Timothy Cheruiyot, Jakob Ingebrigtsen shine in final Bowerman Mile at Hayward

By August Howell

With 12,667 fans filling the stadium at Hayward Field, Jakob Ingebrigtsen sprinted down the home stretch of the Bowerman Mile at the Prefontaine Classic. With less than 100 meters to go, the Norwegian drew level with Elijah Manangoi, the reigning world champion.

“When I saw Manangoi, I was like, ‘Wow,’” Ingebrigtsen said. “It’s a dream come true to be racing against the best guys in the world.”

In Ingebrigsten’s first Bowerman Mile, the 17-year-old finished in 3 minutes, 52.28 seconds, good for fourth place. Though he did not achieve his goal of beating Alan Webb’s national high school record, he still set a personal best by nearly four seconds. In a race featuring the reigning world and Olympic champions, Ingebrigtsen was the only athlete in the field who set a personal best.

Timothy Cheruiyot, last year’s third-place finisher, won the race in 3:49.87. After going 56.05 on the final lap, he pumped his fist as he broke the tape.

Cheruiyot handily beat Manangoi, his training partner. His biggest challenge came from Samuel Tefera, the 19-year-old world indoor champion for 1,500 meters. Tefera, from Ethiopia, was the only competitor challenging Cheruiyot with 200 meters to go, but was unable to outkick him. This is the second consecutive Diamond League meet in which Tefera has finished second to Cheruiyot, the last being the 1,500 meters in Shanghai.

The pacer, Jackson Kivuva of Kenya, led the field through the first lap in 56.1 seconds. By the time they came around the 800-meter mark in 1:55.8, Cheruiyot and Tefera had widened their lead considerably.

Cheruiyot was happy with the win, but wished the pace had been even faster. He said he loves competing in Eugene because he starts the year “rusty,” then looks to improve his time at Hayward. His goal time for the end of the season in to run sub-3:28 in the 1,500 meters, which he wants to do at the Monaco Diamond League race.

Ingebrigtsen’s time was the fastest ever by a 17-year-old. Because he turns 18 later this calendar year, he is not eligible for the Under-18 world record. The race’s pace allowed him to finish with a strong final lap.

“It felt really good,” Ingebrigtsen said. “I wasn’t expecting the race to be that fast. … I had a lot more to give the last lap, so I felt really good coming into the homestretch.”

 

August Howell

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