Ja&rsquo;Kobe Tharp confirmed his status as the new force in sprint hurdling with a stunning 12.85 (-0.4m/s) victory in the men&rsquo;s 110m hurdles at the Istv&aacute;n Gyulai Memorial &ndash; the last World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting of 2026 &ndash; in Budapest on Tuesday (14).
The US hurdler, who set a surprise world record of 12.75 in the semifinals of the NCAA Championships last month, produced the fifth-fastest performance in history in the Hungarian capital and did so with a display that suggested there could be more to come.
Tharp won by 0.16, easing slightly to celebrate before the line and making some of the world&rsquo;s best hurdlers almost look ordinary. Jamal Britt, a regular sub-13 performer this season, was a distant second in 13.01, while world champion Cordell Tinch finished third in a season&rsquo;s best of 13.06.
The win also allowed Tharp to avenge his defeat to Britt at the Eugene Diamond League, where Britt won in 12.86 from Tharp&rsquo;s 12.91. Budapest marked Tharp&rsquo;s fourth consecutive race inside 13 seconds, a streak that began with his world record in the NCAA semifinals and continued with his NCAA final victory in 12.90.
<h2>Katzberg and Thomas among meeting record-breakers</h2>
Tharp&rsquo;s victory in the sprint hurdles was one of seven meeting records set at Budapest&rsquo;s Nemzeti Atl&eacute;tikai K&ouml;zpont, venue for the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in two months&rsquo; time.
Ethan Katzberg produced another major mark in the men&rsquo;s hammer, winning with a world-leading meeting record of 83.64m.
The world and Olympic champion opened with 82.47m, a mark that would have been good enough to win, then improved to a world-leading 83.55m in the third round and 83.64m in round five. Germany&rsquo;s Merlin Hummel finished second with 81.74m and Bence Halasz third with 81.65m, replicating the podium from the 2025 World Championships.
Katzberg also avenged his defeat from last year&rsquo;s meeting, when Halasz won, and broke the Hungarian&rsquo;s meeting record of 83.18m for good measure.
Gabby Thomas overcame a relatively poor start to win the women&rsquo;s 200m in a meeting record of 21.83.
Kayla White was the early leader and slingshotted herself well into the home straight, but Olympic champion Thomas used her trademark finish to reel in her US compatriot. White was rewarded with a PB of 21.92 in second, her first sub-22 clocking.
The men&rsquo;s 400m hurdles produced one of the closest races of the evening. Matheus Lima came off the final bend and began to open up a slight lead, but was caught by the chasing trio in the lanes outside him.
Emil Agyekum timed his finish best, winning in a meeting record of 47.58, moving to within 0.10 of Harald Schmid&rsquo;s long-standing German record from 1982. Trevor Bassitt was second in 47.59, just ahead of US compatriot Caleb Dean, who ran 47.62, while Lima was fourth in 47.74. The top six finishers all went inside the previous meeting record of 48.35.
Eleanor Patterson equalled her season&rsquo;s best to win a high-quality women&rsquo;s high jump with 2.00m. The 2022 world champion beat fellow Australian Nicola Olyslagers, the world champion, who cleared 1.98m. The pair had been matched at every height up to and including 2.00m, which Patterson cleared on her first attempt.
On a great evening for Australian vertical jumpers, Olympic champion Nina Kennedy won the women's pole vault on countback from Eliza McCartney, both clearing a meeting record of 4.80m before opting not to continue vaulting.
There was another meeting record in the men&rsquo;s 1500m, where Phanuel Koech edged fellow Kenyan teenager Danson Kiplangat on the line. Koech, the world U20 record-holder, was contesting his first international race of 2026 and won in 3:31.09, just 0.01 ahead of Kiplangat.
<h2>Olympic champions take victories</h2>
Mondo Duplantis returned to the meeting where he set a world record of 6.29m last year and was made to work for victory in a high-quality men&rsquo;s pole vault.
Six men were still vaulting with the bar at 6.00m, three of them &ndash; Kurtis Marschall, Emmanouil Karalis and Sondre Guttormsen &ndash; having cleared 5.90m. Duplantis failed his first attempt at 6.00m, before Marschall became the first to clear it, doing so for the first time outdoors after twice achieving the height indoors. It was also the 300th six-metre vault in history.
Duplantis responded by clearing 6.00m on his second attempt to move into the lead, then consolidated his advantage with a first-time clearance at 6.07m. Marschall attempted that height but was unsuccessful, and with victory secured Duplantis raised the bar to 6.32m. It wasn&rsquo;t to be this time, but the Swedish world record-holder now has 136 clearances at 6.00m or higher.
Olympic champion Masai Russell won the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles in 12.33 (-0.4m/s), leading a US sweep from Rayniah Jones, who ran 12.47, and Alaysha Johnson, who clocked 12.49.
Julien Alfred powered to victory in the women&rsquo;s 100m, clocking 10.87 (-0.3m/s). The Olympic champion beat Jamaica&rsquo;s Tina Clayton, who ran 10.97, in their first clash since the 2025 World Championships, where Clayton took silver ahead of Alfred. Multiple Olympic gold medallist Elaine Thompson-Herah finished fourth in 11.04.
Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou improved throughout the men&rsquo;s long jump and landed a winning 8.31m leap in the final round to beat Anvar Anvarov, who jumped 8.12m.
<h2>Jones, Samukonga and Hssine among other winners</h2>
World silver medallist Jasmine Jones produced an assured run to win the women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles in 52.91, taking a second off her season&rsquo;s best and becoming the third woman this year to break 53 seconds. Rushell Clayton finished second in 53.34.
Zambia&rsquo;s Muzala Samukonga won the men&rsquo;s 400m in a season&rsquo;s best of 44.02, his fastest run since August 2024, the month in which he earned Olympic bronze. Attila Molnar was second in 44.51, just shy of the 44.47 Hungarian record he set in Monaco last week.
Yassine Hssine came through in the closing stages to win the men&rsquo;s 200m in 19.92, his fifth Moroccan record over the distance in 2026. The time was also an Arab record. Zimbabwe&rsquo;s Makanakaishe Charamba was second in 20.09, while Gary Card finished fifth in 20.28, making him the second-fastest Jamaican U20 athlete in history behind Usain Bolt.
Italy&rsquo;s two-time world medallist Leonardo Fabbri was the only man to throw beyond 22 metres in the shot put, winning with 22.04m.
Algeria&rsquo;s world silver medallist Djamel Sedjati emerged from the pack in the final 40 metres to win the men&rsquo;s 800m in 1:43.19 in his first race over the distance this year. Laban Chepkwony, who set the meeting record last year, was second this time in 1:43.54.
Elsewhere, Abbey Caldwell led an Australian one-two in the women&rsquo;s 1500m, winning in 4:01.79 from Claudia Hollingsworth, who ran 4:02.09. Mathew Kipchumba Kipsang won the men&rsquo;s 3000m in 7:31.90, while Cameroon&rsquo;s Emmanuel Eseme came through to take the men&rsquo;s 100m in 9.99 from Abdul-Rasheed Saminu, who clocked 10.01.
&bull; <a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-continental-tour/calendar-results/7214030/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results</a>

