10 Best Moments From The 2020 Indoor Season
10 Best Moments From The 2020 Indoor Season
Before track and field was shut down for the foreseeable future, the 2020 indoor season was brilliant.
Unlock this article, live events, and more with a subscription!
Already a subscriber? Log In
It’s easy to forget now, but before the track season was put on hold by this pandemic we were enjoying a spectacular start to 2020 with plenty of records and storylines to chew on. Here are the 10 best moments from the truncated indoor season:
1. Mondo’s pole vault world record tear
Mondo Duplantis went from a pole vault phenom to legend in the span of a week in February as the 20-year-old broke the world record twice with his 6.17m in Torún followed by a 6.18m clearance in Glasgow.
6.18m! Mondo Duplantis breaks the world record AGAIN pic.twitter.com/dnvxNOzAAx
— FloTrack (@FloTrack) February 15, 2020
Those jumps eclipsed the outdoor world record as well (6.14m), but there’s reason to believe Mondo can go much higher once competition resumes.
Mondo Duplantis easily clearing 6.18 meters for another pole vault world record today. That's more than 20 feet, 3 inches. pic.twitter.com/HELoh6j0C8
— Nick Zaccardi (@nzaccardi) February 15, 2020
2. Elle Purrier’s mile American record
Easily the most surprising result of the entire indoor season was Elle Purrier’s 4:16.85 mile American record at the Millrose Games. Not only did the 24-year-old lower the previous mark by nearly four seconds, but she also ran the second-fastest time in world history behind Genzebe Dibaba’s 4:13.31 world record. The race, which included a thrilling sprint finish against world medalist Konstanze Klosterhalfen, lowered Purrier's indoor PB by eight seconds.
?ELLE PURRIER ‼️
— FloTrack (@FloTrack) February 8, 2020
4:16.85 American Record & second fastest indoor mile EVER!pic.twitter.com/zMTDQfUfKt
3. Jemma Reekie’s 1:57.91 800m British record
The only performance to rival the surprise of Purrier’s mile breakthrough was Jemma Reekie’s 1:57.91 British 800m record on Feb. 1 in Glasgow. Before that, the 22-year-old Scot owned a meager 2:01.45 outdoor best and had never broken 2:03 indoors. Suddenly, the unheralded training partner of Laura Muir had run the fastest indoor 800m in 14 years.
@JemmaReekie When you realise you've just ran 1:57:91 ???????????? @scotathletics pic.twitter.com/Ejhq5ZxEUU
— Bobby Gavin (@Bobby_ThatOneMo) February 1, 2020
Combined with another British record in the mile a week later-- her 4:17.88 at Millrose-- Reekie’s emergence signaled the arrival of a new medal contender in the middle distances.
4. Karissa Schweizer's 3k American record over Shelby Houlihan
Not only did three women run under the previous indoor 3,000m U.S. record, but the Feb. 27 time trial in Boston produced a dramatic upset as Bowerman’s Karissa Schweizer outlasted teammate Shelby Houlihan en route to her 8:25.70 American record. Schweizer had never beaten the 1500m and 5,000m U.S. record holder previously.
5. Yulimar Rojas' triple jump world record
The Venezuelan Rojas leapt 15.43m in Madrid last month to better the 15.36m indoor mark that had stood for 16 years. Only the outdoor world record of 15.50m by Inessa Kravets is superior to Rojas’ jump in Spain.
Making 15.43m look easy.
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) February 21, 2020
Yulimar Rojas in full flow on her way to breaking the triple jump world indoor record?
pic.twitter.com/jlTu0KH5eY
6. Donavan Brazier's 800m American record with a 24-second last lap
The best part of Donavan Brazier lowering his indoor 800m U.S. record by nearly two-tenths of a second to 1:44.22 was how the 22-year-old did it, as the 2019 world champion ran most of the Millrose race in the pack before exploding for a 24.89 last circuit.
24.8 final lap ??pic.twitter.com/FEDRA4V4OA
— FloTrack (@FloTrack) February 8, 2020
7. Christian Coleman's 6.37 60m cameo at USAs
The 60m world record holder ran only one meet indoors, but Coleman made it count as he ripped a 6.37 in the U.S. final on Feb. 15, tied for the second-fastest in history. That the 24-year-old did that with a poor start showed that the 100m world champ could be in for a monster 2020 season, if he gets the chance.
Christian Coleman just .03s off his World Record in the final!!! pic.twitter.com/fyPV3Fr3B0
— FloTrack (@FloTrack) February 15, 2020
8. Konstanze Klosterhalfen's 14:30 5,000m European record
Konstanze Klosterhalfen’s 14:30.79 5,000m on Feb. 27 in Boston was overshadowed here in the States by Karissa Schweizer's 3,000m American record on the same day, but Koko’s run made her the fourth-fastest woman ever in the event and was the quickest time in five years. Perhaps even more significant was Vanessa Fraser’s 14:48.51 clocking for second, as she lowered her overall PB by nearly 20 seconds and became the second-fastest American ever.
9. Paul Chelimo-Lopez Lomong's feud rekindled
In these difficult global times, it’s fun to remember that two individuals can still dislike each other for completely petty and mostly insignificant reasons. Take Paul Chelimo and Lopez Lomong, whose feud from the 2019 U.S. Outdoor Championships was renewed in February after Chelimo claimed his loss to Lomong in Des Moines last July came in a “down year.” An Instagram spat ensued, which featured both a lion and a chihuahua dressed as a lion.
10. Josh Thompson's 3:34 1500m
After finishing third in the U.S. 1500m last summer but missing worlds because he didn’t have the standard, 27-year-old Josh Thompson was eager to hit the 3:35.00 Olympic standard. He missed it by an excruciating 0.01 in September, but two weeks after winning his first U.S. title indoors in Albuquerque, Thompson delivered with a 3:34.77 at BU on Feb. 27. The time is the second-fastest ever by an American behind only Bernard Lagat.
