‘Huge honour’: Stewart McSweyn breaks Australian record at Brussels Diamond League
Australia’s Stewart McSweyn has shattered a 17-year-old national record at the Diamond League meeting in Brussels on Saturday morning AEST.
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Jakob Ingebrigtsen set the first outdoor world record of his career in the rarely-run 2000m at the Diamond League meeting in Brussels on Saturday morning AEST.
The 22-year-old ran 4:43.13 to smash a record set in Berlin in 1999, before he was born, by Moroccan great Hicham El Guerrouj, by more than a second and a half.
The 2000m is not on the Olympic or World Championships program, but the Norwegian said: “It’s always fun to break a record.”
Meanwhile, Australia’s Stewart McSweyn finished third after clocking a time of 4:48.77, shattering a 17-year-old national record.
The Tasmanian bettered the previous Australian record of 5.40.76, set by Craig Mottram in Melbourne in 2006, by 1.99 seconds.
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“I’m very happy with the race tonight. I put myself in a good spot and fought hard against a world class field in the last few laps,” McSweyn said.
“To break any national record is a huge honour so I’m very happy with tonight’s result and it gives me a lot of confidence leading into the Diamond League final next week in Eugene.
“I also had a few interruptions earlier this year with injury but I stayed the course throughout the season. Even though it was a tough race, it was great to finally get a result that is reflective of the work that I have put in this year.
“I’ve got one more track race in Eugene for the finals and then I hope I can produce this level of racing again in Latvia at the World Athletics Road Running Championships in the 5k.”
Ingebrigtsen is the reigning Olympic champion in the 1500m and has held the world indoor record at the distance since February 2022 when he ran 3:30.60.
El Guerrouj holds that outdoor record too with a time of 3:26.00 set in July 1998.
Ingebrigtsen ran the fourth fastest ever outdoor 1500m time when he timed 3:27.14 in July, but the lost his world title to Britain’s Josh Kerr in Budapest in August.
Originally published as ‘Huge honour’: Stewart McSweyn breaks Australian record at Brussels Diamond League
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