Jessica Hull shatters 2000m WR at Monaco Diamond League
Hull ran 5:19.70 to break the WR by 1.84 seconds
By Harper Clark
It was just five days ago that Jessica Hull ran 3:50.83 over 1500 meters, a 5.14-second personal best that made her the fifth-fastest woman of all-time and catapulted her into another stratosphere of track & field excellence. Following her legendary performance in Paris, Hull chose not to rest on her laurels; but rather pursue the 2000-meter world record at the Herculis EBS Wanda Diamond League track and field meeting in Monaco. Mission accomplished as Hull was great once again and clocked 5:19.70 to shatter by 1.84 seconds the previous record of 5:21.56 set by Francine Niyonsaba three years ago.
(We have two other articles on the rest of the meet: Jakob Ingebrigtsen blasts 3:26.73 pb and world lead in Monaco , 2024 Monaco: Rai Benjamin wins 400mh showdown as Djamel Sedjati runs 1:41 again and Quincy Hall runs 43.80)
The Race
From the gun, Hull followed the pacers in close order–splitting 64.20 for the first lap, just ahead of world record pace. From there, the steady pace continued; Spain’s Esther Guerrero, who also paced Niyonsaba’s world record, led Hull through 1000 meters in 2:39.88–1.49 seconds faster than the 1000-meter split from Niyosaba’s race.
Heather Maclean took Hull to 1500 meters before stepping off and with nothing but empty track ahead, Hull picked up the pace the final lap–crossing 1600 meters in 4:16.65 before finishing with a 63.05 final 400m to become the first woman under 5:20.
Hull acknowledged the accumulative fatigue of two exceptional performances in five days, saying “I definitely felt Paris’s race all week in the legs. So today the goal was just to be strong, even if my legs were very heavy. I ran at a different pace and level of fatigue I have never been at before”.
Behind Hull, seven other national records were broken; headlined by Melissa Courtney-Bryant–who ran 5:26.08 for a new British record. Cory McGee, who broke the 4-minute barrier for the first time at the U.S. Olympic trials broke the American record; running 5:28.78 for fourth place.
The key for Jessica Hull getting the record was the fourth lap. At 1200 meters, Hull crossed the line in 3:13.13 seconds–just 0.80 seconds ahead of Niyonsaba from three years ago. But from 1200 to 1600 meters, Hull ran 63.25 seconds; well ahead of Niyonsaba’s 66.30-second split which put her in position to break the record. Niyonsaba had to run the final 700m in the lead and did not have Wavelight pacing splits.
Jessica Hull vs. Francine Niyonsaba Splits
| Lap | Hull | Niyonsaba* |
| 1 | 64.2 | 64.5 |
| 2 | 64.2 | 64.7 |
| 3 | 64.1 | 64.7 |
| 4 | 63.2 | 66.3 |
| 5 | 63.0 | 61.3 |
| Total | 5:19.70 | 5:21.56 |
*Niyonsaba’s splits were for the rabbit or Niyonsaba (she had the lead at 1600)
(If you need a VPN to watch the video click here)
| PLACE | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | RESULT | PB/SB/WR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HULL Jessica | AUS | 5:19.70 | WR |
| 2 | COURTNEY-BRYANT Melissa | GBR | 5:26.08 | NR |
| 3 | JEBITOK Edinah | KEN | 5:26.09 | NR |
| 4 | McGEE Cory Ann | USA | 5:28.78 | AR |
| 5 | GRIFFITH Georgia | AUS | 5:28.82 | |
| 6 | STAFFORD Lucia | CAN | 5:31.18 | NR |
| 7 | GUILLEMOT Agathe | FRA | 5:32.63 | NR |
| 8 | GARCÍA Marta | ESP | 5:32.86 | NR |
| 9 | EMBAYE Axumawit | ETH | 5:34.99 | |
| 10 | MAGEEAN Ciara | IRL | 5:43.06 | |
| 11 | FERNÁNDEZ María Pía | URU | 5:50.21 | AR |
| DNF | GUERRERO Esther | ESP | ||
| DNF | MACLEAN Heather | USA | ||
| DNF | MARTÍN Lorena | ESP |
Quick Take: Jessica Hull is the real deal
Five days ago we were stunned by Jessica Hull’s run, a 5.14-second improvement seemed unfathomable. Sitting here five days later, her 5:19.70 run is almost as equally impressive. She showed tonight her run in Paris was not a remarkable one-off performance; but rather a testament to her fitness.
LRC coaching guru, John Kellogg converts Hull’s 5:19.70 2000-meter race to a 3:51.12 1500-meter performance. That is two sub-3:52 equivalent races in five days, certainly impressive for a woman who boasted a 3:55.97 personal best prior to last Sunday.
While Faith Kipyegon seems unbeatable, Jessica Hull has to really like her medal chances for Paris at this point, particularly since the women’s 10,000 is the night before the 1500 final which will make things really tough for Gudaf Tsegay if she opts for the triple.
Cory McGee runs the equivalent of 3:57 yet again
American Cory McGee had never broken 4:00 for 1500 meters until the Olympic Trials until she ran 3:57.44 in Eugene but that big pb only got her 5th. Today she had another great run of 5:38.78 – equivalent of 3:57.67.
Congrats to Cory on the American record.
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Talk about today’s action on our world-famous messageboard:
- Official 2024 Monaco DL Live Discussion Thread
- Jakob is BACK BABY – 3:26.73!! Wow.
- I don’t believe Jakob is clean. injured and runs 3:26.7 a bit later?
- Sedjati = obvious EPO cheat: 1:41.46 800 3
- Jakob Ingebrigtsen the MF Goat will run 3:26 in Monaco
- 1500m record has only a 1 hour left
- 3:26 jakob vs 3:29 kerr
- 3:26.74 will be Jakob’s LIFETIME best.
- Yeah, Kerr ain’t winning
- After Jakob’s 3:26, Kerr’s chance of winning in Paris has INCREASED
- 2000m is NOT a WR it’s a WB
- I’m worried about Marco Arop
- Jess Hull progression – nothing to see here
