ONE WORLD RECORD WENT DOWN THIS WEEK… MORE TO COME? 👀

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Happy Friday, friends! It’s a lighter weekend of professional track and field in America this weekend so we’re shifting our attention overseas for some high-quality racing. Enjoy the long weekend as many people have off on Monday for Presidents Day.

Before we get to the biggest action to watch this weekend, here are some of the notable performances from this week that you should know happened:

JAKOB INGEBRIGSTEN GETS HIS FIRST WR AT 21 YEARS OLD

Enough with age-group world records: Jakob Ingebrigtsen stamped his name atop the all-time list at the senior level for the first time with a 3:30.60 win at the Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais in Lievin, France on Thursday evening.

This was a long time coming. Ingebritsen was the youngest runner in history to break four minutes for the mile, went on to win the European championships in the 1500m and 5000m in 2018, added three more indoor European titles in 2019 and 2021 before winning gold at the Tokyo Olympics in what many consider to be the greatest championship 1500m race of all-time.

Yesterday, he closed the final lap in 27.57 seconds to dust Ethiopian Samuel Tefera and take 0.44 seconds off the previous mark of 3:31.04, set by Tefera in Birmingham in 2019. With runners often chasing decades-old records these days, it was nice to see the new world record holder literally dethrone the old one in a head-to-head race. It looked like a close battle between Ingebrigtsen and Tefera for the first six laps, but at the bell, Ingebrigtsen showed he’s on another level right now. He pulled away to glory and Tefera faded to second place in 3:33.70.

Earlier this month, the Norwegian Athletic Association announced that Gjert Ingebrigtsen is no longer coaching his sons due to illness. Henrik, Filip and Jakob have been working together to coach themselves. As of right now, it does not look like that’s impacted much in training.

It may be time to pencil in that Monaco Diamond League meet on Aug. 10 as a possible world record attempt for the outdoor 1500m. Hicham El Guerrouj’s record of 3:26.00 has stood since July 1998 and withstood some close calls from Bernard Lagat, Asbel Kiprop and Timothy Cheruiyot over the years. Ingebrigtsen is No. 8 on the all-time list with his 3:28.32 from Tokyo.

DAWIT SEYAUM IS BACK, MOVES INTO NO. 3 ON THE ALL-TIME LIST

2016 world indoor championship 1500m silver medalist Dawit Seyaum raced just once on the track last year and didn’t compete much until the fall. Her short campaign was highlighted by breaking the women’s 5K road record in a mixed-race with a 14:39 last November and then running 67:52 for her half marathon debut. Thursday, she ran 8:23.24 for the win in the women’s 3000m and moved into No. 3 on the all-time list behind Genzebe Dibaba and Gudaf Tsegay (more on her later). She beat compatriot Ejgayehu Taye, who ran the 5K road world record in December in 14:19.

Ethiopia has four women in the top 8 for 2022 in the 3000m. Seyaum and Taye sit at 1-2 and if chosen for the world indoor championships, it would be on them to extend the gold medal streak in the 3000m as Genzebe Dibaba won gold for Ethiopia in 2014, 2016 and 2018.

WATCH FOR NATOYA GOULE AT WORLDS

Jamaica’s Natoya Goule has been contesting the 800m at a high level for the past 16 years, winning national junior titles as far back as 2006. This indoor season, she’s becoming quite the force by challenging Ajee’ Wilson at the Millrose Games and finishing second (2:02.14), winning the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix (1:59.62) and then clocking the world-leading time (1:58.46) in Lievin by holding her ground in the final 50 meters against 2019 world champion Halimah Nakaayi of Uganda.

Goule is a loyal adherent to the “go out hard and hang on” front-running style of 800 meter competition, a style that is often better-served by indoor races as passing on tight turns at the end of the race is more difficult. Her last two wins have shown that getting out hard and holding the rail can be a lethal combination when applied properly.

If she competes at the World Indoor Championships in Serbia, she’s put herself in the medal conversation and could become just Jamaica’s second-ever female indoor world championship medalist at 800m. Kenia Sinclair was the first and only Jamaican woman to medal in the 800 meters with her silver in 2006.

GRANT HOLLOWAY CONTINUES ROLLING

Grant Holloway has not lost a 60m hurdles race in his career - and he’s raced the distance 43 times. Lievin was just another business trip for him where he crushed with a 7.40 in the heats and then 7.35 in the finals. As noted by World Athletics, Holloway “now has more sub-7.40 performances than any other sprint hurdler in history.” The average of his top 10 fastest performances is 7.349.

