Kenyan 800m runner beats British record-holder at a Diamond League meeting that also sees Berihu Aregawi shine in the men’s 5000m and Jakob Ingebrigtsen in imperious form at 1500m

The much-anticipated 800m head-to-head between Keely Hodgkinson and Mary Moraa saw the Kenyan win decisively in 1:57.43 at the Athletissima meeting in Lausanne on Friday (June 30).

“I had a good view of the race,” Hodgkinson said, “but just from behind, which was not the plan. It was not my best put-together race and she (Moraa) had more than me. I’m disappointed because I think I’m better than that. But she came out on top today.”

In a repeat of the result from the Commonwealth Games final clash last summer, Moraa led Hodgkinson through the bell in 57.4 and then controlled the pace from the front, clocking 30.03 from 400m to 600m, before then making Hodgkinson run wide around the final bend until she unleashed a strong kick entering the home straight.

Despite having clocked a British record of 1:55.77 in her last 800m race, Hodgkinson was surprisingly left for pace as Moraa drew away and the world and Olympic silver medallist finished almost a second behind in 1:58.37 as fellow Brit Jemma Reekie ran 1:59.32 in fifth.

Moraa said: “It was a very challenging race and I felt completely empty at the end of it. The weather (relatively cool) was particularly difficult for me.”

“I just didn’t have it in my legs today and I’ve got to figure out why.” @keelyhodgkinson is reflective after finishing second to Mary Moraa at @athletissima ?

A repeat of the Commonwealth 800m final and the pair clocked 1:57.43 and 1:58.37 respectively ?

?️ @stuartweir pic.twitter.com/vFB9Tz4fwJ

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) June 30, 2023

Two weeks after Yomif Kejelcha and Jacob Kiplimo both ran 12:41.73 in an enthralling 5000m in Oslo, the same event in Lausanne produced another classic encounter, this time between world record-holder Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda and Berihu Aregawi of Ethiopia.

Taking the lead halfway through the race, the front-running Aregawi passed 3000m in 7:41.5 and then reeled off a series of laps just outside 60 seconds as he closed with a 3:57.9 mile and last 400m in 55.7 to clock 12:40.45.

It elevates Aregawi to No.5 on the world all-time rankings behind only Cheptegei, Kenenisa Bekele, Haile Gebrselassie and Daniel Komen. I am delighted to be here and to win against Joshua,” said Aregawi. “It was a great atmosphere. Thank you, Lausanne!”

Cheptegei holds the world record of 12:35.36 but it could be on borrowed time given recent results.

Behind Aregawi in Lausanne, Cheptegei was within striking distance coming into the home straight but could not match Aregawi’s finish as he ran 12:41.61. In third, Hagos Gebrhiwet ran 12:49.80 with Telahun Haile Bekele clocking 12:49.81.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen was in superlative form again as he coasted to victory in the 1500m in 3:28.72. Two weeks after his 3:27.95 European record in Oslo, the Norwegian had Josh Kerr and world 3000m steeplechase record-holder Lamecha Girma on his shoulder with 120m to go, but he kicked clear to win as Girma ran an Ethiopian record of 3:29.51 in second with Kerr clocking a brilliant season’s best of 3:29.64 – his second best time behind his Olympic bronze medal-winning performance.

With the UK Championships in eight days’ time, another Brit, Elliot Giles, ran a PB of 3:31.56 in fourth – to go No.10 on the UK all-time rankings – as team-mate Neil Gourley ran 3:32.63 in sixth.

Elsewhere, Ryan Crouser took the men’s shot put victory with 22.29m from fellow American Joe Kovacs’ 21.99m.

Marie-Josee Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast continued her fine sprint form by winning the women’s 100m in 10.88 (-0.8) as Britain’s Daryll Neita was runner-up in 11.07, whereas Mujinga Kambundji, the world indoor champion, struggled home in 11.41 in front of her home Swiss crowd following injury.

Femke Bol deliberately went out hard in the early stages of the women’s 400m hurdles and held on to her form as she cruised home in 52.76. Britain’s Jessie Knight (fifth in 55.13) and Lina Nielsen (seventh in 56.62) were among those chasing the Dutch star.

The women’s sprint hurdles was closer as Jasmine Camacho-Quinn clocked 12.40 (1.4) ahead of world record-holder Tobi Amusan to win by seven hundredths of a second.

There was an exciting race over barriers in the longer 3000m event, too, with Beatrice Chepkoech of Kenya running 9:05.98 to beat the rising Ethiopian star Semba Almayew. In 10^th, Britain’s Aimee Pratt ran 9:28.00

Katie Moon of the United States won a high-quality women’s pole vault with world lead of 4.82m as Wilma Murto of Finland was second with 4.77m, Eliza McCartney of New Zealand third with 4.71m and Olympic bronze medallist Holly Bradshaw making an encouraging return from injury with 4.51m in fifth.

“I’ve not actually competed since British Champs last year,” said Bradshaw. “I only did my first training session from Doha on Monday so I’m using the competitions to build through my runs and get points and heights to qualify myself. So to jump 4.51m, finish fifth and get a load of points is a big tick for me. I just wanted to come here and clear a bar, so I couldn’t have asked for much more.”