NEW YORK, Feb 10, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha, twice a world
indoor 3,000m champion, missed the world indoor mile record by one-hundredth
of a second on Saturday in a dominating victory at the Millrose Games.
The 21-year-old distance star captured the feature event in the 112th
edition of the US indoor classic in 3mins 48.46secs, with Kenya’s Edward
Cheserek a distant second in 3:53.29.
But Kejelcha fell agonizingly short of his target, the mile indoor world
record of 3:48.45 set by Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj on February 12, 1997 at
the Flanders indoor meet in Ghent, Belgium.
Kejelcha was not the only African runner to settle for the second-fastest
time in history at the meet.
Kenya’s Michael Saruni ran the second-fastest indoor 800 meters in history,
winning in 1:43.98.
Saruni’s effort was second only to the indoor world-record time of 1:42.67
set by Denmark’s Wilson Kipketer in Paris at the 1997 World Indoor
Championships.
“Oh man, it’s crazy,” Saruni said. “I trained hard for this moment. I just
had to do it.”
Donavan Brazier was second in an American record 1:44.41 with American Sam
Ellison third in a personal best 1:46.13.
“I’m excited about that, but Saruni snuck up on me,” Brazier said. “I had
the other record but he passed me.”
Brazier erased one of the oldest US indoor marks, lowering the former
record of 1:45.00 set by Johnny Gray on March 8, 1992 at Sindelfingen,
Germany.
A hush fell over the meet when Jamaican Kemoy Campbell, serving as a pace-
setter to move the men’s 3,000 field along quickly, collapsed and fell into
the infield just after the second turn just beyond the 1,000m mark. He was
carried out of the facility on a stretcher as other events were halted while
he received medical attention.
Organizers did not immediately provide information on his condition.
American Grant Fisher won the men’s 3,000 in 7:42.62 with Australian Morgan
McDonald .14 of a second back and Kenya’s Amon Kemboi third in 7:44.77 — all
with personal bests.
In the shot put, where final heaves were delayed while Campbell was
treated, reigning Olympic champion Ryan Crouser won with a personal best and
2019 world best 22.33m while US compatriot Joe Kovacs, the Rio Olympic
runner-up and 2015 world champion, was second on 20.63.
Germany’s Konstanze Klosterhalfen won the women’s mile in 4:19.98 with
American Colleen Quigley second in 4:22.86.