The winning time was a world-leading mark but he’s got plans for something special as the season goes on. After his race, he told the in-stadium announcer that his world record of 7.29 “is not really fast.”

LAMONT MARCELL JACOBS REMAINS UNDEFEATED

100m Olympic champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs won the men’s 60m in 6.50 over a field that included U.S. challengers Cravont Charleston (2nd, 6.52), Elijah Hall (3rd, 6.57) and Ronnie Baker (5th, 6.59). Jacobs has not lost an indoor 60m race since Feb. 12, 2021. His win on Thursday and the shortcomings by the American men shouldn’t be much of a surprise, since those first European races by U.S. athletes can sometimes be a stinker due to the impacts of long international travel on the body.

The big clash that we’re waiting for now is Jacobs vs. Christian Coleman at the world indoor championships.

🇫🇷 MORE NOTABLE RESULTS FROM LIEVIN

– We probably would’ve written a section highlighting Ethiopian star Gudaf Tsegay breaking the women’s indoor mile record but Genzebe Dibaba’s 4:13.31 mark survived the day after Tsegay took a tumble in the first 100m. She regrouped and latched back on to the front of the pack but it was too much to try and get back ahead of the wavelight pace technology. She finished in 4:21.72 for a meet record – just not the record she wanted.

– We saw an Ethiopian 1-2-3 in the men’s 3000m as Lamecha Girma just beat out Olympic 10000m champion Selemon Barega for the win in 7:30.54. They let the pacer go by midway through the race and any hopes for a world record or world-leading time went with him.

– Spain’s Mariano Garcia continues to roll in the 800m and picked up his second win of the World Indoor Tour with a 1:46.29.

– World champion Anzhelika Sidorova won the women’s pole vault with a 4.85m clearance on her first attempt. Olympic champion Katie Nageotte finished third with a season’s best of 4.80m. She wrote on Instagram that she was pleased with it: “Anyone who’s been through a rough patch knows just how good a good day feels, and I REALLY needed this one”

– Triple jump Olympic champion and world record holder Yulimar Rojas opted for the long jump and won with a Venezuelan indoor record of 6.81m. She’s now #3 in the world indoors in her weaker jump event.

🇦🇪 WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND: RAS AL KHAIMAH HALF MARATHON

The Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon returns for the first time since 2020 and it’s likely to bring more brow-raising times as one of the premier half marathons to go fast. Ababel Yeshaneh broke the world record at this race in 2020 when she won in 64:31 and beat marathon world record holder Brigid Kosgei.

Things change quickly these days in women’s road racing, and that winning time is now No. 4 on the all-time list. Last December, Letesenbet Gidey broke the half marathon world record by 70 seconds with a wild 62:52 in Valencia. This gives her a 59-second clearance over Yalemzerf Yehualaw’s all-time No. 2 mark of 63:51. Gidey has made it hard for the RAK Half to bill this race as a “world record attempt.”

Nevertheless, we could still end up getting a fast and thrilling race with some former track stars like 2016 Olympic 1500m silver medalist and world record holder Genzebe Dibaba (65:18 PB) and two-time Olympic 5000m silver medalist and world champion Hellen Obiri (64:51 PB). It’s worth noting that Dibaba has struggled to return to top form on the track in recent years. If she follows her sister Tirunesh (2:17:56 marathon PB) to the roads full-time, she could become a real threat in the longer distances.

Jacob Kiplimo is racing for the first time since he ran his 57:31 world record at the Lisbon Half in November. Last year, he also earned a bronze medal for Uganda in the 10000 meters and placed fifth in the 5000m final in Tokyo. He’s only been defeated once in his four career half marathons and that’s when he ran 57:37 and Kibiwott Kandie ran a then-world record of 57:32. So it’s safe to say that Kiplimo is a heavy favorite here. How fast he goes is the big question, but, as noted by LetsRun’s Jonathan Gault, the pacers have been asked to go through the 10K in 27:10 for a projected finish of 57:18. Only 15 men in history have ever been able to run that fast for 10K on the roads.

HOW TO WATCH THE 2022 Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon

Date: Feb. 18, 2022

Time: 10 p.m. ET

Livestream: According to blogger Alberto Stretti, the races will be streamed here.

Entries: You can find the entries to the meet here.

🇬🇧 WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND: MÜLLER INDOOR GRAND PRIX BIRMINGHAM (UK)

Last weekend, a lot of top American action took place in Boston, Spokane and Chicago but this weekend, the attention shifts to international stars competing at Utilita Arena Birmingham.

