Germany’s Robert Farken took his biggest victory to date in the road mile at the World Athletics Road Running Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark on Saturday (19) morning.
Employing similar tactics to France’s Agathe Guillemot who won the women’s road mile earlier in the morning, Farken drafted in the slipstream of his training partner Yared Nuguse from the United States who took the race out with clear intent.
But as the finish-line on the long finishing straight loomed into view, Nuguse still had a large pack of runners for company, including Farken who moved up alongside the American before easing away from the Olympic 1500m bronze medallist in the last 120 metres.
Farken took the title in 3:51.80, just missing Elliot Giles’ world road mile record of 3:51.3 which was set in Düsseldorf two years ago.
"I kind of knew what was going to happen. I trained with Yared and we shared the same airbnb for the last four days. His racing hasn't really gone after plan, so he really has the fire burning in him today and he wanted to take it in hard. So I was very prepared for that today and I knew I needed a spot close to him and see if I could find some shelter from the wind a few places back," said Farken.
"It's been kind of a roller-coaster season. I had a some good races but also some bad ones to be honest. It felt like the tank was almost empty. It shows as if the mind is not a 100% there I can still trust my fitness," added the German who celebrates his 29th birthday tomorrow.
Nuguse held on for the silver medal in 3:52.33, just ahead of the fast-finishing Ruben Querinjean from Luxembourg who moved through the field to win bronze in 3:52.77. "I knew I was in shape, but not that kind of shape, so I am really happy for the national record, it is just incredible. I did not expect to win a medal. I was here for learning, giving it everything I had," he said.
This was Querinjean’s second major medal in just over one month having won European 3000m steeplechase silver in Birmingham, just the second time the landlocked Duchy has won a medal at the European Athletics Championships.
Flavien Szot just missed out on the medals but he was rewarded with a French record of 3:54.37 in fifth with Italy's Pietro Arese also making the top-10, finishing seventh in 3:54.37.
Great Britain's Jake Heyward, who finished second in the prestigious Fifth Avenue Mile last Sunday, faded to 11th in 3:55.76 with 2026 European 1500m champion Stefan Nillessen 16th albeit in a Dutch record of 3:57.84.
The top-27 finishers all broke the 4:00-barrier.