So close! Kipyegon misses 1500m world record in Monaco
Kenya's Faith Kipyegon crosses the finish line to win the 1500m Women event at the Wanda Diamond League athletics meeting at the Louis II Stadium in Monaco on August 10, 2022.
What you need to know:
- Dibaba's world record of 3:50.7 was also set at the Monaco Diamond League in 2015.
Monaco, Principality of Monaco
Olympic and world champion Faith Kipyegon missed the women's 1500 metres world record by 0.3seconds at the Diamond League meet in Monaco on Wednesday.
Kipyegon, fresh from reclaiming her world title in Oregon last month, clocked a new personal best of 3:50.37 in the Principality of Monaco. Only Ethiopia's Genzebe Dibaba (3:50.07) has run faster.
Kenya's Faith Kipyegon reacts after winning the 1500m Women event at the Wanda Diamond League athletics meeting at the Louis II Stadium in Monaco on August 10, 2022.
USA's Heather Maclean and Elise Cranny settled second and third respectively in huge personal bests of 3:58.89 and 3:59.06.
The double Olympic and World champion has made the 1500m world record one of her biggest targets before graduating to 5000m.
Interestingly, Dibaba's world record of 3:50.7 was also set at the Monaco Diamond League in 2015.
Kenya's Faith Kipyegon reacts after winning the 1500m Women event at the Wanda Diamond League athletics meeting at the Louis II Stadium in Monaco on August 10, 2022.
Meanwhile, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Noah Lyles underlined their dominant sprint seasons with victories at the Monaco Diamond League on Wednesday.
Jamaica's Fraser-Pryce, fresh from a fifth world 100m title in Eugene last month, clocked a world leading 10.62 seconds for the win, the sixth fastest time ever run over the blue riband event.
The Jamaican's victory at the Stade Louis II was her third sub-10.70 run within a week and saw her become the first woman in history to break 10.70 six times in the same season.
Her time also smashed the previous meet best of 10.72sec set by disgraced American Marion Jones in 1998.
"I did what I needed to do and we had fun and let the clock do the talking," said Fraser-Pryce.
Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce celebrates after winning the 100m Women event at the Wanda Diamond League athletics meeting at the Louis II Stadium in Monaco on August 10, 2022.
Lyles, who won the world 200m title last month in a blistering 19.31sec, also set a meet record, clocking 19.46sec -- the ninth fastest time ever run over the distance -- to improve on his own previous mark of 19.65 set back in 2018.
The American ran a powerful bend in a US cleansweep, getting the better of teenager Erriyon Knighton and world 400m champion Michael Norman.
"It's my second best time ever tonight so I consider that a great race," said Lyles.
"Every time I come here I expect to run very fast and, if not a personal best, something close to it."
Kipyegon arguably produced the stand-out performance of an amazing night of track and field in balmy conditions in front of a big crowd.
"I have been chasing the time for quite some time but I am happy with the personal best," said Kipyegon, who was left to bolt home alone after both pacesetters had done their jobs.
"I knew this was the best place to get the world record but I am so disappointed I lost it in the last metres."
Wightman takes 1000m win
The first world champions' duel of the night saw Briton Jake Wightman obliterate the meet record for a comfortable victory in the 1000m in 2:13.88.
Wightman, a shock winner of the world 1500m title in Eugene, kicked with 150 metres to go to reel in Canada's world 800m bronze medallist Marco Arop.
The world 800m champion, Kenya's Emmanuel Korir, ran out of steam and eased up to cross the line in last position.
"I did not really know I was in shape to do this today," said Wightman.
"It was just very, very hard," he added. "I had to stay strong to be able to catch him. This is a really nice step towards the European championships in Munich where I will run the 800m."
The five other world gold medallists on show all produced the goods.
Two-time Olympic champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas won the women's 400m in 49.28sec while American Grant Holloway claimed victory in 12.99sec in the men's 110m hurdles despite arriving in Monaco with no luggage, lost en route from a meet in Hungary.
Australian Kelsey-Lee Barber threw a best of 64.50m to win the women's javelin, but Venezuela's Yulimar Rojas made hard work for the triumph in the women's triple jump, eventually producing a winning effort of 15.01m after unusually opening with three no-marks.
Qatari Mutaz Barshim, whose gold in Eugene was his third world title, famously shared Olympic gold in Tokyo with Gianmarco Tamberi, but the Italian bailed out after just one successful jump, at the opening height of 2.20m, to finish eighth.
It looked for a moment like Barshim might have to share first place with South Korea's Woo Sang-hyeok after both cleared 2.30m but failed at 2.32m with the same jump countback.
Barshim promptly won a golden jump-off at 2.30 for victory.
"Today felt like a marathon with too many jumps. I'm tired," said the Qatari.
