Karsten Warholm took the plaudits on home soil with his European record in the 400m hurdles but there were four more European victories at the Oslo Diamond League on Thursday (13) night, including two world leads.
The programme climaxed with the Dream Mile featuring Jakob and Filip Ingebrigtsen who were both in contention to become the first ever Norwegian victory in the esteemed history of the race.
Jakob and Filip put up a solid account in sixth (3:53.04) and ninth (3:54.41) respectively as Poland’s European indoor champion Marcin Lewandowski timed his finish just in time to pip Kenya’s Vincent Kibet - 3:52.34 to 3:52.38.
Lewandowski’s victory was a notable one from a historical angle. Not only did he become the first European winner of the Dream Mile in more than a decade, his winning time - also a world lead - broke Bronislav Malinowski’s national record of 3:55.40 which had stood since 1976.
In eight, Kalle Berglund also broke a national record which goes even further back in antiquity. His time of 3:53.83 displaced Anders Garderud’s mark of 3:54.45 which was set in 1976.
With Jakob and Filip contesting the mile, Henrik Ingebrigtsen stepped up in distance to race in the 3000m. The oldest of the brothers had his eye on the Norwegian record of 7:40.77 which he handsomely displaced, finishing fourth in a top quality race in a European-leading time of 7:36.85.
Fresh from victory on home soil in the 100m in Hengelo, two-time world champion Dafne Schippers dominated the 200m in Oslo. Schippers held a narrow lead off the bend before extending her margin in the last 50 metres, winning in 22.56 ahead of Canada’s Crystal Emanuel in 22.89.
“I'm coming back from injury and I'm getting faster and faster, that's part of the plan - I just need more races,” said Schippers.
Lasitskene clears 2.01m in the high jump; Vetter makes winning debut in 2019
Mariya Lasitskene took her win tally from the IAAF Diamond League up to 20 with a typically dominant display of high jumping in the Norwegian capital.
Lasitskene held the advantage over Sweden’s Erika Kinsey with first time clearances at both 1.96m and 1.98m before wriggling over 2.01m on her third attempt to eclipse Anna Chicherova’s world-leading mark of 2.00m.
Lasitskene will embark on a busy week of competitions with appearances in Chorzow (16 June), Ostrava (20 June) and Tubingen (22 June) on the itinerary.
Another win and another 2.00m-plus clearance. #TheMatch ambassador Mariya Lasitskene cleared 2.01m in the Oslo Diamond League for the 20th Diamond League won of her career.pic.twitter.com/WDbqmBsmfh
— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) June 14, 2019
Fellow world champion Johannes Vetter from Germany made a winning start to his campaign which has been delayed due to a persistent injury. Vetter set the standard in the opening round with 85.27m but the German retired after the second round.
“I felt something in my right adductor, like a needle and as a precaution I stopped. I will see a doctor on Friday and will go from there. It was something different than my left leg injury which stopped me from competing until now. That is now healed,” said Vetter.
Vetter’s first round throw of 85.27m stood the test of the six rounds with Estonia’s Magnus Kirt suffering his first defeat of the season in second with 84.74m. Vetter’s teammates Andreas Hofmann and Thomas Rohler finished fourth (82.92m) and sixth (82.73m) respectively.