What an incredible evening it proved to be for Norwegian athletics and the Ingebrigtsen brothers – Filip and Jakob – at the IAAF Diamond League in Monaco on Friday (20).
Filip is heading to Berlin as the defending European 1500m champion but now he is the national record-holder after smashing the mark of 3:31.46 which his brother Henrik had set at this meeting four years ago with a stunning run of 3:30.01.
And the time was so good, it elevates him to sixth on the European all-time lists from his previous position of 31st as he broke his personal best of 3:32.43, putting him just two spots behind Steve Cram (3:29.67) and one position behind Sebastian Coe (3:29.77).
'What a race, and what a small fraction missing to sub 3.30. I am very satisfied – also because of Jakob running so well. I must return and break that European record of Mo Farah. It is a great boost before Berlin,' he said on Farah’s mark of 3:28.81.
Filip's performance was indeed only just part of the story of success on another memorable night for the family.
Fresh from his brilliant double at last week's World U20 Championships in Tampere, where he won 1500m silver and 5000m bronze, Jakob obliterated his quickest ever time of 3:36.06 as he ran an amazing 3:31.18 at the Stade Louis II Stadium to smash the European U20 record by more than four seconds. The pair head to next month’s European Championships in truly sensational style.
In some race they were third and fourth respectively behind Kenyans Timothy Cheruiyot, who won in 3:28.41, and Elijah Manangoi, who was second in 3:29.64, but the Ingebrigtsen could hardly have asked for more with the championships so close.
With third brother Henrik, the 2012 European champion, now only the third fastest Ingebrigtsen, it is an amazing achievement for the same family, with the trio all coached by their father Gjert.
Jakob, who smashed Reyes Estevez’s long-standing record of 3:35.51, said: 'It was crazy to do a PB of 3.31. I was hoping to maybe do 3.35 but it’s astonishing to do this on the back of Tampere. The race was amazing. I plan to double, with the 1500m and 5000m in Berlin. It was a dream come true to be here, in Monaco, with my brother.'