Kipketer Equals Coe’s 1981 800-Meter Mark

Not even a “phenomenally good run” could wipe out track’s oldest record, although Wilson Kipketer of Denmark came as close as could be to finally erasing Sebastian Coe’s name.

Kipketer won the 800 meters at the DN Galan Grand Prix meet Monday in 1 minute 41.73 seconds, matching the mark Coe set in 1981.

Even Coe was impressed.

“It was a phenomenally good run,” Coe said on BBC television. “He did everything that he had to. I’m sure he will go on this season to break the record, maybe in the world championships.”

Asked how he felt about his record being equaled, Coe said, “It has not quite gone . . . “

When Kipketer finished his 800, the clock showed 1:41.74, but the time later was adjusted to 1:41.73.

Carl Lewis anchored the Santa Monica Track Club to an Olympic Stadium record of 38.31 in the 400-meter relay, the meet’s last event. It also was the fastest time in the world this year.

The nine-time Olympic and eight-time world champion competed in Stockholm for the first time as a 19-year-old in 1980, winning the long jump and finishing second in the 100.

Lewis received a standing ovation from thousands of fans as he ran a victory lap after his last scheduled appearance on a Swedish track.

Marion Jones of Thousand Oaks, the U.S. champion in the women’s 100 and long jump, won the 200 in a personal-best 22.16. Her former personal best was 22.58, which set a national high school record in 1992.