Valarie Allman in Berlin (© AFP / Getty Images)
Olympic champions Valarie Allman and Letesenbet Gidey returned to winning ways at the ISTAF Meeting in Berlin, with Allman throwing a discus world lead and Gidey smashing the 5000m meeting record at the World Athletics Continental Tour Silver meeting on Sunday (3).
The German capital is one of Allman’s favourite places to compete and she has won there for the past two years with throws beyond 70 metres. The Olympic champion continued that streak today, winning with a world-leading 70.47m – just 69cm shy of the meeting record she set two years ago.
It is Allman’s second victory since the World Championships in Budapest, where she was surprisingly beaten into the silver medal by teammate Laulaga Tausaga.
Today in Berlin, however, Allman won by more than five metres with Olympic silver medallist Kristin Pudenz finishing second with a best of 64.90m.
Gidey – who also had to settle for silver in Budapest – was utterly dominant in Berlin. The Ethiopian stepped down to the 5000m and produced a stunning solo run, paced by Beatrice Chepkoech, to win in 14:08.79, taking 21 seconds off a meeting record that had stood for 22 years.
Chepkoech led Gidey through 3000m in 8:30. The 2022 world 10,000m champion then stepped up the pace with a 2:48 kilometre and held on to her huge advantage to the end. Kenya’s Winnie Jemutai finished a distant second in 14:56.99.
Gidey now owns three of the four fastest times in history behind Faith Kipyegon’s 14:05.20 world record from earlier this year.
On a good afternoon for world silver medallists, Ernest John Obiena of the Philippines was victorious in the men’s pole vault. A first-time clearance at 5.82m gave him the lead over Norway’s Sondre Guttormsen and USA’s KC Lightfoot. Obiena was the only one who went on to clear 5.92m.
Two-time world champion Danielle Williams was a comfortable winner of the women’s 100m hurdles, crossing the line in 12.71 (0.5m/s) to win from Australia’s Michelle Jenneke (12.89).
For the home crowd, one of the highlights of the meeting came in the men’s 400m as Jean Paul Bredau won in 44.96. The 24-year-old, who had never broken 46 seconds before this year, went into the race with a PB of 45.67, but he smashed that to win from compatriot Manuel Sanders (45.05).
Bredau’s time is the fastest by a German man for 21 years and moves him to 10th on the national all-time list.
There was another one-lap victory for Germany as Joshua Abuaku won the men’s 400m hurdles in a PB of 48.12 from Estonia’s Rasmus Magi (48.31).
Elsewhere, Norway’s Henriette Jaeger took the women’s 400m in a national record of 51.03, winning by almost a full second.
