained the confidence I needed. When there were only two minutes left on the clock, the fun began. I just gave everything I had left. I am so happy with the win and the world record. It wasn't easy."
As the men&rsquo;s race moved into the final quarter of an hour, the ghostly figure of the current world record holder, Gebrselassie, was shown in virtual shape, running at their side. They were bang on the pace.
With 10 minutes to go, they moved ahead of the world record schedule. They passed 18,000 metres in 50:43. 
<img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/LargeL/c76d4902-139f-45fe-b5e6-8988c9dc3093.jpg?cachebuster=5e6443fd-6e89-4e97-a8a9-d51ac06db4af" alt="" width="600" height="400" />
 Inside the final five minutes, the home runner, who the day before had confessed that he expected Farah to beat him, moved to the lead, but the multiple champion was shadowing him still.
As advertised, the Wavelight visual pace-guidance system employing differently coloured LED lights installed on the inside edge of the track made the pursuit of records on the night immediately intelligible.
With three minutes remaining, both men were 30 metres clear of the leading blue lights, showing the intended pace, and the green lights snaking behind them, showing the actual world record pace.
A second world record appeared in the offing &ndash; and the same question was being asked. Who would break it?
The gun went to mark one minute to go, then Farah made a significant break. He charged around the bend as the final seconds ticked away, and at the same spot where Hassan had earlier triumphed, Farah did too, taking a few seconds to realise it was all over.
&ldquo;The world record is yours, Mo!&rdquo; said the stadium MC.
Abdi had the consolation of lowering the world best for 20,000m from 56:26 to 56:20.2*, having led his friend through that mark.
"I was very excited to be back on the track," said Farah. "I knew I was in a great shape after the hard work I did in the last six weeks. At a certain point, with just 10 laps to go, it became tough so I was happy that Bashir took the lead, but I felt great with just one minute to go. A fast last lap is still my best tactic."
Kenya&rsquo;s Olympic 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon had to settle for another near miss as she attempted to beat the world 1000m record of 2:28.98 set on this track in 1996 by Russia&rsquo;s double Olympic champion Svetlana Masterkova.
Having finished just 17 hundredths of a second short at last month&rsquo;s opening Diamond League meeting in Monaco, Kipyegon seemed on track to achieve her ambition with 200 metres remaining, but faltered slightly over the final few metres to cross the line in 2:29.92. 
<img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/LargeL/c1237478-ed35-4da2-939b-d1bffb2f0c74.jpg?cachebuster=f6decfe4-7f84-4ee4-8817-8d3d226d9585" alt="Jakob Ingebrigtsen" width="600" height="400" />
 Norway&rsquo;s 19-year-old European 1500m champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who has already reduced the European record to 3:28.68, made a bold effort to improve on that but his honourable solo effort saw him finish in 3:30.69, with Jesus Gomez of Spain a distant second in 3:34.64.
In the pole vault, Sweden&rsquo;s 20-year-old world record-holder Mondo Duplantis saw the last challenger, home vaulter Ben Broeders, fall away with a best of 5.70m.
The European champion then went on to clear a meeting record of 6.00m at his first attempt before having another crack at 6.15m, a centimetre higher than the best outdoor clearance ever made, by Sergey Bubka in 1994. He didn&rsquo;t make it. But surely his time will come sooner rather than later. 
<img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/LargeL/e32c1f43-58d1-484b-b7a1-029d373d33e1.jpg?cachebuster=946534f7-ebcd-4929-991a-ef20e0861cd6" alt="Mondo Duplantis" width="600" height="400" />
 Twenty-year-old Rani Rosius, who had won the Belgian title in 11.39, needed 11.43 to earn another prestige victory in the women&rsquo;s 100m, with France&rsquo;s Carolle Zahl second in 11.56.
Britain&rsquo;s world heptathlon champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson had said the day before that this meeting &ndash; where she was competing in the 100m hurdles and the high jump &ndash; was effectively the highlight of her season, and she had a reasonably satisfactory result in the first of them, which was won by home champion Anne Zagre in 13.21.
Despite an uncertain start, Johnson-Thompson drew on her strength to take fourth place in 13.57 &ndash; inside her previous season&rsquo;s best of 13.73.
Zagre was chased home by Denmark&rsquo;s Mette Graversgaard, who clocked 13.26, and Belgian compatriot Sarah Missinne, who ran a season&rsquo;s best of 13.55. 
<img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/LargeL/a5a29a63-35b4-4260-9dcf-ca2eec5181ff.jpg?cachebuster=d9fbea47-a24c-4b93-8154-438ffff83ddc" alt="Nicola McDermott" width="600" height="400" />
 Johnson-Thompson went on to equal her season&rsquo;s best of 1.84m in a high jump won by Australia&rsquo;s Nicola McDermott with 1.91m.
Poland&rsquo;s Iga Baumgart-Witan won the women&rsquo;s 400m in 52.13, while the men&rsquo;s 200m went to Italy&rsquo;s Eseosa Desalu in 20.39.
Mike Rowbottom for World Athletics
 *Pending to the usual ratification process

Britain's Mo Farah and Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands set respective men’s and women’s world one-hour records at the Wanda Diamond League exhibition meeting at the King Baudouin Stadium tonight.

