– I just thought: Did he run that fast, yes, said Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal to NRK, who thought something was wrong when she saw Ayana behind her.

Because it was incredible to see an Ethiopian break the world record of 29.31.78 from 1993, with a time of 29.17.46. 14.32 seconds ahead of previous world record holder Wang Junxia from China.

This impressed the former world record holder, Ingrid Kristiansen.

– I thought it was really raw and amazing to watch. It was impressive to see the way he ran and gave everything right from the start, Kristiansen said.

The former world champion also praised Bjerkeli Grøvdal’s performance.

– It was amazing to watch Bjerkeli Grøvdal. This bodes well for Norway and long-distance running.

– I hope young girls want to do athletics after seeing it. He has many wonderful years ahead of him. There’s no reason why he shouldn’t take my Norwegian record of 30.15.

Personal record for Grøvdal

Grøvdal stated before today’s race that 10th place was realistic.

The 26 year old improved his previous best of 31:23.45 with a time of 9.38 seconds and finished 9th.

– It was a very good day for me today. I wanted to run faster than this, but I couldn’t run alone, so I stayed in a group.

– It’s incredible to take 9th place where the winner breaks the world record, said Grøvdal, who received praise from NRK commentator Jann Post.

The girl from Norway reached the finish line with a time of 31.14.00. The 26-year-old was the second best European player in 9th place, beaten only by Turkey’s Yasemin Can.

– It went very easily. I had some hope that I could contact someone in the pool ahead, but it didn’t turn out that way. I got a little bored while running. “My goal was less than 31 minutes in,” added Grøvdal.