When the television cameraman came to Jakob Ingebrigtsen as the 12 contenders gathered on the start line for the men&rsquo;s 1500m final at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23, the Norwegian prince of the middle distances gave a cool smile and held up an index finger.
No.1 all season, having regained his armour of invincibility following his shock defeat in last year&rsquo;s World Championships final in Oregon. Surely it was time for the Olympic champion to add a first world 1500m title to his first-class CV?
It was difficult to tell what Josh Kerr was thinking, with a quarter of his face shielded by giant shades, but his serious demeanour suggested he was ready for business. He made no response when his name was announced, other than to utter words of encouragement to himself.
Given the compelling drama that unfolded over the ensuing three and a half minutes, what the 25-year-old Briton was clearly thinking, if not shouting out loud to the world, was: &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s do a Jake.&rdquo;
Two years ago in Tokyo, Kerr showed his pedigree, taking a brilliant bronze medal behind the imperious Ingebrigtsen and the Kenyan Timothy Cheruiyot. When it came to the crunch in Oregon last year, though, he had to settle for a rear-hand view of the drama, finishing fifth as Jake Wightman seized the day with a tactical masterclass than undid Ingebrigtsen.
Thirteen months on, with his British teammate, fellow Scot and Edinburgh AC clubmate on the injured list, looking down from the television commentary positions, Kerr proceeded to produce a carbon copy carpe diem performance.
As the field entered the home straight for the first time,&nbsp;Ingebrigtsen&nbsp;was lying in second, on the shoulder of Kenya&rsquo;s world U20 champion Reynold Cheruiyot. He moved into the lead with 550m to go, US champion Yared Nuguse up into third.
The watching world may have been waiting for the expected coronation procession to unfold, but not Kerr.
Having kept his powder dry, he moved through the field to second, looking like a man on a serious mission. Down the back straight on the final lap, he gathered himself for an attack as Ingebrigtsen&nbsp;wound up the pace.
There were gasps from the crowd as Kerr moved alongside with 180m remaining. Like Wightman before him, the Edinburgh man had the glint of gold in his stride. Like the champion of 2022, he had the grit, too.
Halfway round the final turn, Kerr started to edge past Ingebrigtsen, at precisely the same point that Wightman had. Rounding into the home straight, he clenched his teeth in indomitable determination. Once he had got his nose in front, he kept it there, gaining a decisive gap 30m from the line.
All the way up the home straight, Ingebrigtsen looked like a man suffering from an acute case of deja vu. His head dropped in resignation as the line approached.
As in the 1500m final at last year&rsquo;s outdoor World Championships &ndash; and, indeed, at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, where he had no answer to the searing finishing pace of Ethiopia&rsquo;s Samuel Tefera &ndash; Ingebrigtsen&nbsp;knew he was going to have to settle for a world silver medal once again at his favoured distance.
Unlike Kerr. He took off his shades as he crossed the line 0.27 clear in 3:29.38, a season&rsquo;s best. The joy in his eyes was unbounded. He beat his fists against the Great Britain wording on his chest and pointed to his brain.
Like Wightman in Oregon, he had worked out in his head exactly how to pierce the Ingebrigtsen armour: to apply the pressure when it mattered and strike at the right time, too. Kerr covered the last lap in 52.77, Ingebritsen 53.76.
Such was the favourite&rsquo;s sense of deflation, he was almost caught by the other Norwegian in the field. Narve Gilje Nordas, coached by&nbsp;Ingebrigtsen&rsquo;s father, Gjert, finished 0.03 behind his celebrated compatriot in 3:29.68. His last lap was the fastest of all, 52.61.
It took him into a podium position &ndash; ahead of Kenya&rsquo;s Abel Kipsang, fourth in 3:29.39, and Nuguse, fifth in 3:30.25.
Fittingly, Sebastian Coe stepped on to the track to hand Kerr his golden reward. The President of World Athletics might have been jinxed to never grace the World Championships stage but, with his two Olympic golds and his manifold world records, is undisputedly one of the all-time greats of the 1500m and the mile.
Steve Cram, having taken the inaugural crown in Helsinki 40 years ago, and Wightman the last one, Kerr became the third British runner to rule as the 1500m world champion.
&ldquo;Those last moments of the race will be engraved on my brain for a very long time,&rdquo; he reflected. &ldquo;I knew I had him with about 50m to go.
&ldquo;I ran that last lap as well as I could and today it was all heart, all guts and remembering all the really hard yards it took me to get here. It's very hard to be the favourite and Jakob has a million things going on with world record attempts and multiple events.&nbsp;
&ldquo;For me, this is the be-all-and-end-all. You saw about 16 years of emotion at the end there. You just watched a kid achieve a dream that he has been having for a very long time.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I put together a fantastic last couple of months and everything has been going in the right direction. I just had to get it right on the day.&nbsp;I'm so proud that I did. On the start line I was so confident. I just thought, 'It's my turn.' I've been in finals but I hadn't yet got a gold. And now it tastes so sweet.
&ldquo;It's crazy that Edinburgh Athletics Club has back-to-back world champions. I know Jake was in the crowd tonight and due respect to him for laying the path for me to follow.&rdquo;
Wightman&rsquo;s last 100m in Oregon was 13.64. Kerr&rsquo;s in Budapest was 13.62. A close call in the Edinburgh AC sprint finish stakes, then &ndash; though, again, Nordas was faster, with 12.85.
&nbsp;&ldquo;British 1500m running is just on top of the world right now,&rdquo; Kerr continued. &ldquo;This is just reward for many years of hard work.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I'm extremely proud to be on top of the world. I just did what I always do, throw everything I have at it and see if it breaks my way. As I came round the bend I thought I have to give everything I have.
&ldquo;I didn't worry about what was going on earlier in the race, I just made sure I was there with 200m to go. Then in the last 30m I thought, 'I want this so badly, I don't care how much pain I'm in. I'm going to do everything to get to the finish line first'.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I never got overwhelmed by what was going on in front of me. I didn't care about the splits. As for Paris, the Olympics is a year away. I'll enjoy this for at least an hour, then start thinking about it.&rdquo;
For Ingebrigtsen, there is still the challenge of the 5000m to come in Budapest. The question now is: can he make it a full repeat of Oregon and bounce back with the gold medal at his secondary distance?
&ldquo;All credit to Kerr,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;He had a good race.
&ldquo;I feel a little bit unlucky not being able to do what I have been doing the whole season, especially as it is the World Championships final.
&ldquo;Of course, I am disappointed. I tried to give 100% but it is not easy when you are not feeling 100%. I had been on a training camp for three, almost four, months, with a minimum of social life and contact with the rest of the world, but in the warm-up today and in the semifinal I was a little bit dry in my throat.&nbsp;
&ldquo;It got worse on the last two days and then a little bit better when I woke up this morning. Not feeling 100% feels very unlucky. I will definitely run the 5000m but I do not know how it will go.&rdquo;
As for the other Norwegian medallist, Nordas was looking back to Oregon, pointing out: &ldquo;If you remember last year, I didn&rsquo;t manage to get to the final. This year for me is like a jump to the sky. I knew this medal was possible. I was not afraid.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I saw Jakob's back so close to me and I pushed myself hard to the finish line. I almost passed him, then I looked to the big screen and he was still in front of me, unfortunately.
&ldquo;I hope that I will be prepared even better for the Olympics in Paris.&rdquo;
On the evidence of Oregon and now Budapest, it promises to be quite some dust up. Edinburgh AC versus Norway &ndash;&nbsp;&nbsp;and, possibly, the rest of the world, too.
Simon Turnbull for World Athletics
&nbsp;
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 75%; border-color: #ffffff; border-style: solid;" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #fd5249; text-align: center;" colspan="3">MEN'S 1500m MEDALLISTS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #e9c968; text-align: center;">🥇</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #e9c968;">Josh Kerr 🇬🇧 GBR</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #e9c968;">3:29.38</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #ced4d9; text-align: center;">🥈</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #ced4d9;">Jakob Ingebrigtsen 🇳🇴 NOR</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #ced4d9;">3:29.65</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #bd895e; text-align: center;">🥉</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #bd895e;">Narve Gilje Nordas 🇳🇴 NOR</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #bd895e;">3:29.68</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #34495e; text-align: left;" colspan="3">&nbsp;&nbsp;<a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://worldathletics.org/en/competitions/world-athletics-championships/budapest23/results/men/1500-metres/final/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
For highlights, exclusive behind-the-scenes content and the latest results and statistics during the World Championships, join <a href="https://worldathletics.org/inside-track" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Inside Track</a> today for free.

