Burundi´s Francine Niyonsaba breaks 2,000m world record

In her last race of the season, Francine Niyonsaba broke the women’s world record in the 2,000m, running 5:21.56 at the Continental Tour meet in Zagreb, Croatia. Although this distance is uncommon at most track meets, her time is outstanding, as she averaged 2:40 per kilometer during the race, hitting the one-mile marker in 4:17.

This is icing on the cake for Niyonsaba, who made a transition from the 800m to distance running to compete in the Diamond League and Olympics. She remarkably finished fifth in the Olympic 10,000m and has won her last four races, including the Diamond League 5,000m title, where she took down race favorite Hellen Obiri of Kenya.

The previous outdoor 2,000m record was held by Irish runner Sonia O’Sullivan, who ran 5:25.36 in 1994.

The indoor record, which is 5:23.75 (set by Genzebe Dibaba in 2017), was faster. Today Niyonsaba’s 5:21.56 today surpasses both records.

Canadian record holder Matt Hughes competed in the 3,000m steeplechase in Zagreb and finished fifth, in 8:28.14. Hughes caps off a personal best season, finishing sixth in the steeplechase at the Tokyo Olympics in August.

posted Wednesday September 15th
by Marley Dickinson