Oslo DL Preview: Faith Kipyegon & Asbel Kiprop Headline Dream Miles; Muktar Edris Battles Dejen Gebremeskel in a Stacked 5,000 Plus a 15-Year-Old Who Has Run 3:44

By Jake Shelley
June 8, 2016

Editor’s note: With the LRC crew busy covering NCAAs this week in Eugene, Ore., Jake Shelley, who wrote a comprehensive breakdown of meldonium after the Abeba Aregawi positive in March, offered to preview Thursday’s Bislett Games in Oslo. We were happy to take him up on it. Enjoy. Shelley, in his own words, is a “British 5000m runner formerly of the University of New Mexico, currently representing Big Bear TC #freeboris.” We’ll add that he has a 13:46 5000 pb.

The Bislett Games are back again for their 51st year tomorrow evening and the world’s elite middle- and long-distance runners have again assembled in the Norwegian capital, Oslo. The weather could be favorable for fast distance running, with light winds and temperatures of 60-65°F forecast, although there is also a 50% chance of showers.

Headline distance action includes a clash between the last two men’s Olympic 1500m champions, Asbel Kiprop and Taoufik Makhloufi, in the men’s mile, a potential world record attempt in the women’s mile by Faith Kipyegon, fresh off her Kenyan national 1500m record at the Pre Classic, and another look at Hyvin Kiyeng, who recently ran the third-fastest steeplechase in history. The men’s 5000m field is also shaping up nicely, with 1500m specialist Abdelaati Iguider lining up against eight Ethiopians and Kenyans with sub-12:55 PBs.

Elsewhere, in the sprint and field events, the top two from last summer’s World Championships, Dafne Schippers and Elaine Thompson, face off in the women’s 200m. The men’s javelin includes world champ Julius Yego against an in-form Thomas Rohler of Germany. And in the absence of Justin Gatlin and Usain Bolt, we will see a battle of the best-of-the-rest in the men’s 100m, including recent Diamond League winners over 200m, Ameer Webb and Andre De Grasse, and the new over-40 WR holder Kim Collins.

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Below we preview the middle- and long-distance action.

What: 2016 ExxonMobil Bislett Games

Where: Bislett Stadium, Oslo, Norway

When: Thursday, June 9. Meet program begins at 11:50 a.m. ET; DL track events (and the beIN Sports broadcast) begin at 2:00 p.m. ET.

How to watch: In the U.S., it’s live on beIN Sports from 2:00 p.m. ET to 4:00 p.m. ET. Don’t have beIN Sports? Here is some info on how to sign up for beIN Sports.

Schedule/entries/results * TV/streaming information

Men’s National 1500 (non-DL) (1:01 p.m. ET): 15-year-old 3:44 man Jakob Ingebrigtsen takes on the pros

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Name Country PB SB
Thomas Byrkjeland Norway
Sigurd Breivik Norway
Magnus Pettersen Norway
Johan Wallden Sweden 3:41.79 3:46.38
Sindre Lochting Norway 3:43.63 3:46.23
Hans Floystad Norway 3:40.61 3:45.68
Johan Rogestedt Sweden 3:40.78 3:49.18
Jakob Ingebrigtsen Norway 3:44.97 3:44.97
Jonas Leandersson Sweden 3:39.37
Snorre Loken Norway
Staffan Ek Sweden 3:39.68 3:41.75
Michael Rimmer Great Britain 3:38.91 3:42.30
Dmitrijs Jurkevics Latvia 3:37.35 3:40.52
Andreas Bueno Denmark 3:38.44 3:39.94
Tom Lancashire Great Britain 3:33.96 3:37.77
Jake Wightman Great Britain 3:35.49 3:37.53
Charles Philibert-Thiboutot Canada 3:34.23 3:36.00
Luke Mathews Australia 3:35.99 3:35.99
Reuben Bett (pacer) Kenya 3:39.82

The chase is on for Olympic qualifying times in this one, with multiple athletes on the cusp of the 3:36.20 standard required. Luke Mathews has already been selected to run the 800m for the Australian Olympic team and he has already run under the 1500m standard this year. He will look to strengthen his case for 1500m selection with another strong performance here and he is coming off a 1:18.05 600m in Birmingham on Sunday. Also look for Brits Jake Wightman and Tom Lancashire to challenge for the win and the Olympic standard after they both ran season’s bests of 3:37 in Birmingham. Canada’s Charles Philibert-Thiboutot is another athlete who looks to be in good form, as he ran 3:36.00 last week in Rome.