World Athletics Championships, Budapest 2023

Josh Kerr beats Jakob Ingebrigtsen to the world 1500m title

Kerr follows the Wightman blueprint to seize the day and the world 1500m crown

Just moments after US discus thrower Laulaga Tausaga produced the biggest shock of the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 so far, Faith Kipyegon delivered perhaps the most expected victory.
That&rsquo;s not to say her 1500m triumph &ndash; her third world gold at the distance &ndash; was any less satisfying.
The Kenyan was already one of the all-time greats at the distance, having won Olympic gold in 2016 and 2022, along with world gold in 2017 and 2022. But this season she has shown that she can break records as well as win medals, having broken world records for the 1500m, mile and 5000m.
All of which simply strengthened her status as the overwhelming favourite for the title.
But even the biggest of favourites can sometimes be beaten, especially in a final of this quality, as it contained multiple world and Olympic gold medallist Sifan Hassan, Olympic silver medallist Laura Muir and rising Ethiopian talents Diribe Welteji and Birke Haylom.
It&rsquo;s little wonder, then, that Kipyegon didn&rsquo;t want to take any chances. In stark contrast to the racing style of her arch-rival Hassan, who usually stays at the back of the pack, Kipyegon controlled the race from the front.
She opened with a 65.14-second lap, with Welteji, Muir and Ireland&rsquo;s Ciara Mageean close behind as Hassan took up her usual position towards the back of the field. A 66.64-second lap followed, Kipyegon still at the front, with the same three athletes close behind her and the rest of the pack closely bunched up.
Kipyegon then started to wind up the pace and threw in a 60.63-second lap. It wasn&rsquo;t enough to fully break up the field or drop her rivals, but it was enough to let them know that the real racing had started.
Kipyegon kicked hard as the bell sounded, opening up daylight between her and Welteji with 200 metres to go. Hassan, meanwhile, had moved up into third place, overtaking Mageean, Muir and Kenya&rsquo;s Nelly Chepchirchir.
But there was no catching Kipyegon as she moved into her top gear down the home straight, pulling away to win in 3:54.87.
It&rsquo;s little wonder why she was uncatchable too; she had covered the final 800m in 1:59.83 &ndash; a time that has won world 800m titles in the past.
Welteji, who finished fourth over 800m at last year&rsquo;s World Championships, this time claimed silver in the longer event, the 21-year-old crossing the line in 3:55.69 &ndash; her sixth sub-four-minute clocking of the season.
Hassan, meanwhile, held on for bronze in 3:56.00, redemption of sorts after missing out on a potential medal in the 10,000m on the first day of the championships.
Mageean finished fourth in an Irish record of 3:56.61, while 20-year-old Chepchirchir &ndash; who had impressed in the heats and semifinals &ndash; clocked a PB of 3:57.90 for fifth.
The next three women &ndash; Muir, Australia&rsquo;s Jess Hull and Britain&rsquo;s Katie Snowden &ndash; all finished inside four minutes.
&ldquo;This is a great season for me: breaking world records and becoming a world champion here, defending my title,&rdquo; said Kipyegon. &ldquo;I told myself, 'You are the strongest, just keep going'.
&ldquo;Today I was chasing this title and I was chasing history,&rdquo; added Kipyegon, who became the first woman to win three world 1500m titles. &ldquo;My plan was to get to the front and to go faster because I know these races can be up and down. I just got myself in front after 300m and nobody came.&rdquo;
Welteji, a world U20 champion over 800m back in 2018 when she was just 16, was delighted to win her first senior global medal.
&ldquo;This silver is beyond of all my expectations,&rdquo; said Welteji. &ldquo;To run the World Championships final alongside an athlete such as Faith is very special. I tried to keep my eyes on her and to follow her pace as long as possible.&rdquo;
Hassan admitted that she questioned her choices somewhat when she lined up for the 1500m in Budapest.
&ldquo;I only moved from marathon training just a few weeks ago and I was struggling to get my speed back,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Before I decided to enter these three events (1500m, 5000m and 10,000m), I did not look at how fast the girls are this year, so when I looked at the start list for my heat, I was wondering why I put myself in this position. I would never have imagined that I would win a medal. This season has been really crazy so far &ndash; especially for me &ndash; so this medal is really something special.&rdquo;
Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics
&nbsp;
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 75%; border-color: #ffffff; border-style: solid;" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #fd5249; text-align: center;" colspan="3">WOMEN'S 1500m MEDALLISTS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #e9c968; text-align: center;">🥇</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #e9c968;">Faith Kipyegon 🇰🇪 KEN</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #e9c968;">3:54.87</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #ced4d9; text-align: center;">🥈</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #ced4d9;">Diribe Welteji 🇪🇹 ETH</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #ced4d9;">3:55.69</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #bd895e; text-align: center;">🥉</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #bd895e;">Sifan Hassan 🇳🇱 NED</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #bd895e;">3:56.00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #34495e; text-align: left;" colspan="3">&nbsp;&nbsp;<a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://worldathletics.org/en/competitions/world-athletics-championships/budapest23/results/women/1500-metres/final/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
For highlights, exclusive behind-the-scenes content and the latest results and statistics during the World Championships, join <a href="https://worldathletics.org/inside-track" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Inside Track</a> today for free.

Faith Kipyegon delivered perhaps the most expected victory of the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23

Kipyegon claims record third world 1500m title in Budapest

<h2>Women's 1500m</h2>
<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/budapest23/timetable/bydiscipline/women/1500-metres" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Timetable</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/world-rankings/1500m/women" target="_blank" rel="noopener">world rankings</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/records/toplists/middle-long/1500-metres/outdoor/women/senior/2023?regionType=world&amp;timing=electronic&amp;page=1&amp;bestResultsOnly=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2023 world list</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/records/all-time-toplists/middle-long/1500-metres/outdoor/women/senior" target="_blank" rel="noopener">world all-time list</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/disciplines/middlelong/1500-metres" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how it works</a>
You have to go back to 10 June 2021 to find the last time Faith Kipyegon was beaten in a 1500m race &ndash; on that occasion by Sifan Hassan in the Florence Diamond League meeting. The prospects of it happening at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 would appear to be on the remote side of unlikely.
Barring illness, injury or a mid-race fall, it is difficult to imagine anyone preventing the Kenyan sensation of the 2023 track and field season from becoming the first woman to complete a hattrick of world 1500m titles &ndash; and, for that matter, from proceeding to become the first woman to accomplish the 1500m-5000m double.
The clock has been the 2017 and 2022 champion&rsquo;s only rival throughout the northern hemisphere summer and, even then, the old marks in the world record book have been no match for the 29-year-old.
As if becoming the first woman to break the 3:50 barrier for 1500m, with 3:49.11 in Florence on 2 June, wasn&rsquo;t enough, Kipyegon slashed more than four seconds off Hassan&rsquo;s mile record with a stunning 4:07.64 in Monaco on 21 July &ndash; matching New Zealander Jack Lovelock&rsquo;s men&rsquo;s world record time at Princeton in 1933. Then, of course, there was also the 14:05.20 world record at 5000m in Paris in between.
In the 1500m in Florence, Kipyegon won by 7.09 from Laura Muir, the Briton who took Olympic silver in Tokyo and world bronze behind the Kenyan and Ethiopia&rsquo;s world indoor record-holder Gudaf Tsegay in Oregon last year. In the mile in Monaco, she finished 6.94 clear of Ireland&rsquo;s European and Commonwealth silver medallist Ciara Mageean, who broke Sonia O&rsquo;Sullivan&rsquo;s 29-year-old national record with a time of 4:14.58.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/64d7bc044a0efdec15440030.jpg" alt="Laura Muir follows Faith Kipyegon in Oregon" />
Laura Muir follows Faith Kipyegon in Oregon (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
It would seem that the rest will be running for silver and bronze at best in Budapest.
Tsegay, next fastest in the 2023 world list with 3:54.03, is concentrating on the 5000m and 10,000m, but the Ethiopian challenge is still mightily strong.
World indoor bronze medallist Hirut Meshesha (3:54.87) and world U20 champion Birke Haylom (3:54.93) were first and second in big PBs in the Silesia Diamond League meeting and are next quickest this year. The 17-year-old Haylom broke Kipyegon&rsquo;s world U20 record in Poland.
Diribe Welteji, fourth in the 800m in Oregon last year, finished third in Silesia in 3.55.08. The entry list also includes Frewenyi Hailu, who was second in Rabat in 3.57.65, but she is likely to be the Ethiopian reserve.
As well as Mageean and Muir, the Australians Linden Hall and Jess Hull and US duo Cory Ann McGee and Nikki Hiltz could also feature. And then there is Hassan.
The 30-year-old is not quite the flying Dutchwoman who achieved the stunning 1500m-10,000m double in Doha four years ago, or who plundered 5000m and 10,000m gold and 1500m bronze at the Tokyo Olympics. The toll of that Olympic treble challenge and preparing for her marathon debut, which she won in thrilling fashion in London in April, has clearly taken the edge off her speed.
Still, even when being outkicked by Tsegay and Beatrice Chebet in the London Diamond League 5000m on 23 July, she took third place in 14:13.42, a European record. Though the 5000m and 10,000m are her better medal bests in Budapest, she is also entered for the 1500m.
&nbsp;
<h2>Men's 1500m</h2>
<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/budapest23/timetable/bydiscipline/men/1500-metres" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Timetable</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/world-rankings/1500m/men" target="_blank" rel="noopener">world rankings</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/records/toplists/middle-long/1500-metres/outdoor/men/senior/2023?regionType=world&amp;timing=electronic&amp;page=1&amp;bestResultsOnly=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2023 world list</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/records/all-time-toplists/middle-long/1500-metres/outdoor/men/senior" target="_blank" rel="noopener">world all-time list</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/disciplines/middlelong/1500-metres" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how it works</a>
Jakob Ingebrigtsen has been this way before, of course: heading into the heat of major championship battle as the seemingly invincible favourite for the 1500m.
Twice in the course of 2022, the princely Norwegian came unstuck in pursuit of a first world title at the distance. At the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, he was beaten by the finishing speed of Samuel Tefera and the effects of Covid. Then, at the outdoor World Championships in Oregon, he was undone by Jake Wightman&rsquo;s inspired tactical masterclass.
Could the Ingebrigtsen armour be pierced for a third time in Budapest? The prospects would appear to be remote.
For one thing, he is a year older and race-wiser, at 22. For another, he happens to be quicker, having improved his European record to 3:27.95 in the Oslo Diamond League in June and then to 3:27.14 in Chorzow on 16 July.
The 2023 Ingebrigtsen appears to be even more of a class apart from his rivals. In Oslo he finished 0.94 ahead of his closest pursuer, Mohamed Katir, the Spaniard who took the bronze medal behind him in Eugene last year and who, like him, will also be contesting the 5000m in Budapest.
In Silesia he crossed the line a massive 1.97 clear of runner-up Abel Kipsang, the Kenyan who finished third in last year&rsquo;s world indoor final clocking a lifetime best of 3:29.11.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/64d7bcc04a0efdec15440039.jpg" alt="Abel Kipsang at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade" />
Abel Kipsang at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
Ingebrigtsen looked imperious in Poland, as indeed he had in setting a world two mile best of 7:54.10 in Paris in June. And, in Budapest, he will be fuelled by the desire to finally claim a world title in what he still considers to be his number one event.
He struck Olympic 1500m gold in Tokyo, of course, and bounced back from his 1500m defeat in Oregon last year to claim the world 5000m title, but his 1500m record at world championships reads: world U20 second place, 2018; world outdoor fourth place, 2019; world indoor second place, 2022; world outdoor second place, 2022.
&ldquo;With the 1500m being my main event, I wasn&rsquo;t satisfied with the two silver medals in 2022,&rdquo; Ingebrigtsen confessed. &ldquo;I would love to become a world champion in my event.&rdquo;
In terms of possible threats, Wightman will be absent because of injury. Katir, second on the 2023 world list, has beaten Ingebrigtsen before at 1500m. That was at the 2021 Monaco Diamond League meeting, when the Spaniard finished second and the Norwegian third behind the victorious Timothy Cheruiyot, the 2019 world champion and Tokyo Olympic silver medallist.
Cheruiyot has shown flashes of form this year, winning the Kenyan trials in a sprint finish from Kipsang and finishing fourth in Oslo behind Ingebrigtsen, Katir and US champion Yared Nuguse for fourth place on the 2023 world list, with 3:29.08.
Nuguse, who clocked a US record of 3:29.02 in Oslo, has no international experience but showed another glimpse of his talent with a fine tactical victory at the London Diamond League. Ingebrigtsen&rsquo;s compatriot and training partner Narve Gilje Nordas finished runner-up in London in 3:29.47, while Spain&rsquo;s Mario Garcia (3:29.18), the emerging Frenchman Azeddine Habz (3:29.26) and Britain&rsquo;s Olympic bronze medallist Josh Kerr (3:29.64) have all ducked under 3:30 this season.
Other possible podium contenders include Kenya&rsquo;s world U20 champion Reynold Cheruiyot, who finished third in Silesia, plus 2017 European indoor 3000m champion Adel Mechaal, who got the better of Katir to win an epic battle for the Spanish title, new Irish record-holder Andrew Coscoran and the fast-finishing Brit Neil Gourley, runner-up to Ingebrigtsen at the European Indoor Championships in March.
Simon Turnbull for World Athletics