Ja’Kobe Tharp confirmed his status as the new force in sprint hurdling with a stunning 12.85 victory at the István Gyulai Memorial

Tharp backs up world record form with 12.85 in Budapest

Letsile Tebogo first properly burst on to the global scene at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest where he won individual medals in the 100m and 200m. On his return to the Hungarian capital, we asked the Olympic 200m champion What's your Ultimate?
Ultimate performance&hellip; The Paris 2024 Olympics and the men's 200m final&nbsp;
Ultimate event (bar your own)&hellip; FIFA Club World Cup 2025.&nbsp;
Ultimate career goal&hellip; To reach legendary status.&nbsp;
Ultimate athlete&hellip; Kobe Bryant.
Ultimate clash&hellip; The men's 4x400m - Africa vs the rest of the world.
Ultimate memory&hellip; The Paris 2024 Olympics and the men's 4x400m relay final.
Ultimate venue&hellip; Botswana National Stadium (World Athletics Relays, Gaborone 2026).
Ultimate meal... Setswana traditional food (Bogobe jwa lerotse, Beef and morogo).
Ultimate night out/night in&hellip; Games night.&nbsp;
Ultimate possession&hellip; Toyota Land Cruiser, LXV8.
Ultimate hidden talent&hellip; Self-taught car mechanic. 😅
Ultimate day off&hellip; Farm visit.
Ultimate holiday&nbsp; destination&hellip; Dumatau camp (Linyanti) and Mombo (Okavango Delta) - Botswana .
Ultimate pre-competition song&hellip; Ditiro Leero (Ke tswa kgakala Ga Maila).
Ultimate movie&hellip; Shooter (ok it's a TV series!).

World Athletics Ultimate Championship

Sprinter Letsile Tebogo of Botswana is the Olympic champion for the 200m and was also part of the star-studded national 4x400m team to win the world title last year. He's the latest athlete being asked What's your Ultimate?