Hassan and Farah break one-hour world records in Brussels

Britain&rsquo;s multiple Olympic and world champion Mo Farah sat in the King Baudouin Stadium today contemplating his prospects of breaking the world one-hour record on the track at the Wanda Diamond League meeting tomorrow evening &ndash; and if he mentioned the word &ldquo;exciting&rdquo; once, he mentioned it 10 times.
While he is keyed up by the prospect of eclipsing Haile Gebrselassie&rsquo;s distance of 21,285 metres, set in 2007 at Ostrava, it is the idea of being back on a track that most energises this 37-year-old who has had second thoughts about his shift to road racing.
&ldquo;As an athlete you never quite appreciate what you have until you walk away from it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;And then you realise. I miss the track. I&rsquo;m really excited to be back on it in Brussels. I&rsquo;m like a little kid waiting to see what I can do tomorrow.
&ldquo;When it was decided that the Olympics were not going to happen this year, it was probably a good thing for me. The reason is I can get back on the track and racing again and starting to build my confidence, get a few races under my belt. But the most important thing is staying injury-free.&rdquo;
Farah reflected that, at the time he turned to road racing in 2017, he had grown a little weary of track racing. &ldquo;I got to a time when it was hard to motivate myself, in my heart.
&ldquo;I would do the training and I was like, &lsquo;yeah, I&rsquo;ve won all the medals, I want something to excite me. I tried the marathon. I got the British record. It was OK, and I was excited. But not so excited as I was on the track. That&rsquo;s the reason I decided to come back. It&rsquo;s just different. It&rsquo;s something I miss, I genuinely do miss it.&rdquo;
And defending his Olympic 10,000m title in Tokyo next summer is foremost in his mind.
&ldquo;After this race I will be looking at doing a half marathon in Ireland. From there I will plan a bit more. But Tokyo is the big one.
&ldquo;I believe I&rsquo;m stronger than I was. Having marathons under my belt made me stronger. My legs have taken more mileage. I will just continue to push on.&rdquo;
Farah will be in company with the friend and training partner with whom he has been preparing in Font Romeu, Belgium&rsquo;s very own Bashir Abdi, European 10,000m silver medallist in 2018, who ran a Belgian record of 2:04:49 at the Tokyo Marathon earlier this year before the worldwide coronavirus lockdown.
&ldquo;We haven&rsquo;t talked in great detail about what we are capable of running,&rdquo; said Farah. &ldquo;The thing is to get through first half and see where we are, see who is feeling great that can take the lead and push on.
&ldquo;Our aim is to break the European and world records. We have to do around 2:50, 2:49 per kilometre.&rdquo;
The European record still stands to Jos Hermens, who achieved 20,944 metres in 1976. 
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 Like Farah, Bashir is looking forward to his novel challenge.
&ldquo;The last time I ran on the track was in 2018 at the Memorial Van Damme,&rdquo; said Bashir. &ldquo;It was a great way to say goodbye to the track. But now I&rsquo;m very happy to be back. I was one of the athletes who were lucky enough to run a marathon this year and now I feel like I&rsquo;m running half marathon on the track.
&ldquo;But I have never been programmed to run laps, laps, laps. It&rsquo;s something that I was not used to. I am used to running straight.&rdquo;
Farah appears more relaxed about the coming challenge. &ldquo;When I&rsquo;m on the track I don&rsquo;t mind doing a half marathon. I enjoy it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I just focus on it, just get it done. I can&rsquo;t wait to get on the start line tomorrow.&rdquo;
Asked how much it would mean to break a world record held by Gebrselassie, Farah responded: &ldquo;Any word record is not easy. At the same time it&rsquo;s something I want to have and I want to see what I can do tomorrow. But the most important thing is to get through the race &ndash; you can&rsquo;t be thinking all the time about the European record held by Jos (Hermens) or the world record held by Haile. You have to try to enjoy it.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a strange year for all of us. I&rsquo;m a family man, I&rsquo;ve got four kids, it hasn&rsquo;t been easy, you haven&rsquo;t got a routine where kids go to school and have activities. But we have to support the system and make the most if it.&rdquo;
Bashir took the opportunity to go home to Somalia &ndash; both he and Farah were born in the capital, Mogadishu. &ldquo;It was the first time in five years that I&rsquo;ve been home for so long,&rdquo; he said.
Simulated crowd noise will help the runners along tomorrow night, and Bashir and Farah will speed their own progress with a carefully chosen soundtrack.
Bashir&rsquo;s wish list is as follows: RO X ft Sagalina &ndash; Harimaadee; Eminem &ndash; Till I Collapse; K'NAAN &ndash; Wavin' Flag; Dax &ndash; Black Lives Matter; The Black Eyed Peas &ndash; Where Is the Love?
Farah&rsquo;s choice: Promoe &ndash; Mo Farah Stride; Eminem &ndash; Lose Yourself; Dizzee Rascal &ndash; Holiday; K&rsquo;NAAN &ndash; Wavin&rsquo; Flag (Coca-Cola Celebration Mix); 2 Pac &ndash; Keep Ya Head Up.
&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s really important to get through mentally,&rdquo; said Farah. &ldquo;Sometimes if you are going through a bad patch certain songs can help you get through it.&rdquo;
Bashir added: &ldquo;Nothing can replace the spectators at the Van Damme but I think it is great to have a couple of things to make the stadium more alive.&rdquo;
When Bashir&rsquo;s marathon best was mentioned, Farah immediately exclaimed: &ldquo;Faster than me!&rdquo; The time did indeed better the Briton&rsquo;s 2017 Chicago time of 2:05:11.
But Farah&rsquo;s friend and training partner was frank about his prospects tomorrow.
&ldquo;I think the question is not if I can beat Mo, it is how long can I stay with him? Of course I will give 100 per cent, but I think he is faster than me. I think he was better than me in training. I have to be honest with myself &ndash; I will stay with him as much as possible.&rdquo;
While Farah and Bashir face off in the men&rsquo;s hour race, the women&rsquo;s version will pit two outstanding performers in the shape of Kenya&rsquo;s world marathon record-holder Brigid Kosgei and world 1500m and 10,000m champion Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands.
Neither has had an easy preparation for their latest test as they seek to better the world record of 18,517 metres set by Ethiopia&rsquo;s Dire Tune at the Ostrava Golden Spike meeting in 2008.
Hassan, who failed to finish her race at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Monaco last month, spent five months in her native Ethiopia, much of it in lockdown, while Kosgei&rsquo;s normal training routine was also severely curtailed. 
<img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/LargeL/42968906-aa51-4b4c-8150-ac8f298540c7.jpg?cachebuster=113ce174-66a4-49ad-bbc4-8f80ca0efb18" alt="Sifan Hassan" width="600" height="400" />
 &ldquo;I spent five months in Ethiopia this year, without my coach,&rdquo; Hassan said. &ldquo;I took a break in March. For three months we were scared &ndash; we couldn&rsquo;t even go outside. It was very hard, I didn&rsquo;t practice at all.
&ldquo;Seven weeks ago &ndash; that is when I started. I ran three weeks ago in Monaco, but that did not go well. This time I am more prepared and in better shape. I think I will manage to run a better time.&rdquo;
Kosgei said: &ldquo;My training has been changed because of the pandemic. Since lockdown I ran only with my pacemaker, and sometimes me alone. I did my best there in Kenya. It was not like earlier on where we were with my friends and training partners.
&ldquo;We were in the training camp in January and February. Then we had the coronavirus pandemic and we just left the camp. I went to my home to stay with my kids up to two months ago. I started to train because I have my London Marathon title to defend.
&ldquo;When I was in Kenya I was just doing speed work in the field. But I hope to do well tomorrow because I have prepared well. Now I say let me try a half marathon and for tomorrow I want to try my best to look how my body will be in the London Marathon.&rdquo;
Hassan was enthusiastic about the Wavelight technology that will be available for pacing in the stadium tomorrow, with lights running round the edge of the track
&ldquo;Personally I am very happy to run with it because I am always unprepared!&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;It is good for the athlete to know where they are. Sometimes the coach tells you that you are running this time, you are close to a record, but with the crowd it is sometimes hard to hear. In Monaco last year I didn&rsquo;t know if I was close to the world record or not. I tried to do my best and suddenly got it. I think this is really fantastic for spectators and athletes. 
<img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/LargeL/877ca511-0668-45c2-9452-2640273d059e.jpg?cachebuster=726e5dbf-a6e8-4b8b-ad21-576c6ea8b2d8" alt="Brigid Kosgei" width="600" height="400" />
 Kosgei commented: &ldquo;I have never run with this &ndash; never experienced such things, because I have never been in the field since I created my marathon career.&rdquo;
Meanwhile Britain&rsquo;s world heptathlon champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson is looking forward to competing in the 100m hurdles and high jump &ndash; the legs of a proposed triathlon that foundered once home favourite Nafissatou Thiam pulled out with achilles tendon problems.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got to thank you guys because this has kept me very motivated in training over last few months,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I have really needed it.&rdquo;
Johnson-Thompson, who went back home to Liverpool before the French lockdown affected her at her training base in Montpellier, thus spent three months without her coach.
&ldquo;I have been able to train, but multi-events are very technical and it has been difficult to keep them up to a certain level. I think my fitness and strength kept the same, but without the facilities in France I have been slowly building back on the technical side.&rdquo;
Mike Rowbottom for World Athletics