Expected highlights in the women's and men's 1500m

WCH Budapest 23 preview: 1500m

For three years Faith Kipyegon had been ready to break the world 1500m record, says her coach Patrick Sang.&nbsp;
That a week later she would then take down the 5000m mark too, well that wasn't in the plan. The Kenyan star has since added the mile record for good measure &ndash; taking it to 4:07.64 &ndash; and she believes that the four-minute barrier will one day be broken.
Since 2019, Kipyegon's journey has been guided by 1992 Olympic steeplechase silver medallist Sang and his assistants at the Global Sports Camp in Kaptagat in the Kenyan Rift Valley. Every session meticulously planned, splits on the track exact, led by her pacemaker of 13 years, Bernard Soi. Everything else done with uncompromising purpose.&nbsp;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/64d3b555627704552a4a6943.jpg" alt="Faith Kipyegon with her pacemaker Bernard Soi and Jackline Chepkoech" />
Faith Kipyegon with her pacemaker Bernard Soi and Jackline Chepkoech (&copy; Vincent Riemersma / NN Running)
</div>
When the 2016 Olympic and 2017 world 1500m champion first came to Kaptagat, however, Sang gave her much simpler goals.&nbsp;
A new mother, Kipyegon&rsquo;s body had changed to carry her daughter, Alyn, born in June 2018. Months spent enjoying the magic of early motherhood had given way to life back at the elite end of world athletics and Kipyegon needed to gradually get back to race shape.&nbsp;
Monday to Saturday spent away from home in the uncomplicated surroundings of the camp, less than 48 hours a week with Alyn, a daughter developing week-on-week.&nbsp;
Kipyegon admits those early months were not easy, but she credits a support group that gave her no option: her husband Timothy Kitum, the 800m bronze medallist in London in 2012, and her nanny Sarah, a special lady in the eyes of the two-time Olympic champion.
"If my team believes in me,&rdquo; she says, &ldquo;I have to believe in myself.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/64d3b6336862d6c9b71cddd4.jpg" alt="Coach Patrick Sang" />
Coach Patrick Sang (&copy; Vincent Riemersma / NN Running)
</div>
It is with knowledge of the scale of that challenge that Kipyegon's only relative blemish on her record in recent years remains one of her proudest moments: her 1500m runner-up finish at the 2019 World Championships.
Sitting in the camp's idyllic garden, Kipyegon reflects: &ldquo;I couldn't imagine I would come back from maternity leave and win the silver medal in Doha.&rdquo;
It was one step in a heartfelt mission to show women that motherhood should not put a limit on their ambition. &ldquo;I hope to motivate them to know that everything is possible in life,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;I want to show them the way.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/2f8e146c-6b12-4580-89ed-51e3ead5b468.jpg" alt="Faith Kipyegon at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha" />
Faith Kipyegon at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
Kipyegon's career since that successful return has reached even greater heights, with a successful defence of her Olympic 1500m title in Tokyo and reclaiming of the world title in Oregon. Then came those fast 1500m times &ndash; the Keringet native had threatened the world record before, falling narrowly short of Genzebe Dibaba's 3.50.07 with 3.50.37 in Monaco.
That came just after the World Championships in Oregon in 2022 &ndash; a newly crowned world champion in the form of her life just weeks on from a competition around which she'd planned her whole season.&nbsp;
Though Sang says: &ldquo;From 2021 is when we felt this is the time she should go for something.&rdquo;
That she achieved it so early in 2023 &ndash; at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in&nbsp;Florence &ndash; took the pair by surprise.&nbsp;
Sang usually uses the season's beginnings as what he calls fine-tuning, the opportunity to make adjustments leading into the championship months. His athlete's record-breaking run on 2 June came before he was allowed that opportunity, Kipyegon herself admitting that she never expected to run the record so early in the season.&nbsp;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/64d3b6206862d6c9b71cddd1.jpg" alt="Coach Patrick Sang" />
Coach Patrick Sang (&copy; Vincent Riemersma / NN Running)
</div>
Sang considers Kipyegon's 3:49.11 performance as one of his greatest surprises in a more than 20-year coaching career.&nbsp;
After crossing the finish line, Kipyegon had another shock &ndash; the unified support of her supposed rivals, who all came to hug her in unison after a lap of honour.&nbsp;
&ldquo;This is the way to go for real sportsmanship in our sports,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;To see them waiting for me, that melts my heart.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/647a725dcc7eebc6dfedcb28.jpg" alt="Faith Kipyegon celebrates her world record with the 1500m field in Florence" />
Faith Kipyegon celebrates her world record with the 1500m field in Florence (&copy; Chiara Montesano / Diamond League)
</div>
Empowered, Kipyegon stayed at the Global Sports Communication headquarters in Nijmegen in the Netherlands during the few days between her two world records in June. She only announced that she would run in Paris after her 1500m triumph.
It took some persuasion from Kipyegon. &ldquo;It had been many years since I had run a 5000m,&rdquo; she explains. &ldquo;So I said: &lsquo;Please, let me try! Let me try in Paris, knowing that in future I am going that route of 5000m, 10,000m and marathon&rsquo;.&rdquo;
Her team duly obliged.&nbsp;
Kipyegon's endurance base was identified by Sang as one of her few areas for improvement back in 2019, as she already possessed &ndash; in his view &ndash; great natural speed, determination and a strong mindset.&nbsp;
The pair relentlessly tackled that session after session and in the footsteps of Eliud Kipchoge, Geoffrey Kamworor, Selly Chepyego and the rest of her world-class training group.&nbsp;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/64d3b488305be0732b268747.jpg" alt="Faith Kipyegon on the long run" />
Faith Kipyegon on the long run (&copy; Vincent Riemersma / NN Running)
</div>
With 30km long runs at altitude in the rolling hills of the Rift Valley escarpment, Kipyegon is perhaps different to your typical 1500m runner, yet attempting a 5000m world record in only a second race at the distance in eight years was a tall order, even for her.
Among her opposition at the Diamond League meeting in Paris was world record-holder Letesenbet Gidey, who clocked her 14:06.62 global mark in 2020, but Kipyegon saw the race as only offering opportunity.
&ldquo;I didn't have any pressure,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;I was just going there to enjoy the pace, to enjoy the laps &ndash; 12 and a half laps &ndash; so I was just going there to lower my personal best and see what was possible at the finish line.
&ldquo;I had a personal best time of 14:31 and I told my manager if I run a time of 14:20, I will be happy.&rdquo;
But after 14:05.20 of running, Kipyegon crossed the finish line, having gone toe-to-toe with Gidey for all but the final moments. The world 1500m record-holder strode away over the last half lap and ran the final 400m in an improbable 60 seconds.&nbsp;
Athletics writers began to run out of superlatives.
They were tested once more 43 days later.
In Monaco on 21 July, Kipyegon annihilated the world mile record by almost five seconds in a customary fearless gun to tape assault on the best in history. The first woman ever to break 4:12, Kipyegon&rsquo;s 4:07.64 broke the four next barriers, too. Leaping closer to the four-minute mark, she believes that milestone will also be possible, one day.
&ldquo;Absolutely, one day one athlete will go under four,&rdquo; she said in a recent interview with the world's media ahead of the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23, where Kipyegon plans to contest the 1500m and 5000m. &ldquo;I see it happening, either the next generation or our generation.&rdquo;
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Three world records in 50 days, four years in the making.
But more importantly perhaps, for Kipyegon &ndash; recognition from her daughter.
In an audience with the President of Kenya and many others to celebrate her first two world records, Kipyegon of course drew much attention.&nbsp;
A now five-year-old Alyn was suitably impressed.
&ldquo;Mommy," she said, "people like you!&rdquo;
George Mallett for World Athletics