What's your Ultimate with Letsile Tebogo

Jahcario Wilson of The Bahamas became the fourth fastest U18 110m hurdler ever, while Jamaica&rsquo;s Lavanya Williams, Alana Reid and Bouwahjie Nkrumie produced world-class performances to highlight the North, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) U23 and U18 Championships, held at the Una Nueva Historia track in Apizaco, Mexico.
The city, located 2380m above sea level, was conducive to producing fast times and strong jumps, though excessive wind made many of the top performances ineligible for personal bests or championships records.
Thankfully for Wilson, the wind settled to a perfect 2.0m/s during the time of the boys&rsquo; U18 110m hurdles final. He stormed from the blocks and cruised to victory in 12.94, two tenths of a second faster than his previous best. The time places him fourth on the world U18 all-time list and is just 0.07 shy of Sasha Zhoya&rsquo;s world U18 best.
Born on the last day of 2009, Wilson has succeeded in both sprint and long hurdles, winning silver in the 110m and finishing fourth in the one-lap event at the CARIFTA Games in April.
Lavanya Williams, the third leg runner on Jamaica&rsquo;s victorious 4x100m team at this year&rsquo;s World Relays, earned her first international individual medals. She first dominated the 100m in a marginally wind-assisted 10.91 (2.1m/s) ahead of Olympic relay finalist and world U20 champion Alana Reid (11.05) and Puerto Rico&rsquo;s Frances Colon (11.23).
Two days later, Reid and Williams met again in the 200m final. Reid, who beat Williams for her first national senior title in June, took the upper hand again with 22.29 (3.0m/s). Williams (22.40) and Kelia Bentham (23.00) of Barbados followed her across the finish line.
Bouwahjie Nkrumie &ndash; who ran 9.99 as an U20 athlete in 2023 but then picked up an injury &ndash; returned to winning ways by taking the U23 men&rsquo;s 100m title on the opening day. Nkrumie, the 2022 world U20 100m silver medallist, stopped the clock at 9.92 (2.7m/s), also wind assisted.
Fellow Jamaican Damor Miller finished second (10.03). He and Nkrumie later teamed up to win the 4x100m in 39.30.
Teenagar Jayden Green of Barbados won a close 200m final in 20.17 (3.5m/s), finishing 0.02 ahead of Aaron Charles of Trinidad and Tobago. Green, the 2025 Carifta champion, had set a wind-legal PB of 20.42 in the semifinals, and he will now switch his focus to the World U20 Championships in Eugene later this summer.
The U18 sprinters benefitted from ideal wind conditions in their respective finals. Trinidad and Tobago&rsquo;s Mekhi Guischard-Yearwood won the boys&rsquo; 100m in 10.33, finishing 0.01 ahead of 15-year-old Kai Kelly of Jamaica.
At only 15 years old, Bahamian prodigy Jazae Johnson cruised to an 11.42 victory in the girls&rsquo; 100m. A long and triple jump champion at this year&rsquo;s Carifta Games, she added the long jump silver in Apizaco with a PB of 6.13m, finishing behind Jamaica&rsquo;s Zavien Bernard (6.21m). Bernard also won the U18 triple jump (12.73m).
Jamaica&rsquo;s Jason Pitter cruised to a 45.98-second victory in the U18 boys&rsquo; 400m, his second sub-46-second run this year. 16-year-old Shameika McLean made it a Jamaican U18 double, winning the girls&rsquo; final in 52.37 as 15-year-old Eden Chee Wah of Trinidad and Tobago set a big PB of 52.48 in second.
A day later, Chee Wah won the 200m title in 23.10, pushed by a strong 6.0m/s wind.
Jayden Walcott of Barbados improved his personal best by more than 70 centimetres to win the U18 boys&rsquo; shot with 21.82m, moving him to 14th on the world U18 all-time list. Mexico&rsquo;s Kendra Silvery Duany delighted the host nation by winning the U18 girls&rsquo; shot put (16.98m) and discus (48.02m).
Combining both age groups, hosts Mexico topped the medals table with 60 medals (22 gold, 16 silver and 22 bronze), followed by Jamaica and The Bahamas. 20 of the 26 participating nations won at least one medal.
Javier Clavelo Robinson for World Athletics