The other story from this race is Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who at 15 years old has a best 1500m time of 3:44.97. His two older brothers, Henrik (5th in the 2012 Olympics) and Filip, both run later in the Dream Mile. Note for interested viewers: this race starts before the U.S. TV window.

Prediction: Mathews for the win, pushed all the way by Wightman. Both go 3:36 or quicker if the pacing is good.

Women’s 3,000 Steeplechase (2:15 p.m. ET): Hyvin Kiyeng vs. the clock

Name Country PB SB
Buzuayehu Mohamed Ethiopia 9:36.72 9:44.93
Claire Perraux France 9:43.70 10:03.11
Tigest Getent Ethiopia 9:20.65 10:02.68
Madeline Hills Australia 9:21.56 9:34.44
Lidya Chepkurui Kenya 9:12.55 9:22.81
Charlotta Fougberg Sweden 9:23.96 9:46.88
Sofia Assefa Ethiopia 9:09.00 9:18.16
Genevieve LaCaze Australia 9:32.67 9:32.67
Etenesh Diro Neda Ethiopia 9:14.07 9:16.87
Hyvin Kiyeng Kenya 9:00.01 9:00.01
Fancy Cherotich (pacer) Kenya 9:28.04 9:45.31
Caroline Tuigong (pacer) Kenya 9:28.81 9:28.81
Kiyeng (far left) en route to gold in Beijing last year Kiyeng (far left) en route to gold in Beijing last year

The withdrawal of Ruth Jebet earlier this week has weakened this field. Jebet pushed the pace at the Shanghai Diamond League and at the Pre Classic, with the latter performance resulting in the second sub-9 clocking in history. However, the woman who beat Jebet in Shangai, and pushed her all the way to the line in Eugene, world champion Hyvin Kiyeng, is in the field. Etenesh Diro Neda of Ethiopia could be her closest challenger, after she won at the Rabat DL by almost 10 seconds last month in 9:16.87.

Kiyeng entered the year with a 9:10.15 pb and has already bettered it twice this year, running 9:07.42 in Shanghai and 9:00.01 in Eugene. She only missed the WR by 1.2 seconds at Pre, but I don’t expect her to challenge it this time out. In all of her Diamond League races so far, she has seemed more concerned with getting the win than with running fast times. Her recent fast times have come because she has needed to run that fast to try to beat Jebet, who has been pushing the pace at world-record tempo for the first 2000m. Without Jebet racing, I’m not sure if anyone will be willing or able to set the pace required.

Having said all that, I hope Kiyeng does go for it. She should win this one regardless of her tactics, and not having Jebet in the field could allow her to focus solely on the WR rather than the competition. The Bislett Stadium has witnessed many distance world records over the years, and it would be great to see another added to the list in this race.

Also in the field are Australians Madeline Hills and Genevieve LaCaze, and Sweden’s European silver medallist Charlotta Fouberg. Hills and Fouberg look to improve on their already impressive PRs of 9:21 and 9:23, respectively, whilst LaCaze is looking for a breakthrough into sub-9:30 territory after running a 5000m PR of 15:27 on Sunday at the Birmingham DL.

Prediction: Kiyeng for the win, no WR.

Men’s 5,000 (2:45 p.m. ET): Muktar Edris goes for three straight DL victories; could we see a new world leader?