For three years Faith Kipyegon had been ready to break the world 1500m record, says her coach. She went on to add the 5000m and mile marks for good measure.

Kipyegon and Sang – an athlete and coach view of a world record spree, years in the making

Women&rsquo;s world 1500m record 3:49.11 Faith Kipyegon (KEN) Florence 2 June 2023
Women&rsquo;s world 5000m record 14:05.20 Faith Kipyegon (KEN) Paris 9 June 2023
Men&rsquo;s world 3000m steeplechase record 7:52.11 Lamecha Girma (ETH) Paris 9 June 2023
Women&rsquo;s world 35km race walk record 2:37:15 Maria Perez (ESP) Podebrady 21 May 2023
 World records set this season by Faith Kipyegon, Lamecha Girma and Maria Perez have been ratified.
Kenya&rsquo;s Kipyegon has achieved three world records since June and two of those marks &ndash; in the women&rsquo;s 1500m and 5000m &ndash; are now officially in the record books. Her women&rsquo;s mile record set in Monaco on 21 July is pending ratification.
The first of Kipyegon&rsquo;s world records was set at the Golden Gala, a Wanda Diamond League meeting, in Florence on 2 June. On that occasion, the two-time world and Olympic champion ran 3:49.11 to break the women&rsquo;s world 1500m record of 3:50.07 that had been set by Ethiopia&rsquo;s Genzebe Dibaba in Monaco on 17 July 2015.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s still more to come,&rdquo; said Kipyegon after taking down the eight-year-old record. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m still working on running faster than that, faster than 3:49. I&rsquo;m really thankful today that I managed to run 3:49 and I&rsquo;m still heading towards beautiful races in the rest of the season.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/648383da8a2a2bd498d055fa.jpg" alt="Faith Kipyegon breaks the world 5000m record in Paris" />
Faith Kipyegon breaks the world 5000m record in Paris (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
She was right. Just one week later she raced at the Meeting de Paris, also a Wanda Diamond League event, on 9 June and stepped up to the 5000m. While her original aim might not have been the world record of 14:06.62 set by Ethiopia&rsquo;s Letesenbet Gidey in Valencia on 7 October 2020, Kipyegon still broke it, running 14:05.20 in just her third ever race at the distance.
Speeding up with every stride, she hit the bell in 13:04.1 and covered the final lap in 61.1 seconds for a 1.42-second improvement on Gidey&rsquo;s mark.
&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t think about the world record, I don&rsquo;t know how I made it,&rdquo; said a surprised Kipyegon. &ldquo;I just wanted to improve on my PB, the world record was not my plan. I just ran after Gidey &ndash; she is an amazing lady.&rdquo;
That wasn&rsquo;t the only world record achieved in Paris. On one of the greatest nights in athletics, Ethiopia&rsquo;s Girma set his sights on the men&rsquo;s world 3000m steeplechase record of 7:53.63 set by Qatar&rsquo;s Saif Saaeed Shaheen on 3 September 2004. An ambitious pace was requested &shy; &ndash; one that would result in a finishing time of around 7:52 &ndash; and that&rsquo;s exactly what Girma managed as he crossed the finish line in 7:52.11 to take 1.52 seconds off the mark set 19 years prior.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/64839222ca584f730726f9d1.jpg" alt="Lamecha Girma breaks the world 3000m steeplechase record in Paris" />
Lamecha Girma breaks the world 3000m steeplechase record in Paris (&copy; Marta Gorczynska)
</div>
&ldquo;I feel so happy,&rdquo; said Girma, who started his year with a world indoor record over 3000m. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m happy and very proud. I felt so fast during the race, so confident. The world record is not a surprise; it was my plan to beat it tonight in Paris. It&rsquo;s the result of my full determination.&rdquo;
Perez achieved her world record in Podebrady on 21 May, clocking 2:37:15 to improve the women&rsquo;s 35km race walk mark by 29 seconds.
The Spanish athlete was a dominant winner at the European Race Walking Team Championships, a World Athletics Race Walking Tour Gold event, where she eclipsed the world record of 2:37:44 that had been set by Peru's double world champion Kimberly Garcia in Dudince on 25 March.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6469de8f1560c883235a887a.JPG" alt="Maria Perez celebrates her 35km race walk world record in Podebrady" />
Maria Perez celebrates her 35km race walk world record in Podebrady (&copy; Podebrady 2023 LOC / European Athletics)
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"It is a nice feeling to finish the race and the time is a big reward," said Perez. "I did not think of any time or any special target before the start, I just wanted to finish the best I could. So, the record time was definitely not my goal today. I am happy to do my best and I am glad to see that race walk can be attractive and can attract such great crowds like in Podebrady."
World Athletics

Faith Kipyegon's 1500m and 5000m marks plus Lamecha Girma's 3000m steeplechase time and Maria Perez's 35km race walk result are officially in the record books.

