2019

2018

Grande Prêmio Brasil Caixa de Atletismo

Seiko Golden Grand Prix

2019 Nanjing World Challenge

FBK Games

Paavo Nurmi Games

Golden Spike Ostrava 2019

ISTAF

IWC Zagreb 2019

World Athletics Challenge

Sandra Perkovic in the discus at the Hanzekovic Memorial in Zagreb

Ryan Crouser winning at the IAAF World Challenge Meeting in Zagreb

Sam Kendricks after winning the pole vault at the FBK Games in Hengelo

Organisers of the Hanzekovic Memorial have confirmed that Olympic gold medallists Allyson Felix, Sandra Perkovic and Sara Kolak will compete at the IAAF World Challenge meeting in Zagreb on 3 September.
Felix returned to action last month following the birth of her first child late last year. The nine-time Olympic gold medallist, who holds the Hanzekovic Memorial 200m meeting record, will contest the 400m at this year&rsquo;s edition
All three medallists from the IAAF World Championships London 2017 will be reunited in Zagreb as Felix, the bronze medallist on that occasion, will line up against world champion Phyllis Francis and world silver medallist Salwa Eid Naser.
Two of Croatia&rsquo;s biggest athletics stars will also be in Zagreb as Olympic champions Sandra Perkovic and Sara Kolak will contest the discus and javelin respectively.
&ldquo;I want to break the meeting record,&rdquo; says Perkovic, who set the existing mark of 70.83m in 2017. &ldquo;The current record was set on the old circle, but now a new one has been laid.&rdquo;
Similarly, Kolak will have one eye on the meeting record of 65.20m in the javelin, set by 2004 Olympic champion Osleidys Menendez.
On the eve of the Hanzekovic Memorial, the Ivan Ivancic Memorial &ndash; a shot put competition &ndash; will take place near Zagreb&rsquo;s city fountains. Croatia&rsquo;s world bronze medallist Stipe Zunic and national record-holder Filip Mihaljevic will take on four of this year&rsquo;s seven 22-metre throwers.
Organisers for the IAAF

Organisers of the Hanzekovic Memorial have confirmed that Olympic gold medallists Allyson Felix, Sandra Perkovic and Sara Kolak will compete at the IAAF World Challenge meeting in Zagreb on 3 September.

Felix, Perkovic and Kolak confirmed for Zagreb

European champion and 2019 world leader Malaika Mihambo will be among the marquee attractions at the 78th ISTAF, an IAAF World Challenge Meeting, on 1 September.
The 25-year-old German is the hottest longer jumper in the world at the moment, undefeated in seven competitions outdoors this year with the three farthest jumps in the world and four of the best five. Mihambo improved to 7.16m at the German championships on 4 August.
She'll face Nigeria's Ese Brume, the three-time defending African champion who also joined the seven-metre club this season, leaping 7.05m at the Turkish championships on 4 August where she competed as a guest. European silver medallist Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk from Ukraine and 2012 Olympic silver medallist Yelena Sokolova.
Germany's powerful javelin quartet - Thomas Rohler, Johannes Vetter, Andreas Hofmann and Julian Weber will also figure prominently when their event takes centre stage at Berlin's fabled Olympic Stadium.
European champion Mateusz Przybylko will contest the high jump and Gesa Felicitas Krause, the European champion in the 3000m steeplechase, will contest an abbreviated 2000m steeplechase contest.
The men's pole vault features high-powered entries with Armand Duplantis facing off against Poland's Piotr Lisek.
Also announced were Olympic champion Christoph Harting and world and European champion Andrius Gudzius in the discus throw.
Organisers for the IAAF

European champion and 2019 world leader Malaika Mihambo will be among the marquee attractions at the 78th ISTAF, an IAAF World Challenge Meeting, on 1 September.

Mihambo, strong German javelin quartet among first announcements for ISTAF

World-leading performances by Magnus Kirt and Mariya Lasitskene and a world best in the 300m by Shaunae Miller-Uibo were the among the standout performances at the 58th edition of the Golden Spike in Ostrava, Czech Republic, an IAAF World Challenge Meeting, on Thursday (20).&nbsp;
<h3>Kirt joins 90m club</h3>
Kirt produced the season's first 90-metre javelin throw in a lopsided competition the Estonian won by nearly seven metres. After a modest 81.65m opener, the 29-year-old unleashed a 90.34m bomb in the second round, sealing the victory with his first career 90-metre effort. It was a personal best by 59cm and a national record.
Pole Cyprian Mrzyglod, the European U20 champion in 2017, improved his PB to 83.88m to finish second.
<h3>Lasitskene tops 2.06 for the second time</h3>
In the high jump, authorised neutral athlete Mariya Lasitskene continued her fine momentum, topping 2.06m for the second time in her career. Only four women have ever jumped higher.
Perfect through 1.96m, Lasitskene needed a second go at 1.98m before sailing clear. She followed with first attempt success at 2.00m and 2.03m, the latter adding a centimetre to her own world lead. She then topped 2.06m cleanly with her second attempt to equal the career best she set in 2017. Nobody has jumped as high since. Lasitskene then had the bar raised to a would-be world record height of 2.10m; her first attempt suggested an eventual clearance isn't that far away.
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Mariya Lasitskene - 2.06m in Ostrava</div>
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Twenty year-old Karina Taranda of Belarus, last year's world U20 champion, improved her personal best by two centimetres to 1.98m to finish second.
<h3>Miller-Uibo 34.41</h3>
On the track, Miller-Uibo's assault on the world best over the rarely contested 300m distance went off as expected, the Bahamian entering the straight with a clear lead, one she padded through the finish to clock 34.41, smashing the previous best of 35.30 Ana Guevara set at altitude in Mexico City in 2003. This performance, coupled with an early season 49.05 world lead in the 400m, indicates the 25-year-old is probably in the best shape of her career.
Brittany Brown of the US was a distant second in 35.91.
<h3>De Grasse edges Coleman in 200m</h3>
A torrential downpour late in the meet postponed the start of the evening-capping 200m, but didn't dampen the performances that much. As expected, Christian Coleman, the 100m world leader, got off to a strong start, an early assault that caught up with him with about 50 metres to go. Over the final 10 metres, Andre De Grasse caught him as well, nipping him at the line in 19.91, a season's best, 0.06 clear of the American who was making his 2019 debut over the distance. Further back, South African Clarence Munyai was third in 20.31, also a season's best.
Just over an hour earlier, De Grasse was edged in the 100m by a scant 0.01 by Mike Rodgers who clocked 10.04. In a blanket finish, China's Xie Zhenye was third, another 0.01 back.
The 400m was anything but close, with Steven Gardiner prevailing in 44.95, nearly a second ahead of Bahrain's Abbas Abubaker, who clocked 45.86.
<h3>Meeting records for Kendricks and Walsh</h3>
World champion Sam Kendricks increased his unbeaten streak to six with a dominating victory in the pole vault. The Olympic silver medallist cleared 5.93m on his second jump, watching the bar bounce on the pegs but stay on as he fell back to earth. That added a centimetre to the meeting record set by world record holder Renaud Lavillenie in 2013.
Pole Piotr Lisek took second at 5.71m on countback over Augusto Dutra of Brazil, Pawel Wojciechowski of Poland and Frenchman Valentin Lavillenie.
Two-time world champion Tom Walsh dominated the shot put, collecting the win with a 22.27m toss in the second round to improve his season's best by nine centimetres. He underscored his improving form with a 22.19m toss in round three.
Pole Michal Haratyk was second at 21.77m with Czech Tomas Stanek third with 21.04m.
While the rain and wind that descended on the eastern Czech city impacted much of the late-meet programme, the men's long jumpers were affected the most, with the competition halted before the sixth round concluded. Juan Miguel Echevarria coped best, reaching 8.32m in the second round. Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece was second at 7.95m.&nbsp;
<h3>Another hammer throw challenge win for Wang</h3>
Asian champion Wang Zheng opened the main programme with a 75.80m season's best in the fourth round to win the women's hammer throw, part of the IAAF World Hammer Challenge. The effort elevated the 31-year-old Chinese up a notch to third on the season's world list.
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Wang Zheng spinning to victory in Ostrava</div>
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US record holder Gwen Berry, the winner in Chorzow four days ago, opened with 74.38m, a throw that held up for second. Alexandra Tavernier of France was third with 73.36m. World record holder Anita Wlodarczyk pulled out of the competition with back pain.&nbsp;
In her first competition in 22 months, Olympic javelin champion Sara Kolak of Croatia produced one decent effort of 64.45m, good enough to take the victory. Slovenia's Martina Ratej was second with 61.01m.
<h3>Middle distance wins for Gudaf and Grice</h3>
In the women's 1500m, meeting record holder Tsegay Gudaf pulled away to a big lead over the final lap and held on, winning in 4:02.95. Sarah McDonald of Great Britain closed well to finish second in 4:03.79.
Similarly, Kenyan Michael Kibet scampered off to a significant lead of his own in the men's mile, but was caught in the final strides by another Briton, 2016 Olympic 1500m finalist Charlie Da'vall Grice, who nabbed the win by 0.06 in 3:56.95.
Earlier on the programme, Amel Tuka prevailed in the 800m in a season's best 1:44.95 with Adam Kszczot second in 1:45.63.
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF

World-leading performances by Magnus Kirt and Mariya Lasitskene and a world best in the 300m by Shaunae Miller-Uibo were the among the standout performances at the 58th edition of the Golden Spike in Ostrava, Czech Republic, an IAAF World Challenge Meeting, on Thursday (20). 

Miller-Uibo breaks 300m world best, Lasitskene tops 2.06m and Kirt joins 90-metre club in Ostrava

Christian Coleman's eagerly anticipated season's debut over 200m will be among the key highlights at the 58th Golden Spike, an IAAF World Challenge meeting, in the eastern Czech city of Ostrava on Thursday (20).
Coleman, who has clocked world leads of 9.86 and 9.85 in the 100m already this season, has indicated that he's aiming to tackle both short sprints at the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 later this year. His race on Thursday evening will provide an early test for his double ambitions five weeks ahead of the demanding US selection trials for Doha. Coleman, 23, has a 19.85 personal best, but hasn't raced over the distance in almost two years.
He'll be facing South African Clarence Munyai who's gone even faster, clocking 19.69 at altitude in Pretoria in March 2018, less than a month after his 20th birthday.
The field also includes Rio silver medallist Andre De Grasse who'll be chasing another double in Ostrava, lining up in the 200m 65 minutes after headlining the field in the 100m A race. There, he'll face African champion Akani Simbine and Michael Rodgers of the US.
Over the full lap, Bahamian record holder Steven Gardiner will finally be making his season's debut where he'll face rising US star Kenny Bednarek who speed to a 19.82/44.73 altitude-assisted double victory at the US Junior College Championships one month ago.
<h3>Miller-Uibo chasing 300m world best</h3>
The headline act on the women's side is Olympic 400m champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo who'll be making her career outdoor debut over the rarely-run 300m.
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Shaunae Miller-Uibo takes the Continental Cup 200m title in Ostrava</div>
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Besides her already long list of laurels at standard distances - 2016 Olympic 400m gold, 2017 world bronze and 2018 Commonwealth gold at 200m - Miller-Uibo equalled the world indoor best over 300m in New York last year, clocking 35.45. That performance trails only the outdoor world best of 35.30, set by Anna Guevara of Mexico in Mexico City in 2003. With 49.05 and 49.54 400m performances under her belt already this season, Guevara's world best in the event looks well within reach. The field includes European 400m champion Justyna Święty-Ersetic of Poland.
Moving up in distance, the women's 1500m features Ethiopia&rsquo;s meeting record holder Gudaf Tsegay, who lowered her career best to 3:57.40 in Rabat last Sunday, and Moroccan Rababe Arafi, who lowered the national record to 3:58.84 in that Rabat race.
On the men's side, Samuel Tefera, the world indoor 1500m champion and world indoor record holder, will face Adam Kszczot, the world indoor 800m champion, in the 800m. It will be the Ethiopian's debut over the distance. And in the mile, Marcin Lewandowski returns to action to headline the field a week after his debut and victory over the distance in Oslo.
<h3>Echevarria returns</h3>
On the infield, world champion Sam Kendricks will put his five-meeting win streak on the line against Poles Piotr Lisek and Pawel Wojciechowski, who've both topped 5.81m this season, 10cm lower than Kendricks.&nbsp;
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Juan Miguel Echevarria leaps 8.66m in Ostrava</div>
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Juan Miguel Echevarria returns to Ostrava a year after crushing the meeting record with an 8.66m leap. The young Cuban won't be riding the same momentum this year, but he will arrive on the heels of an 8.34m season's best in Rabat where he collected his first international win of the season. He'll take on European indoor and outdoor champion Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece.
<h3>Wlodarcyzk chasing Ostrava victory No. 7</h3>
As has become tradition in Ostrava, the main programme kicks off with the hammer throw, part of the IAAF World Hammer Throw Challenge, named in honour of 2000 Olympic champion Kamila Skolimowska who passed away in 2009. But this year the event, which features the women's competition, takes place on the same day and in the main stadium for the first time.
World record holder Anita Wlodarcyzk (75.61m SB) will be making her 11th appearance in the meeting, chasing a seventh victory. She'll face Gwen Berry of the US, who's thrown 76.23m this season, and China's Wang Zheng, who reached 75.66m in April to take the Asian title.
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Anita Wlodarczyk registers another victory in Ostrava</div>
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In the javelin, the focus will fall on two-time Olympic and three-time world champion Barbora Spotakova who'll face her Czech compatriot Nikola Ogrodnikova, who improved her PB to 67.40m last month, and Croatia&rsquo;s Olympic champion Sara Kolak who'll compete for the first time since 2017 after she was sidelined by elbow and shoulder problems in 2018.&nbsp;
Estonia's Magnus Kirt, the winner in Turku a week ago, heads the men's field.
Elsewhere, world leader Mariya Lasitskene (2.02m) heads the field in the women's high jump, and world champion Tomas Walsh tops a classy field in the men's shot put that includes Poles Michal Haratyk and Konrad Bukowiecki, who arrive with 22.18m, 21.98 and 21.97 season's bests, respectively.
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF

Christian Coleman's eagerly anticipated season's debut over 200m will be among the key highlights at the 58th Golden Spike, an IAAF World Challenge meeting, in the eastern Czech city of Ostrava on Thursday (20).