Jahcario Wilson of The Bahamas became the fourth fastest U18 110m hurdler ever

Wilson, Williams, Reid and Nkrumie highlight NACAC U23 and U18 Championships

Adrianna Sułek-Schubert improved her own Wiesław Czapiewski Memorial record to 6449 to win her fourth heptathlon title at the World Athletics Combined Events Tour Gold meeting in Nakło nad Notecią on Saturday and Sunday (11-12).
The decathlon was closer, Puerto Rico&rsquo;s Yariel Soto setting a PB of&nbsp;8124 to take the title ahead of Lithuania&rsquo;s Edgaras Benkunskas (8080).
In the heptathlon,&nbsp;Sułek-Schubert displayed some of her best form since returning to competition after giving birth in 2024.
The Polish record-holder &ndash; who was formerly coached by the late Wiesław Czapiewski &ndash; got off to a strong start with a 13.09 clocking in the 100m hurdles, just 0.01 shy of the PB she set four years ago. Sweden&rsquo;s Lovisa Karlsson was fastest overall, though, setting a PB of 13.03 &ndash; the fastest time by a Swedish athlete since 2016 and taking 0.35 off Sułek-Schubert&rsquo;s meeting record.
The home favourite moved into the lead after the high jump, thanks to her 1.80m clearance. Karlsson&rsquo;s Swedish teammate Erika W&auml;rff impressed in the shot put, topping the field with 14.31m. Austrian duo Verena Mayr (14.24m) and Sarah Lagger (14.15m) also threw beyond 14 metres, as did Switzerland&rsquo;s Lucia Acklin (14.16m). Sułek-Schubert, meanwhile, managed 13.69m which was enough to maintain the overall lead.
Another meeting record fell in the 200m, this time to Czechia&rsquo;s Ad&eacute;la Tk&aacute;čov&aacute;. The 21-year-old sped to an impressive 23.27 &ndash; just 0.05 shy of the PB she set last month &ndash; to smash the meeting record by 0.73. Three other women &ndash; Vilma It&auml;linna (23.63), Sułek-Schubert (23.84) and Acklin (23.90) &ndash; were inside the previous meeting record.
Sułek-Schubert ended the first day with a tally of 3858, putting her 203 points ahead of Karlsson, with W&auml;rff a further 18 points in arrears.
Karlsson started strongest on day two, soaring 6.45m in the long jump for another meeting record and a mark just 10 centimetres off her PB. Sułek-Schubert managed a wind-aided 6.21m (4.4m/s) to retain the lead by 127 points.
They both achieved PBs in the javelin, Sułek-Schubert launching the implement 43.49m to improve on her previous best of 42.86m set as part of her European silver medal-winning performance in 2022 and Karlsson throwing 41.88m. W&auml;rff threw farthest, managing 47.74m from her final attempt to sit just 34 points behind Karlsson with one event to go. Sułek-Schubert looked clear at the top, on 5507.
Chasing her compatriot&nbsp;Edyta Bielska who clocked 2:08.55, Sułek-Schubert ran&nbsp;2:11.58 to finish second in the 800m and successfully defend her heptathlon title, taking her tally to a meeting record of 6449 &ndash; her highest score since her maternity break and the fourth-best score of her career.
Karlsson ran 2:16.67 and&nbsp;W&auml;rff set a PB of&nbsp;2:19.86 to hold on to second and third place, respectively.&nbsp;Karlsson improved her PB to&nbsp;6218, while&nbsp;W&auml;rff scored 6140. Lagger moved up through the field to finish fourth on&nbsp;5986 and&nbsp;It&auml;linna was fifth with a PB of&nbsp;5915.
By contrast, the decathlon was close throughout.
Switzerland&rsquo;s Nino Portmann, the World University Games bronze medallist, sped to a 10.70 clocking to win the 100m. Puerto Rico&rsquo;s Yariel Soto moved into the lead after soaring to a meeting record of 7.80m in the long jump. Switzerland&rsquo;s Finley Gaio, the former meeting record-holder in that discipline, also performed well, leaping a wind-assisted 7.65m while Portmann jumped 7.55m, also marginally wind assisted.
Lithuania&rsquo;s Edgaras Benkunskas climbed up the leader board after throwing a meeting record of 15.66m in the shot put. Soto&rsquo;s 13.45m meant he dropped down slightly, while Portmann threw a PB of 14.81m to remain in contention.
Adam Havl&iacute;ček was the last man standing in the high jump, clearing 2.03m. The Czech athlete had earlier set PBs of 11.07 in the 100m and 7.34m in the long jump. Benkunskas (2.00m), Portmann (1.94m, a PB) and Soto (1.91m) were all in the top half of the field in the high jump.
Gaio&rsquo;s 48.32 run in the 400m meant that five different athletes topped the five different disciplines on day one. Soto (48.69) and Portmann (48.72) also completed the lap within 49 seconds.
Portmann led at the end of the first day with 4278, 84 points ahead of Soto. Gaio, Vil&eacute;m Str&aacute;sk&yacute;, Havl&iacute;ček and Benkunskas were all close behind.
Gaio and&nbsp;Portmann led the 110m hurdles at the start of the second day, respectively clocking 14.00 and 14.25. Soto ran a wind-aided 14.90, moving him down a place behind&nbsp;Portmann and&nbsp;Gaio after six events.&nbsp;Str&aacute;sk&yacute; continued his consistency with 14.31 to put him just one point ahead of Benkunskas, who clocked the same time.&nbsp;Havl&iacute;ček did not finish the race.
Benkunskas moved up into third after the best discus throw of the day, 48.59m.&nbsp;Portmann held on to the lead with&nbsp;43.61m but Gaio's PB of 44.45m moved him closer to his rival, while Soto threw 45.08m and&nbsp;Str&aacute;sk&yacute; a PB of&nbsp;45.77m to complete the top five at that stage.
Soto's 4.80m in the pole vault made the difference as it launched him from fourth to first on 6673, 26 points ahead of&nbsp;Benkunskas who managed 4.60m.&nbsp;Maxime Moitie-Charnois of France had the best clearance &ndash; 5.00m.
Benkunskas fought back with the leading mark in the javelin &ndash; 65.12m to Soto's 55.04m to put him 125 points ahead with just the 1500m remaining, but with Soto the stronger runner. The 1500m went to the form book and so Soto secured the overall title in style, winning the final event in a PB of 4:23.61 as&nbsp;Benkunskas clocked&nbsp;4:50.04.&nbsp;Str&aacute;sk&yacute; ran&nbsp;4:24.31 to cross the line runner-up to Soto and clinch third place overall (8056) ahead of Portmann (7947) and Moitie-Charnois (7843).
Soto's winning score of 8124 added 92 points to his previous PB set in Arona last month &ndash; his score then of 8032 seeing him surpass 8000 points for the first time.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7236891?day=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results</a>