Ratified: world records for Kipyegon, Girma and Perez

Looking back now, a quarter of a century on, it has every appearance of a performance for the ages.
Hicham El Guerrouj&rsquo;s 1500m run at the 1998 Golden Gala in Rome had Steve Ovett in a state of animation in the commentary box in the Stadio Olimpico.
&ldquo;Well, the world record has stood for three years, almost, to [Noureddine] Morceli and he is really driving at it,&rdquo; said the great Briton &ndash; who knew a thing or two about chasing, and breaking, global middle distance marks &ndash; as El Guerrouj pulled inexorably clear of his second pacemaker, the youthful Noah Ngeny, down the back straight on the final lap.
&ldquo;Has he got enough in his legs, this young Moroccan, Hicham El Guerrouj, to pull it off?
&ldquo;Look at the gap between him and the rest of the world! And they are no mean runners following in his wake.&rdquo;
As El Guerrouj rounded into the home straight, his form still supremely smooth and majestic, the Kenyan trio of Laban Rotich, John Kibowen and Daniel Komen trailed some 30m behind.
Rotich had finished fourth in the Olympic 1500m final in Atlanta two years previously. Kibowen had become the first ever world cross country short race champion four months earlier, in March 1998. In the preceding two years, Komen had become the first man to run back-to-back sub-four-minute miles, clocked a 7:58.61 world best for two miles, set a 3000m world record of 7:20.67, and won the 5000m world title.
&ldquo;He really is stretching it out,&rdquo; continued Ovett. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s getting faster and faster down the home straight.
&ldquo;The world record is 3:27:37. He&rsquo;s going to blitz it, I am sure. He has&hellip;3:26:00!
&ldquo;My word, what a performance here! We have seen a remarkable run. History has been set.&rdquo;
History indeed.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/64b13ab2261f738b84b99f9d.jpg" alt="Hicham El Guerrouj celebrates next to his world 1500m record figures in Rome in 1998" />
Hicham El Guerrouj celebrates next to his world 1500m record figures in Rome in 1998 (&copy; Allsport / Getty Images)
</div>
Morceli&rsquo;s 1500m world record had lasted for two days shy of three years. Ovett&rsquo;s three world records at the distance stood for six weeks, for three years and a day, and for two years 10 months.
El Guerrouj&rsquo;s has stood the test of time. And then some. Today, Friday 14 July 2023, marks its 25th anniversary.
In the historical context of men&rsquo;s middle distance running &ndash; in the traditional events of 800m, 1500m and the mile &ndash; that is wholly uncharted territory.
The previous longest-surviving men&rsquo;s 1500m world record was also set by a Moroccan. The 3:29.46 clocked by Said Aouita in Berlin in August 1985 remained intact for seven years and 13 days.
The most enduring men&rsquo;s 800m record was set by Ovett&rsquo;s great rival and fellow Briton Sebastian Coe. The two-time Olympic 1500m champion&rsquo;s epic 1:41.73 in Florence in June 1981 remained intact for 16 years.
At the blue riband distance of the mile, only one man has held the record for a double figure number of years. That is El Guerrouj himself.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/64b13a327411901013d6242b.jpg" alt="Hicham El Guerrouj breaks the world 1500m record in Rome in 1998" />
Hicham El Guerrouj breaks the world 1500m record in Rome in 1998 (&copy; Allsport / Getty Images)
</div>
Jakob Ingebrigtsen and the rest of the latter-day young pretenders have until 7 July next year to prevent the old Moroccan master from savouring another 25-year anniversary celebration.
A year after claiming his first outdoor world record with the 1500m in Rome, El Guerrouj returned to the Stadio Olimipico in 1999 to break Morceli&rsquo;s near six-year-old mile record of 3:44.39 with a time of 3:43.13.
On that occasion, he was pushed to the line by the rapidly-maturing Ngeny, whose 3:43.40 as runner-up still stands at number two on the world all-time list. The fastest man since that day, El Guerrouj himself aside, is Ingebrigtsen - though the young Norwegian still has to improve a further 3.34 seconds to eclipse that particular mark.
All of which underlines El Guerrouj&rsquo;s place in the pantheon of middle distance greats.
<h2>&ldquo;You must persevere&rdquo;</h2>
He was born and raised in Berkane in the north-east corner of Morocco, close to the Mediterranean and the Algerian border. &ldquo;I was lucky,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I lived close to the sports stadium. I could watch a good level of sport and it fed my dreams.&rdquo;
Those dreams started to come true in 1992. Five days past his 18th birthday, El Guerrouj made the podium as a 5000m runner at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Seoul, taking bronze behind an Ethiopian by the name of Haile Gebrselassie and Kenya&rsquo;s Ismael Kirui.
He was only 20 when he graduated to global champion at senior level, winning the world indoor 1500m title in Barcelona in 1995, and following up that year with a 1500m silver medal behind Morceli at the outdoor world championships in Gothenburg.
El Guerrouj&rsquo;s hopes of beating the Algerian to Olympic gold in Atlanta came crashing down when he fell to the track just before the bell in the 1500m final.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/64b13c35552e7ee559c4f972.jpg" alt="Hicham El Guerrouj falls in the 1996 Olympic 1500m final in Atlanta" />
Hicham El Guerrouj falls in the 1996 Olympic 1500m final in Atlanta (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
As he wept uncontrollably in the stadium tunnel, someone handed him a mobile phone. King Hassan II was on the line. "Do not cry," the monarch told him. "You are a champion in the eyes of Moroccan people. Forget about this. You must persevere.&rdquo;
And persevere he did. El Guerrouj obtained a framed picture of him crying in Atlanta and hung it on his bedroom wall. Over the next four years, he lost just once.
&ldquo;After the call from His Majesty, it was another El Guerrouj who was born,&rdquo; he reflected in later years. &ldquo;There was no similarity to the El Guerrouj before that call and the one after.&rdquo;
Indeed. The tall, willowy Moroccan proceeded to win four successive world outdoor 1500m titles: in Athens in 1997, in Seville in 1999, in Edmonton in 2001 and in Paris in 2003.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/07e7589e-1897-4283-a54e-8d4a7f0ea71c.jpg" alt="Hicham El Guerrouj wins his first World Championships gold medal in Athens 1997" />
Hicham El Guerrouj wins his first World Championships gold medal in Athens 1997 (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
He also retained his world indoor 1500m title in Paris in 1997, won world indoor 3000m gold in Lisbon in 2003 and took world outdoor 5000m silver in an epic three-way tussle with the victorious 18-year-old Eliud Kipchoge and the third-placed Kenenisa Bekele in 2003.
<h2>&ldquo;I was thinking of Paavo Nurmi&rdquo;</h2>
His crowning glory came at the Athens Olympics in 2004. Having fallen in Atlanta in 1996 and been agonisingly overhauled by the fast-finishing Ngeny in Sydney in 2000, El Guerrouj was a man very much on a mission in the ancient cradle of the Games.
Six weeks short of his 30th birthday, he was caught by Bernard Lagat 50m from the finish in the 1500m final but managed to dig deep, draw level and summon a Midas touch in the Olympic arena. He edged home by 0.12.
Cue scenes of unbridled joy.
El Guerrouj dropped to the ground and kissed the track, then clasped his hands to his face and wept tears of redemption. He kissed Lagat and kissed his coach, Abdelkader Kada.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/c2e0433e-745d-41fd-97b7-48277886c5a0.jpg" alt="Hicham El Guerrouj and Bernard Lagat celebrate winning gold and silver in Athens" />
Hicham El Guerrouj and Bernard Lagat celebrate winning gold and silver in Athens (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
Then he made for the front row of the stands and plucked his daughter from the crowd. Hiba &shy;&ndash; "gift of God" &shy;&ndash; was three months old. She was smothered in kisses by her delirious father.
The sound of Zorba's Dance blasted over the public address system. El Guerrouj jigged to the quickening bouzouki beat.
"I am finally complete," he said, still swathed in his country's flag in the bowels of the stadium. "This is the greatest day of my life. I feel like a baby.
"When Lagat came past, I simply did not want to lose. In Sydney I trained too hard and ran out of gas. This time I had something extra. Now I will go for more glory in the 5000m."
Four days later, El Guerrouj sprinted past Bekele off the final bend to take gold in the 5000m to secure a place in the record books alongside Paavo Nurmi. Only the finest of all the "Flying Finns" had previously completed the Olympic 1500m and 5000m double - on the Stade Colombes track in Paris in 1924.
"When I came to the stadium, I was thinking of Paavo Nurmi,&rdquo; El Guerrouj confided. &ldquo;He was a great legend. He made history in his time.
"I was telling myself: 'This is a great day for you. If you want to get this medal, do it.' I have always dreamed of being an Olympic champion and now I have done it twice.&rdquo;
Simon Turnbull for World Athletics Heritage

Looking back now, a quarter of a century on, it has every appearance of a performance for the ages.

