Lagat New American 5,000m Record 12:54.12, Solinsky 12:56.66 In Oslo
By LetsRun.com
June 4, 2010
As promised, the distance action in Oslo was fast and exciting. Continuing a swell of American running success, Bernard Lagat and Chris Solinsky both ran easily under 13:00 for 5,000m. Finishing 3rd, Lagat notched a 12:54.12 American record and Solinsky clocked 12:56.66 to just miss Dathan Ritzenhein's old record of 12:56.28 set last year in Zürich. In the 800m, David Rudisha dueled Abubaker Kaki in what definitely was the race of the day to win 1:42.04 to 1:42.23. Asbel Kiprop closed the meet with his patented long-legged stretch kick to win The ExxonMobile Dream Mile.
Lagat Beats Solinsky As Chris Joins Sub-13:00 Club
Thanks to a fast start and solid pace-making, American duo Bernard Lagat and Chris Solinsky ran up to their excellent pre-race form. 2007 5,000m world champion Lagat ran near the front of the well-rabbited pack for the whole race and was simply outsprinted over the finishing straight by Ethiopians Imane Merga and Tariku Bekele. Solinsky probably slightly exceeded expectations as he ran well the whole way and closed in about 57 seconds to finish 6th immediately behind Vincent
Chepkok, who ran 12:51 in Doha earlier this season.
One year ago, a 12:56.66 from Solinsky might have shut the site down for several days, but after Dathan Ritzenhein's 12:56.28, Matt Tegenkamp's 12:58, Solinsky's own 26:59 and Lagat's 12:54, it seemed almost a foregone conclusion. American fans expect a lot from their stars, so to put their performance in perspective, Solinsky finished 6th in front of steeplechase world record holder Saif Saaeed Shaheen, Edwin Soi, Eliud Kipchoge (he, like Chepkok, ran 12:51 in Doha) and Yusuf Biwott who ran 7:31 for 3,000 this year.
The race was paced well and the weather was cool and a bit breezy. There was a huge pack of men together for most of the race. If anything, the race started a bit too fast, as the first kilometer was covered in 12:40 pace (2:32) and then they positive split for a while (2:35, 2:37, 2:38). The kicking really didn't get going until the final 300m. Lagat,
as mentioned earlier, was near the front the whole way, while Solinsky was 3 people back from him in line. Solinsky was game to move up several times in the race and had a fairly strong kick, though clearly inferior to the top 4 runners.
All in all it was the deepest mens' 5,000m ever, as 10 men broke 13 minutes.
Oslo Bislett Games 5,000m Results
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1
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ETH
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12:53.81
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PB
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5
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1
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2
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ETH
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12:53.97
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2
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3
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||
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3
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USA
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12:54.12
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AR
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1
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5
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4
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KEN
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12:55.06
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PB
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5
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KEN
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12:56.32
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2
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3
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6
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USA
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12:56.66
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PB
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7
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ESP
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12:57.25
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NR
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8
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KEN
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12:57.83
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PB
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9
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ETH
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12:58.51
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PB
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|
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10
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KEN
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12:59.15
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11
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QAT
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13:00.31
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12
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KEN
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13:07.70
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13
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KEN
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13:08.23
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PB
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14
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KEN
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13:09.89
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4
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2
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||
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15
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ETH
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13:10.89
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PB
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|
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16
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KEN
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13:15.33
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17
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ETH
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13:18.38
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KEN
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DNF
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QAT
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DNF
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ETH
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DNF
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KEN
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DNF
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Intermediate times:
1,000m 2:32.85 Birgen, Bethwell (KEN)
2,000m 5:07.99 (2:35.14) Birgen, Bethwell (KEN)
3,000m 7:45.63 (2:37.64) Ndiwa, Remmy Limo (KEN)
4,000m 10:24.38 (2:38.75) Chepkok, Vincent Kiprop (KEN)
5,000m 12:53.81 (2:29.43)
Men's 800m - Aggressive Rudisha And Kaki
Stage Great Race
Sebastian Coe's 32-year-old meet record and even Wilson Kipketer's 1:41.11 world record were tossed around as targets for the marquee matchup between Sudan's super talent Abubaker Kaki (left) and tall Kenyan sprint/distance fusion David Rudisha (right). The duo did not disappoint, as Kaki immediately sprinted out over the first 100m. His pace was then exceeded by a burst from Rudisha, who was then outsprinted by rabbit Sammy Tangui. This all happened before 200m, which
was passed somewhere
in the range of 24 seconds.
The speed didn't relax, as the rabbit crossed the halfway point in 48.97 seconds with Rudisha behind and Kaki right on his tail. After 600m was passed in 1:15-flat, Rudisha and Kaki both looked to be struggling to hang on. Kaki was visibly grimacing as he tried to stay with Rudisha with 100m to go. What made the race a true classic was neither man gave in and actually the distance between the two only decreased, as they would cross the line less than 0.2 apart in impressive 1:42.04 and 1:42.23 world-leading times. Coe's meet record was erased but only thanks to an epic effort by the two amazing Africans. Kaki's time is a Sudanese national record. Impressive runners like world champion Alfred Kirwa Yego and young Pole Adam Kszczot weren't even in the picture back at 1:45.
