The meeting in Madid will be remembered as the meet where Grant Holloway (aka @flaamingo_) set a new world record in the 60m hurdles, with his 7.29, breaking the iconic 7.32 set by Colin Jackson, way back in 1994.
.@flaamingoo_ smashes @ColinJackson 60H World Record in Madrid! https://t.co/lmGGzoAolu @world athletics #worldindoortour @adidasrunning
— Track & Field News (@tandfn) February 24, 2021
Justin Lagat acknowledges the amazing 60m hurdles, but also wants us to know about the middle distance events.
Big middle distance races in Madrid with 3 meet records! #WorldIndoorTour, @EuroAthletics, @WorldAthletics, @WCHoregon22 https://t.co/hZ6k5mQRoA
— RunBlogRun (@RunBlogRun) February 25, 2021
It was the last stop of the world indoor tour in Madrid and some great performances were to be expected.
The outstanding performance of the night was clearly the new world record ran by Grant Holloway in the men’s 60m Hurdles after he crossed the finish line in an astonishing 7.29 seconds!
We were close to seeing two world records in the evening. But Tsegay Gudaf seemed to have wasted an opportunity in the women’s 3000m after spending most of her precious time with unnecessary gestures to Hailu Lemlem. The two had broken away from the rest of the field with Gudaf in the lead. At some point, it appeared as though she didn’t like the fact that Lemlem was enjoying her pacing and she slowed down a little and motioned her to move to the front.
In a championship race, this would have been a good move to make sure that her competitor was not buying her time behind her only to spring for the win in the end. But, here, she was after a world record and it needed all her focus to be on the right pace throughout.
With one lap to go, Gudaf quickly build a gap between her and Lemlem as she went ahead to finish in a world-leading time of 8:22.65. She appeared a little bit disappointed after crossing the line and seeing how close she was to the world record of 8:16.60. Her time now makes her the second fastest in history.
3000m, 1. Tsegay 8:22.65, 2 Lemlem Hailu 8:29.28, @atletismoRFEA,
24 Feb 2021, photos by @stuartweir, @britathletics, #usatf, @euroathletics, #worldathletics, #theshoeaddicts, #runningnetwork, #runblogrun, @caltrackrn, pic.twitter.com/jHmT1XJRTJ— RunBlogRun (@RunBlogRun) February 24, 2021
In the men’s 1500m race, Selemon Barega was the clear favorite. Despite the great and expected win, he seemed to have been too ambitious in the early stages of the race as he overtook the pacesetter at around the 600m point. He started to slow down in the last two laps as Jesus Gomez began to slowly close the gap between them, but a bit too late as Barega won the race in a new meeting record of 3:35.42, Gomez coming second in 3:36.32.
Men’s 1,500m won by Selemon Barega, in 3:35.42@atletismoRFEA,
24 Feb 2021, photos by @stuartweir, @britathletics, #usatf, @euroathletics, #worldathletics, #theshoeaddicts, #runningnetwork, #runblogrun, @caltrackrn, pic.twitter.com/hJ1V19CqEB— RunBlogRun (@RunBlogRun) February 24, 2021
In her first 1500m race, Hirut Meshesha ran like an experienced runner in the women’s race. She stayed just behind the pacemaker and took up the lead with about 3 laps to go. At the bell, Perez Miguel momentarily overtook her, but she fought back and reclaimed her lead to win the race in 4:09.42.
Hirut Meshesha 4:09.42, Women’s 1,500m winner@atletismoRFEA, @RunBlogRun https://t.co/McttZJ0P80
— larry eder (@LarryEder) February 24, 2021
In the 800m races, Mariano Garcia made an early break in the men’s race after the pacesetter left. Amel Tuka and Pierre- Ambroise Bosse gave their best efforts to close the gap on him, but were too late as Garcia won it in 1:45.66.
Big 800m win by Mariano Garcia in 1:45.66! @atletismoRFEA, @EuroAthletics, @BritAthletics, @caltrackrn, #WorldIndoorTour, @LarryEder, @usatf
, @WorldAthletics, @Running_Network https://t.co/EAXSZiS7Eu— RunBlogRun (@RunBlogRun) February 24, 2021
Habitam Halemu set a new meeting record in the women’s race 1:58.94 by breaking away in a solo run just after the pacesetter dropped out.
Women’s 800m, Habitam Alemu 1.58.94@atletismoRFEA,
24 Feb 2021, photos by @stuartweir, @britathletics, #usatf, @euroathletics, #worldathletics, #theshoeaddicts, #runningnetwork, #runblogrun, @caltrackrn, pic.twitter.com/mDj3BrQ5Ta— RunBlogRun (@RunBlogRun) February 24, 2021
