Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the Norwegian middle-distance runner, continues to impress with his extraordinary performances. At the age of 20, he won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, and now at 22, he has broken the world record for the fastest two miles in history.
A Historic 2-Mile Pace
During the Diamond League Paris meet, Ingebrigtsen achieved a remarkable time of 7:54.10, shattering the previous world record held by Daniel Komen for over 25 years. Komen’s time of 7:58.61, set in 1997, was the only other sub-8-minute time ever recorded.
Ingebrigtsen’s exceptional performance left his competitors far behind. Ishmael Kipkurui of Kenya finished second with a time of 8:09.23, followed by Kuma Girma of Ethiopia in third place with a time of 8:10.34.
WORLD RECORD!
Jakob Ingebrigtsen runs the fastest 2 miles in history with 7:54.10. #ParisDL | 📺: @peacock pic.twitter.com/AbDPtOwkDZ
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) June 9, 2023
Ingebrigsten Shocked with Result
The record-breaking achievement came as a surprise to Ingebrigtsen himself, as he mentioned in his comments after the race. Ingebrigtsen rose to prominence in 2021 when he secured the 1,500-meter title at the Tokyo Olympics, defeating his long-time rival Timothy Cheruiyot of Kenya for the first time in 13 races.
“Being able to make this record feels amazing. It is my first world best outdoors. The pace felt very smooth for me, coming out of the 1,500. I would say it was a good race. The public was amazing; without their help, it would have been more difficult. I was a bit surprised about the time in the end.”
Looking ahead to the 2024 Olympics, which are only a year away, Ingebrigtsen will undoubtedly be a name to watch. He is expected to compete in both the 1,500-meter and 5,000-meter events. In 2021, he had initially planned to attempt this challenging double but withdrew from the 5,000-meter race a week before the competitions took place.
It’s wild to think that running a sub-4-minute mile was thought impossible in the last century. And now we have a competitor that just ran back-to-back consecutive 4-minute miles in competition. With his incredible talent and consistently impressive performances, Jakob Ingebrigtsen has firmly established himself as one of the most exciting and promising athletes in the world and it feels like we’re just watching the beginning of a true legend.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
