Saruni, who is coached by 1988 Olympic 800m champion Paul Ereng, became just the second athlete in history to better 1:44 for the distance indoors after world indoor record-holder Kenyan born Wilson Kipketer of Denmark. Kipketer holds the indoor World Record of 1:42.67 set at the World Indoor Championships on March 9, 1997. Having come close on several occasions, Brazier was rewarded with a North American indoor record of 1:44.41 in second place, moving to fifth on the world indoor all-time list. In the days leading up to the competition, Yomif Kejelcha from Ethiopia had declared his intentions to go after Hicham El Guerrouj’s world indoor record of 3:48.45 in the mile. The two-time World Indoor 3000m champion had shown great form so far this indoor season, winning all of his races with ease and posting world-leading marks in the 1000m and mile.

Source: Daily Nation February 10, 2019 06:33 UTC