HENGELO, NETHERLANDS, June 06 — The reigning 10,000 world champion made an eloquent statement about her Tokyo chances in the longest track event by shattering the World Record at the FBK Games.
Sifan Hassan, 28, rode rabbits and pacing lights to a stunning 29:06.82 performance that sliced 10.63 seconds from the 29:17.45 that Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana set at the ’16 Olympics (see chart for the all-time list).
Taking the lead after the pacesetters brought her through the 3000 in 8:47.91, Hassan stuck to the goal pace of 2:55+ per kilo, passing halfway in 14:38.75. The tempo barely varied, with kilos 3–9 all within 0.73 seconds of each other.
On the final few laps the Dutch star unleashed her mile-WR-holder speed for a brilliant 2:45.77 final kilo that provided most of the record-breaking margin as she lapped the entire field, needing only 14:28.07 for the second 5000.
In ecstatic disbelief she gushed, “Wow! To run this World Record here today in Hengelo is something I could only dream of. It’s the perfect confirmation of the hard work we’ve put in getting ready for Tokyo.
“I am so happy to share this record in front of my Dutch fans. I am so happy!”
The pace her team chose may have been conservative. “I know I am in shape to go under 29:00,” she said. “But my coach [Tim Rowberry] said, ‘No, we train for under 29 so you can run 29:17.’ I had confidence, I was like ‘I want to go 29:10’ but he said he wanted me to go exactly with the pace.”
The former Ethiopian became the first woman to hold the mile and 10,000 marks simultaneously since Mary Slaney did for a 2-month period in the summer of ’82. And the 5000 — in which she holds the road WR — is certainly well within her grasp.
For Tokyo, she is planning to run a 5/10K double, a departure from her Doha dance card, where she won the 1500 and 10,000.
Field action, was highlighted by a Mondo Duplantis third-try clearance of 20-0 (6.10) in the vault. The plenty-of-room-to-spare flight marked the fifth time in the young Swede’s career that he had topped the imperial barrier.
His real goal, however, eluded him with three misses at a WR 6.19 (20-3¾).
He explained, “I felt really motivated coming to this meet, I haven’t felt like that in a pretty long time, that I really had something to prove. Today I wanted to show everybody that I can still jump really high.”
Grant Holloway’s world leader of 13.07 in the highs got a scare from Jamaican Omar McLeod, who flew to a 13.08-13.32 win over American Devon Allen on a 1.7 wind, despite slamming the first hurdle hard.
Qatar’s Abderrahmane Samba had no troubles topping Turkey’s Yasmani Copello 48.56–48.88 for a win in the 400H. It was just his second race in the event since the ’19 Worlds where he won bronze. “It was a little bit cold and windy,” said Samba, indicating that he was “not happy” with his time. “I’ll try to make progress in the future.”
The flat 400 was dominated by Fred Kerley, a solid 44.74 giving him his first outdoor win of the season in his specialty.
Dina Asher-Smith, the reigning world 200 champ, broke into sub-11 territory in the 100 for the first time this season. With her 10.92 victory over Blessing Okagbare (11.02) and Daryll Neita (11.04), the 25-year-old Brit is positioning herself as the prime European challenger to Sha’Carri Richardson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in Tokyo.
“I’m happy to have put together a good race and won today,” said Asher-Smith. “I was hoping to go a little bit faster, but it will come when it wants to come.”
Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico continued her undefeated campaign in the hurdles with a big 12.44 win over Poland’s Pia Skrzyszowska (12.80). Said the winner, who had just arrived in Europe the night before: “I’m really fatigued and it really surprised me.”
A women’s discus battle among some key names on the Tokyo formchart gave Cuba’s undefeated Yaimé Pérez a narrow win over Sandra Perković with her 216-3 (65.91) on her final throw to surpass the Croatian’s 215-10 (65.80) from round 5. Third-placer Liliana Cá of Portugal had led from round 3 with her 213-6 (65.07).
HENGELO CT MEN’S RESULTS
(Continental Tour Gold)
100(1.6): 1. Christopher Garia (Neth) 10.34.
200(0.6): 1. Isaac Makwala (Bot) 20.37; 2. Eseosa Desalu (Ita) 20.63; 3. Christophe Lemaitre (Fra) 20.79.
400: 1. Fred Kerley (US) 44.74; 2. Jochem Dobber (Neth) 45.51; 3. Liemarvin Bonevacia (Neth) 45.77; 4. Zakithi Nene (SA) 45.87; 5. Ricky Petrucciani (Swi) 45.94; 6. Matthew Hudson-Smith (GB) 46.17.
800: 1. Mateusz Borkowski (Pol) 1:47.02; 2. Benjamin Robert (Fra) 1:47.15; 3. Elliot Giles (GB) 1:47.22; 4. Daniel Rowden (GB) 1:47.24; 5. Kyle Langford (GB) 1:47.60.
1500: 1. Jake Wightman (GB) 3:34.67; 2. Abel Kipsang (Ken) 3:35.63; 3. Jesús Gómez (Spa) 3:35.70; 4. Charles Simotwo (Ken) 3:35.81; 5. Ismael Debjani (Bel) 3:36.01; 6. Ronald Kwemoi (Ken) 3:36.11; 7. Ignacio Fontes (Spa) 3:36.90.
110H(1.7): 1. Omar McLeod (Jam) 13.08; 2. Devon Allen (US) 13.32; 3. Wilhem Belocian (Fra) 13.34; 4. Koen Smet (Neth) 13.50 PR; 5. Aurel Manga (Fra) 13.55; 6. David King (GB) 13.57; 7. Yaqoub Al-Yoha (Kuw) 13.71.