Coleman’s 200m season opener in the spotlight in Ostrava

Tuesday evening (11) at the 57th Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku was perfect in many ways.
A record attendance of 13,345 witnessed a high standard of competition across all international events at the IAAF World Challenge and IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge meeting. The weather &ndash; with the temperature at 25C at the start and 21C at the end &ndash; made athletes&rsquo; lives easier too.
And while the island in the Turku archipelago that was on offer for anyone who broke the Finnish all-comers&rsquo; record in the men&rsquo;s javelin or discus may not have got a new owner, Finnish all-comers&rsquo; records fell in two other events.
World and Olympic champion Anita Wlodarczyk returned to top form, winning the women&rsquo;s hammer with a season&rsquo;s best of 75.61m. The Pole, making her second competitive appearance of the season, had three throws beyond 75 metres with her winning mark coming in the third round. It added more than a metre to the Finnish all-comers&rsquo; record of 74.29m that she had set when winning the 2012 European title.
Compatriot Joanna Fiodorow was second with a season&rsquo;s best of 74.71m while China&rsquo;s Wang Zheng &ndash; the current IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge leader &ndash; was third with 73.52m.
The other Finnish all-comers&rsquo; record came in the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles, albeit in the heats.
USA&rsquo;s Christina Clemons ran an easy 12.58 to win her heat, moving to fourth on the 2019 world list. But despite good conditions for the final, the winning time was slower than the earlier round. Clemons won comfortably in 12.85 ahead of Finland&rsquo;s Annimari Korte (13.02) and Nooralotta Neziri (13.06). Neziri had earlier clocked a season&rsquo;s best of 12.99 to win the other heat.
<h3>Kirt victorious</h3>
Estonia&rsquo;s Magnus Kirt repeated his javelin victory from last year &ndash; and nearly even matched his winning distance &ndash; while there was also some delight for the home crowd as two younger Finns obtained the qualifying standard for the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019.
Kirt led from the start, opening with 86.92m. Olympic and European champion Thomas R&ouml;hler also started well, 86.33m, but didn&rsquo;t improve in the next five rounds and was once again unable to beat the Estonian. 
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Javelin winner Magnus Kirt at the IAAF World Challenge meeting in Turku</div>
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Kirt produced his best throw, 88.32m, in round four. Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott finished third with a season&rsquo;s best of 86.09m, his best mark since finishing third in Turku in 2017 with 86.48m.
Twenty-two-year-old Oliver Helander of Finland was fourth with a season&rsquo;s best of 84.84m, the third-best throw of his career. Germany&rsquo;s Bernhard Seifert was fifth with 84.02m while Finland&rsquo;s Toni Kuusela produced a surprising 83.40m &ndash; a PB by nearly three metres &ndash; to place sixth.
There were surprises in the men&rsquo;s discus, too, as world leader Daniel St&aring;hl of Sweden fouled all of his three attempts. His first effort, a narrow foul, landed beyond 66 metres but his two other throws were nowhere near.
Jamaica&rsquo;s Fedrick Dacres capitalised on St&aring;hl&rsquo;s mistake and won with a stadium record of 66.74m. Olympic champion Christoph Harting reached a season&rsquo;s best of 66.01m for second place.
<h3>Zhu shows promise</h3>
China&rsquo;s Zhu Yaming showed flashes of huge potential in the triple jump. The 25-year-old won with a wind-assisted 17.36m (2.6m/s) but was nowhere near the board with his take-off. He also recorded a wind-legal season&rsquo;s best of 17.21 on his last attempt.
USA&rsquo;s Donald Scott was second with 17.05m and Finland&rsquo;s Simo Lipsanen third with a 16.57m season&rsquo;s best.
USA&rsquo;s Chase Ealey won the women&rsquo;s shot put with a stadium record of 19.38m but stopped throwing after the fourth round as she twisted her ankle. Jamaica&rsquo;s world indoor silver medallist Danniel Thomas-Dodd was second with 19.03m.
Mike Rodgers edged US compatriot Justin Gatlin for a tight win in the 100m, clocking a season&rsquo;s best of 10.00 to the world champion&rsquo;s 10.01. Canada&rsquo;s Crystal Emmanuel clocked a season&rsquo;s best of 11.19 to win the women&rsquo;s 100m ahead of Shania Collins (11.22).
USA&rsquo;s Andy Bayer won the 3000m steeplechase in 8:18.29, beating last year&rsquo;s winner Kenyan Nicholas Bett (8:21.20). Finland&rsquo;s Topi Raitanen took seven seconds off his PB to finish third in 8:21.47.
Kenyan Cornelius Tuwei was fastest in the 800m in 1:46.37 while Uganda&rsquo;s Winnie Nanyondo clocked 4:06.21 for a narrow win and stadium record in the 1500m. Ethiopia&rsquo;s Taye Fantu was second in a 4:06.27 season&rsquo;s best.
Brazil&rsquo;s Eduardo de Deus clocked a personal best of 13.42 to win the 110m hurdles with Italian Hassane Fofana a close second in 13.44, also a PB.
With Jenn Suhr being unable to jump, Canadian Alysha Newman won the pole vault with a 4.62m stadium record. Bulgaria&rsquo;s Gabriela Petrova topped the triple jump with a wind-aided 14.29m, also recording a wind-legal 14.22m season&rsquo;s best.
Twenty-year-old Ella Junnila cleared a national record of 1.94m to win the high jump. She now joins her mother Ringa Ropo as a national record-holder; Ropo holds the Finnish long jump record at 6.85m.
Mirko Jalava for the IAAF

Tuesday evening (11) at the 57th Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku was perfect in many ways.

Wlodarczyk back on top while Kirt wins again in Turku

As is often the case at the Paavo Nurmi Games, throwing events will take centre stage at the IAAF World Challenge meeting with world leader Daniel St&aring;hl and Olympic champions Anita Wlodarczyk and Thomas Rohler set to compete in Turku on Tuesday (11).
The 57th edition of the meeting will have better weather than the past few editions as it is set to be sunny with temperatures about 20C. It could also help the competitors in the men&rsquo;s discus and javelin in their bid to break the Finnish all-comers&rsquo; records (70.98m and 93.09m respectively). Should they succeed, they will become the owner of an island in the Turku archipelago.
Swedish discus thrower Daniel St&aring;hl heads to Turku in great form. Having competed just twice this season, his eight measured throws average a phenomenal 69.83m. Competing in his secondary hometown of Turku, St&aring;hl, having already thrown a world-leading 70.56m in Doha, is a big favourite for the win but faces stiff opposition. 
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Daniel Stahl after winning the discus at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Doha</div>
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Fedrick Dacres is coming to the meet from quite a different angle. The 25-year-old Jamaican has already competed 12 times this season and in the past 12 days has recorded three straight competitions beyond 68 metres. He finished just 61cm centimetres behind St&aring;hl in Stockholm with a season&rsquo;s best of 68.96m and then won with 68.64m in Halle and 68.10m in Kingston.
Magnus Kirt will be looking for a repeat victory in the javelin after winning in Turku last year with 88.73m. The Estonian will start as the favourite, having opened his season with an 89.33m throw in Vantaa and an 87.65m win in Tartu at the Gustav Sule Memorial.
Olympic champion Thomas R&ouml;hler has already competed five times this year, his most recent performance being an 82.56m win in Jena on Saturday. Fellow German Bernhard Seifert threw a big 89.06m personal best a couple of weeks ago, but has been a few metres short of that distance in his two most recent competitions.
Multiple world and Olympic hammer champion Anita Wlodarczyk is competing at the Paavo Nurmi Games &ndash; also part of the IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge &ndash; for the first time in her long and distinguished career. The Pole will be aiming to extend her season&rsquo;s best beyond the 73.64m she threw on her season&rsquo;s debut in Nanjing a few weeks ago. 
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Anita Wlodarczyk registers another victory in Ostrava</div>
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China&rsquo;s Wang Zheng, the winner in Nanjing, heads to Turku off the back of seven consecutive wins and a season&rsquo;s best of 75.66m.
USA&rsquo;s Donald Scott is the favourite in the men&rsquo;s triple jump. The 27-year-old recently jumped a PB of 17.43m at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Rome last week.
Uganda&rsquo;s Winnie Nanyondo has been impressive over 1500m so far this season. In her two outdoor starts, she first broke the national record with 4:01.39 in Shanghai and followed it with 4:01.49 just three days later in Nanjing.
World leader Jenn Suhr goes against Canada&rsquo;s Alysha Newman in the pole vault. 37-year-old Suhr has cleared 4.91m this season, while 24-year-old Newman arrives fresh from a 4.76m national record last week.
USA&rsquo;s Chase Ealey and Jamaica&rsquo;s Danniel Thomas-Dodd are the top names in the women&rsquo;s shot put and both have gone well beyond 19 metres this season.
Following a recent win at the FBK Games, two-time world indoor champion Nia Ali will be looking for another victory in the 100m hurdles. She&rsquo;ll take on world indoor silver medallist Christina Clemons and the two fastest Finnish women of all time: Nooralotta Neziri and Annimari Korte.
Mirko Jalava (organisers) for the IAAF

