KC Lightfoot topped 6.00m on the second day of the Texas Tech Shootout in Lubbock, Texas, on Saturday (13), to become the first US collegiate athlete to join the six-metre club.

Lightfoot, 21, who had improved to 5.95m on 30 January, sailed clear on his third attempt to become just the 13th man to top the still formidable barrier indoors and the 25th to do so in any conditions. Lightfoot then retired after three tries at 6.02m.

"There's really nothing more to say than it was magical, for sure." Lightfoot said. "I've worked my whole life for that bar, and to finally get it takes a huge relief off my shoulders.

"There's still some more in the tank, though," he added. "I'm just not sure for what height, anymore. I guess the American record is the next big goal."

6 METERS‼️‼️‼️ pic.twitter.com/UKNYktS5RS
— Baylor Track & Field (@BaylorTrack) February 13, 2021

Hauttekeete breaks world indoor U20 heptathlon record

Jente Hauttekeete of Belgium tallied 6062 points* to win a combined event competition in Frankfurt on Sunday (14), to become the first U20 athlete to crack the 6000-point barrier in the U20 heptathlon indoors.

Hauttekeete, 18, who finished second in the decathlon at the European Youth Olympic Festival in 2019, opened the competition with a 7.07 performance in the 60m to equal his personal best. He then followed up with a 7.33m leap in the long jump, a 15.64m effort in the shot put before capping the first day with a 2.10m clearance in the high jump - all personal bests - for a 3476 first day score.

Hauttekeete opened the second day with an 8.06 run in the 60m hurdles before scaling 4.70m in the pole vault, 20cm higher than he'd ever jumped before, according to Le Soir. He sealed the win and the record with a 2:46.71 run in the 1000m to break the previous record of 5984 points set by Spaniard Eusebio Caceres in 2010.

[Results]

*pending the usual ratification procedure

Teare clocks 3:50.39 mile in Fayetteville

University of Oregon student Cooper Teare made a huge breakthrough on the first day of the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville on Friday (12), smashing his outright mile PB with 3:50.39 to move into the world indoor all-time top 10.

There were huge PBs across the board as his teammates Cole Hocker (3:50.55) and Charlie Hunter (3:53.49) finished second and third.

In an all-Oregon line-up, Angus Folmi and Reed Brown set the early pace, going through 600m just inside 1:26 and 1000m in 2:24.3. Teare, Hocker and Hunter maintained that tempo for the final two laps with 21-year-old Teare kicking to victory in a collegiate record of 3:50.39. His time ranks him seventh on the world indoor all-time list, just behind fellow US athletes Bernard Lagat and Johnny Gregorek, but ahead of Olympic champion Matthew Centrowitz.

Hocker, aged just 19, crossed the line in 3:50.55 – the fastest indoor mile ever recorded by a teenager and good enough for eighth on the world indoor all-time list. Hunter’s 3:53.49, meanwhile, took a second off his own Australian indoor record, set just two weeks prior on the same track.

The en-route 1500m splits of 3:35.46, 3:35.63 and 3:36.94 respectively were also outright PBs for all three men.

Isaac Grimes produced another world-leading mark in Fayetteville. The 23-year-old long jumper went out to 8.04m in round two then improved to a lifetime best of 8.27m in round five. He went even farther in the final round, sailing out to 8.33m. He now ranks just outside the US indoor all-time top 10. JuVaughn Harrison was second with 8.09m.

Elsewhere in Fayetteville, Bryce Deadmon sped to an indoor 400m PB of 45.22, the third-fastest time in the world this year, to win comfortably from Champion Allison (45.99).

The sprint hurdles finals were swift, too, with teenager Grace Stark winning the women’s race in 7.96 from Pan-American Games silver medallist Chanel Brissett (7.98), while former world U20 record-holder Trey Cunningham ran 7.55 to win the men’s event.

Fast 400s were the highlight of the first day of the Tiger Paw Invitational in Clemson on Friday (12). 20-year-old Randolph Ross won the fastest heat in a PB of 45.21, finishing just ahead of Jacory Patterson (45.24) and Trevor Stewart (45.55). Trinidad and Tobago’s Dwight St Hillaire took the second heat in 45.64 with 400m hurdles specialist Kyron McMaster placing second in 45.92.

Jamaica’s 2015 world champion Danielle Williams won the 60m hurdles in 7.87, while Tavarius Wright was the men’s 60m flat winner in 6.57.

At the Texas Tech Shootout in Lubbock, world U20 silver medallist Twanisha Terry trimmed her 60m PB to 7.13, while Brendon Stewart won the men’s short sprint in 6.58. Teenager Bailey Lear set an outright PB of 51.94 to win the women’s 400m.

Over in Europe, Germany’s Rebekka Haase produced a pair of swift times over 200m. The 28-year-old ran 22.96 in the heats and 22.83 in the final – a time that no European sprinter other than herself has bettered in the past seven years.

Corinna Schwab was second in both races, clocking 23.07 and 23.00.

Gill extends winning streak

New Zealand’s Jacko Gill continued his run of good form at the Porritt Classic in Hamilton, notching up his fourth successive victory over 2017 world champion Tom Walsh.

In what turned out to be a near exact copy of the results from their last encounter one week prior in Christchurch, Gill emerged the winner in an equal PB of 21.52m while Walsh was second with 21.45m – just one centimetre shy of his mark from last week.

Both men were extremely consistent, producing 10 throws beyond 21 metres between them. Walsh had the upper hand in the first round, 21.39m to 21.32m, but Gill responded with 21.52m in round two. Walsh came close in rounds two (21.45m), three (21.33m) and four (21.41m) but couldn’t catch his younger rival.

There was another exciting domestic duel in the women’s hammer as Lauren Bruce took on Julia Ratcliffe, her predecessor as Oceanian record-holder. Bruce opened with 68.66m but Ratcliffe responded in the second round with 71.39m, equalling the second-best throw of her career. It only lasted a matter of minutes as the leading mark, though, as Bruce threw 71.75m at the end of that round.

Ratcliffe didn’t improve but landed two more throws beyond 70 metres. Bruce, meanwhile, saved her best for the final throw of the day, sending her hammer out to 73.22m – just 25 centimetres shy of her Oceania record. Since their first ever clash – which came exactly five years ago at the 2016 edition of the Porritt Classic – it’s the first time Bruce has defeated Ratcliffe.

Elsewhere in Hamilton, Portia Bing dominated the 400m hurdles to win in 55.99, while Valerie Adams threw a season’s best of 18.68m to win the shot put from world U20 champion Maddison-Lee Wesche (17.43m).

Clay’s momentum continues

One week after setting a PB in Brisbane, Australia’s Liz Clay chopped another chunk off her lifetime best to win the 100m hurdles at the Australia Capital Territory (ACT) Championships in Canberra on Saturday (13).

The 25-year-old sped to victory in 12.72, moving up to second on the Oceanian all-time list behind 2012 Olympic champion Sally Pearson. Former heptathlon specialist Celeste Mucci was second in 12.98, her first sub-13-second clocking.

Elsewhere in Canberra, Brooke Stratton won the long jump with 6.72m, Rohan Browning took the men’s 100m in 10.23 and world javelin champion Kelsey-Lee Barber opened her season with 55.93m.

Cooper TEARE

Cooper TEARE