Unsurpassed! El Guerrouj's 1500m world record reaches its silver jubilee

Mario Garcia Romo may be one of the newest members to the 1500m sub-3:30 club, but the Spaniard cares more about championship performances than fast times.
But sometimes &ndash; as was the case at last year&rsquo;s World Championships &ndash; a fast time is required for a strong championship showing.
In fact, to simply secure his place on the Spanish team for the World Championships, Garcia Romo produced a lifetime best of 3:35.52 to win the national title, beating Spanish record-holder Mohamed Katir.
Garcia Romo&rsquo;s momentum continued at the World Championships three weeks later as he navigated the rounds, setting a PB of 3:35.43 in his heat, finishing second in his semifinal, and then placing fourth in the final in a huge PB of 3:30.20 &ndash; just 0.30 shy of a medal.
&ldquo;The World Championships final gives you extra motivation,&rdquo; says Garcia Romo, who earned silver at the European U23 Championships one year prior. &ldquo;It was quite a clean race (in Oregon) and I thought I would be able to dip under 3:32 that day, but clocking low 3:30 was definitely a surprise and a great joy.
&ldquo;I was focusing on finishing as high as possible and not on running fast,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;Actually, I never compete with the aim of running extremely fast times or breaking any record, but on just winning the race. If you win the race, you&rsquo;ll most likely manage a fast time. I think that&rsquo;s the right approach.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/64aec1c4eb5655316b9b4584.jpg" alt="Mario Garcia Romo at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22" />
Mario Garcia Romo at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
One month after the World Championships, Garcia Romo finally achieved his moment on a major championships podium when taking European bronze in Munich.
Garcia Romo was a promising U20 athlete, clocking 3:42.35 at the age of 17, but he intentionally didn&rsquo;t train too hard back then.
&ldquo;Of course, I trained seriously but always with room for improvement,&rdquo; said Garcia Romo, who was coached by Lucio Rodriguez back then. &ldquo;I would even say I&rsquo;m not training at 100% right now. I believe it&rsquo;s better to train not too hard and stay healthy; maybe that&rsquo;s the reason I&rsquo;ve only suffered one injury &ndash; a sacrum facture in 2019 &ndash; in 15 years of career.
&ldquo;My motto is: OK, I&rsquo;ve finished my workout, but I still could do at least one more rep.&rdquo;
<h2>The American dream</h2>
In the summer of 2018 &ndash; and inspired by his older brother Jaime &ndash; Garcia Romo moved from Villar de Gallimazo, a village of barely 200 inhabitants, to Mississippi to attend the University of Mississippi. Garcia Romo studied chemistry at university and started training with Ryan Vanhoy&rsquo;s group.
&ldquo;Jaime had spent one academic year in the US and he told me how thrilling his athletics experience was there so I decided to follow in his footsteps and go to the US,&rdquo; said Garcia Romo. &ldquo;It was a huge change in every sense. I had to adapt to a new and multicultural environment but it was definitely an opportunity to grow both as a person and an athlete.
&ldquo;Beyond my athletics achievements, it was the best decision I have ever made because of the people I met and the experiences I had. Leaving my comfort zone helped to make me more mature.&rdquo;
Following a successful collegiate career, which included winning the NCAA indoor mile title in 2022, Garcia Romo signed a professional contract and moved to Boulder, Colorado, to train under the guidance of Dathan Ritzenhein.
&ldquo;Some of the finest 1500m specialists like Yared (Nuguse) and Ollie (Hoare) were already part of his group and that&rsquo;s precisely what I was looking for: to practise every day with the best athletes, as I think that&rsquo;s an advantage and a privilege for me,&rdquo; said Garcia Romo.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/64aec601971f7dfc6dc41089.jpg" alt="Yared Nuguse and Mario Garcia Romo" />
Yared Nuguse and Mario Garcia Romo (&copy; Marta Gorczyńska)
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&ldquo;Boulder is a perfect place for training; the altitude of 1600m lets you to do workouts close to race pace, which is not possible in places like Sierra Nevada, Spain or Flagstaff in the US.&rdquo;
Switching from a busy collegiate racing schedule to a more considered professional approach to competitions has allowed Garcia Romo to increase his mileage. During his collegiate years, he used to run about 120km a week, but that has now gone up to 145km spread across 10 sessions.
<h2>The sub-3:30 club</h2>
Garcia Romo raced just three times during the indoor season this year, but came away with two PBs.
He started 2023 with an outright 3000m PB of 7:34.74 and followed it two weeks later with a Spanish mile record of 3:51.79 in New York.
His first outdoor 1500m of the year came in Rabat, where he finished sixth (3:34.69). The time may not have appeared too impressive on the surface, but Garcia Romo took a lot of encouragement from that performance.
&ldquo;The race in Rabat was tactical, and a 59-second 400m split in the middle told us that there was a lot of time to gain there,&rdquo; said Garcia Romo. &ldquo;My training has also been a lot better this year, as I&rsquo;ve been able to focus more on running since graduating from college.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/64aec5e2971f7dfc6dc41086.jpg" alt="Mario Garcia Romo (second from right) at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Rabat" />
Mario Garcia Romo (second from right) at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Rabat (&copy; Marta Gorczyńska)
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Just 18 days after his race in Rabat, Garcia Romo lined up in Oslo, knowing that home favourite Jakob Ingebrigtsen was seeking a fast time in a pace-made race. The Olympic champion duly won in a European record of 3:27.95, but Garcia Romo finished fifth in 3:29.18, taking a second off his PB and moving to equal 21st on the world all-time list.
&ldquo;It was definitely a very special moment in my career,&rdquo; says Garcia Romo. &ldquo;When I was growing up, 3:30 was always the barrier that only the Olympic and world champions were able to break.&rdquo;
In a race where eight men finished inside 3:30, Garcia Romo&rsquo;s training partners Nuguse and Hoare were among that select group.
&ldquo;Achieving that milestone alongside my two training partners added even more joy to the moment.&rdquo;
Nuguse and Garcia Romo &ndash; who were born just four weeks apart &ndash; are now flatmates, but the Spaniard sees it as more of a benefit than a hindrance.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not very common to live with one of your rivals, but we both keep things separate,&rdquo; explains Garcia Romo. &ldquo;When we train, we help and push each other. We are also good friends. But when the gun sounds, the friendships disappears &ndash; although it comes back once the race is over,&rdquo; he adds with a laugh.
After banking that fast time in the early part of the season, Garcia Romo&rsquo;s focus will now switch to performing well at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think we look at times as an important goal of the year,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Obviously breaking 3:30 and breaking records matters to us, but we have only worked with one goal in mind this year, and that&rsquo;s winning races, especially in Budapest.
&ldquo;We are still far from our best this year as we are still building momentum. Oslo was only the second 1500m race of the year and in our year planning it was only the first stepping stone for a great summer. The previous races have only helped me get better, instead of making me more fatigued, so I&rsquo;m confident we will keep building for the rest of the summer.&rdquo;
<h2>Faster than his idols</h2>
Garcia Romo now ranks higher on the world all-time list than the likes of Sebastian Coe, Steve Cram and Said Aouita, among others.
&ldquo;It means a lot to me, but at the same time I&rsquo;m conscious that what makes those 1500m legends great are their accomplishments at the major championships,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Even though I&rsquo;m now faster than them, I still have a lot of work to do to be even in the conversation with athletes like them.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s funny, though, because a man in my village used to call me &lsquo;mini Coe&rsquo; when I was a kid as I had long hair like he used to have. I then began to watch races and soon discovered Coe; I really admired his technique and style. I also like that he has worked in various fields such as politics, Olympics director and currently as a World Athletics president.
&ldquo;I like people like him who make an impact in society beyond his athletics accolades,&rdquo; added Garcia Romo. &ldquo;I had my picture taken with him at the 2018 World U20 Championships in Tampere and he was also one of the medal presenters last year in Munich when I took bronze.&rdquo;
In recent years, Ingebrigtsen has crept closer to Hicham El Guerrouj&rsquo;s world 1500m record of 3:26.00. But Garcia Romo believes the Norwegian isn&rsquo;t the only athlete capable of breaking it.
&ldquo;El Guerrouj&rsquo;s record has survived for 25 years now,&rdquo; says Garcia Romo. &ldquo;There is always the possibility that it can be broken but it won&rsquo;t be an easy task. Based on PBs, Ingebrigtsen is the closest athlete to the record, but that doesn&rsquo;t mean he is the only candidate.
&ldquo;I have a lot of respect for Jakob, and I firmly believe that his impressive performances have forced the rest of us to do our best in competitions,&rdquo; says Garcia Romo, who also has the Norwegian in his sights. &ldquo;I think we are closing the gap on him, bit by bit. Spain had three finalists in Eugene, and Great Britain also has great depth with Jake Wightman, Josh Kerr and Neil Gourley.
&ldquo;Europe is now the dominant force but there are other contenders such as Yared, Ollie and Kenya&rsquo;s Timothy Cheruiyot and Abel Kipsang to name a few.&rdquo;
<h2>Making a name for himself</h2>
As Garcia is an extremely common surname in Spain, he prefers to go by his full name &ndash; Mario Garcia Romo &ndash; which incorporates his mother&rsquo;s surname. It also helps distinguish him from teammate Mariano Garcia, the world indoor 800m champion who has a similar name.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/64aec24d121922e61f68fa37.jpg" alt="Mario Garcia Romo with his European 1500m bronze medal" />
Mario Garcia Romo with his European 1500m bronze medal (&copy; Getty Images)
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&ldquo;Many people outside Spain don&rsquo;t see much difference between Mariano Garcia and Mario Garcia,&rdquo; he laughs. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s an honour to be confused with a global champion like him!&rdquo;
But Garcia Romo hopes to join his compatriot in becoming a global champion in the next year or two. Even a runner-up finish in Budapest, he says, would not be a satisfactory outcome.
Before heading to the Hungarian capital, Garcia Romo will contest the Spanish Championships later this month. He also aims to compete over 800m in the coming weeks in a bid to improve on his PB of 1:46.90.
Perhaps his favourite discipline, though, is the mile.
&ldquo;I like the fact the distance &ndash; 1609.32m &ndash; is not an exact number, and I love the tradition of the discipline: the Millrose Games, the Dream Mile,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I also just find it more interesting and stylish to be referred to as a &lsquo;miler&rsquo; than a &lsquo;1500m specialist&rsquo;.&rdquo;
The Spanish miler may be fully focused on the 2023 season, but he also has one eye on the Paris 2024 Olympics.
&ldquo;In the 1500m, the fastest athlete on paper doesn&rsquo;t always win,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;For instance, at the last Olympic Games the pre-event world leader didn&rsquo;t win as Timothy Cheruiyot finished second. Likewise Taoufik Makhloufi didn&rsquo;t triumph at the Rio Olympics. That&rsquo;s what I love about the 1500m &ndash; you don&rsquo;t need to be the quickest athlete or the favourite to win; instead you can be the best tactician and take the victory.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t see myself as a typical athlete chasing fast times on the circuit, but a real competitor at major championships,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I thrive on the big occasions.&rdquo;
Emeterio Valiente for World Athletics

