Bernard Legat Sets 5000m American Record in Oslo

By David Monti, (c) 2010 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved

Bob Kennedy’s old USA 5000m record of 12:58.21 set in 1996 lasted more than 13 years.  But the man who broke Kennedy’s record, Dathan Ritzenhein who ran 12:56.27 last August in Zürich, saw his record fall tonight after just nine months.  Two-time Olympic medalist Bernard Lagat clocked 12:54.12 in a remarkable race in Oslo’s Bislett Stadium to become the fastest American, ever.

Lagat did not win the race, placing third (the victory went to Ethiopia’s Imane Merga in 12:53.81), and he was not the only American to have a breakthrough performance in the race.  USA 10,000m record holder Chris Solinsky clocked a big personal best 12:56.66 in sixth place, just a little slower than Ritzenhein’s previous record.

Ten men in Oslo broke 13 minutes, a record, according to statistician Ken Nakamura.  The best times ever for places 8, 9 and 10 were set in the race.  Qatar’s Saif Saaeed Shaheen, who finished 11th, nearly got under the 13 minute mark too, clocking 13:00.11.

Elsewhere in the meeting, part of the IAAF Diamond League, 2008 Olympic 1500m champion, Asbel Kiprop of Kenya, won the Dream Mile in 3:49.56, to narrowly defeat Ethiopia’s Mekonnen Gebremedhin by 27/100ths of a second.  Kenya’s David Rudisha clocked a sizzling 1:42.04 world leader in the 800m, to defeat Sudan’s Abubaker Kaki (1:42.23 NR).  Milcah Chemos Cheywa won the women’s steeplechase in a world-leading 9:12.66.