Jakob Ingebrigtsen In Command Throughout First 1,500m Matchup With Yared Nuguse

By David Woods for DyeStat

Photos Courtesy Diamond League (Matt Quine and Marta Gorczynska) 

Fred Kerley affirmed dominion over the 100 meters. Jakob Ingebrigtsen did likewise over 1,500 meters . . . but Yared Nuguse affirmed he is legit.

Kerley set a meet record of 9.94 seconds Sunday in the Diamond League meet at Rabat, Morocco, where the World champion was to be matched against Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs of Italy. Jacobs pulled out, but the field remained deep.

Akani Simbine of South Africa was second in 9.99 and Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya third in 10.05. Omanyala ran a world-leading 9.84 at Nairobi on May 13.

Botswana’s 19-year-old Letsile Tebogo, a two-time World U20 champion, was fourth in 10.09. World bronze medalist Trayvon Bromell was fifth in 10.10.

Previous meet record was 9.98 by Christian Coleman in 2018.

Kerley chided himself for a “sloppy” race but added:

“There’s no one like me. I am different. Simple.”

Norway’s Ingebrigtsen, reigning Olympic champion at 1,500, stayed with the pacemakers and was effectively unchallenged in clocking 3:32.59. He twice looked over his right shoulder to gauge separation from Nuguse, then raised his finger in triumph at the finish.

“I love the competition. I’ve been competitive my whole life,” Ingebrigtsen said in a post-race interview. “I always put myself on the line, give it my 100 percent.

“Most of all, I like to win.”

Nuguse was never close enough to threaten, although he charged late to finish second in a PB of 3:33.02 (The U.S. leader remains 20-year-old Hobbs Kessler, who was third in 3:32.61 Saturday at Los Angeles.) It was the first Diamond League for Nuguse, who in February set an American record in the indoor mile.

It was also the first matchup between Nuguse, 23, and Ingebrigtsen, 22. Both were at the World Athletics U20 Championships in 2018, but Nuguse failed to make a final in which Ingebrigtsen won silver. Nuguse was at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics but withdrew because of injury.

The Colorado-based On Athletics training group finished 2-3-6. Australia’s Ollie Hoare was third in 3:33.39 and Spain’s Mario Garcia Romo sixth in 3:34.69.

Applying an exclamation point at Rabat was crowd favorite Soufiane El Bakkali, a Moroccan who is reigning Olympic and world champion in the steeplechase. His time of 7:56.68 in the final event was the fastest since 2011 and elevated him to No. 8 on the all-time list.

Hilary Bor was fourth in 8:11.28, fastest by an American this year.

In other men’s events:

>> Rasheed Broadbell, a 22-year-old Jamaican, upset two-time world champion Grant Holloway to win the 110 hurdles in a meet record of 13.08. Holloway was second in 13.12 and Olympic champion Hansle Parchment, also of Jamaica, was third in 13.24. Devon Allen, coming off a recent Philadelphia Eagles training camp, lacked his usual fast finish and was fourth in 13.25. “The crowd was very loud and got me distracted,” Holloway said. 

>> Emmanuel Wanyoni, an 18-year-old Kenyan, won the 800 in 1:44.36. He was fourth at last year’s World Championships and set a world lead of 1:43.32 on May 13 at Nairobi.

>> Olympic champion Steven Gardiner of the Bahamas won the 400 in 44.70. Vernon Norwood was second in 45.11.

In women’s events:

>> World champion Shericka Jackson of Jamaica had to come from behind to beat early leader Tamari Davis in the 200. Jackson set a meet record of 21.98, followed by the Bahamas’ Anthonique Strachan in 22.15. Jackson was .07 off the world lead of Texas collegian Julien Alfred. Davis, a 20-year-old from Gainesville, Fla., was third in a PB of 22.30.

>> Gudaf Tsegay led a 1-2-3-4 Ethiopian finish in the 1,500, setting a meet record with a world-leading 3:54.03 (.02 off her PB). Previous world leader is also an Ethiopian, Diribe Welteji, who clocked 3:57.84 at Los Angeles. Tsegay won gold in the 5,000 and silver in the 1,500 at last year’s worlds. Freweyni Hailu clocked 3:57.65, 17-year-old Birke Haylom 3:57.66 and Worknesh Mesele 4:01.81. Cory McGee was fifth in 4:03.09, fastest by an American this year.

>> Mary Moraa, a 21-year-old Kenyan who won world bronze last year, took the 800 in 1:58.72. Sage Hurta-Klecker was third in 2:00.62.

>> In the field, there were world-leading marks by Ukrainian high jumper Yaroslava Mahuchikh (6-7/2.01m) and Cuban triple jumper Leyanis Perez (48-8.25/14.84m).

>> Shamier Little won in her first 400 hurdles race of the season, clocking 53.95 to beat a trio of Jamaicans. Thirty-three-year-old Dalilah Muhammad -- 2016 Olympic champion, four-time world medalist, former world record-holder -- was fifth in 55.72.

Contact David Woods at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.