Britain’s multiple Olympic and world champion Mo Farah sat in the King Baudouin Stadium today contemplating his prospects of breaking the world one-hour record on the track at the Wanda Diamond League meeting tomorrow evening – and if he mentioned the word “exciting” once, he mentioned it 10 times.

Farah, Kosgei and Hassan excited by one-hour record challenge in Brussels

The King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels will be empty of spectators for Friday night&rsquo;s Wanda Diamond League exhibition meeting but brimming with ambition as the 44th edition of the AG Memorial Van Damme will see three world records being targeted.
Kenya&rsquo;s Olympic 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon will challenge the women&rsquo;s 1000m mark while the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s one-hour records will be under threat from, in the first instance, Britain&rsquo;s multiple world and Olympic champion Mo Farah, and in the second, world 1500m and 10,000m champion Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands and Kenya&rsquo;s world marathon record-holder Brigid Kosgei.
Kipyegon will be attempting to better the mark of 2:28.98 set by Russia&rsquo;s double Olympic champion Svetlana Masterkova on the same track in 1996. And the Kenyan will approach her task with plenty of confidence given her performance in the opening Diamond League meeting of the season in Monaco last month, where she finished just 17 hundredths of a second adrift of the Russian&rsquo;s time.
Now 37, Farah &ndash; winner of the 5000m and 10,000m at the last two Olympics &ndash; is returning to the track for the first time since switching to road racing in 2017 and has prepared for his effort at the high altitude of Font Romeu in the Pyrenees.
He has been accompanied by training partner Bashir Abdi, who won European 10,000m silver for Belgium at the 2018 European Championships and who, like Farah, was born in Mogadishu, capital of Somalia. 
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Mo Farah wins the 5000m at the IAAF Diamond League final in Zurich</div>
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The mark they are targeting was the last world record set by Ethiopia&rsquo;s multiple world and Olympic champion Haile Gebrselassie, who managed to cover 21,285 metres in 2007 on the track in Ostrava.
Asked what he believed he could do in Brussels, Farah &ndash; who will act as a pacemaker at the London Marathon on October 4 &ndash; responded: &ldquo;What distance do I have in mind? I don't have to say what I think I can do, it doesn't matter. I just have to do it on September 4th.
&ldquo;I can only say that I look forward to it very hard and believe in it. I want to improve that world record.
&ldquo;The AG Memorial Van Damme will be my first race since the Chicago Marathon last October. I was struggling with an injury and then all races were cancelled due to the corona pandemic.
&ldquo;In my career I have always focused on taking titles at the big championships, but when I was asked to take a shot at the world hour record, I did not hesitate. My tactic? It will be a question of maintaining an even pace.
&ldquo;The first 10 to 15 km Bashir and I will certainly stay together. Then we will see. Bashir has his own goals. We are good friends off the track, but we each go our own way in the race.&rdquo;
If Farah succeeds in his bid to better Gebrselassie&rsquo;s 13-year-old effort, he will officially become the 12th man in history to hold the one-hour world record, reclaiming a distinction that was first achieved by a fellow Briton, Alf Shrubb, in 1904 when, despite &ldquo;a violent breeze and sodden track&rdquo; he covered 18,742m in his designated time, breaking records for six, seven, eight, nine, 10 and 11 miles en route.
Since then this blue riband achievement has passed among other legends of the sport including France&rsquo;s 1912 Olympic 5000m silver medallist Jean Bouin, the &lsquo;Flying Finn&rsquo; Paavo Nurmi, Emil Zatopek, Ron Clarke, Gaston Roelants, Jos Hermens and of course Gebrselassie.
When Hermens improved his own world record to 20,944m at the all-weather track in Papendal in May 1976 he pioneered technological support that will be available to the runners on Friday, having police beacons placed at each 200m mark which would flash roughly twice a minute to indicate the precise world record pace.
&ldquo;This would tell me during the race without having to worry about watches and time splits whether I was on schedule,&rdquo; he told World Athletics this week. &ldquo;I guess it was the first form of Wavelight technology.&rdquo;
Hermens came up with the Wavelight concept in which flashing lights are fitted to track rail to aid athlete pacing as seen at Diamond League meets in Oslo and Monaco this year, and which will be in place on the King Baudouin Stadium track.
Hermens also arranged for a playlist of his favourite tunes to be broadcast during his effort, and Farah and Abdi have done the same thing, with the help of suggestions by fans via social media.
Meanwhile the audience simulation technology that has been used at meetings this season, artfully employing recordings of previous competitions to enliven the atmosphere, will also be in play on Friday.
&ldquo;I'm really looking forward to it!&rdquo; Farah added. &ldquo;We are going to make a great show in Brussels.&rdquo;
