2021 Meeting Lievin Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais
Live :-
https://www.athleticstv.net/mhfpc/
Liévin, France
2021 Meeting Lievin Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais
Live :-
https://www.athleticstv.net/mhfpc/
Liévin, France
Start lists:
https://meetinglievin.com/STARTLISTS/START_LISTSmeetingLIEVIN2021.pdf
Pretty loaded 800s/1500s/3k's.
Yeah, the fields are sick.
W800: 11 women with sub-2 PBs between the two heats. I’d bet on Jemma Reekie FTW, but as Hobbs Kessler shows us, anyone could be ready for a breakthrough. 18 year old Brit Keely Hodgkinson ran 1:59.03 about a week ago and it’ll be interesting to see if she can bring that down even further.
M800: 12 men with sub-1:45 PBs between the two heats. Elliot Giles may be a smart pick for the win, but if Amel Tuka is in anything approaching his 2019 outdoor form (doubtful), he’ll obviously factor. Cornelius Tuwei of Kenya (1:43.8/3:35 PBs) looks like a big talent, when fit.
W1500: Looks like a clash of titans in Gudaf Tsegay (3:54.38 outdoor PB) vs. Laura Muir (3:55.22 outdoor PB). Tsegay ran 4:02 to win in Addis Ababa a few weeks ago, and Muir is seemingly always ready to go, so if the pacer gets them to 1k in 2:40 as scheduled we could see a sub-4. Melissa Courtney-Bryant ran a 4:01.8 PB in 2020 and 8:42i last week in Karlsruhe, and is someone to keep an eye on.
M1500: All eyes will be on Jakob Ingebrigtsen, but there are 2-4 other runners who could reasonably score a big upset. One is Filip, who’s obviously a 3:30.0-man/bronze medalist in his own right. One is the 1500 indoor world record holder (3:31.04) and reigning world indoor champion Samuel Tefera. One is Marcin Lewandowski, who outkicked Jakob at the 2019 European Indoor Champs and 2019 outdoor World Champs—but he’s 33 now and was just 4th in his 1500 opener on Saturday, so those days are likely behind him. And the final possible spoiler is the veteran Bethwell Birgen, who always races well indoors and just ran 7:34 for 3k to win in Karlsruhe.
W3k: Seven women with sub-8:40 or sub-4 1500 PBs gives the race decent depth, but I will be very surprised if the winner isn’t Sifan Hassan (8:18 outdoor PB) or Beatrice Chepkoech (8:22 outdoor PB). Chepkoech won the 3k in Karlsruhe in a fairly modest 8:41.98, while Hassan hasn’t raced since her big 29:36 10k in October, but I don’t think it’s wise to bet against Hassan and she goes as the strong favorite here.
M3k: Selemon Barega is the understood headliner and has shown good form in ‘21, winning a 10k in Addis Ababa in 27:58 and a 1500 in 3:34.6i in France on Saturday, but his victory is far from assured. His biggest threat could come from steeplechaser Getnet Wale, who beat him in this very same event last year to set his 7:32.8i PB. The other top Ethiopian steepler Lamecha Girma is also in the field, as are Birhanu Balew of Bahrain and Morocco’s former 3:28 man Abdelaati Iguider. And harkening back to our boy Hobbs Kessler, should we really be surprised if someone like Berihu Aregawi, a 19 year old who ran 7:35i and 13:08 outdoor on limited opportunities last year is due for a breakthrough?
Looks like the best meet in a while.
Predictions:
W800
1. Jemma Reekie 1:58.1 WL
2. Keely Hodgkinson 1:58.8 WU20R
3. Habitam Alemu 1:59.4
M800
1. Elliot Giles 1:45.2
2. Collins Kipruto 1:45.5
3. Pierre-Ambroise Bosse 1:46.0
W1500
1. Laura Muir 3:58.6 WL
2. Gudaf Tsegay 3:59.9
3. Melissa Courtney-Bryant 4:01.7
M1500
1. Jakob Ingebrigtsen 3:32.3 WL
2. Bethwell Birgen 3:34.0
3. Filip Ingebrigtsen 3:34.3
W3000
1. Sifan Hassan 8:33 WL
2. Beatrice Chepkoech 8:35
3. Fantu Worku 8:37
M3000
1. Berihu Aregawi 7:32 WL (WU20R?*)
2. Selemon Barega 7:32
3. Lamecha Girma 7:34
*The record is currently 7:32.87 held by Hagos Gebrhiwet. Berihu will be 19 days short of 20 years old, which I’m not sure makes him eligible for junior records. Regardless, he’s #3 on the all-time Jr. list with his 7:35i from last year, which puts him in good company (behind two sub-12:50 5k runners and ahead of Barega [#4] and Kejelcha [#7]).
This is mostly for the sake of the bump.