Mario Garcia Romo may be one of the newest members to the 1500m sub-3:30 club, but the Spaniard cares more about championship performances

Garcia Romo poised to make 1500m history

Kenya&rsquo;s Faith Kipyegon, who recently set world records in the 1500m and 5000m, has received a house and 5 million KES ($35,000) following her historic feats in Florence and Paris this month.
Kipyegon met with Kenyan President William Ruto on her return to her home country, with Ruto pledging a similar monetary reward for Kenya&rsquo;s future world record-breakers.
The awarding of a house to Kipyegon follows the announcement on 30 May of a new scheme in Kenya that is designed to help athletes to own property and invest their earnings. It is particularly important for female athletes, who will now be able to buy a house under their sole name.
Kipyegon &ndash; the first recipient of the scheme &ndash; ran 3:49.11 to break the world 1500m record in Florence on 2 June and a week later the 29-year-old clocked 14:05.20 in Paris to add the world 5000m record to her ever-expanding CV.
She met with Ruto at State House in Nairobi and was joined at the ceremony by her husband Timothy Kitum, the 2012 Olympic 800m bronze medallist, and their daughter Alyn.
The new scheme is the result of a partnership between Athletics Kenya and Kenyan banking institution Housing Finance Group that offers athletes affordable home ownership, financing at incentivised Kenya Mortgage Refinancing rates and links to strategic affordable housing developers.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6491cae7950303c0ee63ef83.JPG" alt="The partnership signing ceremony with Jackson Tuwei, Ababu Namwamba and the Housing Finance Corporation Group" />
The partnership signing ceremony with Jackson Tuwei, Ababu Namwamba and the Housing Finance Corporation Group (&copy; Kenya, Ministry of Sport)
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&ldquo;It is a no-brainer that having a decent shelter is one of the basic needs for human survival. Yet, for all its importance, decent housing is one of the biggest challenges that millions of Kenyans face in this country,&rdquo; said Athletics Kenya President Jackson Tuwei during the launch of the partnership in Nairobi, where Hon. Ababu Namwamba, the Cabinet Secretary for Youth Affairs, Sports and the Arts, was chief guest.
&ldquo;Among those affected are Kenyan sportsmen and women who struggle with balancing putting a decent roof over their heads and pursuing their ambitions on the track and field.&rdquo;
Beatrice Chebet, Beatrice Chepkoech, Dan Kiviasi, Mary Moraa, Wiseman Were, Wilfred Bungei, Milcah Chemos, Catherine Ndereba, John Ngugi and William Tanui were among the current and former athletes who were present at the launch ceremony.

Faith Kipyegon has received a house and 5 million KES following her historic feats in Florence and Paris this month

Two world records and a house for Kenya's Kipyegon

As great athletes approach their 30th birthday, their minds naturally turn towards their legacy.
That has clearly been the case for Faith Kipyegon, who completed her set of the highest accomplishments in her sport by breaking the world 1500m record (3:49.11) at the Golden Gala meeting in Florence on Friday (2).
She joked that she had rolled around the track like &ldquo;a crazy woman&rdquo; in a euphoric reaction when she saw her historic time pop up on the trackside clock at the Wanda Diamond League meeting. &ldquo;I really wanted that one,&rdquo; she said.
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/12QuG1UXm-U" width="100%" height="475" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
With two Olympic gold medals and two senior world titles to her name, in a career that was temporarily interrupted when she gave birth to her daughter Alyn in 2018, Kipyegon was already one of the greats of her sport, but the world record has elevated her into rare air indeed.
She is now one of only five athletes who have dominated at every level in their track and field specialism &ndash; an individual world champion at U18, U20 and senior level &ndash; and set a senior world record.
This club includes only Usain Bolt, Mondo Duplantis, Yelena Isinbaeva, Kevin Mayer and now Kipyegon.
<div style="padding: 0px 20px 5px 20px; border: 2px solid #a5fa64;">
<h2>Grand slam</h2>
Athletes to have achieved an age group grand slam in individual outdoor track and field World Championships and broken a senior world record.
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; border-color: #000000; border-style: solid;" border="1" cellpadding="3">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 20%; text-align: center;">Athlete</td>
<td style="width: 20%; text-align: center;">U18</td>
<td style="width: 20%; text-align: center;">U20</td>
<td style="width: 20%; text-align: center;">Senior</td>
<td style="width: 20%; text-align: center;">World record</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 20%;">Usain Bolt</td>
<td style="width: 20%;">100m, 200m</td>
<td style="width: 20%;">200m</td>
<td style="width: 20%;">100m, 200m</td>
<td style="width: 20%;">100m, 200m</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 20%;">Mondo Duplantis</td>
<td style="width: 20%;">pole vault</td>
<td style="width: 20%;">pole vault</td>
<td style="width: 20%;">pole vault</td>
<td style="width: 20%;">pole vault</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 20%;">Yelena Isinbaeva</td>
<td style="width: 20%;">pole vault</td>
<td style="width: 20%;">pole vault</td>
<td style="width: 20%;">pole vault</td>
<td style="width: 20%;">pole vault</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 20%;">Faith Kipyegon</td>
<td style="width: 20%;">1500m</td>
<td style="width: 20%;">1500m</td>
<td style="width: 20%;">1500m</td>
<td style="width: 20%;">1500m</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 20%;">Kevin Mayer</td>
<td style="width: 20%;">octathlon</td>
<td style="width: 20%;">decathlon</td>
<td style="width: 20%;">decathlon</td>
<td style="width: 20%;">decathlon</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
 Many already regard Kipyegon as the greatest female 1500m runner in history and she intends to continue to burnish her star by attacking her new best time at the Herculis meeting in Monaco next month, then attempting to win a third world title at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August. If she can then go on to win a third Olympic gold medal in Paris next year, she will truly stand alone in the middle-distance pantheon.
The reaction of her fellow athletes in Florence demonstrated just how much she is already revered in the sport. The other 1500m women surrounded her and enveloped her in a group hug soon after the race, a rare sight in the ultra-competitive world of elite sport.
Kipyegon will compete over 5000m in Paris next Friday to put further strength in her legs for the challenges ahead, then return to Eldoret in Kenya for another training block under master coach Patrick Sang, who has also plotted the career of the world&rsquo;s greatest marathon runner, Eliud Kipchoge.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/63aefbb62660ebd28ce00685.jpg" alt="Faith Kipyegon wins the 1500m at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22" />
Faith Kipyegon wins the 1500m at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 (&copy; Getty Images)
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&ldquo;I&rsquo;m training with marathoners and I normally say that one day I will run a marathon but now I have achieved what I wanted, what was in my heart and my mind today, and I&rsquo;m still heading towards Budapest and I still want to run faster than 3:49,&rdquo; she said.
&ldquo;I wanted to go gradually, slowly, slowly, to see what was possible this year, and the world record just came as a surprise, but I&rsquo;m still looking forward to the World Championships and I really thank my coach for giving me the tactics to run today and see what is possible.&rdquo;
Kipyegon is the odd athlete out in a large training group focused on the marathoners, since joining the group in 2019, but she said she enjoyed both the challenge and the camaraderie she found in the camp.
&ldquo;Since I joined Patrick and Eliud Kipchoge, I have done really, really different training, because with the marathoners there we come along and train together and enjoy sports together. They are doing long runs and fartlek and track sessions.&rdquo;
Kipchoge was among those who were delighted by Kipyegon&rsquo;s achievement in Florence.
"It was only a matter of time,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Faith has shown a great focus and determination to attack the world 1500 record since coming back from maternity.&rdquo;
The longer training has certainly not dulled her speed but it has given her new strength which she will apply again in Monaco, where she came so near to breaking the world record last year, falling just 0.3 short (3:50.37) of Genzebe Dibaba&rsquo;s 2015 standard, also set in the Stade Louis II, which has become a mecca for middle-distance runners in the past decade.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/61e30743a450a4c2543ae617.jpg" alt="Faith Kipyegon at the Kaptagat training camp" />
Faith Kipyegon at the Kaptagat training camp (&copy; Dan Vernon / NN Running)
</div>
&ldquo;(That) was really motivating me,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I went back home knowing that everything was possible. I didn&rsquo;t lose hope, I still worked hard, waking up every morning knowing that everything is possible, breaking the world record, defending my world title in Budapest, and that is what I have started, so I&rsquo;m looking forward.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m hoping for the best as well in Monaco. I&rsquo;m going to run my race and focus myself towards the finish line.&rdquo;
The legacy she is creating is not only for herself, but also for her family, particularly her daughter, now almost five, and that is also driving her forward.
&ldquo;She understands what I do now,&rdquo; Kipyegon said.
Nicole Jeffery for World Athletics

As great athletes approach their 30th birthday, their minds naturally turn towards their legacy.