The women&rsquo;s one-hour race involves a fascinating struggle between two of the world&rsquo;s outstanding athletes as Hassan and Kosgei attack the mark of 18,517m set by Ethiopia&rsquo;s Dire Tune at the Ostrava Golden Spike meeting in 2008.
Last year in Doha Hassan became the only athlete in history to win the 1500m and 10,000m at a single World Championships. In 2019 she also become the world record-holder for the 5km road race &ndash; running 14:44&ndash; and the mile, where she clocked 4:12.33, with both events being held in Monaco. 
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Sifan Hassan wins the 5000m at the Diamond League final in Brussels</div>
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Her range stretches &ndash; for the moment &ndash; to the half marathon, where she set the European record of 1:05:15 at Copenhagen in 2018.
Kosgei, 26, bettered that time on September 8 last year when she won the Great North Run in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1:04:28, although that mark could not be officially ratified by World Athletics because of the nature of the course.
There were no asterisks involved just over a month later, however, when she retained her Chicago Marathon title in a world record time of 2:14:04, a personal best of more than four minutes which bettered Paula Radcliffe&rsquo;s 2003 mark of 2:15:25.
She finished more than six minutes ahead of the nearest challenger, Ethiopia&rsquo;s Ababel Yeshaneh, who in February of this year set the official world half marathon record of 1:04:31 in Ras Al Khaimah.
And she is determined to make her mark in the Belgian capital as she prepares for the defence of her London Marathon title on October 4.
Also in the field is Israel&rsquo;s Lonah Chemtai Salpeter, the European 10,000m champion.
Norway&rsquo;s 19-year-old European 1500m champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen, whose consolation for two narrow defeats by Kenya&rsquo;s world champion Timothy Cheruiyot this season has been a European record of 3:28.68, will return to the track once again for the metric mile.
While Cheruiyot will not be present on this occasion, the wonderboy will nevertheless face a strong field which includes Spanish duo Jesus Gomez, the European indoor bronze medallist, and world indoor 800m bronze medallist Saul Ordonez.
The field for the men&rsquo;s pole vault is due to include world record-holder Armand Duplantis of Sweden, Olympic champion Thiago Braz of Brazil and US vaulter Christopher Nilsen, who beat Duplantis to the NCAA title last year. 
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Pole vault winner Mondo Duplantis at the Diamond League meeting in Stockholm</div>
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Duplantis will come fresh from the outdoor personal best clearance of 6.07m he required to beat Sam Kendricks in the Wanda Diamond League exhibition event in Lausanne, where the US vaulter cleared 6.02m, his second-best ever height behind the 6.06m he managed last year.
The 20-year-old phenomenon, who cleared 6.17m and 6.18m indoors earlier this season, will try to put himself in a position to have another go at beating 6.14m, the best ever outdoor mark set by Sergey Bubka in 1994.
Belgium&rsquo;s Ben Broeders will hope to improve upon his national record of 5.76m in such strong company.
The men&rsquo;s one-hour race was also to have featured Sondre Nordstad Moen, who set a European 25,000m record in June at the Oslo Diamond League &lsquo;Impossible Games&rsquo; exhibition meeting, clocking 1:12:46.5. The Norwegian withdrew from the race earlier this week, although he says he will be fit and ready for the London Marathon.
Unfortunately for home fans, achilles tendon problems have prevented Belgium&rsquo;s Olympic heptathlon champion Nafissatou Thiam from taking part in a planned &lsquo;triathlon&rsquo;.
While the shot put element of that event has been cancelled, the 100m hurdles and high jump remain, and both will feature the Briton who took the world title from Thiam in Doha last year, Katarina Johnson-Thompson.
With a personal best of 13.09, and a season&rsquo;s best of 13.73, Johnson-Thompson will be challenged in the high hurdles by the presence of Dutch athlete Sharona Bakker and Belgium&rsquo;s Anne Zagre, who have respective bests of 12.85 and 12.71.
In the high jump the Briton will face Australia&rsquo;s Nicola McDermott, whose personal best of 1.98m, set this season, matches hers. Sweden&rsquo;s Erica Kinsey, with a best of 1.97m, is also in the field.
In place of the cancelled shot put there is now a women&rsquo;s 100m featuring 20-year-old home sprinter Rani Rosius, who recently won the Belgian title in this stadium with a time of 11.39, the second-fastest national time behind the record of 11.04 set by 2006 European champion Kim Gevaert.
Home eyes in the men&rsquo;s 200m will be upon Jonathan Borl&eacute;e as he races against Italy&rsquo;s Eseosa Desalu, while Polish duo Iga Baumgart-Witan and Patrycja Wyciszkiewicz-Zawadzka will clash in the women's 400m.
Mike Rowbottom for World Athletics

The King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels will be empty of spectators for Friday night’s Wanda Diamond League exhibition meeting but brimming with ambition as the 44th edition of the AG Memorial Van Damme will see three world records being targeted. 