Adrianna Sułek-Schubert improved her own Wiesław Czapiewski Memorial record to 6449 to win her fourth heptathlon title

Sułek-Schubert sets meeting record to retain title in Nakło nad Notecią

Two-time world U20 triple jump champion Sharifa Davronova and sprinter Muhammad Azeem Fahmi were among the winners as a new chapter was added to Asian Athletics history with the inaugural Asian U23 Championships taking place in Ordos from 9-12 July.
Malaysian record-holder Fahmi lived up to his billing by taking the 100m crown in 10.17 (-0.7m/s) on the first day of competition. Fahmi, a bronze medallist at the 2023 Asian Games in Guangzhou, is a student in the United States and helped Auburn University wrest sprint relay titles at the NCAA Championships in 2024 and 2025.
He sent an early warning with 10.15 in the heats. In the final, he edged past Falah Al-Khazaali for the gold, the Iraqi sprinter clocking a national record 10.21 for silver. Qatar&rsquo;s Salah Nur Ismail Yunis finished third, while home favourite Zeng Keli finished joint fourth with his Chinese teammate Xia Jianduo.
&ldquo;It is a good sign, winning here, going towards the Asian Games,&rdquo; said Fahmi.&nbsp;
Xue Kunzhi brought some cheer to the home crowd as she won her 100m title in a personal best of 11.37 (0.7m/s) less than three weeks on from forming part of the Chinese 4x100m team that secured Asian Relays silver in Shaoxing.
&ldquo;I have improved my PBs several times this year and attained the Chinese athletics international standard here,&rdquo; she said.&nbsp;
Xue was a non-starter in the 200m, while Fahmi was disqualified for a false start. China&rsquo;s Huang Youwen (20.43w) and Jiang Yutong (23.47) clinched the titles.
India won a thriller in the mixed pelay, pipping China at the post.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a53e1e0a03245f1ad7cb8a1.jpg" alt="The men's 100m final at the Asian U23 Championships in Ordos " />
<div>
The men's 100m final at the Asian U23 Championships in Ordos (&copy; Asian Athletics <img style="width: 16px; vertical-align: middle; display: inline;" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,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" alt="photographer icon" /> Edwin Koo)
<h2>Impressive field work on Friday</h2>
Chinese Taipei&rsquo;s world U20 silver medallist Chu Pin-Hsun unleashed a personal best of 57.31m to win the women&rsquo;s javelin on day two. China&rsquo;s world U20 bronze medallist Ma Yinglong also set a PB of 17.11m to win the men&rsquo;s triple jump.
The penultimate day witnessed an impressive 400m hurdles victory from the host nation&rsquo;s Xu Xinfeng. He equalled the national record (48.68) for the top spot ahead of Sri Lankan Ayomal Akalanka Liyanage (49.03).&nbsp;&nbsp;
&ldquo;My pre-race goal was simply to dip under 49 seconds, hence clocking my PB and equalling the national record was completely unexpected,&rdquo; said Xu. &ldquo;This result has given me a huge confidence boost.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Shinya Hayashi, who was part of the Japanese team at this year&rsquo;s World Relays in Gaborone, won the men&rsquo;s 400m with the second-best time of his career, 45.26. Last year&rsquo;s Asian Championships bronze medallist Dhzonbibi Khukmova of Uzbekistan clocked a personal best of 51.19 for the women&rsquo;s title, well ahead of second-placed Naomi Kaylia Johnson (52.34) from the Philippines &ndash; a student at the University of California Los Angeles, who a few weeks earlier became eligible to participate for the Southeast Asian nation.
Braving the rain, Qatari pole vaulter Seifeldin Abdelsalam scaled 5.45m to win his favourite event. Abdelsalam, a world finalist in Tokyo with a 5.75m clearance, was an Asian U20 champion two years ago.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;
<h2>Davronova delivers best mark on final day</h2>
The highlight of the final day was achieved by triple jumper Sharifa Davronova of Uzbekistan. The two-time world U20 champion, who is also the Asian Games and World University Games champion, cheered the crowd with her 14.24m jump to set a standard for the upcoming athletes to follow at the championships.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
In another interesting contest, two of the top Indian javelin throwers, Anand Singh (80.57m) and Shivam Lohakare (77.70m), made it to the podium. While Singh improved his PB to clinch the gold, Lohakare was almost six and a half metres behind his best from last year to finish third. China&rsquo;s world U20 silver medallist Wang Xiaobo snatched the silver with a 79.41m throw.
China&rsquo;s unheralded Zhao Shiqi (13.38) and Zhang Zijun (13.41) set PBs to secure the top two spots in the 110m hurdles ahead of Qatar&rsquo;s world U20 finalist and Asian U20 champion Oumar Doudai Abakar.
Chinese relay quartets won three of the four finals decided on the concluding day. India dominated the women&rsquo;s 4x400m in 3:33.62.
Host China finished top of the medals tally with 23 gold, 17 silver and 12 bronze medals followed by Japan (7-8-7), Uzbekistan (5-4-1), India (3-4-9), Qatar (3-2-3) and Chinese Taipei (3-1-1). A total of 14 of the 27 participating countries won at least one medal.
Ram. Murali Krishnan for World Athletics
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7235212?day=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results</a>
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Two-time world U20 triple jump champion Sharifa Davronova and sprinter Muhammad Azeem Fahmi were among the winners as a new chapter was added to Asian Athletics history

