As far as we know, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin didn’t care much for sport.
But the Russian revolutionary leader did know a thing or two about history (disclaimer: I don’t). And he once summed up history’s ebbs and flows with the observation: “There are decades in which nothing happens, and there are weeks in which decades happen.”
So it is with world records. There are decades in which nothing happens, and there are weeks in which decades happen. We’ve just experienced one. As a piece on the World Athletics website reports, from 8-16 February we saw seven world records in nine days. Sweet profusion. Two in one race, two by the same athlete in separate races, two athletes under the previous world record in two races, five world records on the track, two on the roads.
It started with Grant Fisher’s indoor 3000 metres record at the Millrose Games on 8 February. An hour later, in the same meeting, Yared Nuguse broke the world indoor record for the mile. Five days later again, this time in Lievin, France, Jakob Ingebrigtsen broke the record Nuguse had briefly held. For good measure, he broke the 1500 metres record en route, the first man to run under 3:30 indoors in doing so.
Not to be outdone, the very next day Fisher also took ownership of the 5000 metres world indoor record. Running on Boston University’s (in)famously fast track Fisher took just over five seconds off the previous world record set by one Kenenisa Bekele – an athlete who could certainly run some – 21 years earlier.
Finally, Sunday 16 February produced two world records on the road. In Japan, Toshikazu Yamanishi sliced almost a half-minute off the previous world record in winning his national 20km championship. Then, a few hours later as people are getting into the day in Europe, Jacob Kiplimo slashes 48 seconds off the world half-marathon record.
In Fisher’s 7:22.91 3000 record, Olympic 1500 champion Cole Hocker finished second in 7:23.14, also under the previous record; likewise, Hobbs Kessler’s 3:46.90 in second behind Nuguse’s 3:46.63. And in third, Cameron Myers ran 3:47.48, smashing the world U20 record he had set earlier on his short US tour by almost six seconds. We’re not including U20 records in the world record tally, but let’s not overlook an Aussie!
Then, Ingebrigtsen. Not since the chase for the first sub-four-minute mile had anyone broken the world record for 1500 metres on the way to a world record mile. Roger Bannister did it in the historic first sub-four; so, too, did the other two main protagonists, Wes Santee and our own John Landy. But none since. Now there is after Ingebrigtsen clocked 3:29.63 on his way to a 3:45.14 mile.
Fisher was bronze medallist at both 5000 and 10,000 metres at last year’s Paris Olympic Games but his outdoor personal best in the 5000 was a ‘modest’ 12:46.96 in 2022. His 12:44.09 in Boston was therefore an outright best. He moves to the top of the indoor/short track all-time list ahead of Bekele, Haile Gebrselassie and Daniel Komen. That’s some very handy names to put behind you, even allowing for shoes, tracks, bicarb, etc, etc.
Toshikazu Yamanishi was bronze medallist in the 20km walk in Paris but he is a two-time world champion and will be bidding to go two places better than his 2021 Olympic bronze at the world championships in Tokyo later this year. His 1:16:10 improves the previous world record set by compatriot Yusuke Suzuki in 2015 by 26 seconds.
Finally, Kiplimo. His 56:42 chopped a massive 48 seconds off the previous half-marathon global mark as did splits showing he ran 26:33 for the 10k from 5km to 15km. That’s mind-bogglingly quick.
Then spare a thought for Yomif Kejelcha. He started the month as world record holder for the indoor mile (3:47.01) and the half-marathon (67:30). At the end of it he held neither record and had dropped to fourth on the mile all-time list behind Ingebrigtsen, Nuguse and Kessler.
Adding another blister to his aching feet, Kejelcha also narrowly missed his own world record shot at 10k. His 26:31 in Castellon, Spain was just seven seconds shy of the world record 26:24.
Missed it by that much.
We’ve mentioned Cameron Myers, but there were other Australian performances dotted through a big week in athletics. Lauren Ryan won the women’s 3000 in Boston in a personal best 8:41.80 and Linden Halll was third in the 5000 in 14:58.43. Eleanor Patterson was beaten by world record holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh in an indoor high jump in Slovakia but her 1.99 clearance was her best since her silver medal performance at the same height in the Budapest 2023 world championships.
At home, Olympic men’s discus bronze medallist Matt Denny opened his season with a 67.82 throw in Adelaide and Claudia Hollingsworth and Josh Phillips won the national mile championships at the Albie Thomas Mile meeting in Sydney.