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1
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KEN
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1:42.04
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WL,MR
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8
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1
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2
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SUD
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1:42.23
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NR
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2
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2
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3
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POL
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1:44.56
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SB
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1
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4
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||
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4
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GBR
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1:44.98
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|
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5
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KEN
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1:45.14
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SB
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|
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6
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NED
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1:45.21
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7
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POL
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1:45.75
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|
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8
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NOR
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1:48.79
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9
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KEN
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1:50.03
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KEN
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DNF
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400m 48.97 Tangui, Sammy (KEN)
600m 1:15.05 Tangui, Sammy (KEN)
Dream Mile - Kiprop Sprints Away In Homestretch, Doesn't Look A Bit Fatigued
Asbel Kiprop outsprinted rising Ethiopian force Mekonnen Gebremedhin to win a wildly-rabbited race to close the day. Kiprop's winning time of 3:49.56 came after an opening lap of 52.89 from the rabbits (the field stayed a bit behind, rendering the rabbits basically useless). The next 800 was easy before Deresse Mekonnen took over the lead with Gebremedhin and Kiprop close. All eyes were on the beautiful stride of Kiprop as he kicked into a new gear over the last 150 and won with apparent
ease. Aside from occasionally puffing out his cheeks, Kiprop didn't show signs of breathing hard as he milled around after finishing. He went around the stadium signing autographs for kids after twice making the "call me" sign to the camera near the finish line.
Kiprop's 3:49.56 is a new world leader in the mile. 800m specialist Boaz Lalang finished well back of the main action but ran a solid 3:52.18 to defeat the tired world champion Mekonnen.
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1
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KEN
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3:49.56
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WL
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6
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1
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2
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ETH
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3:49.83
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PB
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3
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3
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3
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KEN
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3:50.53
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PB
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1
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4
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4
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KEN
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3:50.75
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|
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5
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KEN
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3:52.18
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PB
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6
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ETH
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3:53.52
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|
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7
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KEN
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3:54.37
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|
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8
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RSA
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3:54.90
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PB
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9
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QAT
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3:55.50
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|
|
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10
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ESP
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3:56.71
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|
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11
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CZE
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3:56.75
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12
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GBR
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4:00.66
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KEN
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DNF
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KEN
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DNF
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400m 52.89 Esho, Benson Marrianyi (KEN)
800m 1:50.93 Esho, Benson Marrianyi (KEN)
1,200m 2:52.15 Cheboi, Collins (KEN)
Women's Steeplechase - Cheiywa Runs With Guts To Meet Record And World-Leading 9:12.66
Africans have yet to gain a stranglehold on the women's steeplechase, but it seems only a matter of time before someone like Milcah Chemos Cheiywa really catches the public's attention. She caught our attention in Oslo as she bravely went after the 9:00 mark, passing 1k in 3:01 and 2k in 6:03, before dying a bit but holding on for a 9:12. Only one woman in history has broken 9:00 and the self-coached former mid-distance runner Cheiywa absolutely hammered out after the mark. Cheiywa ran her first steeplechase
a little over 1 year ago and by the end of '09 finished 2 spots ahead of Jenny Barringer at Worlds to get bronze.
Within 150m, this race was over in terms of the African/European battle. The rabbit went out really hard (probably something like 30 seconds for the first 200 but it's almost impossible to tell with the stagger) and the Kenyans and Ethiopians didn't hesitate at all. The Europeans sat back at a more moderate pace and never really caught up except for one straggler.
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1
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KEN
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9:12.66
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WL,MR
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6
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1
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2
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KEN
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9:16.21
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SB
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6
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1
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3
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KEN
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9:18.03
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PB
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2
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3
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4
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ETH
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9:23.45
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SB
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|
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5
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POL
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9:25.77
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6
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POL
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9:31.16
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7
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ROU
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9:34.63
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SB
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8
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KEN
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9:36.92
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SB
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|
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9
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FRA
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9:37.82
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10
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NOR
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9:39.54
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SB
|
|
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11
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SWE
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9:53.63
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12
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FIN
|
10:01.94
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|
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JAM
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DNF
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1,000m 3:01.55 Hyman, Mardrea (JAM)
2,000m 6:03.45 Cheiywa, Milcah Chemos (KEN)
Non-Distance Action - Powell 9.72 (Barely Wind-Aided), Batman And Clement Impress, Thorkildsen Remains Javelin God
Asafa Powell is having a great season amid concerns that both Usain Bolt
and Tyson Gay (apparently he may have a hamstring issue) will be temporarily sidelined. Powell ran 9.72w (2.1m/s) to equal what used to be the limit of human speed about 2 years ago. We liked how the Oslo fans actually stood, cheered and applauded Powell all the way around the stadium - the sport needs more than one sprint star.
New American record holder in the high jump Chaunte Lowe locked horns with Blanka Vlašić but lost on jumps at 2.01m. For Vlašić, 2 meters used to be nothing as she cleared it for dozens of meets consecutively but for Lowe, it's rarified air. The most interesting occurrence in this event came when Vlašić asked the crowd for not just one incredibly slow, drawn out rhythmic clap ... she then interrupted them and started them on another one. You know you're a big deal if you can pull that off.
The javelin throwers couldn't quite hit the big marks they were hoping for, but of course the fans were simply delighted to see the Scandinavian pastime performed by the modern greats. Norway's current World and Olympic champion Andreas Thorkildsen (right) couldn't repeat his 90m performance from a few days ago but did win the competition while a quartet of Finns, including Tero Pitkämäki, followed behind.
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