Name Country PB SB
Dejene Debela Ethiopia 13:25.70 13:52.20
Awet Kibrab Nftalem Eritrea 13:22.90 13:22.90
Aweke Ayalew Bahrain 13:05.00 13:18.15
Brett Robinson Australia 13:18.96 13:19.29
Hayle Ibrahimov Azerbaijan 13:09.17
Sindre Buraas Norway 13:11.96 13:43.51
Dejen Gebremeskel Ethiopia 12:46.81 13:00.99
Abadi Embaye Ethiopia 13:02.49 13:02.49
Thomas Longosiwa Kenya 12:49.04 13:01.69
Yenew Alamirew Ethiopia 12:48.77 13:04.29
Isiah Koech Kenya 12:48.64 13:08.34
Hagos Gebrhiwet Ethiopia 12:47.53 13:04.12
Yomif Kejelcha Ethiopia 12:53.98 13:03.29
Edwin Soi Kenya 12:51.34 13:03.26
Muktar Edris Ethiopia 12:54.83 12:59.43
Abdelaati Iguider Morocco 12:59.25
Cornelius Kangogo (pacer) Kenya 13:10.80 13:10.80
Vincent Rono (pacer) Kenya 13:16.42

In 2014, Caleb Ndiku emerged as a challenger to Mo Farah, with wins at the World Indoor Championships, the Commonwealth Games, and the overall Diamond Race title. In 2015, Yomif Kejelcha burst onto the scene as another potential threat, with impressive wins over 5000m at Pre, Rome and finally at the Diamond League final in Brussels, in 12:53.

In 2016, we are still waiting to find a worthy contender to Farah’s throne. Muktar Edris has looked the best so far this outdoor season, with two wins in Shanghai and Eugene, running 12:59 on both occasions. The fastest in the field is Olympic silver medallist Dejen Gebremeskel (12:46 PR), who has not raced a DL yet this year. He does have two wins though, having won on the roads in Boston in 13:38 and then impressively on the track at Hengelo in 13:00. It will also be interesting to see whether world indoor champ Kejelcha has progressed since running 13:03 in Shanghai last month. With those three competing, plus Hagos Gebrhiwet – the bronze medalist from world outdoors last year – the result here could have implications for the Ethiopian Olympic selection over 5000m.

I also expect to see Thomas Longosiwa of Kenya, Abdelaati Iguider of Morocco and Hayle Ibrahimov of Azerbaijan contending for the win in the last 1000m. Longosiwa was 3rd in Shanghai and 4th at Pre; Iguider won the 3000m in Rabat and took second to Kiprop in the Bowerman Mile at Pre and at 1500m in Birmingham on Sunday, so he will be sharp; Ibrahimov was 2nd behind Iguider over the 3000m in Rabat and he tends to race aggressively, so look for him to keep things moving if the pace lags once the rabbits step off.

Prediction: This one is hard to call. The safe bet is Edris, because we’ve seen him win twice on the DL circuit already. So I’ll go for him again. But I wouldn’t be surprised to see Gebremeskel or Iguider get the win either. Chances are high for a WL – this one could get down into the mid-12:50’s.

Men’s Dream Mile (3:30 p.m. ET): Kiprop looks to continue stellar 2016

Name Country PB SB
Robert Biwott Kenya
Charlie Grice Great Britain 3:52.64 3:52.64
Pieter-Jan Hannes Belgium 3:51.84
Aman Wote Ethiopia 3:48.60 3:53.23
Nick Willis New Zealand 3:49.83 3:55.56
Filip Ingebrigtsen Norway
Ryan Gregson Australia 3:52.24
Taoufik Makhloufi Algeria 3:52.16 3:52.95
Elijah Manangoi Kenya 3:52.39 3:52.39
Henrik Ingebrigtsen Norway 3:50.72
Asbel Kiprop Kenya 3:48.50 3:51.54
James Magut (pacer) Kenya 3:49.43 3:56.89
Andrew Rotich (pacer) Kenya 4:10.14 4:10.14
Kiprop's near-invincible 2015 form has carried over to 2016 Kiprop’s near-invincible 2015 form has carried over to 2016 (photo by Andy Arnold)

This is a great field. 1st, 2nd, 4th and 6th from last year’s world champs (Asbel Kiprop, Elijah Manangoi, Taoufik Makhloufi and Nick Willis) all line up. Kiprop is in fantastic form so far this year, winning the DLs in dominating fashion in Doha, Eugene and Birmingham. His most recent winning time of 3:29 (the 2016 world leader) on Sunday was very impressive. A sub-3:30 1500m is always impressive, but it is even more so in this case, given the breezy conditions he faced on the exposed track in Birmingham.

