| Cheruiyot and Manangoi were in front for the entire race, and for a while a Kenyan sweep looked possible. Kiprop took closer order on the second lap and the three were 8m up at 800m (Cheruiyot 1:57.55 cell / 1:57.59 transponder). Surprisingly, the defending champion then fell back on the third lap as Ingebrigtsen and Mechaal gained ground while contesting third place. In the straight, Manangoi finally edged in front for victory with a 13.08 last 100m. Mechaal (13.78) ran a marginally quicker finishing straight than Ingebrigtsen, but the Norwegian held on for a hard-fought bronze. Holuša ran a blistering 12.71 for his last 100m, substantially quicker than anyone else at any point in the race, but not enough to get among the much slower-finishing men contesting the medals. He’d earlier lost vital ground at 800m as the others forged on. The biomechanical analysis concluded that Manangoi appeared to have performed like a cyclist, “drafting” behind his compatriot for most of the race, before sprinting ahead at the finish. |
