Everywhere you looked on this deliriously balmy Parisian night, world records were being attacked, toppled, torn apart.
Officially there was a 20,000-capacity crowd in the Stade Charléty. But as the fans stood and stomped and roared while Faith Kipyegon, Lamecha Girma, and Jakob Ingebrigtsen powered to two world records and another world best they sounded like three times that. All in all, it made for an astonishing hors doeuvres before next year’s Olympics.
The evening got off to a wild start when Ingebrigtsen smashed the two-mile world best – which had stood since 1997 – by four seconds. But then quickly entered the realm of the super-extraordinary as Kipyegon and Girma also smashed the women’s 5,000m and men’s 3,000m steeplechase records into smithereens.
Between all that madness, Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson also broke her own British 800m record with a display of brilliant front-running that reminded this observer of the wonder horse Frankel. Usually that would make for a decent headline. On this night, though, it became a footnote.
How to explain the quick times? Beforehand there were whispers that the track at the Stade Charlety was super fast. That clearly played a part – along with the hot weather and the wavelight technology that let the runners know they were on track.
It is also impossible to ignore how brands have been working on the latest evolutions of the super spike technology, which has changed the sport beyond recognition in recent years. That, more than anything, was surely the biggest factor – although of course track and field’s history teaches us to be cautious.
The 22-year-old Ingebrigtsen was the first, running an extraordinary 7:54.10 over two miles to break Daniel Komen’s old world best. Having run the first mile in 3:58.9, he then slowly increased the pace to finish his second mile in 3:55.2. Two miles is not an official world record distance.
Asked whether he was surprised to break the world best by so much, Ingebrigtsen shook his head. “Yes, and no,” he said. “Of course, I obviously know what I’m capable of. But it’s pretty surreal because, as everybody knows, it’s a good record. A lot of people have tried.”
That was impressive enough, but it may have even been surpassed by the Kenyan Kipyegon. Last week she had broken the 1500m world record and came to Paris promising she just wanted to give the 5,000m a go, having not run it for eight years. She did all that and more as she went head to head with the former world recordholder Letesenbet Gidey to win in 14:05.20 – to beat Gidey’s old best by 1.52 seconds.
“I don’t know how to express it,” said Kipyegon. “It’s like I am dreaming. I am so happy and emotional right now. I just wanted to improve on my PB, the world record was not my plan. I just ran after Gidey.”
But the record breaking wasn’t over yet. For in the penultimate race of the night the Ethiopian Girma produced another impressive display of front-running to break the steeplechase world record by 1.52 seconds by coming home in 7:52.11.
British eyes will have rightly looked towards Hodgkinson, who had promised to start her outdoor season with a bang. She certainly lived up to that promise as she took the lead just after halfway before obliterating a high class field to win in 1:55.77.
“I’m not that shocked,” she said. I knew I was in good shape. I was asking my coach all week whether I was ready, and he said ‘shut up, you’re fine’. I just wanted to be brave and attack today and I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
However, it was a disappointing evening for Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith, who could only finish fifth in the women’s 200m in 22.54, far behind Gabrielle Thomas who won in 22.05.
