On a Friday evening in Brussels, Jakob Ingebrigtsen ran his first race since winning the world 5000m title. He broke the 2000m world record, a mark that had stood for nearly 24 years. At the Memorial Van Damme, the Norwegian clocked 4:43.13 to erase Hicham El Guerrouj’s 4:44.79 from 1999.
A solo pursuit under the lights
Two pacemakers led him through 1000m in 2:22.28, slightly off the planned 2:21. Both stepped aside with just over 600 metres to go. Ingebrigtsen ran the rest alone, chasing the green wavelight pacing system around the King Baudouin Stadium track.
He hit the bell at 3:48 before pushing ahead on the final bend. The crowd rose as he closed with a sharp 54.9-second last lap. His average pace for the full distance was a fierce 56.63 seconds per 400 metres.
A mark older than the record-breaker
El Guerrouj set his record in Berlin on 7 September 1999, exactly one year before Ingebrigtsen was born. The 22-year-old had announced his record attempt weeks earlier. This run gave him a third global mark, next to his indoor 1500m record and a world best over two miles.
Behind him, Reynold Cheruiyot ran a world U20 record of 4:48.14 and Stewart McSweyn set an Oceanian record. Ingebrigtsen finished his 2023 season with 10 wins in 11 races. “It’s always fun to break a record,” he told reporters, adding that he was pleased this one counted as an official world record.
The time made him the first man under 4:44 for the rarely-run distance. The young Norwegian continues to chase El Guerrouj’s still-standing 1500m and mile marks, but on this night in Brussels he simply made a long-standing record his own.
