We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back breaking the world record in the one-hour run, Sifan Hassan returned to the track and ran the sixth-fastest 5,000-meter time this year.
The Dutch distance runner kicked past her competition on the backstretch of the last lap to win the women’s 5,000 meters in 14:37.85 on Tuesday at the Golden Spike meet in Ostrava, Czech Republic. She beat runner-up Sheila Chelangat and third-place finisher Yasemin Can by three seconds.
Only Hellen Obiri (14:22.12), Shelby Houlihan (14:23.92), Karissa Schweizer (14:26.34), Letesenbet Gidey (14:26.57), and Laura Weightman (14:35.44) have run faster than Hassan during the 2020 season, which saw many race cancellations and postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Because of this one-hour race, I am still tired,” Hassan told race organizers. “It was tough because of my body, but I just tried to do the best I could in the last 400 meters. It is good, I am glad to be here and to win. Actually I don’t have any thoughts in my head because I have never done such races in just four days, so I just wanted and tried to win.”
broke the world record broke the world record in the one-hour run at the Diamond League Brussels meet. In 60 minutes, Hassan covered 18.930 kilometers (11.763 miles) with an average pace of 5:06 per mile to smash the previous world record of 18.517 kilometers set by Dire Tune in 2008.
Tuesday’s win is not the first time Hassan has been successful in a quick turnaround between races. During the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, she won the 10,000-meter title on September 28 and came back to win all three rounds of the 1500 meters between October 2 and 5. In the process, she became the first person to win both the 1500 and 10,000 meters in the history of the world championships or Olympics.
In addition to Hassan, several other athletes notched standout performances in Ostrava.
The men’s 5,000 meters featured an exciting battle between Jacob Kiplimo and Selemon Barega in the last lap. In his first race of 2020, the 19-year-old from Uganda kicked past the Ethiopian on the homestretch to win in a personal best of 12:48.63; Barega followed in 12:49.08. In the process, Kiplimo and Barega ran the Shoes & Gear, respectively.
“I wanted the fast time so I kept pushing,” Kiplimo, the silver medalist at the 2019 World Cross Country Championships, told race organizers. “One lap to go, I tried to speed up and it was a fight in the home straight. It was wonderful.”
In addition to Hassan, several other athletes notched standout performances in Ostrava.
third and fourth-fastest times in the world this year Brussels, Faith Kipyegon sprinted to a dominant victory in the women’s 1500 meters. The Olympic champion from Kenya ran 3:59.05, a meet record and season’s best, to beat runner-up Laura Weightman who followed in 4:01.96.
Norwegian teenager Jakob Ingebrigsten continued his winning ways by running 3:33.92 to claim the men’s 1500-meter victory. The European record-holder, who won the 1500 meters in Brussels on Friday, said the decision to come to Ostrava was last-minute but worth the effort.
“It was yesterday morning after my intervals, my father and the trainer said there are some fast guys who are going to race,” Ingebrigsten told race organizers. “We contacted the organizers and they managed to get me here. Now, I am glad that we did this decision. I knew it was not optimal for us to manage the travel just a couple of hours before the competition, but I am a racer and just wanted to race.”
In the women’s 800 meters, Laura Muir of Great Britain ran 1:58.84, the In the womens 800 meters, Laura Muir of Great Britain ran 1:58.84, the this year. The 1500-meter world indoor silver medalist came back just two days after leading the 1500 meters at the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial in Chorzow, Poland and the 800 meters at the Meeting Pro Athlé Tour de Marseille in France to win for the third time in five days.
“I am a bit surprised for my achievement and how fast I was,” Muir told race organizers. “I thought I was really going to race for the position a bit more and see what I can do. The time is very good and I am happy about it, but it could have been even a bit faster if I had someone with me in the last 50 meters.”
Team Great Britain was well represented once again with a victory courtesy of Jake Wightman, who ran the fourth-fastest time in the world this year and a personal best in the men’s 800 meters. Weightman ran 1:44.18, beating runner-up Andreas Kramer who broke the Swedish national record with a 1:44.47 personal best.
Karsten Warholm, the two-time world champion from Norway, won the men’s 400-meter hurdles in 47.62, a meet record after running a world-leading time and European record of 46.87 at the Diamond League Stockholm meet on August 23. It was his sixth victory of the year.
In a rarely contested event, Dafne Schippers ran a meet record in the women’s 150 meters. The two-time world champion from the Netherlands ran 16.56 to beat Ajla Del Ponte of Switzerland on the homestretch.
In the field events, Americans Ryan Crouser and Christian Taylor both took home wins. Crouser, the 2016 Olympic champion, won the men’s shot put in a meet record with a throw of 22.43 meters.
“This is my fourth day in the country so I am a little bit jet lagged, a bit flat and tired today, but 22.40, I was really happy with that and I also executed it well….This season has been a challenge after the training in my garage,” Crouser told race organizers.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist and four-time world champion, Taylor set a world lead in the men’s triple jump with a season’s best mark of 17.46 meters.
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Taylor Dutch is a writer and editor living in Austin, Texas, and a former NCAA track athlete who specializes in fitness, wellness, and endurance sports coverage. Her work has appeared in Runner’s World, SELF, Bicycling, Outside, and Podium Runner.