Davronova and Fahmi among inaugural Asian U23 champions

Global champions and world record-holders will return to Budapest for the Gyulai Istv&aacute;n Memorial as the Hungarian capital prepares to host what looks set to be one of the strongest ever editions of the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting on Tuesday (14).
Mondo Duplantis is back at the scene of one of his world record-breaking pole vault performances from last year, while Julien Alfred, Masai Russell, Nina Kennedy, Milti&aacute;dis Tent&oacute;glou and Ja'Kobe Tharp will want to maintain their mighty current form when they compete at the event also known as the Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix.
The final Gold level meeting on this year&rsquo;s Continental Tour calendar takes place at the National Athletics Centre &ndash; not only the venue for the 2023 World Athletics Championships but also where the best of the best will clash during the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in September. Duplantis, Alfred, Russell, Kennedy and Tent&oacute;glou are among the global champions to have already qualified for the Ultimate Championship, Duplantis taking his involvement a step further through his role as one of the event&rsquo;s Ultimate Stars.
Swedish pole vault superstar Duplantis set his 13th world record when clearing 6.29m during last year&rsquo;s Gyulai Memorial as he returned to the stadium in which he won the second of his now three world titles. Since then, he has improved his world record to 6.31m in Uppsala in March and he most recently jumped 6.07m to win at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Monaco on Friday.
Emmanouil Karalis was a strong challenger to Duplantis in Budapest last year as he cleared 6.02m to finish second, while Kurtis Marschall was third. They all clash again, this time with Karalis as the second-best pole vaulter in history thanks to his 6.17m clearance in Athens in February and with Marschall as the most recent person to have beaten Duplantis as he won the Diamond League in Stockholm last month.
The strong field also features three other athletes to have cleared six metres &ndash; Sondre Guttormsen, Sam Kendricks and Ernest John Obiena.
Kennedy and Tent&oacute;glou also continue their campaigns four days on from impressing in Monaco.
Australia&rsquo;s Olympic champion Kennedy headlines the women&rsquo;s pole vault after adding one centimetre to the Oceanian record held by New Zealand&rsquo;s Eliza McCartney when she cleared 4.95m at the Meeting International d&rsquo;Athl&eacute;tisme Herculis EBS. They both form part of the field in Budapest, where Kennedy won her world title, and are joined by Imogen Ayris and Tina &Scaron;utej.
Greece&rsquo;s two-time Olympic champion Tentoglou soared 8.61m &ndash; just four centimetres off his PB &ndash; to win a long jump competition of record depth in Monaco. He again faces Jamaica&rsquo;s Wayne Pinnock, who was second in Monaco on 8.39m, and Tajay Gayle.
The top six throwers in the world this year collide in the men&rsquo;s hammer. Two-time world and Olympic champion Ethan Katzberg, the world leader on 83.33m, takes on Yann Chaussinand, who threw a French record of 82.44m last month, as well as Mykhaylo Kokhan, Paweł Fajdek, Merlin Hummel and home favourite Bence Hal&aacute;sz, the multiple global medallist who got world bronze in Budapest in 2023.
The world leader also stars in the shot put as Italy&rsquo;s Leonardo Fabbri, the world silver medallist in Budapest, faces Tom Walsh and Rajindra Campbell. Australia&rsquo;s 2022 world gold medallist Eleanor Patterson and 2025 world champion Nicola Olyslagers got high jump silver and bronze, respectively, at the World Championships in Budapest and they go head-to-head again at the National Athletics Centre, while the women&rsquo;s long jump features Monae' Nichols and Ackelia Smith.
<h2>Alfred, Russell and Tharp take to the track</h2>
Saint Lucia&rsquo;s Julien Alfred stormed to third on the world 200m all-time list when she ran 21.51 in Monaco on Friday and in Budapest she will race the 100m, the event for which she is the Olympic champion. In another strong field, she will face five-time Olympic gold medallist Elaine Thompson-Herah and world silver medallist Tina Clayton
USA&rsquo;s Olympic 200m champion Gabby Thomas finished third behind Alfred in Monaco, clocking 21.84 after her 21.70 run in Texas. She heads the field for the half-lap event in Budapest, joined by Anavia Battle and Kayla White.
USA&rsquo;s Olympic champion Masai Russell is unbeaten in the 100m hurdles this year and she now owns four of the top seven performances in history thanks to her 12.20 to win in Monaco. Her 12.14 in Xiamen was just 0.02 off the world record and she will want to threaten the mark again when she returns to Budapest to race the likes of Alaysha Johnson, Cyr&eacute;na Samba-Mayela, Nadine Visser and Hungarian record-holder Luca Koz&aacute;k.
The world record-holder goes up against the world champion in the 110m hurdles as Ja'Kobe Tharp and Cordell Tinch clash again. The field has five athletes who have gone sub-13 seconds &ndash; Tharp, who ran 12.75 in Eugene last month, and Tinch joined by Trey Cunningham, Jamal Britt and Rasheed Broadbell, the latter set to make his season debut.&nbsp;
Akani Simbine, Ackeem Blake and Emmanuel Eseme race the 100m, while the 200m features Makanakaishe Charamba, who ran 19.88 last month in Texas. Olympic bronze medallist Muzala Samukonga and Zakithi Nene go in a 400m starring home favourite Attila Moln&aacute;r.
Two-time world bronze medallist Rushell Clayton, Matheus Lima and Abderrahman Samba are in 400m hurdles action, while Olympic and world medallist Djamel Sedjati makes his 800m season debut after running 2:13.94 to finish third in the Monaco 1000m won by Emmanuel Wanyonyi in a world record.
Olympic 800m silver medallist Tsige Duguma steps up to race the 1500m again against Abbey Caldwell, who she beat to the runner-up spot at the Diamond League in Shanghai. Narve Gilje Nord&aring;s returns to the track on which he raced to world 1500m bronze and takes on Phanuel Koech, while Mathew Kipchumba Kipsang defends his 3000m title.
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Global champions and world record-holders will return to Budapest for the Gyulai István Memorial

