{"id":3022,"date":"2023-06-09T18:42:44","date_gmt":"2023-06-09T18:42:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/kipyegon-and-girma-break-world-records-in-paris\/"},"modified":"2025-11-13T14:58:35","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T14:58:35","slug":"kipyegon-and-girma-break-world-records-in-paris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/kipyegon-and-girma-break-world-records-in-paris\/","title":{"rendered":"Kipyegon and Girma break world records in Paris"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>It will go down in history as one of the greatest nights in athletics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Between them, Faith Kipyegon, Lamecha Girma and Jakob Ingebrigtsen broke two world records and one world best at the Meeting de Paris on Friday (9), providing the standout moments at a highly memorable Wanda Diamond League meeting in the French capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A week after breaking the 1500m world record in Florence, Kipyegon etched her name into the record books for 5000m, winning in 14:05.20.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ahead of the race, the world and Olympic champion hadn\u2019t made too much noise about a possible world record attempt in tonight\u2019s 5000m. It was, after all, just her third ever race at the distance, and her first 5000m outing in eight years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But, as is always the case with Kipyegon, the 29-year-old Kenyan showed no fear as she navigated her way through the race, the early pace \u2013 2:52.31 at 1000m and 5:42.04 at 2000m \u2013 seemingly no bother for the two-time world U20 cross-country champion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Steeplechase world record-holder Beatrice Chepkoech was the third and final pacemaker, leading the field through 3000m in 8:31.91. At this point, world record-holder Letesenbet Gidey led from Kipyegon with Ethiopia\u2019s Ejgayehu Taye, the world 5km record-holder, a few strides behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"lazyload smush-lazyload-video smush-lazyload-youtube\" style=\"--smush-video-aspect-ratio: 500\/281\" data-bg-image=\"url(https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php?action=smush_video_thumbnail&#038;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FhMSpB95mR9Y%3Ffeature%3Doembed&#038;video_width=500&#038;video_height=281)\" ><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Faith Kipyegon breaks 5000m world record in Paris - Wanda Diamond League 2023\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hMSpB95mR9Y?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\"><\/iframe><span class=\"smush-play-btn\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Play video\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<span tabindex=\"0\" class=\"smush-play-btn-inner\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<span>Play<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Kipyegon took the lead with about 600 metres to go, but Gidey kept close contact. They were about six seconds outside of world record pace, but Gidey also knew what Kipyegon is capable of. The world 10,000m champion knew that Kipyegon had the finishing speed to break Gidey\u2019s world record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kipyegon \u2013 now speeding up with each and every stride \u2013 hit the bell in 13:04.1, needing a final lap of about 62 seconds to break Gidey\u2019s record. She did exactly that, covering the last 400m in 61.1 seconds to cross the line in 14:05.20 \u2013 a 1.42-second improvement on Gidey\u2019s mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gidey, competing for the first time since her unfortunate episode at the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, finished second in 14:07.94, the third-fastest time in history. Taye was third in 14:13.31, while the next three women \u2013 Lilian Kasait Rengerek, Freweyni Hailu and Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi \u2013 all finished inside 14:24.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t think about the world record, I don\u2019t know how I made it,\u201d said a delighted and surprised Kipyegon. \u201cI just focused on the green light and tried to stay relaxed and enjoy the race. When I saw that it was a world record, I was so surprised \u2013 I just wanted to improve on my PB, the world record was not my plan. I just ran after Gidey \u2013 she is an amazing lady.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI do not know what will be next \u2013 I\u2019ll have to discuss it with my coach and my management,\u201d she added. \u201cIf my body is healthy, anything is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Girma had requested an ambitious pace for the men\u2019s 3000m steeplechase \u2013 one that would result in a finishing time of about 7:52. The world and Olympic silver medallist almost got a bit carried away mid-race, though, and ran well ahead of the wavelights through the middle section of the race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With two laps to go, the lights almost caught up with the Ethiopian \u2013 who by now was well ahead of the rest of the field. But the sound of the bell and the reaction of the crowd seemingly gave him added impetus on the final lap as he moved clear of the lights once more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He sped around the final lap in about 64 seconds, crossing the line in 7:52.11, taking 1.52 seconds off the world record set 19 years ago by Said Saeed Shaheen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI feel so happy,\u201d said Girma, who started his year with a world indoor record over 3000m. \u201cI\u2019m 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\u2019s the result of my full determination.