Oslo: Jakob Ingebrigtsen ensured a raucous end to a thrilling Diamond League meeting in front of his home fans in Oslo by hurling himself over the line to snatch victory in the men’s 1500m.
A more dramatic finish to the thrilling schedule could not have been better scripted on a night of shocks that saw five other reigning Olympic champions, including Ingebrigtsen’s Norwegian teammate Karsten Warholm. upstaged.
For Ingebrigtsen, beaten over a mile last week by world 1500m champion Josh Kerr, the victory was the perfect tonic with the Paris Olympics now just two months away.
While Ingebrigtsen’s dive for the line, bounce back to his feet and his subsequent crouch into a boxer’s pose throwing punches might grab the headlines, the performance of the night undoubtedly went to Ethiopia’s Hagos Gebrhiwet, who clocked the second fastest time ever in the men’s 5,000m.
Total Norwegian delight was denied by the 2022 world champion Alison Dos Santos, who timed 46.63s to win the men’s 400m hurdles.
He seized his opportunity as Warholm clipped the final hurdle, a slight stumble handing the Brazilian just enough track to scramble to the line 0.07sec ahead.
There was also disappointment for fellow Olympic champions Shericka Jackson of Jamaica, Italian Marcell Jacobs, Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei and Sweden’s Daniel Stahl.
It was American Brittany Brown who claimed victory in the women’s 200m in 22.32sec as two-time world gold medallist Jackson laboured across the line in fifth in 22.97sec.
With just 57 days and counting to the Paris Games and the Jamaican trials to negotiate, there will be some concern for Jackson as she clocked her slowest time over the 200m since heats at the Tokyo Games.
South African Akani Simbine dipped for victory in a season’s best 9.94sec in the men’s 100m, with Jacobs also never in the running for the win.
World champions Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic and Burkina Faso’s Fabrice Hugues Zango, however, claimed victories in the women’s 400m and men’s triple jump (17.27m). Agencies
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