American middle-distance runner Josh Hoey announced more than a week ago that he intends to go after the 800 metre indoor world record of 1:42.67. Kenyan Wilson Kipketer previously held the record.
On Saturday, January 24, in Boston at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, he went after it from the gun.
With his brother Jaxon pacing through the first half kilometre, Hoey broke Kipketer’s record, clocking a 1:42.50 finish time.
The 26-year-old, self-coached Pennsylvanian also holds the world 600m record at 1:12.84 and the North American 1000m record at 2:14.48.
“I just slid in behind Jaxson and just tried to stay calm behind my brother and let him lead me. And so I was led,” said Hoey after the race on NBC. “And in the last 200 I could feel just the support of everyone and the work over the last couple of months, and just bottomed out, and I’m happy to have got that time.”
Prognosticators will be debating the possibility of Hoey taking down the outdoor 800m record by Rudisha, which sits at 1:40.91. Last July, Hoey ran his outdoor personal best in Monaco at 1:42.01. Running 111 hundredths of a second faster, seems like a large chasm to gap, but with the advent of super shoes and this indoor world record indicates anything is possible.
Ryan Clarke of the Netherlands ran a new national record of 1:44.72 for third position. Taking second in a new personal best of 1:44.68 was Filip Ostrowski of Poland.
About Kipketer
Kipketer set the 29-year-old record during the sixth IAAF World Indoor Championships at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, Paris, France. He continues to hold onto the African 800m record at 1:41:11 from that same year in Köln, Germany in August.
Kipketer is tied with Kenyan Emmanuel Wanyonyi as the second fastest of all time over the 800m distance, behind David Rudisha.
He set the world record and broke it twice more, all in 1997. Kipketer dominated the 800m distance for a decade, remaining undefeated for three years and running 8 of the 17 currently all-time fastest times. He won gold medals in three successive editions of the World Championships.
Though unable to compete in the 1996 Olympics near the peak of his career, he earned silver in 2000 and bronze in 2004. Kipketer’s 800m world record stood for almost 13 years. It was surpassed in August 2010, when Kenyan David Rudisha beat it by 0.02 seconds, running 1:41.09.
Results
| Place | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josh Hoey | United States | 1:42.50 | WR, NR |
| 2 | Filip Ostrowski | Poland | 1:44.68 | PB |
| 3 | Ryan Clarke | Netherlands | 1:44.72 | NR |
| 4 | Hiroki Minamoto | Japan | 1:52.08 | PB |
| DNF | Jaxson Hoey | United States | DNF |