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"lazyload smush-lazyload-video smush-lazyload-youtube\" style=\"--smush-video-aspect-ratio: 500\/281\" data-bg-image=\"url(https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php?action=smush_video_thumbnail&#038;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FVTNcG2gpbh8%3Ffeature%3Doembed&#038;video_width=500&#038;video_height=281)\" ><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ethiopia&#039;s Lamecha Girma breaks 3000m steeplechase world record in Paris - Wanda Diamond League 2023\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VTNcG2gpbh8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\"><\/iframe><span class=\"smush-play-btn\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Play video\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<span tabindex=\"0\" class=\"smush-play-btn-inner\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<span>Play<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Two miles might not be an official world record distance, but that mattered not to Jakob Ingebrigtsen \u2013 or indeed the sell-out crowd at the Stade Charlety \u2013 as the Norwegian won the event in a world best of 7:54.10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The race wasn\u2019t a scoring discipline on this occasion, and as such was held outside of the main broadcast window. But that didn\u2019t deter the world and Olympic champion, who stuck to the pacemakers throughout, passing through 1000m in 2:29.07 and then moving closer to the second pacemaker \u2013 and, significantly, ahead of the green wavelights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once the pacemakers had done their job, Ingebrigtsen maintained his tempo and breezed through 3000m in an official split of 7:24.00 \u2013 a European record and the third-fastest performance of all time for that distance. At this point he had a 13.5-second lead over Ethiopia\u2019s Kuma Girma. Victory was Ingebrigtsen\u2019s; his next target was Daniel Komen\u2019s world best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He charged through the final 218 metres, roared on by the crowd, and crossed the finish line in 7:54.10, winning by 15 seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBeing able to break this mark feels amazing,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is my first world best outdoors. The pace felt very smooth for me, coming out of the 1500m. The public was amazing; without their help, it would have been more difficult. I was a bit surprised by the time in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">World leads for Hodgkinson, Wanyonyi and Holloway<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>World and Olympic silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson opened her outdoor season in stunning fashion in the women\u2019s 800m, winning by more than two seconds in a world-leading national record of 1:55.77.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The European champion stuck to the pacemaker and covered the first lap in 57.7 seconds, already a stride or two ahead of the rest of the field. With 200 metres to go, there was clear daylight between Hodgkinson and Jamaica\u2019s Natoya Goule, who was being pursued by world indoor champion Ajee Wilson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But none of them could get near Hodgkinson, who eased down the home straight to cross the line in 1:55.77, taking 0.11 off the British record she set two years ago in Tokyo. Wilson finished second in 1:58.16 and Goule was third in 1:58.23.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In complete contrast to the women\u2019s race, the men\u2019s 800m \u2013 the final race of the night \u2013 was extremely close with less than 0.30 separating the top six finishers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Canada\u2019s Marco Arop led for most of the way, the pace a healthy 50.20 through the first lap. But as the field entered the home straight, Kenya\u2019s Emmanuel Wanyonyi proved to have the strongest finish and came around the outside to get to the finish first in a PB of 1:43.27, taking 0.05 off the world-leading mark he set in Nairobi last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arop held on for second in 1:43.30 with Algerian dup Slimane Moula (1:43.38) and Djamel Sedjati (1:43.40) setting PBs to claim third and fourth respectively. For the first time since the 2016 edition of this meeting, seven men finished inside 1:44.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two-time world champion Grant Holloway continued his remarkable consistency in the 110m hurdles, winning in a world-leading 12.98.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He was almost beaten in the heats, clocking 13.20 to finish just 0.01 ahead of Jamal Britt. But his victory in the final was much more comfortable as he notched up the fifth sub-13-second run of his career. Much to the delight of the home crowd, France\u2019s Just Kwao-Mathey was second in a lifetime best of 13.09.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Paulino and Allman break meeting records<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The highly anticipated one-lap clash between world and Olympic silver medallist Marileidy Paulino and world and Olympic 400m hurdles champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone ultimately ended in a decisive victory for the former, but it was still exciting to witness unfold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>McLaughlin-Levrone went out hard and was up on the Dominican Republic sprinter within the first 100 metres. McLaughlin-Levrone reached half way in 22.66, half a second ahead of Salwa Eid Naser with Paulino further back. The world athlete of the year still led at 300m (34.94) but Paulino was starting to come back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With 50 metres to go, Paulino strode past a struggling McLaughlin-Levrone and powered on to the finish in 49.12, taking 0.03 off the meeting record set 19 years ago by Tonique Williams-Darling. McLaughlin-Levrone was second in a PB of 49.71 and Naser placed third in 49.95.