As is often the case at the Paavo Nurmi Games, throwing events will take centre stage at the IAAF World Challenge meeting with world leader Daniel Ståhl and Olympic champions Anita Wlodarczyk and Thomas Rohler set to compete in Turku on Tuesday (11).

Ståhl, Wlodarczyk and Kirt among the favourites in Turku

World pole vault champion Sam Kendricks broke one of the oldest FBK Games meeting records at the IAAF World Challenge meeting in Hengelo on Sunday (9).
The previous meeting record of 5.90m was set by Sergey Bubka back in 1992. Since then, the closest anyone had come to the mark in the Dutch city was 5.85m, but even that was 20 years ago.
Kendricks, however, is riding a wave of good form, having won at the IAAF Diamond League meetings in Doha and Stockholm last month. Here in Hengelo he was a class apart as no one else in the field went higher than 5.51m. Kendricks scaled that height on his first try and then cleared 5.61m on his first attempt and 5.81m on his second. He then put the bar up to 5.91m and once again cleared it on his first try.
After announcing her ambition earlier this week to break her own European 5000m record in Hengelo, Sifan Hassan fell 16 seconds short of her target and was convincingly beaten by Kenya&rsquo;s Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi.
Hassan was unable to follow the Wavelight &ndash; an electronic system on the inside of the track that lights up to reflect a desired pace &ndash; and so unwittingly became a pacemaker for the rest of the field, passing 2000m in 5:46.74 and 3000m in 8:42.87.
A lead pack of four &ndash; Hassan, Kipkemboi, Eva Cherono and Hawi Feysa &ndash; began to pull away in the second half, even though the pace continued to decrease. Cherono led for much of the final kilometre but was passed by the three other women in the lead pack as they reached the final lap.
Hassan hit the front, but couldn&rsquo;t shake off the challenge of Kipkemboi and Feysa. With 100 metres left, Kipkemboi passed a struggling Hassan and went on to win in a world-leading 14:37.22, the second-fastest time of her career. Hassan finished second in 14:38.54, 0.22 ahead of Feysa. 
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Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi wins the 5000m at the FBK Games in Hengelo</div>
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The men&rsquo;s race was even closer, but this time the pre-race favourite came out on top.
Three days after winning at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Rome, Ethiopia&rsquo;s Telahun Haile Bekele was pushed all the way in the men&rsquo;s 5000m by Nicholas Kipkorir Kimeli but did just enough to hold off the Kenyan. Bekele won in 12:57.56 with Kimeli close behind in a PB of 12:57.90.
Manyonga wins long jump war of attrition
FBK Games meeting organisers tried out a new format for the men&rsquo;s long jump.
After the first three rounds, athletes went head-to-head in the fourth round, so the athlete in first place jumped against the athlete in eighth; the jumper in second faced the athlete in seventh and so on. The four winners from the fourth round went through to the fifth round, where the same rule applies, leaving just two men to contest the sixth and final round.
World champion Luvo Manyonga emerged as the winner after easing his way through each round. He had a best of 8.16m from the first three rounds, then beat Yahya Berrabah in round four, 7.83m to 7.53m, before beating Wang Jianan in round five, 8.31m to 7.93m.
The South African saved his best for the final round, equalling his season&rsquo;s best of 8.35m. But the only other remaining competitor, Sweden&rsquo;s Thobias Montler, sustained an injury on his final jump.
<h3>Schippers and Cisse take 100m victories</h3>
A Dafne Schippers victory has almost become something of a tradition at the FBK Games. After clocking 11.38 for 100m in Belgium two weeks ago, the two-time world 200m champion chopped her season&rsquo;s best down to 11.06 (1.7m/s) in Hengelo, banking a World Championships and Olympic Games qualifying mark.
The men&rsquo;s event was won by Ivory Coast&rsquo;s Arthur Ciss&eacute; in 10.05 (0.6m/s) from Britain&rsquo;s CJ Ujah. 2016 European 100m champion Churandy Martina, who turns 35 next month, was fourth in 10.19. His big dream is to participate in his fifth Olympic Games next year in Tokyo.
Spain&rsquo;s Orlando Ortega won the men&rsquo;s 110m hurdles in 13.27 (0.3m/s), a stride ahead of South Africa&rsquo;s Antonio Alkana (13.41). World record-holder Aries Merritt, making his season&rsquo;s debut, was last to cross the finish line.
In a clash between the Olympic gold and silver medallists in the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles, USA&rsquo;s Nia Ali came out on top by a narrow margin. The two-time world indoor champion won in 12.75 with Olympic champion Brianna McNeal taking second in 12.76.
Elsewhere, Sweden&rsquo;s Erika Kinsey cleared 1.96m to comfortably win the women&rsquo;s high jump, Cornelius Tuwei held off the challenge from Britain&rsquo;s Kyle Langford and European indoor champion Alvaro de Arriba to win the men&rsquo;s 800m in 1:45.67, and USA&rsquo;s Michael Cherry won the men&rsquo;s 400m in 45.15.
Eric Roeske for the IAAF

World pole vault champion Sam Kendricks broke one of the oldest FBK Games meeting records at the IAAF World Challenge meeting in Hengelo on Sunday (9).

