Unstoppable Timothy Cheruiyot proves he's the best in 1500m
Athletics
By
Jonathan Komen
| Aug 25, 2020
World 1500m champion Timothy Cheruiyot illustrated yet again that he’s the finest 1500m runner on the planet at the Bauhaus Galan Wanda Diamond League meeting in Stockholm on Sunday night.
He didn’t run quite as quickly as he had hoped, but did show that at the moment, he’s unstoppable.
Taking command when the final pacesetter stepped aside with 500 metres to go, Cheruiyot ploughed on, with Stewart McSweyn and Jakob Ingebrigtsen in tow. The Norwegian teenager moved past the Australian over the final lap, but found no answer to Cheruiyot’s finishing strength. Closing with a 55.55 final lap, Cheruiyot reached the finish line in 3:30.25, with Ingebrigtsen second in 3:30.74. McSweyn’s persistence was rewarded with a 3:31.48 career best for third.
Karsten Warholm powered to the second fastest 400m hurdles performance of all time.
Running in lane eight, Warholm went out in his typically rampaging style, building a visible lead by the third hurdle. He then added to it with each stride, powering off the final bend and into the home straight very much alone, showing no signs of slowing down. For some moments, Kevin Young’s 46.78 world record, set at the Barcelona Olympic Games 28 years ago, looked to be under serious threat.
But it didn’t come to pass after the 24-year-old Norwegian clipped the final barrier, costing him valuable ticks of the clock. He nonetheless did claw his way closer to Young’s venerable performance, clocking 46.87 to break his own European record by 0.05 seconds and solidify his number two position on world all-time list.
Frenchman Wilfried Happio was second in 49.14, ahead of Ludvy Vaillant who clocked 49.18.
But he wasn’t finished. Warholm chose to double back 94 minutes later in the 400m and won big there as well, clocking 45.05, well clear of Slovenia’s Luka Janezic who clocked 45.85.
Warholm’s was one of four world leads on the day. Laura Muir obliterated a solid field in 1500m in 3:57.86.