Global stars back in Budapest for Gyulai Memorial

Emmanuel Wanyonyi made his 1000m debut in sensational style, running 2:11.83* to break the long-standing world record at the Meeting International d&rsquo;Athl&eacute;tisme Herculis EBS in Monaco on Friday (10).
With that performance at the Wanda Diamond League meeting, the Olympic and world 800m champion took 0.13 off the world record of 2:11.96 set by his Kenyan compatriot Noah Ngeny in Rieti in 1999.
It was a night of record-breaking performances at the Louis II Stadium. As well as Wanyonyi&rsquo;s historic mark, meeting records and some of the fastest performances of all time were achieved by Agnes Ngetich, Julien Alfred, Collen Kebinatshipi, Masai Russell and Marileidy Paulino. Meeting records also fell in the field through Milti&aacute;dis Tent&oacute;glou in a long jump contest of record depth and Mondo Duplantis, while Nina Kennedy set a world-leading Oceanian record of 4.95m in the pole vault.
Wanyonyi followed the pacemakers as the first, Patryk Sieradzki, reached 400m on world record pace in 50.95 as planned. The second pacemaker Louey Ouerrat hit 800m in 1:45.11 before Wanyonyi took over and stormed towards the finish, chased hard by 2022 world 1500m champion Jake Wightman.
Wanyonyi charged over the line in 2:11.83, Wightman followed him in 2:12.77 to move to fifth on the world all-time list and world and Olympic medallist Djamel Sedjati was third in 2:13.94 as the top six all dipped under 2:15.
&ldquo;This was the first time I ran the 1000m and breaking the world record makes me so happy,&rdquo; said Wanyonyi. &ldquo;I want to thank the other athletes who pushed me to my limit.&rdquo;
Agnes Ngetich also surged up the world all-time list, winning the 3000m in a meeting record of 8:08.95 &ndash; the third-fastest performance in history.
The athlete who sits second on that all-time list is her Kenyan compatriot Faith Kipyegon &ndash; the world 1500m and mile record-holder who achieved her mile mark in Monaco in 2023. The multiple global gold medallist was also in 3000m action but, continuing her comeback after a hamstring injury following her 5000m win in Shanghai in May, she finished fourth this time in 8:24.21 behind Ngetich, Aleshign Baweke in a PB of 8:23.81 and Senayet Getachew in a PB of 8:24.02.
It was a dominant run by Ngetich in her first track race of the year &ndash; a year she started by winning the world cross-country title in Tallahassee in January. Ngetich set off right behind the pacemakers in Monaco and followed Olympic silver medallist Jess Hull, who helped to pace Kipyegon to her 8:07.04 3000m in Silesia in August, as she hit 1000m in 2:41.85.
Ngetich took control with three laps to go and passed 2000m in 5:24.08. She slipped off world record pace over the last couple of laps but managed to hold on to become the third-quickest runner in history.
<h2>Alfred No.3 all time with 21.51</h2>
A race between the three fastest women of the year produced the third-fastest athlete in history as Saint Lucia&rsquo;s Julien Alfred blazed to a world-leading meeting and national record of 21.51 (0.9m/s) in the 200m.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a516cb1e239a40286d86156.jpg" alt="Julien Alfred wins the 200m in Monaco" />
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Julien Alfred wins the 200m in Monaco (&copy; Diamond League AG <img style="width: 16px; vertical-align: middle; display: inline;" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,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" alt="photographer icon" /> Chiara Montesano)
The Olympic 100m champion powered away to leave Adaejah Hodge, who started as the world leader on 21.68, and Olympic 200m champion Gabby Thomas in her wake &ndash; Hodge finishing second in 21.76 and Thomas, in her first Diamond League race in two years, placing third in 21.84.
Alfred now sits third on the world all-time list. Only Florence Griffith Joyner and Shericka Jackson have ever gone quicker.
&ldquo;I have been preparing for this for such a long time,&rdquo; said Alfred. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t realise how fast it was until I crossed the line. I looked at the clock and saw my time and that&rsquo;s why I was screaming like at the Olympics.&rdquo;
Botswana&rsquo;s Collen Kebinatshipi ran even quicker than he did to win his world title in Tokyo, clocking a national record of 43.44 to improve the Diamond League record he set in Paris less than two weeks ago by a tenth of a second.