Victories for Kendricks, Kipkemboi and Bekele in Hengelo

European champion Sifan Hassan hopes to provide one of the highlights of the FBK Games when she attempts to break her own continental 5000m record at the IAAF World Challenge meeting in Hengelo on Sunday (9).
Hassan set the current European record of 14:22.34 in Rabat last year. Instead of pacemakers, wavelight technology will be used in Hengelo to help the athletes follow the desired target pace.
&ldquo;It will be good for the competition in Hengelo if I do beautiful things there,&rdquo; Hassan said on Friday at the pre-meeting press conference. &ldquo;Running in the Netherlands is fun. I am starting the race on my European record pace and I want to break that. With the wavelight I can keep the pace I have to run.&rdquo;
Earlier this year, Hassan set a world 5km record of 14:44 on the roads. She followed it with season&rsquo;s bests of 1:05:45 for the half marathon, 31:18.12 for 10,000m and 4:00.53 for 1500m. European silver medallist Eilish McColgan and Kenyan duo Margaret Chelimo and Janet Kisa are also in the field.
The men&rsquo;s 5000m also looks set to be an exciting event. Telahun Haile Bekele, who surprisingly won the 5000m in a world-leading PB of 12:52.98 at yesterday&rsquo;s IAAF Diamond League meeting in Rome, will line up for his second race at the distance within four days.
Two of his namesakes &ndash; Haile Gebrselassie and Kenenisa Bekele &ndash; have set world records in Hengelo, but Bekele may not be chasing records so soon after his effort in the Italian capital. He&rsquo;ll be up against African U20 10,000m champion Nicholas Kimeli and Ethiopian cross-country champion Mogos Tuemay.
In the men&rsquo;s 800m, European indoor champion Alvaro de Arriba will hope that the pace will be quick enough to break his PB of 1:44.99. The Spaniard will face Kenya&rsquo;s Cornelius Tuwei and Oceanian record-holder Joseph Deng.
<h3>Schippers seeks fifth win</h3>
In recent years Dafne Schippers has become a permanent fixture at the FBK Games. The two-time world 200m champion will be making her eighth appearance at the meeting and will be looking for a fifth successive victory.
&ldquo;For me it is great to run at such a big competition in front of my own audience in the Netherlands,&rdquo; said Schippers, who will contest the 100m in Hengelo. &ldquo;What&rsquo;s extra special is that there is a &lsquo;Dafne&rsquo; section on the tribune to get all my fans together.&rdquo;
Schippers will face four other women with sub-11-second PBs, including US duo Morolake Akinosun and Mikiah Brisco, Ecuador&rsquo;s Angela Tenorio and China&rsquo;s Wei Yongli. But Gabrielle Thomas and Brazil&rsquo;s South American champion Vitoria Christina Rosa could be Schippers&rsquo; biggest challengers.
In the men&rsquo;s 100m, Arthur Cisse of the Ivory Coast takes on USA&rsquo;s Mike Rodgers. Cisse recently clocked a season&rsquo;s best of 10.01, but Rodgers has the fastest PB of the field at 9.85.
Baboloki Thebe of Botswana has the fastest season&rsquo;s best and PB of the men&rsquo;s 400m field. Based on current form, USA&rsquo;s Vernon Norwood and Michael Cherry should also challenge for the victory. Spain&rsquo;s 44.73 performer Oscar Husillos and Dutch record-holder Liemarvin Bonevacia are also in the line-up.
After hitting a barrier in Rome and falling out of contention, Orlando Ortega will be keen to make amends in the men&rsquo;s 110m hurdles in Hengelo. But world record-holder Aries Merritt and African record-holder Antonio Alkana will also be formidable opponents.
Olympic champion Brianna McNeal will face European indoor champion Nadine Visser of the Netherlands in the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles. Two-time world indoor champion Nia Ali and 2015 world silver medallist Cindy Roleder are also in the field, along with USA&rsquo;s Amber Hughes who recently improved to 12.74.
<h3>Long jump innovations</h3>
The men&rsquo;s long jump in Hengelo will be held with a slightly adapted format.
After the first three rounds, athletes will go head-to-head in the fourth round, so the athlete in first place will jump against the athlete in eighth; the jumper in second will face the athlete in seventh and so on.
The four winners from the fourth round go through to the fifth round, where the same rule applies, leaving just two men to contest the sixth and final round.
World champion Luvo Manyonga, fellow South African Ruswahl Samaai, Olympic champion Jeff Henderson and European indoor silver medallist Thobias Montler are among the athletes taking part in the unique competition
In addition, 2006 world indoor champion Ignisious Gaisah will compete in a sensor-equipped Xsens suit, through which movements such as posture, hovering phase, drop angle and centre of gravity will be analysed immediately after the jump and made visible to the public on a large screen.
Elsewhere, world champion Sam Kendricks starts as favourite in the men&rsquo;s pole vault, Olympic silver medallist Mirela Demireva leads the women&rsquo;s high jump field, and Dutch sprinter Lisanne de Witte will race a solar-powered car over 300m.
Eric Roeske for the IAAF

European champion Sifan Hassan hopes to provide one of the highlights of the FBK Games when she attempts to break her own continental 5000m record at the IAAF World Challenge meeting in Hengelo on Sunday (9).