400H: 1. Abderrahmane Samba (Qat) 48.56; 2. Yasmani Copello (Tur) 48.88; 3. Nick Smidt (Neth) 49.43; 4. Alessandro Sibilio (Ita) 49.56; 5. Ludvy Vaillant (Fra) 49.91.
Field Events
HJ: 1. Maksim Nedasekau (Blr) 7-4¼ (2.24); 2. Brandon Starc (Aus) 7-2½ (2.20); 3. Gianmarco Tamberi (Ita) 7-2½; 4. tie, Donald Thomas (Bah) & Derek Drouin (Can) 7-2½; 6. Thomas Carmoy (Bel) 7-2½; 7. Douwe Amels (Neth) 7-2½ (2.20); 8. Edgar Rivera (Mex) 7-2½; 8. Jamal Wilson (Bah) 7-2½.
PV: 1. Mondo Duplantis (Swe) 20-0 (6.10) (out WL; =WL) (x, =14 W; non-Bubka: x, =4 W) (18-½, 18-10, 19-2¾, 19-5 [out WL], 19-8¼ [2] [out WL], 20-0 [3], 20-3¾ [xxx]) (5.50, 5.74, 5.86, 5.92, 6.00 [2], 6.10 [3], 6.19 [xxx]);
2. Ernest John Obiena (Phi) 19-¼ (5.80); 3. Menno Vloon (Neth) 19-¼; 4. Rutger Koppelaar (Neth) 18-5¼ (5.62); 5. Thiago Braz (Bra) 18-5¼; 6. Ben Broeders (Bel) 18-5¼; 7. Cole Walsh (US) 18-½ (5.50).
LJ: 1. Augustin Bey (Fra) 26-9¼ (8.16) PR; 2. Ruswahl Samaai (SA) 26-7 (8.10); 3. Chris Mitrevski (Aus) 26-4½ (8.04); 4. Filippo Randazzo (Ita) 26-3½ (8.01); 5. Vladyslav Mazur (Ukr) 26-2¾ (7.99); 6. Emiliano Lasa (Uru) 26-2¼ (7.98); 7. Henry Frayne (Aus) 26-1½ (7.96).
SP: 1. Sven Poelmann (Neth) 66-4¼ (20.22) PR.
JT: 1. Tom Egbers (Neth) 240-4 (73.25).
HENGELO WOMEN’S RESULTS
100(0.8): 1. Dina Asher-Smith (GB) 10.92; 2. Blessing Okagbare (Ngr) 11.02; 3. Daryll Neita (GB) 11.04 PR; 4. Dafne Schippers (Neth) 11.15; 5. Ajla Del Ponte (Swi) 11.25.
400: 1. Cynthia Bolingo Mbongo (Bel) 51.16; 2. Laviai Nielsen (GB) 51.44; 3. Lieke Klaver (Neth) 51.46; 4. Lada Vondrová (CzR) 52.00.
800: 1. Jemma Reekie (GB) 2:00.77; 2. Laura Muir (GB) 2:00.95; 3. Ellie Baker (GB) 2:01.02; 4. Renelle Lamote (Fra) 2:01.02; 5. Catriona Bisset (Aus) 2:01.85; 6. Halimah Nakaayi (Uga) 2:02.52; 7. Adelle Tracey (GB) 2:02.63; 8. Hanna Green (US) 2:02.68; 9. Hedda Hynne (Nor) 2:02.92.
10,000: 1. Sifan Hassan (Neth) 29:06.82 WR (old WR 29:17.45 Almaz Ayana [Eth] ’16) (14:38.75/14:28.07);
2. Irene Kimais (Ken) 30:37.24 PR; 3. Daisy Cherotich (Ken) 30:37.31 PR; 4. Rose Davies (Aus) 30:54.89 PR; 5. Joyce Chepkemoi (Ken) 30:59.01 PR; 6. Gloria Kite (Ken) 31:13.04 PR; 7. Mercyline Chelangat (Uga) 31:15.05 PR; 8. Dominique Scott Efurd (SA) 31:19.89 PR; 9. Brillian Kipkoech (Ken) 31:46.17.
100H(0.5): 1. Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (PR) 12.44; 2. Pia Skrzyszowska (Pol) 12.80 PR; 3. Elisa Maria Di Lazzaro (Ita) 13.00; 4. Zoë Sedney (Neth) 13.02 PR; 5. Megan Tapper (Jam) 13.05; 6. Cyrena Samba-Mayela (Fra) 13.11; 7. Sharona Bakker (Neth) 13.16; 8. Anne Zagré (Bel) 13.22.
400H: 1. Femke Bol (Neth) 54.33; 2. Anna Ryzhykova (Ukr) 54.59; 3. Wenda Nel (SA) 55.25; 4. Emma Zapletalová (Svk) 55.29; 5. Sara Slott Petersen (Den) 55.55.
Field Events
SP: 1. Jessica Schilder (Neth) 57-5 (17.50).
DT: 1. Yaimé Pérez (Cub) 216-3 (65.91) (182-1, 214-11, 215-1, 212-7, 211-3, 216-3) (55.51, 65.50, 65.57, 64.81, 64.38, 65.91); 2. Sandra Perković (Cro) 215-10 (65.80) (f, f, 213-0, f, 215-10, f) (f, f, 64.92, f, 65.80, f); 3. Liliana Cá (Por) 213-6 (65.07); 4. Denia Caballero (Cub) 204-11 (62.46); 5. Mélina Robert-Michon (Fra) 193-2 (58.88); 6. Daria Zabawska (Pol) 191-3 (58.29).
JT: 1. Lisanne Schol (Neth) 185-8 (56.61).
Remember When?…
Just 25 months ago, after winning in her 10,000 debut at the 2019 Payton Jordan Invitational, Sifan Hassan’s view of racing 25 laps was decidedly ambivalent.