– Holloway is running the 60m hurdles and looks to extend his winning streak. 2018 world indoor champion Andrew Pozzi will try to pull off the upset in front of a home crowd. Pozzi has just one win (2020 Monaco Diamond League) against Holloway in six career head-to-head races.

– Olympic 100m and 200m gold medalist Elaine Thompson-Herah is running the 60m dash. She won this race in 2019 and 2017. Her indoor personal best is 6.98 and the world record is 6.92. The Jamaican national record of 6.96 by Merlene Ottey should also be on notice. Before the race, she told the media: “I want to go below my PB of course and if I could get the world record, no problem…But I’m not putting myself under any pressure. I’m using these races to see where I’m at right now.” She has yet to decide if she will compete at the world indoor championships.

– Olympic 800m silver medalist Keely Hodgkinson broke the British record set by Kelly Holmes with her 1:55.88 behind Athing Mu at the Tokyo Olympics. It won’t require an outright personal best to get the indoor national record of 1:57.91 by Jemma Reekie. The aforementioned Natoya Goule isn’t going to make the outright win easy.

–Even if Reekie loses the British 800m record, she has a chance to claim the 1000m indoor British and European record of 2:31.93 held by her training partner Laura Muir, who was forced to withdraw from the meet with a back injury.

– Neil Gourley says he wants to take a crack at the British 1500m record. He wrote on Twitter: “I don’t like to say things like that lightly, but I do want to bill the race for what it is. Don’t think I’m the only one with these intentions though 👀 Should be a belter.” The record is 3:34.20 by Peter Elliott set in 1990. Like Gourley mentioned on Twitter, the record could also go to someone like Charlie Da’Vall Grice, Jake Wightman or George Mills who are also in the race. Josh Kerr will be watching closely from the Brooks Beasts training camp as he’s previously spoken out about his intentions about breaking Elliott’s indoor mile record.

– Mondo Duplantis has set a season’s best and world-leading mark in the pole vault at each meet he’s been to this season. Can he make it four-for-four in Birmingham?

HOW TO WATCH THE 2022 Müller Indoor Grand Prix

Date: Feb. 19, 2022

Time: 9 a.m. ET

Meet schedule: You can find the meet schedule here.

Livestream: Watch on Flotrack with a subscription.

Entries: You can find the entries to the meet here.

📖 WEEKEND READING: A 43-PAGE DOPING DECISION RULING ON BLESSING OKAGBARE

The Athletics Integrity Unit’s disciplinary tribunal announced it has banned Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare for a total of 10 years – five years for the presence and use of multiple prohibited substances and five years for her refusal to cooperate with the AIU’s investigation into her case. If you recall, this case was the subject of an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, and led to the first-ever criminal charges for supplying performance-enhancing drugs in the United States.

In a strongly-worded press release, the AIU said: “The sole arbitrator adjudicating the case concluded that the athlete’s use of multiple prohibited substances as part of an organized doping regimen in the lead up to the Tokyo Olympic Games was egregious conduct that amounted to aggravating circumstances under the Rules thereby warranting an additional period of ineligibility on top of the standard four-year sanction.”

Okagbare has the right to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport within 30 days.

You can read the full 43-page reasoned decision here.

🎧 WEEKEND LISTENING: GET TO KNOW MORGAN BEADLESCOMB

This week, Michigan State sixth-year star Morgan Beadlescomb is one of two guests on the CITIUS MAG Podcast this week. Last weekend at the Windy City Invitational, most people’s attention was on Cooper Teare and Cole Hocker’s attempt to break Bernard Lagat’s indoor mile American record of 3:49.89. They fell just shy as they lowered their personal bests to 3:50.17 for Cooper and 3:50.35 for Cole. Behind them was one of the biggest surprises from the weekend. Beadlescomb not only broke four minutes for the first time in his career but he ran 3:52.03 for the fourth-fastest time in NCAA history. Beadlescomb also ran 7:43.22 last month to be the top collegian in the Millrose Games men’s 3000m which was stacked with pro talent. In this episode, we discuss his breakout, why he was overlooked despite being 6th place at last year’s Olympic Trials 5000m final, his early thoughts and plans for the NCAA indoor championships and coming from a small town of 4,000 people in Michigan.

🙏 That’s it from me today. As always, thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this, learned something new, or have any questions or commentary on anything featured in this issue, feel free to hit my inbox by replying or writing to [email protected]

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