World records under threat in Brussels

If Mo Farah succeeds in his bid to capture Haile Gebrselassie&rsquo;s 13-year-old world one-hour record at the World Athletics Wanda Diamond League meeting in Brussels on Friday, the Briton will officially become the 12th man in history to hold the record.
While the one-hour record may be viewed by some as one of the more unorthodox world records, it holds a rich history spanning more than a century and boasts an outstanding cast of athletes to have had a claim on the mark, including endurance icons Paavo Nurmi, Emil Zatopek, Ron Clarke and more latterly Gebrselassie, the two-time Olympic gold medallist.
<h3>First record dates back to 1904&nbsp;</h3>
The genesis of the record can be traced back to 1904 when Alfred Shrubb became the event&rsquo;s first official world record holder. The diminutive Englishman was the finest distance runner of his generation, posting 28 world records over distances from 2000m to the one hour.
Yet one of his finest achievements came in November 1904 at Ibrox Park in Glasgow when - while competing in &ldquo;a violent breeze and sodden track&rdquo; - he posted the first official one-hour record of 18,742m and en route also set world records for six, seven, eight, nine, 10 and 11 miles.
The mark was to survive for nine years until 1912 Olympic 5000m silver medallist Jean Bouin plundered the record for France. Competing in Stockholm, Bouin covered 19,021m in 60 minutes, although the following year his life came to an premature end when he was tragically killed in action during the First World War.
<h3>Nurmi and Zatopek turn their turns</h3>
Bouin&rsquo;s world record was to remain intact for 15 years until one of the greatest distance runners in history, Paavo Nurmi, secured the record in Berlin in 1928. Just two months earlier, the 'Flying Finn' had snared his ninth and final Olympic gold medal over 10,000m at the Amsterdam Games and he followed this up by pushing the world one-hour record out to 19,210m in the German capital.
Nurmi was succeeded as the record holder by fellow Finn Viljo Heino. In 1945 Heino, the world record-holder for the 10,000m, added the one-hour record to his collection, covering 19,339m in Turku.
The ownership of the record was to fall to another of the all-time legends in 1951 when four-time Olympic champion Emil Zatopek set two world one-hour records in 14 days.
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The 'Czech Locomotive', who had won 10,000m gold at the 1948 Olympic Games, first covered 19,558m in Prague. Not content with the mark &ndash; two weeks later he racked up a distance of 20,052m in Stara Boleslav to become the first man in history to smash through the event&rsquo;s 20,000m barrier.
The Czech legend, who in 1952 became the only man in history to win 5000m, 10,000m and marathon gold at the same Olympics, proudly held the mark for 12 years until Bill Baillie of New Zealand became the first non-European to take the record.
<h3>Baillie and Clarke take the record to Oceania</h3>
Baillie, who went on to finish sixth in the 5000m at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, was part of a group of world-class Kiwis thriving under the pioneering coaching of Arthur Lydiard and achieved one of the greatest moments of his career by completing 20,190m in Auckland in one hour.
Two years later the record moved west across the Tasman Sea as Australian distance running legend Ron Clarke seized the mark. Clarke set a prodigious 17 world records in his career and added the one-hour mark to his dazzling array of global records, completing 20,232m in Geelong.
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However, one year and one day later the record returned to Europe as 1964 Olympic steeplechase champion Gaston Roelants, added more than 400m on to the record.
The versatile Belgian, who was also a four-time winner of the International Cross Country Championship, covered an impressive 20,664m in his home city of Leuven.
Yet this was not the end of the Belgian great&rsquo;s world one-hour journey. In 1972 and now 35, Roelants extended the world record mark to 20,784m with a memorable performance in Brussels.
<h3>Hermens and Born to Run</h3>
In 1975 it was the turn of rising Dutch distance runner Jos Hermens to target the record. Hermens had shown a rapid improvement since adopting the training model of Lydiard some three years earlier and in 1975 he was in the best form of his life.
Running a gruelling 200 miles a week &ndash; which sometimes entailed training four times a day &ndash; Baillie had obliterated his 10,000m PB by more than 30 seconds in London in August with a 27:46.52 run &ndash; a performance which gave him the belief he could attack the world one-hour record.
&ldquo;Back then the world one-hour record was very popular in both athletics and cycling,&rdquo; explains Hermens. &ldquo;Gaston Roelants was a big example for me, he was the world record holder and as I was an athlete suited to running the longer distances I looked to the one-hour record. I knew to break the world record I needed to run two halves of 10km at something like 28:40 &ndash; which I knew was in range for me because my mileage was so high.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Coming off the back of his breakthrough run in London, Hermens attempted the world one-hour record in Papendal &ndash; the only synthetic track in Holland at that time &ndash; in mid-September.
Hermens, the founder and director of Global Sport Communication, has long been considered as one of the sport&rsquo;s great innovators and when attempting the record he sought a novel approach.
&ldquo;In 1975 Bruce Springsteen released Born to Run,&rdquo; says Hermens. &ldquo;I was a big fan of rock music, so we set up our own sound system at the track and I put together a play list which began with easy, slow tunes and ended with Springsteen&rsquo;s Born to Run.&rdquo;
In this way the Dutchman could be inspired by the music and distracted from the pain of the record attempt.
Hermens missed out for a matter of metres on Roelants&rsquo; time but two weeks later returned to Papendal to claim the record with a distance of 20,907m. Later that year he was crowned Dutch Sportsman of the Year.
&ldquo;To run around 52 laps on a track takes great concentration and focus,&rdquo; said Hermens, who was paced to the record by fellow Dutchman Gerard Tebroke. &ldquo;I think it is probably easier to run that distance on the road than the track. The first 45 minutes feels okay but that final 15 minutes is really tough.&rdquo;
To aid his preparation for the 1976 Montreal Olympics, Hermens targeted the one-hour record once more in Papendal in May of that year.
Spending two months preparing by training in New Zealand and enlisting the help of exercise physiologist Jan Vos he once again employed an innovative approach.
To help his pacing he came up with the smart idea to place a police light at each 200m mark &ndash; which would flash every 34 seconds or so &ndash; on what was the precise world record pace.
&ldquo;This would tell me during the race without having to worry about watches and time splits whether I was on schedule,&rdquo; he explains. &ldquo;I guess it was the first form of Wavelight technology.&rdquo; Hermens came up with the Wavelight concept in which flashing lights are fitted to track rail to aid athlete pacing as seen at Diamond League meets in Oslo and Monaco this year.&nbsp;
Using the lights as a guide and listening once more to his motivational tunes, Hermens completed the distance in 20,944m to better his world record.
He had privately hoped to become the first person in history to run 21,000m in one-hour but a second world record was still a big boost on his journey to the Olympics later that year.
&ldquo;It was nice to break the record and it showed I was continuing to improve,&rdquo; he adds. &ldquo;It was another step on my road to marathon running.&rdquo;
While injury was to ruin his plans for marathon success &ndash; his world record would survive a further 15 years until Mexico&rsquo;s Arturo Barrios took it down in 1991. The World 10,000m record holder was a tough-as-teak performer and in Le Fleche, France, he achieved a total distance of 21.101km.
<h3>Gebrselassie leaves his mark</h3>
In 2007 Ethiopian great and two-time Olympic 10,000m champion Haile Gebrselassie rolled back the years and become the 11th and most recent one-hour standard bearer.
Five years earlier, Gebrselassie had attempted the mark in Hengelo only for a calf injury to force him off the track 39 minutes into the run.
But in Ostrava&rsquo;s Mestsky Stadium, in what was his second crack at the record, the 34-year-old comfortably delivered achieving a distance of 21,285m.
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&ldquo;I was a little bit worried about the wind and the temperature because it was very hot that day,&rdquo; recalls Gebrselassie to World Athletics. &ldquo;But the record was not super-fast, so I knew I was capable.&rdquo;
Adding his 23rd and 24th world records of his career that day in Ostrava (he also took the 20km world record in 56:25.98) &ndash; the two marks remain Gebrselassie&rsquo;s last remaining world records.&nbsp;
However, on Friday he fully expects his name to be erased as existing world one-hour record holder.
&ldquo;The record, I think is not so difficult,&rdquo; explains Gebrselassie. &ldquo;I think Mo wants the record and he will get it.&rdquo;&nbsp;
If the 37-year Briton does achieve his goal in Brussels, then he will add his name to a very distinguished list of athletes.
Steve Landells for World Athletics

If Mo Farah succeeds in his bid to capture Haile Gebrselassie’s 13-year-old world one-hour record at the World Athletics Wanda Diamond League meeting in Brussels on Friday, the Briton will officially become the 12th man in history to hold the record.

