Mo Farah Claims British 3K Record and World Lead in Birmingham
Mo Farah Claims British 3K Record and World Lead in Birmingham
In a gutsy solo performance, double Olympic Champion Mo Farah wowed his home crowd with a victory in a new British 3K record at the Birmingham Diamond Leagu
“I was a bit tired on the last lap but I knew I had to dig in,” Farah said. “I was always targeting the record and knew it was on at 2K.”
Farah won by a whopping 12 seconds as runner-up Mathew Kiptanui claimed second in 7:44.16 and was followed by Hillary Kipkorir in 7:44.99. The performance bested the previous world lead of 7:36.85 set by Abdelaati Iguider in Rabat.
New world lead, new British record and the crowd goes wild! 7:32.62 3K for @Mo_Farah! #BirminghamDL pic.twitter.com/viPAbgubmJ
— FloTrack (@FloTrack) June 5, 2016
After the race, Farah paid tribute to three-time World Heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali who passed away at 74-years-old on Friday. In a post-race interview, Farah referred to the legendary boxer as his “hero,” which is why he threw a couple punches at the camera before setting the national record.
FULL RESULTS
Farah’s performance was at the tail-end of a Diamond League meeting that saw many meet records and world leads go down.
David Rudisha ran his way to the second-fastest 600m of all time when he battled Pierre-Ambroise Bosse for the victory in 1:13.10. The performance is less than a second slower than the world record of 1:12.81 set by Johnny Gray in 1986.
RECORD D'EUROPE pour Bosse Pierre-Ambroise au 600m 1'13"21 au meeting de IAAF Diamond League Birmingham
— Projet Elite (@ProjetElite) June 5, 2016
2me... https://t.co/wG4yu9p96v
The defending Olympic Champion and 800m world record-holder received some redemption after finishing fifth at the Shanghai Diamond League meeting on May 14.
World Indoor Champion Francine Niyonsaba ran her way to victory with a world No. 2 mark of 1:56.94. The performance is her fastest 800m run so far in 2016 and just 0.35 seconds off of her personal best from 2012. Current world leader Caster Semenya of South Africa recently beat Niyonsaba at the Rome Diamond League meeting earlier this week and remains unbeaten over 800m in 2016.
Niyonsaba was followed by Renelle Lamote who closed in 1:58.01 and World silver medalist Melissa Bishop who finished in 1:58.48. Americans Chanelle Price, Ajee Wilson and Laura Roesler each finished in 2:00.80, 2:00.81, and 2:01.54, respectively.
In a gutsy all-out performance, Asbel Kiprop claimed the 1500m victory in a world-leading time of 3:29.33, which improved upon his previous world lead and season’s best of 3:32.15 set in Doha. Kiprop’s performance also beat the previous Birmingham meet record.
Meet record and another world lead for Asbel Kiprop! 3:29.33 FTW #BirminghamDL pic.twitter.com/SWGf3t6Rdx
— FloTrack (@FloTrack) June 5, 2016
Prefontaine Classic Champion English Gardner had a breakout performance when she beat the defending World Champion Dafne Schippers in the final of the women’s 100m. Gardner closed into a headwind for a winning time of 11.02 to take down the Dutch sprinter. World long jump Champion Tianna Bartoletta followed for third overall.
English Gardner matches her heat time with 11.02 to win the 100m final from Dafne Schippers 11.09 #BirminghamDL pic.twitter.com/CMlr8WC3rO
— Athletics Weekly (@AthleticsWeekly) June 5, 2016
Andre De Grasse won his first Diamond League competition of 2016 when he ran his way to a season’s best of 20.17 in the 200m. The performance is the fastest 200m time De Grasse has run since winning Pan American Games last summer in his standing personal best of 19.88.
New American record-holder Keni Harrison returned to competition after taking the Prefontaine Classic with a meet record time of 12.46. Harrison’s performance took down a stacked field that included Olympic silver medalist Dawn Harper-Nelson, World Champion Brianna Rollins, and 2012 Olympic Champion Sally Pearson who made her 2016 debut.
World silver medalist Conseslus Kipruto wowed the crowd in the men’s steeplechase when he finished just above the eight-minute barrier in a winning time of 8:00.12 to lower his standing world lead. The performance marked Kipruto’s fourth Diamond League victory this year.
SO CLOSE to sub-8!!! 8:00.12 for Conseslus Kipruto, a world lead and 4th DL win this season #BirminghamDL pic.twitter.com/gVb62cICrU
— FloTrack (@FloTrack) June 5, 2016
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