With world 1500m record, Kipyegon adds to her already impressive legacy

Kenya&rsquo;s two-time world and Olympic 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon will return to the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Doha on 5 May looking to kickstart her season.
The 29-year-old ran the second-fastest women&rsquo;s 1500m of all time in Monaco last year, clocking 3:50.37 for a performance just three tenths of a second off Genzebe Dibaba&rsquo;s world record.
That came a few weeks after Kipyegon won her second world gold in Oregon and she went on to complete a hattrick of Diamond League title wins in Zurich in September.
&ldquo;I'm delighted to come back again to the Doha Diamond League,&rdquo; said Kipyegon, who started her 2022 season with a 3000m runner-up finish in Qatar's capital city.
&ldquo;After a winter of focusing on endurance and strength, it's a great chance for me to start real racing in Doha and to see where I am at in my build up towards the World Champs later on in the season.&rdquo;
Kipyegon will have the chance to defend her title at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 in August.
The 2023 Wanda Diamond League calendar includes a total of 15 meetings, starting with the event in Doha and concluding with the two-day final in Eugene on 16-17 September.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/diamond-league/calendar-results?season=2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full 2023 Diamond League calendar</a>

Kenya’s two-time world and Olympic 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon returns to the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Doha on 5 May looking to kickstart her season

Kipyegon targets early season test in Doha

Following the successful defence of his 1500m title at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Istanbul, Norway&rsquo;s 22-year-old Jakob Ingebrigtsen was asked to describe his ambition.
&ldquo;My main goal is to become the best runner that ever existed,&rdquo; said the athlete who has already accrued Olympic, world and multiple European gold medals as well as a world indoor 1500m record. &ldquo;To do that, I will need to win more races and the next one is tomorrow.&rdquo;
Guess what? He won that race too, a 3000m heat. And the following day he won the next one, the 3000m final, to repeat the double he achieved at the 2021 edition of the championships in Torun.
Such is Ingebrigtsen&rsquo;s range of talent &ndash; he already has many global and continental medals at distances ranging from 1500m to 5000m as well as successive European cross-country titles &ndash; that such a statement of intent is something to be taken very seriously. As seriously, indeed, as this prodigious young talent takes his athletics.
There is no false modesty in Ingebrigtsen&rsquo;s statements &ndash; nor unseemly pride.
His achievements have already been extraordinary since he emerged as one of the sport&rsquo;s most startling talents aged 16, becoming the youngest man in history to run a mile in less than four minutes and also setting a European U20 record of 8:26.81 in the 3000m steeplechase in his first attempt at the distance.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/640f5ec1480f9b231eee68fc.jpg" alt="Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the 3000m steeplechase at the 2017 European U20 Championships" />
Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the 3000m steeplechase at the 2017 European U20 Championships (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
His latest flourishes may have taken place on the grey track of the Atakoy Arena but the victories were rooted in an earlier contest &ndash; the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in Lievin on 15 February.
There Ingebrigtsen, having missed more than a month of training due to a viral infection, put himself through the single test that would tell him whether he would be best to defend his European indoor titles in Turkey or give them a miss and concentrate on the outdoor season &ndash; where he will seek to win a first world 1500m title in Budapest and, perhaps, defend his 5000m title.
And after winning in 3:32.38, the fastest time in the world this year, the Norwegian went away with a glint in his eye. It was all he needed. He knew he was ready.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/63ed67f678366e95e18346bd.jpg" alt="Jakob Ingebrigtsen on his way to 1500m victory in Lievin" />
Jakob Ingebrigtsen on his way to 1500m victory in Lievin (&copy; Dan Vernon)
</div>
And so it proved as he held off the challenge round the final bend of Britain&rsquo;s Neil Gourley &ndash; who set a British record of 3:32.48 this season &ndash; to win his second European indoor 1500m title in a championship record of 3:33.95 before outclassing the field to win his third indoor 3000m gold in a Norwegian record of 7:40.32.
Before the 3000m final Spain&rsquo;s Adel Mechaal, who won this event in 2017, essayed the hope that if Ingebrigtsen was going to prove to have a weakness after missing so much training, it would be most evident in his fourth race in as many days.
But there was no weakness. Ingebrigtsen led virtually from gun to tape. And he reflected afterwards with characteristic honesty.
&ldquo;I was feeling like I raced myself today,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Maybe it was expected. I would love to get some more competition but maybe that is just me, expecting too much, I am not sure.
&ldquo;I am thankful for today. I guess the other runners tried to get a good race for themselves and not fight for second place. I wanted to be at this position and to race with the other guys &ndash; it is just a great evening.
&ldquo;But I am not happy with my indoor season. Not at all. I had a good October, November and December going to the European Cross Country Championships. After that, I have been doing nothing. But the last couple of weeks have been good. I am really looking forward to getting some good training.&rdquo;
Speaking in Lievin, Ingebrigtsen rejected the idea that what took place earlier this year was a case of his body telling him to slow down.
&ldquo;No,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Because my tempo training is not that brutal. We always try to find the balance between rest and training and after a lot of years with the same amount of activity your body adapts and knows what it can handle.
&ldquo;I felt pretty good and I was in very good shape after Italy. But sometimes it&rsquo;s just too much with some people around. And in Norway in December everybody was sick. Everybody was struggling with a virus or coronavirus. My hands were tied. But with it lasting that long, it was very hard.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/62ddf1abd022ee390696902c.jpg" alt="Jakob Ingebrigtsen celebrates his 5000m win at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22" />
Jakob Ingebrigtsen celebrates his 5000m win at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
Having done so much, so young, what &ndash; one wondered &ndash; does he use as continuing motivation? An outdoor world 1500m record, perhaps?
&ldquo;Yes, but those are more short-term goals,&rdquo; he replied. &ldquo;The main goal is just to see how fast I can run and to try to win as much as possible as often as I can, when I can. But the short-term goal always changes. It&rsquo;s always to win the next race or break that record or something.
&ldquo;But maybe with the mentality I have towards my career and running is that I want to explore how fast I can run, and I always want to improve. That&rsquo;s the goal, and that never ends &ndash; you can never lose motivation to see how fast you can run until you stop.&rdquo;
Notably, after winning his Olympic 1500m title in Tokyo, Ingebrigtsen spoke about the sense of anti-climax that assailed him. But he&rsquo;s got a handle on that, as he has on most things that come to bear upon his athletics career.
&ldquo;I think that&rsquo;s just a big part of competition and sports,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s not going to affect anything in the long term, but in the short term, if you do several events in big competitions then you are going to have a down, obviously, either physically or mentally.
&ldquo;But I have been running and racing my whole life, so I&rsquo;m prepared to deal with what happens and that&rsquo;s also a good thing &ndash; what happens with my body but also in my head after races. So, it&rsquo;s all about collecting experience and using that to your advantage to perform even better.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6203c36a5073aea7af6f2e7a.jpg" alt="Josh Kerr, Timothy Cheruiyot and Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the Olympic 1500m final in Tokyo" />
Josh Kerr, Timothy Cheruiyot and Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the Olympic 1500m final in Tokyo (&copy; Getty Images)
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At last year&rsquo;s World Championships Ingebrigtsen was, for the first time, being coached with help from his elder brothers Henrik, the 2012 European 1500m champion, and Filip, the 2016 European 1500m champion, after their father Gjert stepped back from the role he had undertaken since all three were juniors.
Asked to assess the current set-up, Jakob responded: &ldquo;I would say that I am probably responsible for everything that I am doing, but with a lot of help obviously from Henrik and Filip. An example is maybe that I put up my programme towards competition, for three to four weeks, and I sent it to them and we discussed it.
&ldquo;All three of us are inputting &ndash; we are all doing the same thing for our training. Each of us is responsible for our programme and doing it 100% and following the plans. It&rsquo;s like a collective.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/640f5fc3480f9b231eee68ff.jpg" alt="Filip, Jakob and Henrik Ingebrigtsen at the 2019 World Championships in Doha" />
Filip, Jakob and Henrik Ingebrigtsen at the 2019 World Championships in Doha (&copy; Getty Images)
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So, what difference does the input from Henrik and Filip make?
&ldquo;The funny thing is that we come from same place, we have the same mindset, the same view, usually, and the same goals for most things in our lives,&rdquo; he said.
&ldquo;But we still have different points of view in certain situations. It&rsquo;s all based on the same philosophy, the same training regime and programme. But we still can have a little bit of tuning where the three of us can help each other in a positive way.
&ldquo;At times you can forget why you are here, why you are doing this, what you believe in. Collectively, we are more or less the same, but we still have a lot of areas where we can help each other.
&ldquo;I would say Henrik, struggling with his injuries &ndash; it might be difficult for him to see clear in his training, because he is emotionally attached to what he is doing and what he has done in the past. Then maybe we can bring some clarity. Minor details and small tweaks where we can help each other.&rdquo;
Being brothers, he feels, creates a unique vibe.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what&rsquo;s so different,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Our training, our running, has been a group project almost since Henrik started running. There was really no one doing it for us.
&ldquo;But all of us &ndash; me not so much, but Henrik, Filip and our father &ndash; have been collectively creating something and putting something in the system, with the double threshold and the amount of mileage and intensity in training.
&ldquo;And it&rsquo;s still going. We are always trying to improve and to figure out how fast we can run with our philosophy.&rdquo;
Mike Rowbottom for World Athletics