The Norwegian teases a possible half-marathon after his success, Mondo Duplantis set yet another meeting record and Charlie Dobson claimed a shock victory over 400m
Jakob Ingebrigtsen won the Diamond League 1500m title and rounded off his track season in the perfect fashion.
The Norwegian superstar clocked 3:30.37 to take the victory, holding off Timothy Cheruiyot who ran 3:30.93.
Reigning Olympic 1500m champion Cole Hocker was third in 3:30.94, while Yared Nuguse finished sixth with 3:32.30 and Elliot Giles was 11th in 3:34.76.
After the race, Ingebrigtsen teased that this wasn’t actually the end of his campaign, with rumours persisting that he’ll make his half-marathon debut in Copenhagen on Sunday (September 15).
“What a great way to end the season… or?” stated the Norwegian on his Instagram.
Ahead of the Diamond League final in Brussels, Ingebrigtsen opened up about his ambitions to break up to 10 world records during his career, which essentially means everything from 1500m to the marathon.
The Norwegian holds the world indoor 1500m record, both 2000m and 3000m marks as well as the world best for two miles.
“I’m very competitive so I will of course try and compete as much as I can,” said Ingebrigtsen. “Sometimes the schedules don’t mix. I’d have loved to have competed in the 5000m in Brussels as well!
“I like to compete but I don’t like to be tired. However, sometimes you have to be tired when you compete. I think I’ve got a mental illness [targeting so many world records] so it may be difficult to change my mindset!”
Mondo Duplantis set yet another meeting record and won a fourth consecutive Diamond League crown to cap off a historic year.
The Swedish pole vaulting superstar cleared a best of 6.11m on the first attempt but didn’t attempt a world record of 6.27m.
Duplantis later said his “legs felt terrible tonight and I’m just really tired” and “that 100m with Karsten Warholm took a lot more from my body than I expected”.
He added: “With 6.11m I got a good result but the world record wasn’t meant to be tonight. It’s not easy to do better each time. Everything needs to come together. I had some good jumps tonight and I’m really happy about that. Now it’s time to celebrate my beautiful season. I will drink some good Belgian beers tonight for sure.”
Emmanouil Karalis, Ben Broeders and Sam Kendricks all had bests of 5.82m and failed to clear 5.92m.
The shock of the night came in the 400m as Charlie Dobson claimed an incredible win.
The Brit stormed through the last 100m and ran 44.49 to see off the likes of Kirani James, Muzala Samukonga and Vernon Norwood.
Just a couple of hours before the race began, Dobson was mistakingly put in lane one but actually started in lane seven.
It allowed the 24-year-old to focus on his own race and it paid dividends, with this Diamond League victory surely being the greatest of his entire career to date.
“I still can’t really believe it and it’s such an incredible way to end the year”, Dobson told AW. “I’ve beaten some of the best guys over 400m in the past decade. I wanted to go out and give it everything I had. I didn’t want to leave anything on the table. Anything else was a bonus.
“It’s going to be a long reflection from this season and it’s definitely been my biggest since 2018. I’ve got a lot to think about when I go away and I’m over the moon with it.
“It was massive change up to focus solely on the 400m from the 200m. I mean, the Paris Olympics was so special and I loved every second of it as well.”
Olympic 400m silver medallist Matt Hudson-Smith gradually pulled up around the 50m mark in the chilly conditions.
Conditions weren’t overly conducive to quick times but Ackeem Blake still clocked 9.93 (0.1) to triumph in a packed 100m.
The Jamaican made his Olympic debut in Paris and although he didn’t make the final, the 22-year-old did take down a couple athletes in Brussels who did.
Blake was in fact the only person who went under 10 seconds in the Belgian capital, with double Olympic 100m medallist Fred Kerley running 10.01.
READ MORE: Alfred pips Asher-Smith for 100m crown
Akani Simbine, who was also in the 100m final at the Games, clocked 10.10 for fifth in the Belgian capital.
“For me it was a surprise to win here today,” Blake said. “It was a very competitive field and it was also my first Diamond League final. This really means a lot to me. It was rather cold to sprint tonight but I still ran a time pretty close to my personal best.
“I’ve been working very hard this season and I kept motivated. That’s why I am so strong at the end of this season. I know what I am capable of and I know that this is only the beginning. There’s much more to come over the next years.”
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