In the absence of Kiprop, Manangoi won in Rome last week and he could be the main threat here. Makhloufi did not look great at Pre, finishing just 5th in 3:52.95. However, I do expect him to improve as the season goes on. Willis has stated that his aim is to break the New Zealand national record of 3:49.08 set by John Walker on this same track 34 years ago and that could be on the cards given that he opened up his season well with a 3rd place finish in Birmingham on Sunday. The pace up front will have to be quick for him to get the national record though. Willis was five seconds behind Kiprop on Sunday. I expect that gap to close significantly, but I still don’t see him finishing within a second of the winner here. So for Willis to get the record, I think the winning time needs to be 3:47.xx.

Kiprop looks like a heavy favorite for the win. The only thing he has going against him is that he does tend to have at least one mediocre DL performance every season. He really got after a fast time on Sunday, and I’m not sure if he will want to try that again so soon, given that he still has over six weeks until the Olympic final.

Ryan Gregson and Charlie Grice also look to be in fine form and they could both better their 3:52 PRs here. The two older Ingebrigtsen brothers will look to run well in front of the home crowd after their younger brother gets things started in the national 1500 earlier in the evening.

Prediction: Kiprop for the win in 3:48-3:50.

Women’s Dream Mile (3:50 p.m. ET): Does Faith Kipyegon have a shot at the WR?

Name Country PB (1500) SB (1500)
Meraf Bahta Sweden 4:01.34
Axumawit Embaye Ethiopia 4:02.35
Karoline Bjerkeli Grovdal Norway 4:09.03 4:09.03
Sofia Ennaoui Poland 4:04.26 4:05.10
Gesa Felicitas Krause Germany 4:11.03
Nancy Chepkwemoi Kenya 4:03.09 4:05.22
Laura Muir Great Britain 3:58.66
Nuria Fernandez Spain 4:00.20
Ingvill Makestad Bovim Norway 4:02.20 4:10.23
Faith Kipyegon Kenya 3:56.41 3:56.41
Jenny Meadows (pacer) Great Britain 4:19.36
Faith Kipyegon of Kenya breaks the Kenyan 1500m record at the 2016 Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore., running 3:56.41 (photo by David Monti for Race Results Weekly) Faith Kipyegon of Kenya breaks the Kenyan 1500m record at the 2016 Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore., running 3:56.41 (photo by David Monti for Race Results Weekly)

2015 World Champs silver medalist Faith Kipyegon has set two Kenyan 1500m records of 3:56.82 and 3:56.41 in her last two races in Shanghai and Eugene, respectively. The latter of those runs converts to a 4:15.0 mile using a 1.079 conversion factor. So the chances of Kipyegon breaking the 4:12.56 world record of Svetlana Masterkova appear to be very slim. That said, when Masterkova set that record her 1500m split was 3:56.76, so it is not completely out of the realm of possibility for Kipyegon. British 800m specialist Jenny Meadows will be acting as a pacemaker. She ran 2:00.74 on Monday so she should be able to get to 800m-1000m on WR schedule, if that is the pace requested.

Last year in Oslo, Kipyegon was beaten over 1500m by Laura Muir, who is again in the field this year. In 2015 Muir went on to finish 5th at the World Champs and she has opened her season strongly with a win over 800m in France last week in 2:00.57. Other notable entrants include the Europeans Meraf Bahta and Sofia Ennaoui – they are attacking the mile distance from opposite ends of the spectrum, with Bahta coming off a recent 14:49 5000m PR and Ennaoui coming off a 2:00.34 800m season’s best just two days ago.

Prediction: Kipyegon for the win in 4:15. Muir gets Zola Budd’s 21-year-old British record (4:17.57) in 2nd.


Jake Shelley, in his own words, is a “British 5000m runner formerly of the University of New Mexico, currently representing Big Bear TC #freeboris.” We’ll add that he has a 13:46 5000 pb.

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