Fast company: looking back at the 11 men who have held the one-hour world record

Organisers of the AG Memorial Van Damme have announced that world 1500m and 10,000m champion Sifan Hassan will attempt to break the one-hour world record at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Brussels on 4 September.
The Dutch distance runner will have to cover more than 18.517km within 60 minutes to break the record set in 2008 by Ethiopia&rsquo;s Dire Tune. If she is at her best, that distance should be within Hassan&rsquo;s capabilities; when she set a half marathon PB of 1:05:15 in 2018, Hassan covered roughly 19.375km during the first hour.
Hassan is familiar with the track in the King Baudouin Stadium. Having set national records there for 3000m in 2014 and the mile in 2015, last year she secured the Diamond League title over 5000m in the Belgian capital. Aside from her unique double at the World Championships in Doha, Hassan&rsquo;s momentous 2019 season also included a world mile record of 4:12.33 in Monaco, a European 3000m record of 8:18.49 in Stanford, and a European 5000m record of 14:22.12 in London.
&ldquo;This is a strange and difficult season, but I have been able to continue my training as well as I could and I feel fit and healthy,&rdquo; said Hassan. &ldquo;There are very few occasions to compete these days and I am delighted with the invitation from the AG Memorial Van Damme to attack the one hour world record. It is a strong record but I take the challenge with both hands and I believe that I&rsquo;m in the right shape to succeed.&rdquo;
An attack on the men&rsquo;s one-hour world record (Haile Gebreselassie&rsquo;s 21.285km) had been previously announced with four-time Olympic champion Mo Farah and Belgian Bashir Abdi set to take on the challenge. They will now be joined by Norway&rsquo;s Sondre Moen, who has set his sights on breaking the European record of 20.944km set by Jos Hermens in 1976.
A men&rsquo;s 1500m has been added to the programme and it will be headlined by Norwegian brothers Henrik, Filip and Jakob Ingebrigtsen.
Organisers for World Athletics

Organisers of the AG Memorial Van Damme have announced that world 1500m and 10,000m champion Sifan Hassan will attempt to break the one-hour world record at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Brussels on 4 September.

Hassan set to attack one-hour world record in Brussels

Barbora Spotakova’s streak of seven podium finishes at Ostrava’s Golden Spike meeting came to an end last year as the javelin world record-holder was on a baby break, but the Czech star will make a popular return to the IAAF World Challenge meeting on 17 June.The 32-year-old has won twice in Ostrava and set a meeting record of 67.78m with her last victory in 2012. The two-time Olympic champion is yet to open her 2014 season, but a late-season effort of 62.33m in 2013 – just a few months after giving birth – gave an indication that she is on course to recapturing her best form.Ostrava has in the past played host to world records in the 20,000m and one-hour run. Haile Gebrselassie broke both men’s marks in 2007, then one year later fellow Ethiopian Dire Tune set a world record for the women’s one-hour event with 18,517m.At this year’s Golden Spike meeting, Kenya’s Florence Kiplagat will compete over the 20,000m distance with a view to bettering Tune’s one-hour mark as well as Tegla Loroupe’s 20,000m world record of 1:05:26.6. Earlier in 2014, Kiplagat broke the half marathon world record in Barcelona, taking down the 20km world record in the process.“Even though I won the 2013 Berlin Marathon, I wasn’t completely happy with my time (2:21:13),” said Kiplagat. “Therefore I changed my training and started focusing on shorter distances, then in February I managed to set a world record for the half marathon.“I didn’t win the London Marathon this year, but I want to improve even further and to set another record. My management contacted the organisers of the Golden Spike, who are known for staging record attempts at these distances. Ostrava has a rich tradition, a great audience and a great track. I believe I’ll succeed in breaking both records.”Another world record-holder confirmed for the Golden Spike is Genzebe Dibaba. The Ethiopian set world records indoors this year in the 1500m and 3000m, and in Ostrava next month she will look to add another record to her CV when she makes her 2000m debut.Her target will be Sonia O’Sullivan’s mark of 5:25.36, set 20 years ago. When Dibaba set her world indoor 3000m record of 8:16.60 earlier this year, she went through the 2000m mark in 5:34.3 and covered the final 2000m in 5:27.95.“My sister Tirunesh has won in Ostrava several times,” Dibaba said of her multiple Olympic gold medal-winning sister. “We were thinking of the records I could break in the summer and we agreed on the 2000m.”Spotakova, Kiplagat and Dibaba are the latest names to be announced for Ostrava, joining the likes of Jamaican superstar Usain Bolt, world indoor and outdoor 800m champion Mohammed Aman, pole vault world record-holder Renaud Lavillenie, Olympic high jump champion Ivan Ukhov, and world and Olympic 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.Organisers for the IAAF

Barbora Spotakova’s streak of seven podium finishes at Ostrava’s Golden Spike meeting came to an end last year as the javelin world record-holder was on a baby break, but the Czech star will make a popular return to the IAAF World Challenge meeting on 17 June.