Hassan targeting European 5000m record in Hengelo

The 57th Paavo Nurmi Games on 11 June are promising to be the one-day meeting&rsquo;s finest-ever edition of this IAAF World Challenge&nbsp;meeting. In addition to the two super bonus events, where the winner of the men&rsquo;s discus and javelin competitions can win an island if they achieve a Finnish all comers record, there are plenty of other high quality fields.
The men&rsquo;s discus field is extremely strong, with each of the 10 entrants with a personal best well over 65 metres. Swede Daniel St&aring;hl, having already thrown a 70.56 season&rsquo;s best and a big 70m+ foul in Stockholm last week, is looking for the big one in his second home town. His grandmother still lives in Turku, and an island in the Turku Archipelago would be perfect for St&aring;hl, who speaks fluent Finnish.
A distance of 70.99m is what&rsquo;s needed for the island, a centimetre better tha Mac Wilkins&rsquo; 70.98m effort in Helsinki 9 July 1980. There is also a good challenge behind the top thrower: Jamaican Fedrick Dacres, who placed fourth at the 2017 World Championships when St&aring;hl won silver. Dacres threw a season&rsquo;s best 68.96 in Stockholm, the second best throw of his career behind his personal best of 69.67m, also in Stockholm last summer. The Olympic champion from Rio 2016, Germany&rsquo;s Christoph Harting, a new name from Norway, Ola Stunes Isene (67.78 in 2019) and a 67.57m thrower from Jamaica, Traves Smikle, are also in the competition.
In the men&rsquo;s javelin, 2016 Olympic champion Thomas R&ouml;hler heads the field. The 27-year-old has already thrown 90 metres twice in Turku, both in 2016 when he hit a world leading 91.28 m and a 91.04m later in that competition. The German also won in 2017 and placed second in 2018. Fellow German Andreas Hoffmann is injured and will miss Turku this time, but there is a strong challenge anyway for R&ouml;hler.
Magnus Kirt of Estonia, the winner in Turku last year with an 88.73m national record, is back at the Paavo Nurmi stadium. The 29-year-old won in Vantaa, Finland, last week with an 89.33m world lead in his season opener and then won the Gustav Sule Memorial in Tartu with 87.65m. Meanwhile 26-year-old Bernhard Seifert recently threw a big personal best of 89.06m in Offenburg and is looking for his first 90-metre throw in Turku. Also in are 2012 Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott, 2014 European champion Antti Ruuskanen, 88m thrower Oliver Helander, and Julian Weber of Germany. The Finnish all-comers record needed for the island is held by Aki Parviainen at 93.09m set in Kuortane on 26 June 1999.
<h3>Diaz heads strong triple jump field</h3>
Men&rsquo;s triple jump is a top event too. With a total of eight 17-metre jumpers, it will be the best competition ever this event at the Paavo Nurmi stadium. The 2018 World U20 champion Jordan A. Diaz of Cuba is yet to open his outdoor season, but jumped a 17.41 World U18 best in 2018. Alexis Copello (AZE) has a personal best 17.68 from 2011 and American Chris Benard, 17.48m in 2017, also jumped 17.40m last summer. Donald Scott (USA) and Cristian Atanay Napoles (CUB) have personal bests of 17.37m and 17.34m respectively from 2018 and both have also jumped 17 metres in 2019 as well.
In the men&rsquo;s 100m Americans Justin Gatlin, the 2017 world champion, and Mike Rodgers go head to head. In the men&rsquo;s 800m Kenyans Alfred Kipketer and Cornelius Tuwei are the top names along with Ethiopian Mohamed Aman, the 2013 world champion in the race. The 3000m steeplechase includes 2019 Asian champion John Koech (BRN) and Nicholas Bett (KEN). In the 110m hurdles Garfield Darien of France goes against American Freddie Crittenden. In the long jump 23-year-old American Zack Bazile, with a personal best of 8.37m last summer, tops the field with 25-year-old Chinese Zhang Yaoguang, who jumped a 8.29 PB also in 2018.
<h3>Wlodarczyk returns to action</h3>
The top women&rsquo;s event is the hammer throw, where four-time world champion and world record holder Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland goes against Chinese Wang Zheng. Wang won silver at the 2017 World Championships and has a personal best of 77.68m from 2014. Hanna Malyshik (BLR), with a 76.26m personal best in 2018 and Malwina Kopron (POL), 76.85m PB in 2017, are the challengers for the top duo.
In the other women&rsquo;s events American Shania Collins, with a 10.98 personal best in 2018 goes against another sub-11 second runner, Chinese Wei Yongli, who ran 10.99 also last summer. Ugandan Winnie Nanyondo has already broken 1500m national record in 4:01.39 this season and heads that event.
The women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles is one of the strongest events in Finland and in addition to the best Finns, two time world indoor 60m hurdles champion Nia Ali and fellow American Christina Clemons, the world indoor 60m hurdles silver medallist in 2018, are running in Turku.
In the pole vault the top two Americans go head to head. Five-metre jumper Sandi Morris is joined by Jenn Suhr, who has already cleared 4.91 this season. Morris, the 2018 world indoor champion Morris jumped 4.95 last year with 37-year-old Suhr, the 2012 Olympic champion, a 5.03 jumper indoors in 2016, coming close to her best results in 2019. Israeli Hanna Minenko, the 2015 world silver medallist, tops the triple jump while new American shot put star Chase Ealey is looking for another win in Turku. A 19.67m personal best and a first Diamond League win in Shanghai in May make her a top name in 2019. Jamaican Danniel Thomas-Dodd has already set a 19.48 national record this season while Anita Marton of Hungary, the 2018 world indoor champion, has the best personal best in the field with at 19.87 from the 2016 Olympics where she took bronze.
Mirko Jalava (organisers) for the IAAF
&nbsp;
Mirko Jalava for the organisers

The 57th Paavo Nurmi Games on 11 June are promising to be the one-day meeting’s finest-ever edition of this IAAF World Challenge meeting. In addition to the two super bonus events, where the winner of the men’s discus and javelin competitions can win an island if they achieve a Finnish all comers record, there are plenty of other high quality fields.

Turku expecting strongest-ever fields for Nurmi Games 57th edition

World leads by Lijiao Gong and Gudaf Tsegay were among the highlight performances at the inaugural Nanjing World Challenge on Tuesday (21).
Competing before an appreciative crowd of more than 12,000 at the Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, Gong, who suffered a rare defeat on home turf in Shanghai on Saturday, avenged that loss with a flourish as the attention of the athletics world moved 300 kilometres to the west.
Shaking out the rust with an 18.90m throw in the first round, the world champion took command with a 19.42m toss in the second before blasting a 19.84m effort in the third to effectively put the competition out of reach. Underscoring her evening form, she closed off with a 19.77m effort.
"I'm pretty happy for what I achieved today," Gong said. "I'm training for late in the season so it's nice to win early season at home. Next time I'll try to reach 20 metres."
Jamaican Danniel Thomas-Dodd and Shanghai winner Chase Ealey of the US each reached 19.21m, with the former taking second on countback. 
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Gudaf Tsegay wins the 1500m at the IAAF World Challenge meeting in Nanjing</div>
&nbsp;
Tsegay, who was edged out at the line by just a tenth of a second in Shanghai three days ago, learned from that and left no room for her pursuers here, holding her position over the final 30 metres en route to a 3:59.57 clocking, the fifth fastest performance of her career.
The 22-year-old Ethiopian held off compatriot Axumawit Embaye, who clocked a 4:00.17 lifetime best, and Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan, who improved her season&rsquo;s best to 4:00.53.
<h3>Infield victories for Wang and Wang</h3>
There were two more victories on the infield for China, courtesy of Wang Yu in the high jump and Wang Zheng in the women&rsquo;s hammer.
Wang Zheng, who captured the Asian title last month, pulled off a minor upset here, throwing 75.27m for her second Hammer Throw Challenge victory in just over 48 hours. Astonishingly, her best performance here equalled her winning effort in Osaka on Sunday.
DeAnna Price of the US was second with 74.21m with world record-holder Anita Wlodarczyk, who was making her 2019 debut, third, with a 73.64m best.
Wang Yu, meanwhile, topped 2.31m on his first attempt, a season&rsquo;s best, before bowing out with three tries at 2.33m. The Shanghai winner was pleased but at the post-meeting press conference asked local journalists to temper their expectations.
&ldquo;I'm not in a hurry (to break records),&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I need to improve step by step.&rdquo;
<h3>Sprint hurdles wins for Ortega and McNeal</h3>
The sprint hurdles are popular events in China, and both of the loaded men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s fields delivered thrillers.
In the men&rsquo;s 110m race, Olympic gold and silver medallists Omar McLeod and Orlando Ortega were nearly stride-for-stride over the first nine barriers before the Spaniard marginally pulled ahead on the lean to take the win by 0.01 in 13.27.
The women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles was even closer with the first four crossing the line within just 0.02. Here, Olympic champion Brianna McNeal closed well to out-dip Nia Ali, both credited with 12.78. Christina Clemons, who led early on, was third in 12.79 with Queen Harrison fourth, another 0.01 back.
One of the best finishes of the night came courtesy of Japan&rsquo;s Takatoshi Abe, who ran down five competitors over the final straight of the 400m hurdles to collect his first victory of the season. The 27-year-old clocked 49.16, holding off Pole Patryk Dobek and David Kendziera of the US, who clocked 49.23 and 49.27, respectively.
<h3>Amos impresses</h3>
Nijel Amos took another decisive 800m victory, his second in as many outings this season. Similarly to his world leading win in Doha 18 days ago, Amos was dominant down the homestretch en route to a 1:44.38 clocking, .09 shy of his world lead. Kenyan Cornelius Tuwei was a distant second in 1:44.91 with Jonathan Kitilit third (1:45.58).
In the women&rsquo;s race, Shanghai 1500m winner Rababe Arafi put on another strong homestretch performance to nearly pull off another victory on her Chinese tour but was ultimately denied by Nelly Jepkosgei. The Kenyan won by a scant 0.04 in 1:59.98 to notch the biggest international victory of he career.
Benjamin Kigen won the men&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase in 8:08.94, his second fastest time ever, pulling away from Abraham Kibiwot over the last 200 metres. Kibiwot clocked 8:10.27.
<h3>Another clutch performance for Taylor</h3>
With Pedro Pablo Pichardo kept away by visa issues, the triple jump competition came down to a face-off between world champion Christian Taylor and world leader Omar Craddock. Again it was Taylor who prevailed after delivering a clutch performance in the final round, reaching 17.47m to pull ahead of Craddock, who bounded out to 17.40m in round two. Craddock dug deep in the competition&rsquo;s final round but came up just short, improving to 17.42m.
Briton Jazmin Sawyers celebrated her 25th birthday with a victory in the long jump, reaching a season&rsquo;s best of 6.56m in the fifth round to overtake Australian Naa Anang, who reached 6.52m in both rounds two and six.
Olympic champion Thomas Rohler of Germany and Czech Jakub Vadlejch finished 1-2 in the men&rsquo;s javelin - using the same spear.&nbsp;
Rohler produced the best two throws of the competition, reaching 86.39m in the second round and 85.79m in the fifth to secure his first win of the season. Rohler used the Czech&rsquo;s spears both here and in Shanghai after his arrived in China last week battered and broken.
Vadlejch threw 85.34m.
<h3>Sprint wins for Thompson and Rodgers</h3>
Olympic champion Elaine Thompson chiseled together a solid victory in the 200m, running well over the final 70 metres to win in 22.40. Behind her, world 400m silver medallist Salwa Naser was pleased after finishing strong and overtaking Nigerian Blessing Okagbare to take second by 0.02 in 22.56, her third PB over the distance in as many races and a Bahraini record.
The meet was capped by the men&rsquo;s 100m, the closest race of the night. Olympic bronze medallist Andre De Grasse of Canada produced a strong late-race surge, but ran out of room to catch Michael Rodgers who was given the edge. Both clocked 10.09.
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF

World leads by Lijiao Gong and Gudaf Tsegay were among the highlight performances at the inaugural Nanjing World Challenge on Tuesday (21).

World leads for Gong and Tsegay in Nanjing

Jumping before a crowd of nearly 1000 spectators outside of a mall in central Nanjing, Tajay Gayle notched a convincing victory in the street athletics style long jump competition that kicked off the inaugural Nanjing World Challenge meeting on Monday (20).
Sitting in fourth place with a best of 8.03m after five rounds, Gayle sailed 8.21m on his final leap to collect his fourth consecutive victory and his second in just over 48 hours. The 22-year-old Jamaican took top honours in Shanghai on Saturday, about 300 kilometres to the east, where he jumped 8.24m.
"This was fun, I enjoyed it," Gayle said, who competed at this type of street venue for the first time. With a crowd lining one side of the raised runway under flashing lights and with a DJ blasting loud music, he liked the experience and would be happy to see more of it.
"The crowd is really close, and I felt the vibes and the energy from the people. I just felt really, really happy getting those vibes from the people watching."
So did the local stars.
Zhang Yaoguang, the runner-up at last month's Asian Championships, reached 8.10m in the second round to finish second here as well. Goa Xinglong hit 8.10m in the opening round but was edged by his much more consistent compatriot on countback. Jamaican Damar Forbes, a 2016 Olympic finalist, was a distant fourth with 7.90m.
Results: 1. Tajay Gayle, JAM, 8.21 (+0.2) 2. Zhang Yaoguang, CHN, 8.10 (+0.0) 3. Gao Xinglong, CHN, 8.10 (-0.3) 4. Damar Forbes, JAM, 7.90 (-0.4) 5. Huang Changzhou, CHN, 7.75 (-0.3) 6. Miltiadis Tentoglou, GRE, 7.72 (+0.1) 7. Zach Bazile, USA, 7.64 (+0.2)
<h3>Wlodarczyk to make 2019 debut</h3>
Updated 21 May 13:15 (GMT+8)*
The main programme of the third 2019 IAAF World Challenge meeting gets underway at 18:30 local time at the Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre Stadium with the women's hammer throw which features world record holder Anita Wlodarczyk's 2019 debut as she leads a solid field in this World Hammer Throw Challenge scoring stop.
The two-time Olympic and four-time world champion, who has won six World Hammer Throw Challenge titles, will be facing Gwen Berry and DeAnna Price of the US and local favourite Wang Zheng who are currently 1-2-3 on the world season's list.
<h3>Naser testing the 200m waters</h3>
The headline acts in the sprints will be racing in the women's 200m, where Salwa Naser will be taking on double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson.
Naser, the 400m winner in Shanghai two days ago, will be moving down in distance from her usual stomping ground, although she's shown promise this season, having already improved to 22.74. Thompson meanwhile will be hoping to improve - quality-wise, that is - on the 11.14 dash she produced in her season's debut in Shanghai, where she finished third. Nigerian Blessing Okagbare, who was second in the Shanghai 100m, and Ivet Lalova-Collio, who won the 200m in Osaka on Sunday, are also in the field.
On paper, the men's 100m is quite evenly matched with a field full of sub-10 men in search of their first sub-10 of the season.
Locals will be focusing on Xie Zhenye, a 9.97 man who was sixth in Shanghai, while Isiah Young of the US and Andre De Grasse of Canada are also expected to be in the mix.
<h3>McLeod vs Xie in the men&rsquo;s highs</h3>
The sprint hurdles are always a popular event in China, so organisers have attracted strong fields for both the men's and women's races.
The focus in the men's race will fall on world and Olympic champion Omar McLeod, the Shanghai winner in 13.12, and China's next great hope, Xie Wenjun, the Asian champion who improved to 13.17 in Shanghai behind the Jamaican. Sergey Shubenkov, third in Shanghai in 13.28, will almost certainly run faster now that his debut is out of the way.
On the women's side, Christina Clemons (12.79) is the field's fastest this year. Olympic champion Brianna McNeal and compatriots Nia Ali and Queen Harrison are also in the line-up.
Meanwhile, the men's 400m hurdles features Poland's Patryk Dobek and Estonian Rasmus Magi, who were fourth and fifth in Shanghai.
<h3>Taylor vs Pichardo rivalry resumes</h3>
Three-time world triple jump champion Christian Taylor headlines the fields in the jumps in his 2019 international debut. The 28-year-old sailed 17.18m in his opener in Long Beach, California, on 20 April, but will have his hands full with compatriot Omar Craddock, who jumped 17.16m to win in Osaka on Sunday, and long-time rival Pedro Pablo Pichardo, who'll be making his 2019 outdoor debut. Quite often, Taylor and Pichardo manage to bring out the best in each other.*
China&rsquo;s Wang Yu, the Shanghai winner, heads the men's high jump field, which includes Asian champion Majd Eddin Ghazal and Diamond League champion Brandon Starc of Australia.
In the women's long jump, Australian Naa Anang leads the field, her 6.81m from early Apil still the second farthest jump in the world this season. Olympic champion Tianna Bartoletta is also in the field.&nbsp;
<h3>Arafi moves down to 800m</h3>
Another Shanghai winner, Rababe Arafi, returns to action, but in the 800m instead of her favoured 1500m. But she's hardly a slouch over the shorter distance: she was fourth at the 2015 World Championships and clocked a 1:57.47 lifetime best last year. Her stiffest challenge could come from Kenyan Eunice Sum, who has sub-1:57 credentials.
In the 1500m, Shanghai runner-up Gudaf Tsegay will be back in action, taking on Sifan Hassan, who was fifth on Saturday.&nbsp;
World 800m leader Nijel Amos returns to the track for the first time since his thrilling win at the Diamond League opener in Doha 17 days ago.
And in the 3000m steeplechase, Ethiopian Chala Beyo (8:07.27, PB), who was fourth at the Doha Diamond League, could be the man to beat. With an 8:06.19 best, Kenyan Benjamin Kigen has gone about a second faster.&nbsp;
Meanwhile, the women's shot features surprise Shanghai winner Chase Ealey squaring off once again against Chinese athletics heroine, Gong Lijiao. Olympic champion Thomas Rohler heads to field in the men's javelin throw.
*Withdrawals this morning include Pedro Pablo Pichardo in the triple jump and Xie Wenjun in the men's 110m hurdles
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF

Jumping before a crowd of nearly 1000 spectators outside of a mall in central Nanjing, Tajay Gayle notched a convincing victory in the street athletics style long jump competition that kicked off the inaugural Nanjing World Challenge meeting on Monday (20).

Gayle wins city centre long jump as inaugural Nanjing World Challenge kicks off - preview 

Michael Norman&rsquo;s 19.84 clocking in the 200m at the Golden Grand Prix Osaka was one of three meeting records set at the IAAF World Challenge competition on Sunday (19).
The rising US sprinter, who last month opened his 2019 campaign with a 400m PB of 43.45, dominated the half-lap race at Osaka&rsquo;s Nagai Stadium. He already had a considerable lead before entering the home straight and he continued to pull away from the rest of the field in the second half.
The 21-year-old&rsquo;s winning time of 19.84 (-0.4m/s) equalled his lifetime best and took 0.03 off the meeting record set 20 years ago by Frank Fredericks. Yang Chun-Han of Chinese Taipei was a distant second in 20.50.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m pretty happy with the performance, time-wise,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I feel as though there are multiple areas that I can improve on so I&rsquo;ll go home and work on those ahead of my next race. I just didn&rsquo;t feel as though the intensity that I usually have during a 200m was there.&rdquo;
Early next month Norman will contest the 200m at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Rome, where he will line up against Noah Lyles, winner of the 100m at yesterday&rsquo;s IAAF Diamond League meeting in Shanghai.
<h3>Wang breaks Japanese all-comers&rsquo; hammer record</h3>
The Golden Grand Prix was also part of the IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge and the first competition for women in this year&rsquo;s series.
China&rsquo;s Asian champion Wang Zheng, runner-up in the challenge in 2017, won by more than a metre with 75.27m. Her winning mark broke the Japanese all-comers&rsquo; record of 74.76m set in this same stadium by Betty Heidler when winning the 2007 world title. 
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China's Wang Zheng at the IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge meeting in Osaka</div>
&nbsp;
USA&rsquo;s Gwen Berry was second with 74.09m and compatriot Deanna Price, the North American record-holder, was third with 72.92m.
The third meeting record fell to Ivet Lalova in the women&rsquo;s 200m. Contesting her first race of the year, the Bulgarian won comfortably in 22.55 &ndash; her fastest time since the 2016 Olympics &ndash; to break the meeting record of 22.63 set by Susanthika Jayasinghe in 2001.
&ldquo;I remember running here at the World Championships in 2007 and I wasn&rsquo;t happy with my performance,&rdquo; said Lalova, who turned 35 yesterday. &ldquo;But today I&rsquo;m leaving Osaka very happy with my run.&rdquo;
<h3>Japanese quartet makes amends</h3>
Japan&rsquo;s disqualification from the men&rsquo;s 4x100m at the IAAF World Relays was one of the biggest talking points in Yokohama last week, but the quartet returned to action in Osaka, determined to produce a good performance in front of a home crowd.
This time there was no mid-race baton juggling from the Olympic silver medallists as Shuhei Tada, Ryota Yamagata, Yuki Koike and Yoshihide Kiryu safely got the baton around to win by a huge margin in a world-leading 38.00. USA, with world 100m champion Justin Gatlin on second leg, finished a few metres behind in 38.73.
Gatlin had earlier won the 100m in 10.00 with Kiryu a close second in 10.01. World U20 champion Lalu Mohammad Zohri broke his own Indonesian record in third place with 10.03, the fastest time ever recorded by an athlete from Southeast Asia.
<h3>Nelvis pips Pearson</h3>
One week after helping USA win the mixed shuttle hurdles relay at the IAAF World Relays Yokohama 2019, Sharika Nelvis was victorious on Japanese soil once again.
She crossed the line level with world champion Sally Pearson but was given the verdict over the Australian as both athletes were credited with the same time: 12.70 (0.4m/s). Olympic finalist Pedrya Seymour of The Bahamas was third in 12.90.
The women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles was far more clear-cut with Olympic champion Dalilah Muhammad winning by almost two seconds. The world silver medallist stopped the clock at 53.88 with Tia-Adana Belle of Barbados finishing second in 55.42, just 0.03 ahead of USA&rsquo;s Cassandra Tate.
One of the biggest cheers of the meeting came in the men&rsquo;s 110m hurdles where world U20 bronze medallist Shunsuke Izumiya of Japan achieved one of the biggest wins of his young career.
The 19-year-old won in a wind-assisted 13.26 (2.9m/s), the third-fastest time by an U20 athlete over the senior-height barriers under any conditions. Greggmar Swift of Barbados was a stride behind in 13.45.
Lithuania&rsquo;s Edis Matusevicius saved his best for last in the men&rsquo;s javelin. The 2015 European U20 bronze medallist already held the lead with his 80.08m throw from the third round but he sent his spear out to 84.55m with the final effort of the competition, coming within 23 centimetres of his own national record.
Elsewhere, Omar Craddock won the men&rsquo;s triple jump with 17.16m and Naoto Tobe won the men&rsquo;s high jump with 2.27m. Kenya&rsquo;s Jonathan Kitilit won the 800m in 1:46.37 and compatriot Philemon Ruto won the 3000m steeplechase in 8:22.65.
Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF

Michael Norman’s 19.84 clocking in the 200m at the Golden Grand Prix Osaka was one of three meeting records set at the IAAF World Challenge competition on Sunday (19).

Calendar
Date	Meeting	Venue	Country	Info
28 APR 2019	Grande Prêmio Brasil Caixa de Atletismo	CNDA, Bragança Paulista	BRA	Result
19 MAY 2019	Seiko Golden Grand Prix	Yanmar Stadium Nagai, Osaka	JPN	Result
20–21 MAY 2019	2019 Nanjing World Challenge	Olympic Stadium, Nanjing	CHN	Result
09 JUN 2019	FBK Games	FBK Stadium, Hengelo	NED	Result
11 JUN 2019	Paavo Nurmi Games	Paavo Nurmen Stadion, Turku	FIN	Result
20 JUN 2019	Golden Spike Ostrava 2019	Mestský Stadion, Ostrava	CZE	Result
01 SEP 2019	ISTAF	Olympiastadion, Berlin	GER	Result
02–03 SEP 2019	IWC Zagreb 2019	Sports Park Mladost, Zagreb	CRO	Result

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