2024 Bislett Games: Ingebrigtsen Wins & Warholm Loses on a Thrilling Night in Oslo

There was no post-Prefontaine let down on the Wanda Diamond League circuit as Thursday’s Bislett Games in Oslo served up an entertaining night of track & field with some close finishes and a couple of extremely fast times. The performance of the night came in the men’s 5,000 meters as Ethiopia’s Hagos Gebrhiwet ran 12:36.72 to move to #2 on the all-time list. That race gets its own article here.

But in terms of pure racing, the best races of the meet both involved Norway’s favored sons – one of whom claimed victory and one who was served a narrow defeat. Jakob Ingebrigtsen was the victor, edging Timothy Cheruiyot with a well-timed dive at the finish line to win a tight 1500 in 3:29.74. Ingebrigtsen’s fellow Olympic champion Karsten Warholm was not as fortunate as he was defeated by Brazilian Alison dos Santos, 46.63 to 46.70, after clipping hurdle 10.

There was also a stunner in the women’s 200 as American Brittany Brown took the win in 22.32 as reigning world champion Shericka Jackson was just 5th in 22.97.

Below, we recap the biggest events of the night and offer our analysis. If you missed the meet, no fear, we are going to start  collecting race videos for you: Race videos *Full results

Men’s 1500: Jakob Ingebrigtsen dives to win a thriller

Two races in six days, 5,000 miles apart, didn’t seem to faze Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who claimed the win in a thrilling 1500, running 3:29.74.

Pacing lights were set for a 3:29.00 finish, and the pacers hit 800 meters in 1:51.45, but Ingebrigtsen leading the chase pack, had allowed a gap to form and passed in 1:52.5. Once the pacers stepped off, Ingebrigtsen took control of the race, with his former rival Timothy Cheruiyot following in close order. 

Cheruiyot made a move for the lead with 200 meters to go, but was held off by Ingebrigtsen. However, in the final 50 meters, Cheruiyot started to come back on Cheruiyot forcing Ingebrigtsen to dive across the line to try to hold on to the win. Watching it live, it was too close to call but in the end Jakob was given the win with Cheruiyot a mere 0.03 seconds behind in 3:29.77. 

See for yourself.

Jakob edges Potato Tim

Ingebrigtsen’s Norwegian compatriot and 2023 world championship bronze medalist Narve Nordas lost his left shoe within the first 400 meters and finished far off the lead in second-to-last, running 3:34.86. While finishing in eighth place, Italy’s Pietro Arese ran 3:32.13 to set a national record. 

Quick Take: Even though he was almost beaten, this was a good result for Jakob Ingebrigtsen

Ingebrigtsen dominated this race last year, running 3:27.95 and winning by almost a second. This year, he won by just .03 and ran nearly two seconds slower, 3:29.74. So why was today a good result?

Well last year, the meet was two weeks later (June 15) and Ingebrigtsen was in the middle of his racing season after a long, healthy buildup. This time around, it was Ingebrigtsen’s second race in six days after not racing at all since September and missing a significant amount of training due to injury. For him to still hold on and win was a good sign.

The other thing to note is that there was a gap between Ingebrigtsen and the rabbits for most of the race. Usually Ingebrigtsen is able to save some energy by tucking in, but he barely saved any today. Essentially, Ingebrigtsen soloed a 3:29 from the front – not easy to do.

Ingebrigtsen was clearly pumped after the win in front of the screaming Norwegian fans, shadowboxing for the crowd and playfully racing a mascot dressed like a strawberry after the race.

“It was a good race, I felt stronger than last time,” Ingebrigtsen told meet organizers. “So today, it was all about my improvement and at the same time, I wanted to do my best and to give the crowd the show. But I can tell you that I was getting sore in the last 50m. I was expecting someone to come from the outside so I was very prepared to give it 100 percent. I said yesterday already, that it is going to be an exciting summer.”

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Next up for Ingebrigtsen: next week’s European championships in Rome.

Final

Quick Take: Timothy Cheruiyot showing signs of life

Today’s race felt like a flashback to 2021 when Ingebrigtsen and Cheruiyot were duking it out in Diamond Leagues and the Olympics. Could we see Cheruiyot battling for a medal again in Paris this summer?

Last year, Cheruiyot did not even make the World Championship final but revealed he was battling a knee injury. Now he’s on the comeback trail, and after running 3:32.67 for 2nd in Doha (a race where he said he was 85%), he ran nearly three seconds faster tonight. He said he is not done improving.

“For the last nine months, I’ve been injured so I need to focus on training more to improve my fitness ahead of Paris, where I hope to get another medal for my country,” Cheruiyot told meet organizers.

Men’s 400 hurdles: Alison dos Santos invades Karsten Warholm’s territory and wins an epic race

The highly-anticipated men’s 400 hurdles lived up to the hype as 2022 world champion Alison dos Santos took down Olympic champion and world record holder Karsten Warholm on his home turf in an epic come-from-behind victory, 46.63 to 46.70.

Warholm got out hard as usual, but dos Santos was right with him at 200 meters before Warholm began to open a gap on the final turn. But the Norwegian faltered slightly over the final 100 meters, clipping the 10th hurdle, which allowed dos Santos to edge him out for the win, shaving .01 off Rai Benjamin’s 46.64 world leader. 

Kyron McMaster, the 2023 World Championship silver medalist, took third in 48.49.