World record-holders Spotakova, Dibaba and Kiplagat added to Ostrava fields

Kenyan Micah Kogo won a thrilling sprint for the line ahead of Abera Kuma to set a new course record at the Bupa Great Birmingham Run Half Marathon on Sunday (21). Kogo, who dominated the race almost from the start, breasted the tape at this IAAF Bronze Label Road Race in a time of 1:00:17 to deny his Ethiopian rival victory by two seconds with World record holder and pre-race favourite Zersenay Tadese third in 1:01:06. On a very misty morning, Kogo, who lost last month&#39;s Bupa Great North Run by one second, made amends by smashing the course record of 1:01:29 set a year ago by the legendary Ethiopian, Haile Gebrselassie. Despite that defeat the 26-year-old former Olympic 10,000m bronze medallist&#39;s confidence was sky high after posting a world class time of 59:07 in the Tyneside race and it clearly showed as he took up the pace after the first mile passed in a speedy 4:30. With Kogo and Kuma operating at sub one hour pace there was drama 15 minutes into the contest when Tadese - who set the current UK All-Comers&#39; record of 59:35 when winning the World Half Marathon title in Birmingham three years ago - fell away. The Eritrean was clearly suffering from tiredness after again winning the global title in Bulgaria a fortnight ago but showed his determination when getting back alongside the two leaders before again dropping well behind them a mile later. That left Kuma, who was fifth in last year&#39;s World Championships 5,000m final and making his Half Marathon debut, doggedly stuck to the heels of his fellow east African to set up a grandstand finish before Kogo proved the faster sprinter finish in the final 150 metros. &quot;I&#39;m really happy with the result today,&quot; said Kogo. &quot;It was a fabulous run for me. At the Bupa Great North Run, I was just pipped to the finish, so to win today in Birmingham is fantastic.&quot; Kogo, who along with Kuma looked set to smash the one hour barrier until a very steep incline at 11 miles wrecked the attempt, added: &quot;This course was slightly trickier than the North Run. &quot;There is a hill at the end, plus the weather was colder than Newcastle but that makes it a better achievement for me. &quot;The crowd was amazing, everyone was cheering &#39;Kogo, go, go&#39; which really pushed me on to get to the finish line.&quot; Kogo, who still holds the UK All-Comers&#39; record for 10 kilometres set at the 2007 Bupa Great Manchester Run and is planning a Marathon debut next year, added: &quot;The plan for me now is to head back to Kenya for more training.&quot; Tadese, who was clearly carrying dead legs after another high profile race so soon after his Kavarna victory and London Olympic Games participation, admitted he was very tired. &quot;I&#39;m now looking forward to a three weeks rest break before getting back in to training,&quot; said the 30-year-old, arguably the world&#39;s greatest ever half marathon performer. Moreira dominates women&#39;s race The women&#39;s race was a less high profile affair with Sara Moreira taking total control in the last three miles to notch a runaway victory ahead of Ethiopia&#39;s former World Half Marathon champion Berhane Adere. Moreira breaking clear on the killer mile which had slowed Kogo and Kuma in their attempts to smash the milestone one hour barrier, finished in a time of 1:12:49. The Portuguese athlete, after a very slow start to the competition, missed Gemma Steel&#39;s course record by 28 seconds as she finished well ahead of Adere who clocked 1:15:02 with Kenya&#39;s Irene Mogaka third in 1:15:40. &quot;It&#39;s really good to win,&quot; said Moreira, a London Olympic Games 10,000m finalist. &quot;I&#39;m very happy with how the race went although I had a slow first 10km but I picked it up in the second half. &quot;I&#39;m currently training for the European Cross Country in Budapest and the tough course in Birmingham is good preparation.&quot; David Martin for the IAAF Leading Results: MEN - 1. M Kogo (Kenya) 1:00:17 2. A Kuma (Ethiopia) 1:00:19 3. Z Tadese (Eritrea) 1:01:06 4. Y Nakao (Japan) 1:03:16 5. A Meftah (France) 1:03:55 6. J Kelai |(Kenya) 1:04:04 WOMEN - 1. S Moreira (Portugal) 1:12:49 2. B Adere (Ethiopia) 1:15:02 3. I Mogaka (Kenya) 1:15:40 4. C Holme (Great Britain) 1:17:06 5. S Harrison (Great Britain) 1:18:19 6. J Evans (Great Britain) 1:19:28

Kenyan Micah Kogo won a thrilling sprint for the line ahead of Abera Kuma to set a new course record at the Bupa Great Birmingham Run Half Marathon on Sunday.

Kogo defeats Kuma in Birmingham thriller - REPORT

Zersenay Tadese will return to the city where he scored the fourth of his five IAAF World Half Marathon Championships victories when competing at the Bupa Great Birmingham Run on Sunday (21). The Eritrean only a fortnight after notching up his latest global title with a runaway win in Kavarna, Bulgaria, will start favourite although he can expect Kenyan rivals Micah Kogo and Eliud Kipchoge to mount a stern test over the 13.1 miles distance. The presence and ability of the African trio will almost certainly see a sub one hour performance achieved and the UK All-Comers’ record of 59:35 which Tadese ran when winning the World title three years ago looks likely to be rewritten. It also seems inevitable in this IAAF Bronze Label Road Race with 18,000 runners which will be televised live by Channel 5 (10hrs to midday GMT+1), that Haile Gebrselassie&#39;s 12-month-old course record of 1:01:29 will be significantly lowered. Indeed given the intensive rivalry of the trio, the fastest ever performance on British soil on the slightly downhill Bupa Great North Run course of 58:56 which Martin Mathathi set last year could be seriously threatened. &quot;It is only two weeks after I ran in the World Championships and I am still a little bit tired,&quot; said Tadese, a former World Cross Country champion and Olympic Games 10,000 metres bronze medallist. &quot;I don&#39;t know what to expect but they are two very good runners. I will try my very best to break the records. But the weather will be very important.&quot; Tadese who has eight times in his career reached under the milestone one hour marker holds the World record of 58:23 which he posted in Lisbon two years ago, while his 2012 fastest is 59:34 which he also ran in the Portuguese capital. Now having defeated the world’s best he arrived in Birmingham on Thursday night (19). Even after a lengthy delay at immigration there was a spring in his stride. On what is expected to be misty Sunday morning with a temperature approaching 15 degrees, if reproducing the natural front running tactics which claimed him victory in Kavarna, he will be the man to beat. However, Kogo like Tadese a past Olympic 10,000m bronze medallist and former World 10 kilometres record holder, showed with his display in last month’s Bupa Great North Run he has successfully made the transition to the longer distance. Kogo in one of the closest ever Great North Run finishes lost out by only a couple of strides to fellow Kenyan Wilson Kipsang but came away from the Tyneside venue with a very impressive personal best time of 59:07. Kipchoge, one of the World’s finest ever track distance runners including winning the 2003 World Championships 5000m gold medal in Paris, decided after failing to make the Kenyan team for the London Olympics to switch to a road running career. It began with a highly encouraging third place in last month’s Lille Half Marathon where he recorded on his debut over the distance a very respectable time of 59:25. He struggled at the World Championships when suffering in the heat and humidity finishing outside the medals, but is determined to bounce back. **UPDATE 20 OCT - Former World 5000 metres champion Eliud Kipchoge has withdrawn because of illness ** Abera Kuma, fifth in last year’s World Championships 5000m final, will make his half marathon debut, while Abdellatif Meftah the French record holder over the distance with a time of 60:46 leads the European challenge along with seasoned British international Tomas Abyu. Japan&#39;s Yusei Nakao who achieved a top six finish at the 2008 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships and Kenya&#39;s reigning Commonwealth Marathon gold medallist John Kelai will also line up. WOMEN Former World Half Marathon champion Berhane Adere is the undisputed favourite for the women&#39;s title and holding a personal best of 1:07:32 which won her the 2003 Bupa Great North Run, is much faster than her rivals. However, the highly experienced Portuguese star Sara Moreira, who has recorded 1:10:08, is a very determined performer and will give the Ethiopian a run for her money at a venue which saw Gemma Steel clock the course record of 1:12:20 in last year&#39;s race. Commonwealth Marathon silver medallist Irene Mogake of Kenya will also be in action and has a PB of 1:11:13, while Hannah Walker, third in the recent Bristol half marathon, will be looking to lower her fastest ever time of 1:11:50. Dave Martin for the IAAF