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The meeting record also fell in the women\u2019s discus, as Valarie Allman improved on her own mark from last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She trailed Sandra Perkovic in the first round, 65.12m to the Croatian\u2019s 65.18m, but then sent her disc out to a meeting record of 68.74m in round three. She added 30 centimetres to the mark in the next round, throwing 69.04m, and rounded out her series with 68.39m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Thomas, Lyles and Allen take US sweep of sprints<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Gabby Thomas\u2019s early celebration in the women\u2019s 200m spoke volumes about how delighted she was to achieve her first Diamond League victory in more than a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The US sprinter trailed Marie-Josee Ta Lou for the first 100m, but Thomas\u2019s speed endurance proved superior as she came through to win in a season\u2019s best of 22.05. Abby Steiner got the verdict over Ta Lou in a photofinish, both clocking 22.34, and Dina Asher-Smith was fourth (22.57).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Noah Lyles was another US sprinter who used his strong finish to great effect. The two-time world 200m champion, competing here over 100m, overtook Kenya\u2019s Ferdinand Omanyala in the closing stages to win by 0.01 in 9.97. Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs was in contention at half way, but faded to seventh in 10.21.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>CJ Allen set the tone for US athletes at the start of the evening, notching up yet another win in the men\u2019s 400m hurdles in 47.92. Abderrahman Samba started the race, but pulled up at the first hurdle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Australian jumps double for Olyslagers and Kennedy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Nicola Olyslagers produced her best leap for almost two years to win the high jump with 2.00m, maintaining her unbeaten record in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After a brief blip at 1.94m, she got over 1.97m on her first try, as did 2016 world indoor champion Vashti Cunningham. Rising star Angelina Topic also got over that bar on her third attempt. But after the bar moved to 2.00m, Olyslagers was the only athlete to go clear, doing so on her third try.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fellow Australian Nina Kennedy made it an Australian vertical jumps double, taking the women\u2019s pole vault with 4.77m. Margot Chevrier finished ahead of world and Olympic champion Katie Moon on countback to take second place with 4.71m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Elsewhere, world indoor champion Auriol Dongmo of Portugal won the women\u2019s shot put with a season\u2019s best of 19.72m from US duo Chase Ealey (19.43m) and Maggie Ewen (19.26m). Japan\u2019s Haruka Kitaguchi won the women\u2019s javelin with 65.09m from world champion Kelsey-Lee Barber (62.54m). And Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou won the men\u2019s long jump with 8.13m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the non-scoring mixed hammer, Canada\u2019s Ethan Katzberg finished ahead of the USA\u2019s leading throwers. The Commonwealth silver medallist threw a best of 77.93m with Rudy Winkler finishing second (77.63m). World champion Brooke Andersen was third overall in the mixed format but the top woman, throwing a best of 77.13m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics and the Wanda Diamond League<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>*Subject to the usual ratification procedure<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"lazyload smush-lazyload-video smush-lazyload-youtube\" style=\"--smush-video-aspect-ratio: 500\/281\" data-bg-image=\"url(https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php?action=smush_video_thumbnail&#038;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FaoT9O0Q6jvc%3Ffeature%3Doembed&#038;video_width=500&#038;video_height=281)\" ><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Paris 2023 Extended Highlights - Wanda Diamond League\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/aoT9O0Q6jvc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\"><\/iframe><span class=\"smush-play-btn\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Play video\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<span tabindex=\"0\" class=\"smush-play-btn-inner\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<span>Play<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kenyan Faith Kipyegon and Ethiopian Lamecha Girma both broke world records in the 5000m and...","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":3023,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1131,1148],"tags":[114,6,629,203,192,624,180],"city":[1180],"class_list":["post-3022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-report","category-paris","tag-5000m","tag-diamond-league","tag-kenya","tag-kipyegon","tag-paris","tag-wanda","tag-world-record","city-paris"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3022"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3022\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18763,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3022\/revisions\/18763"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3022"},{"taxonomy":"city","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/city?post=3022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}