Two world records and a world-best performance were set on a remarkable night for track and field, with marks in the men’s two miles, women’s 5000m, and men’s 3000m steeplechase all being re-written.

First, Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway set his sights on the rarely-run 1500m, a non-world-record distance for which the world’s best performance had stood for some 26 years. The Olympic champion over 1500m demolished the mark by over four and a half seconds, clocking 7:54.10 in a non-Diamond League race.

Then, Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon – who set a new women’s 1500m world record barely a week ago – stepped up to the 5000m and took on the world record holder, Letesenbet Gidey. Kipyegon let her opponent take the lead and kept her strength for the first 2 rounds. On the last turn, she accelerated and was 1.42 seconds ahead of Gidey. The Kenyan crossed the line at 14:05.20.

But the record-setting wasn’t over. In the night’s penultimate track race, Ethiopia’s Lamecha Girma set his sights on the 19-year-old men’s 3000m steeplechase world record. He would not have the Olympic champion Soufiane El Bakkali in the field to challenge him – it would be Girma against the clock. And so it proved, with the 22-year-old quickly distancing the field. It was a nervous race; Girma often looked around him at the lack of challenge. And when it seemed like the youngster was losing steam, he found a second wind to push himself on the final lap, coming home in 7:52.11 – a second and a half faster than the previous mark.

According to the Olympics