Zersenay Tadese will return to the city where he scored the fourth of his five IAAF World Half Marathon Championships victories when competing at the Bupa Great Birmingham Run on Sunday (21).

World champion Tadese faces tough challenge in Birmingham - PREVIEW

Alice Mogire clocked a new course record while Benson Barus won the men’s race at the sixth edition of Oporto Half Marathon Sport Zone on Sunday (16). It is one of the most beautiful road races in Portugal, with magnificent views of the landmarks of Oporto city. On a totally flat course, Zersenay Tadese lowered the course record to 59:30 last year while this time the attention was on three Kenyans who have all clocked under one hour in their personal bests: James Kwambai (59:09, Rotterdam, 2009), Stephen Kibiwot (59:37, Lille, 2009) and Benson Barus (59:41, Udine, 2008). All of them were running at the front until the 12th kilometres when Ethiopian Gebretsadik Abraha produced a strong surge and wound up leading alone until the 15th kilometre. At that point, Barus took the lead for the good, eventually crossing the line in 1:01:44, 13 seconds ahead of Bernard Kitur (personal best, previous 1:02:04, 2011) and 15 seconds clear of Evans Lagat Chebet who was contesting his debut over the Half Marathon distance. The Ethiopian finished off the podium but nonetheless with a personal best of 1:02:36. Considering the hot weather and windy conditions always present in Oporto, the performances were noteworthy. &quot;This was a sensational race, very pleasant,&quot; said the winner. But not everyone agreed, among them Rui Pedro Silva, the first Portuguese across the line, 12th in 1:05:21. He credited his poor showing on the &quot;beginning of a new season, without quality training&quot;. Women’s course record for Mogire In the women event, two athletes came to the front at the stat: Kenyan Alice Mogire (1:10:11, PB) and Ethiopian Ehitu Kiros Reda (1:11:58), with Portugal’s Sara Moreira following a few metres behind. Without and major changes in the race’s first half, things changed after 10 kilometres. Mogire upped the tempo, Reda struggled behind her in second position, and Moreira, citing illness, dropped out. At the finish, Mogire produced a new course record of 1:10:23, one second better than Pamela Chepchumba’s standard set in 2009. She was a comfortable 1:36 ahead of Reda, whose 1:11:59 was just one second shy of her personal best. The podium was rounded out by Portuguese Leonor Carneiro with a 1:13:33 effort, not far off her 1:13:05 personal best from 2006. Carneiro returned to competition last year after giving birth to her son Leonardo who is now two years old. More than 11,000 runners took part in all races; 3688 of them finished the Half Marathon. Ant&#243;nio Manuel Fernandes for the IAAF Leading Results: Men - 1. Benson Barus, KEN 1:01.44 2. Bernard Kitur, KEN 1:01.57 3. Evans Lagat Chebet, KEN 1:01.59 4. Gebretsadik Abraha, ETH 1:02.36 5. Stephen Kibiwott, KEN 1:02.41 6. James Kwambai, KEN 1:03.00 7. Edwin Kiptoo, KEN 1:03.02 8. Yuda Cherise, KEN 1:03.57 Women - 1. Alice Mogire, KEN 1:10.23 2. Ehitu Kiros Reda, ETH 1:11.59 3. Leonor Carneiro, POR 1:13.33 4. Monica Silva, POR 1:15.27 5. Catarina Ribeiro, POR 1:16:02 6. Pinho, POR 1:17.18

Alice Mogire clocked a new course record while Benson Barus won the men’s race at the sixth edition of Oporto Half Marathon Sport Zone on Sunday (16).

Mogire and Barus victorious at Oporto Half Marathon

Ezekiel Chebii shattered the course record at the Lille Half Marathon on Saturday (1). The 21-year-old Kenyan clocked an impressive 59:05, well under the previous course mark of 59:36 set by Ethiopian Tilahun Regassa in 2008. It was also a marked improvement over the distance for Chebii whose previous best was 59:22 from the Berlin Half Marathon in April. Kenyan Bernard Koech was second in 59:10, a personal best, but was overshadowed by the third place finisher, track standout Eliud Kipchoge who made his debut over the distance. The 27-year-old, who won the World 5000m title in 2003 and took World and Olympic silver over the same distance in 2007 and 2008, respectively, clocked an impressive 59:25. It was the second fastest Half Marathon debut ever, behind only Moses Mosop&#39;s 59:20 in Milan in 2010. Gideon Kipketer and Gilbert Masai clocked personal bests of 59:53 and 59:57 to round out the top-five and reach the finish in under one hour. Ethiopian Amane Tsegay was expected to race but didn&#39;t reach the start, reportedly due to visa and travel difficulties. In the women&#39;s race, Flomena Chepchirchir clocked a 1:08:06 PB to lead the first five finishers under 1:09. Diane Chepkemoi was second in 1:08:08 ahead of debutante Priscah Jepleting&#39;s 1:08:35. 2011 Prague Marathon winner Lydia Cheromei (1:08:54) was fourth and Sarah Chepchirchir, who clocked 1:08:59, fifth. Bob Ramsak and Alfons Juck for the IAAF

Ezekiel Chebii shattered the course record at the Lille Half Marathon on Saturday (1).