A weekend of track and field is set to take place, with a possible Jakob Ingebrigtsen world record chase being the highlight. The Olympic 1500m gold medalist and two-time world 5000m champion will be competing in the rarely run 2000m at a Diamond League meet in Brussels, Belgium. The live coverage of the event will be aired on NBC Sports and Peacock, with Peacock airing the live coverage on Friday at 2 p.m. ET and CNBC airing highlights on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.
Although the 2000m is not a contested event at the Olympics or world championships, Ingebrigtsen has previously raced the distance. In 2020, during the pandemic, he achieved a time of 4 minutes, 50.01 seconds in the 2000m, making him the sixth-fastest man in history in the five-lap event. Ingebrigtsen, who broke the two-mile world record in June, would need to beat his personal best in the 2000m by five seconds to challenge the current world record.
The current world record holder in the 2000m is Moroccan athlete Hicham El Guerrouj, who also holds the world record in the 1500m and the mile. El Guerrouj set the 2000m record in 1999 with a time of 4:44.79.
The Brussels meet will also feature other notable athletes, such as Jamaican sprinter Shericka Jackson, who is the second-fastest woman in history in the 200m, and Dutch hurdler Femke Bol, who is the second-fastest woman in history in the 400m hurdles.
Following the Brussels meet, the 5th Avenue Mile, the world’s most famous road mile, will take place on Sunday at 12 p.m. ET. The event will be broadcasted live on NBC, NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app, and Peacock.
Five events to watch during the weekend include the Men’s Pole Vault, where Mondo Duplantis will attempt to break his own world record; the Women’s 400m Hurdles, featuring unbeaten athlete Femke Bol; the Men’s 2000m, with Jakob Ingebrigtsen looking to add to his impressive season; the Women’s 200m, where Shericka Jackson will aim to challenge the meet record; and the 5th Avenue Mile, with British runners aiming to dominate once again.
The Men’s Pole Vault will see Mondo Duplantis facing off against three other world championship medalists. In the Women’s 400m Hurdles, Femke Bol, who has broken the meet record in all her Diamond League races this year, is expected to continue her dominant run. In the Men’s 2000m, Jakob Ingebrigtsen will bring his exceptional form from this season, where he has broken multiple records and claimed world championship titles. The Women’s 200m will feature Shericka Jackson, who narrowly missed breaking the world record at the previous championships. Lastly, the 5th Avenue Mile, held in New York City’s Central Park, will showcase top British and American middle-distance runners competing for the esteemed title.