Samuel Tefera: Ethiopian teenager breaks 22-year-old 1500m world record
- Published
Samuel Tefera of Ethiopia wins the men's 1500m with a record breaking time of 3.31.04
Ethiopian teenager Samuel Tefera broke Hicham El Guerrouj's 22-year-old 1500m indoor world record with a stunning performance in Birmingham.
Many eyes were on Yomif Kejelcha, who just missed the mile world record last week but Tefera, 19, overtook his compatriot with 200m to go and finished in three minutes 31.04 seconds.
He beat El Guerrouj's previous mark of 3:31.18, set in Stuttgart in 1997.
Kejelcha, who was undefeated indoors this year, clocked 3:31.58.
Josh Kerr was the best-placed Briton with a fourth-placed finish in a personal best of 3:35.72.
Tefera has a good record on the track in Birmingham having won the world indoor title last year.
Samuel Tefera (left) won the world indoor title on the same track in Birmingham last year