Jakob Ingebrigtsen crushes Olympic champion at Lausanne Diamond League

After being knocked off the Olympic podium when Team USA’s Cole Hocker upset the field in Paris, Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen wasted no time sulking over the loss. He demolished the field at the Lausanne Diamond League meeting on Thursday, clocking 3:27.83 to beat Hocker by more than two seconds and set a new meeting record.

 

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In Paris, the Norwegian admitted he took it out faster than intended, covering the first lap in 54 seconds and getting out-kicked in the final 100m. This time around, he relied on the pacemakers and WaveLight technology to set the pace and do the work for him–a completely different style of racing from major championships like the Olympics. Anticipating Hocker’s deadly kick, Ingebrigtsen kept the pace honest after the pacers dropped off, dragging the kick out of Hocker and Olympic fifth-place finisher, Hobbs Kessler of the U.S.. The Americans finished second and third in 3:29.85 and 3:30.47, respectively.

Ingebrigtsen’s time crushed his own previous meet record of 3:28.72, set last year.

“It ́s been almost two weeks since Paris, so there was plenty of time to recover,” Ingebrigtsen told media after the race. “For me, a lot of it has been mental, including going home, taking some easy days and then getting back to work. Tonight ́s race gave me good answers, and I ́m looking forward to building on this for my next race on Sunday [at Silesia Diamond League] and the rest of the season.”

For his part, Hocker was philosophical about the loss: “3.29.85–my second best ever, so I can ́t complain,” he said after the race. “Considering the overwhelming past two weeks, it was a solid race. Physically, I felt comfortable, but mentally, it ́s a new challenge being announced as Olympic champion.”

Men’s 800m

 

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In the non-Diamond-League men’s 800m, Canada’s own Olympic silver medallist, Marco Arop, faced off against Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya once again, and once again, Wanyonyi held off the Canadian, clocking a blistering 1:41.11 to run a new world lead, Diamond League Record and another new personal best (after running a PB in the Olympic final). Arop ran his second-fastest 800m ever, to clock 1:41.72. France’s Gabriel Tual took third in 1:42.30.

“Lausanne is simply incredible–the atmosphere and crowd is amazing,” Arop told media after the race. “It ́s been three years since I was here, and I hope to be back again next year. It ́s one of my favourite cities!” Arop will face Wanyonyi again at Silesia Diamond League in Poland on Sunday.

Men’s 110m hurdles

Team USA’s Olympic champion Grant Holloway was defeated for the first time all season by Olympic bronze medallist Rasheed Broadbell of Jamaica. Broadbell stormed to 13.10, edging out the second-fastest man in history by four hundredths of a second. Jamaica’s Hansle Parchment improved his eighth-place finish in Paris to take third in 13.23.

Men’s pole vault

Two-time Olympic, world indoor and world outdoor champion Mondo Duplantis competed in the pole vault competition on Wednesday. Sweden’s pole vault star, fresh off a new world record of 6.25 m, demolished the field by 23 cm, jumping a new meet record of 6.15m.

The Diamond League series continues on Sunday, Aug. 25 in Selisia, Poland, as world-class athletes fight to qualify for the Diamond League Final taking place in Brussels mid-September.