[1][2] In the first running event at these championships, world record holder Genzebe Dibaba was back to defend her title, while none of the women she vanquished returned, though Laura Muir, Sifan Hassan and Meraf Bahta had beaten Dibaba in her outdoor 1500 meltdown from the previous year.

The race took off at a leisurely pace, with Muir taking the pack through a 1:15.31 first lap, marked by 5000 world champion Hellen Obiri.

As Dibaba passed, her teammate Fantu Worku popped out of the pack to tag along, both reaching a gap at the front behind Klosterhalfen.

Obiri and Bahta wanted to tag along with Dibaba, pushing forward to her shoulder, while at the back Hassan moved up a few places as the field strung out.

The pace was too much for Obiri as she broke, going backward through the field as Hassan and Muir chased a new gap by Dibaba.