| long haul
Significantly faster than 2015 Arne Gabius: US student Aaron Bienenfeld set the German indoor record* over 5,000 meters to 13:21.99 minutes at the BU Last Chance Meet in Boston on Saturday.
With 7:46.09 minutes over 3,000 meters – fourth place in the current German best list – Aaron Bienenfeld (SSC Hanau-Rodenbach) had already indicated his strong form in mid-February. Now the student from the University of Oregon in Eugene (USA) has taken it a step further: the 24-year-old stormed over 5,000 meters on Sunday at the BU Last Chance Meet in Boston, Massachusetts (USA) in 13:21.99 minutes to a new one German indoor record*. Aaron Bienenfeld replaced Arne Gabius as the record holder: He had run the course in 2015 in the Düsseldorf hall in 13:27.53 minutes.
The 5,000 meters are rarely offered indoors and are not part of the national or international competition program. Nevertheless, both the performance and the improvement of the 24-year-old are remarkable, as he was able to improve his indoor best by almost ten seconds and his outdoor best by 21 seconds in the race – with a time that was behind the German champion last year Mohamed Mohumed would have meant second place in Germany even outdoors.
The German outdoor record over 5,000 meters has stood at 12:54.70 minutes since 1997 and is held by Dieter Baumann. A total of 19 German runners have so far stayed below the 13:22 minute mark, but on the much more comfortable 400-meter track outdoors. In a European comparison, Aaron Bienenfeld’s race placed tenth in the all-time best indoor list.
*subject to official approval