Quick Take: This race was incredible and we’re in store for something special in Paris

It’s a treat whenever dos Santos, Warholm, and Benjamin race each other outside of the championships, and while Benjamin was not here, the dos Santos-Warholm showdown more than lived up to the hype in front of the Norwegian crowd. Remember, Bislett Stadion is literally Warholm’s home track – Warholm trains there – yet dos Santos showed no fear showing up in Oslo and taking him down.

We’ve become accustomed to the big three running 46 seconds on the circuit, but for them all to be doing it this early in the season is something new. Before this year, no man had ever broken 47 before the month of June, yet in 2024, Warholm, Benjamin, and dos Santos have all done it (dos Santos has actually done it twice).

For context, Warholm opened his 2021 season with a 46.70 in Oslo on July 1 (a world record at the time) and went on to run 45.94 in the Olympic final a month later. This year, Warholm ran the same 46.70 time much earlier in the season – yet it was not even enough to win the race. The 400m hurdles final in Paris is going to be a lot of fun.

Women’s 3000: Georgia Griffith wins and sets Oceania record

We thought an Aussie might win the women’s 3000, and for a while it looked as if it would be Jess Hull, who just set an Australian record of 3:55.97 in the 1500 at Pre on Saturday. But that quick turnaround may have proved too much for her.

Instead, it was Georgia Griffith who used a big kick to win in an Aussie record of 8:24.20, going from 6th to 1st in the final lap.

Seven women hit the bell together and Hull quickly went to the lead. Midway through the final turn, it was a three-woman race. With 100 meters to go, Griffith, who was the runner-up at the Aussie champs behind Hull in the 1500, took the lead and ended up winning with a huge 13-second PB.

The race was totally devoid of the top African talent and second place went to unheralded Likina Amebawa of Ethiopia. The 26-year-old, who ran 14:44 in Morocco (and 29:56 on the roads in Paris), was second in 8:24.29 with Hull third in 8:25.82. Eleven of the top 12 women PR’d and four national records fell.

Quick Thought: 8:24 is great but…

At 8:24.20, Griffith is now the 26th-fastest woman outdoors in history. Only nine women have ever broken 8:20 – and four of them were Chinese women from 1993. But what’s crazy is if you are running world record pace in the 5,000 (14:00), you come through 3k in 8:24. That’s how good the best women in the world are right now.

Women’s 200: Brittany Brown wins as world champ Shericka Jackson is only 5th

It was American Brittany Brown who surged to a surprise victory on the outside in lane eight in 22.32 as world champ Shericka Jackson could only manage 5th in 22.97. Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith got out to a blazing start in lane seven, and as they rounded the bend it was the Brit Daryll Neita who took the lead in the middle of the track. It looked like a two-woman race until Brown used a strong last 50 to power past the pair and take the victory.

Jackson was the big story here, however. The 29-year-old Jamaican ran just 22.82 in her first 200 of the year in Marrakech on May 19, well off her 21.41 pb from Worlds last year that made her the second-fastest woman in history. But given that was Jackson’s first 200 and it came into a 1.0 headwind (and she won the race), she was expected to go faster today. Not so, as Jackson was not in contention after 100m and ran even slower than in Marrakech.

Sha’Carri Richardson showed last week that it only takes one race to turn around your season, but this was an unusually poor race for Jackson in her specialty distance. This race snapped a 16-race win streak in the 200m and was the first time she finished lower than 4th in a 200 since May 2018.

Final, Wind: -0.2

Women’s 800: Prudence Sekgodiso wins again

After a much faster than expected first lap (56.19), South African revelation Prudence Sekgodiso took off on the backstretch of the second lap and opened up a huge gap on the field and the pace lights (which were set for 1:58.00 pace), hitting 600 in 1:26.8. She faded down the home straight but still won comfortably in 1:58.66 over Jamaican Natoya Goule-Toppin, who ran 1:59.10 for second. World indoor champ Tsige Duguma tried to go with Sekgodiso but ended up running poorly for the second straight race as after finishing 8th at Pre she was 7th here in 2:01.31. 

Sekgodiso has now raced five 800s on the year and she won all of them in sub-2:00, including two Diamond Leagues.

Men’s 100: Simbine takes down Jacobs

In a race that included defending Olympic champion, Marcell Jacobs and 9.69 man Yohan Blake, it was neither winning the competition in Oslo, instead it was Akini Simbine claiming the victory in 9.94. Jacobs got out well, alongside Simbine but was ultimately bested in the final 30 meters, he would run a season’s best of 10.03, good for third place. Abdul Hakim Sani Brown of Japan finished in second place, running 9.99.

*Full results *All race videos

More: Hagos Gebrhiwet Runs 12:36.72 to Win Epic 5000m in Oslo & Move to #2 All-Time

Talk about the meet on our world-famous fan forum / messageboard:

• Official 2024 Oslo Diamond League Discussion Thread
• Tim Cheruiyot 3:29.77, 0.03s behind Jakob who fell when leaning over the line
• My Unhinged Oslo 1500m Take: Jakob is done
• 30 year old Hagos MF Gebrhiwet runs 12:36 5000m, #2 all time
• Jakob hasn’t qualified for the 5000 in Paris
• Post-Oslo World 1500m Power Rankings Update
• 0slo 1500 today what you got? Jakob 3:28?
• Jakob DIVES for the Win in his home country
• You know why everyone like Ingebrigtsen? He’s raced Sunday, will again this Thursday, will twice next week at Euros, etc
• Dipping for the line is ridiculous, your time should be when either your toe or chest crosses the line.