Norwegian delight as Jakob Ingebrigtsen dives to victory in 1,500m at Oslo Diamond League
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Jakob Ingebrigtsen (right) hurled himself over the line to snatch victory in the men’s 1,500m.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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OSLO – Jakob Ingebrigtsen ensured a raucous end to a thrilling Diamond League meet in front of his home fans in Oslo – by hurling himself over the line to snatch victory in the men’s 1,500m in 3min 29.74sec on May 30.
A more dramatic finish could not have been better scripted on a night of shocks that saw five other reigning Olympic champions – including Ingebrigtsen’s Norwegian teammate Karsten Warholm – upstaged.
For Ingebrigtsen, beaten over a mile last week by world 1,500m champion Josh Kerr, the victory was the perfect tonic with the Paris Olympics now just two months away.
“That was a sprint-off,” said the Norwegian, who held off Kenyan Timothy Cheruiyot (3:29.77) and will now target the 1,500m-5,000m double in the French capital.
“Every day I feel better and better. And defending the titles at the Europeans (championships in Rome from June 7-12) and Olympics? I think yes.”
Ingebrigtsen grabbed the headlines with his dive for the line, bounce back to his feet and his crouch into a boxer’s pose throwing punches. He then challenged the meet mascot – a giant strawberry – to a short sprint race.
Warholm, however, could not celebrate in front of the home fans as he was denied by 2022 world champion Alison dos Santos, who won the men’s 400m hurdles in 46.63sec.
The Brazilian seized his opportunity as Warholm clipped the final hurdle, a slight stumble handing him just enough track to scramble to the line 0.07sec ahead.
There was also disappointment for fellow Olympic champions Shericka Jackson of Jamaica, Italian Marcell Jacobs, Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei and Swede Daniel Stahl.
Two-time women’s 200m world gold medallist Jackson laboured across the line in fifth in 22.97sec, as American Brittany Brown claimed victory in 22.32sec.
South African Akani Simbine sprinted to victory in the men’s 100m in 9.94sec. Jacobs was fourth in 10.03sec.
The performance of the night undoubtedly went to Ethiopia’s Hagos Gebrhiwet, who clocked the second-fastest time ever in the men’s 5,000m to upstage Cheptegei.
Gebrhiwet smashed the meet record for victory in an Ethiopian mark of 12:36.73.
Teammate Yomif Kejelcha came second while world record holder Cheptegei finished ninth, a full 15sec off the pace.
“The conditions and the crowd were great and it was a very fast race, not easy for me but it went very well,” said Gebrhiwet, who won bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
The fifth Olympic champion to come a cropper was Stahl, who finished third in the discus behind Lithuania’s world record holder Mykolas Alekna, whose winning distance was 70.91m. AFP, REUTERS
