Farah, Hassan broke the world record for one hour

Mo Farah on Friday set a new world record in the rarely performed one-hour event on her return to the track in an empty Brussels stadium which also witnessed Sifan Hassan set a new record in the one-hour women’s event. .

Three years after opting to race on the road, Farah showed no sign of cobwebs as he ran 21,330 km during the 60 minutes behind closed doors at the Brussels Diamond League match at the King Baudouin Stadium.

Farah, who won the 5,000 and 10,000 meters for Great Britain at both the London and Rio Olympics, surpassed Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie’s previous record of 21,285 km, set back in 2007, by 45 m.

Photo: AFP

“I am very happy to break the world record today,” said Farah. “What an amazing way to do it and show people what is possible.”

It was a formidable record – the equivalent of 52 1/2 laps averaging 67 seconds per lap, or 2:47 minutes per kilometer.

At one point, the 37-year-old Briton, also a six-time world gold medalist, seemed to have missed that vital programmed pace, with his Belgian training partner Bashir Abdi still in the race.

There may have been no people due to COVID-19 health protocols, but the record attempt featured music, cheers from the audience, and a visual guide aid – 400 LED lights installed in drain covers that lit up to reflect the desired rhythm.

Farah and Abdi took note of the flashing lights and picked up the pace to return to record time.

With five minutes to go, Abdi took the lead for the first time, sweeping Farah with the tails of his coat.

When the gun went off in the final minute, Farah made his quick stride to fire past the Belgian and maintain his form until a second shot that ended the run.

While Farah holds all British records in all events between 1,500m and the marathon, it was her first world record.

Ethiopian-born Dutch runner Hassan, like Farah, once a member of the now-disbanded and Nike-backed group of disgraced coach Alberto Salazar, broke the women’s world record.

Hassan, the reigning 1,500m and 10,000m world champion, took a thrilling kick on the final lap to beat Kenyan marathon world record holder Brigid Kosgei, who was later disqualified, and climb 18,930km.

Hassan’s final distance added 413m, over one lap, to the previous record of 18,517km set by Dire Tune Arissi of Ethiopia in 2008.

“I’m very happy,” said Hassan, who last season also set world records in the mile (4: 12.33) and 5 km on the road (14:44). “An hour is long. It requires a lot of focus and concentration. After the first half, I found my rhythm ”.

However, Faith Kipyegon was not so lucky, the Kenyan once again frustrated in her attempt to break the world record for the women’s 1,000 meters.

The reigning 1,500m Olympic gold medalist failed to beat Russia’s Svetlana Masterkova’s world record of 2: 28.98 set in 1996 by just 0.17 seconds in Monaco.

This time, Kipyegon paid the price for a slight lapse in tempo mid-race, which finally came in 2: 29.92.

Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who claimed Farah’s 1,500-meter European record when he finished second in Monaco behind Timothy Cheruyiot last month, clinched victory in the event in the Belgian capital, in 3: 30.69.

In his last race as a teenager, the 19-year-old was brought to the line for an easy victory, two seconds off his continental record.

“That was fun. I was finally able to win, ”said the Norwegian, laughing. “In the last few meters, I missed someone pushing me. It is impossible to run very, very fast if you are alone. ”

Heptathlon world champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson achieved a season-best 13.57 seconds and finished fourth in the 100-meter hurdles, won by local Anne Zagre (13.21), before jumping 1.84 meters for sixth place in an event claimed by Australian Nicola McDermott. (1.91 m).

Swede Armand Duplantis, fresh off a world lead and his new personal best outdoor record of 6.07m in Lausanne this week, won the men’s pole vault with a best of 6.00m, a competition record.