The Olympics may have only just finished, but the action doesn’t stop for the world’s premier athletes. And for the best of the best, it seems that world records are continuing to tumble in the resumption of the 2024 Diamond League in Silesia.
The biggest shock of the meet came on the Sunday evening, when Jakob Ingebrigtsen broke the world record time in the 3,000m by more than three seconds.
The Norwegian, who finished a disappointing fourth in the 1500m in Paris before winning the 5,000m, crossed the line in a time of 7 minutes and 17.55 seconds, beating a record that has stood since 1996 – when Kenya’s Daniel Komen ran 7:20.67.
The 23-year-old’s previous best time had come in at three seconds behind Komen’s world record, and he was clearly in shock as he finished, later collecting a cheque for $50,000 (£39,000) and telling the media that it “feels special, amazing”.
“I was hoping to challenge the world record here, but based on my training, I can never predict exactly what kind of time I am capable of,” he said..
“I would not have imagined I could run 7:17, though. At the beginning the pace felt really fast, but then I started to feel my way into the race and found a good rhythm.
“[The] 3,000 is a tough distance. After four-five laps you feel the lactic acid, but you need to get going. The conditions were difficult with the heat today, but it is the same for everyone.
“Now I want to challenge world records at all distances, but it is one step at a time.”
And there was another world record set in the men’s pole vault, with Swedish sensation Armand Duplantis going one better just 20 days after he set his ninth world record in Paris.
Duplantis cleared 6.26m in Chorzow – one centimetre better than his old record – and set what is his tenth world record, collecting another pay cheque along the way.
“This year I focused on the Olympics, the record just came naturally because I was in good shape,” Duplantis said.