He finished clear ahead of Jacory Patterson and world 400m hurdles champion Rai Benjamin, Kebinatshipi improving on the PB of 43.53 he set in Tokyo to move to joint sixth on the world all-time list. Patterson was second in 43.96 and Benjamin was third in 44.13.
Dominican Republic&rsquo;s Marileidy Paulino demonstrated her trademark finishing strength to take another win in the women&rsquo;s 400m, breaking the meeting record with 48.67. The Olympic champion judged her race to perfection, chasing Lurdes Gloria Manuel and Aaliyah Butler to the final bend before striding past them to take the win. Butler was second in a PB of 48.84 and Manuel was third in 49.44.
Another meeting record fell in the 100m hurdles as USA&rsquo;s Masai Russell maintained her superb run of form to win in 12.20 (-0.4m/s). The Olympic champion, who ran 12.14 at the Diamond League meeting in Xiamen to miss the world record by just 0.02, now owns four of the top seven performances in history. Alaysha Johnson was second in 12.38 and Nadine Visser was third in 12.49.
Jamaica&rsquo;s world champion Oblique Seville clinched the final win of the evening, taking the 100m in 9.88 ahead of world indoor 60m champion Jordan Anthony and Emmanuel Eseme. Seville, who holds the world lead of 9.82, finished second in his last Diamond League race in Eugene on Saturday but rebounded to edge Anthony in 9.92 and Eseme in 10.00.&nbsp;
Kenya&rsquo;s Olympic finalist Simon Koech dominated the 3000m steeplechase, winning in 8:03.35 ahead of Japan&rsquo;s Ryuji Miura in 8:10.30. The 5000m came down to a sprint finish, Switzerland's Dominic Lobalu winning a fierce fight with USA&rsquo;s Graham Blanks &ndash; 12:52.54 to 12:52.60.
<h2>Tentoglou soars 8.61m in competitive clash, Kennedy vaults 4.95m</h2>
The long jump featured record depth during a highly competitive contest. Greece&rsquo;s two-time Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou achieved the second-best winning mark of his career &ndash; 8.61m (0.0m/s), just four centimetres off his PB &ndash; in the final round to set a meeting record and world lead. He had led the competition from his very first jump of 8.48m and his impressive series also included leaps of 8.52m, 8.49m and 8.34m.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a516ce9351e68d5df6ae49e.jpg" alt="Miltiadis Tentoglou in Monaco" />
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Miltiadis Tentoglou in Monaco (&copy; Diamond League AG <img style="width: 16px; vertical-align: middle; display: inline;" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,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" alt="photographer icon" /> Chiara Montesano)
For the first time in history, five men jumped beyond 8.30m in a single competition. Olympic silver medallist Wayne Pinnock was second on 8.39m, world U20 record-holder Jorge Hodel&iacute;n was third on 8.38m, world indoor bronze medallist Bozhidar Sar&acirc;boyukov was fourth on 8.36m and Simon Ehammer, who started as the world leader after jumping 8.51m during the decathlon at G&ouml;tzis, finished fifth on 8.32m.
"When you jump 8.50m and then you jump 8.60m &ndash; that is just crazy. I do not think it happened many times in history," said&nbsp;Tentoglou, who improved a meeting record set by&nbsp;Iv&aacute;n Pedroso in 1995. "I know I am in really good shape and to be honest, I wanted a little bit more. The meeting record from Pedroso &ndash; that is the most important for me today."
The Herculis featured both women&rsquo;s and men&rsquo;s pole vault contests for the first time and they didn&rsquo;t disappoint, Nina Kennedy improving the Oceanian record to 4.95m and Mondo Duplantis clearing a meeting record of 6.07m.
Kennedy managed all heights from 4.52m to 4.82m on her first attempts. After one failed attempt at 4.87m, and with the competition won as Amanda Moll knocked the bar twice after passing to that height following one failed attempt at 4.82m, Kennedy had the bar moved straight to 4.95m. She managed that on her first try, too, to move to joint fifth on the world all-time list &ndash; with the highest vault in the world since 2021 &ndash; before taking three attempts at 5.00m. Moll was second thanks to her 4.72m clearance.
The men&rsquo;s pole vault was not a Diamond League discipline but Sweden&rsquo;s world record-holder Mondo Duplantis &ndash; now a Monaco resident &ndash; still put on a show. He cleared 5.70m, 5.85m and a meeting record of 6.07m on his first attempts before taking three unsuccessful attempts at 6.15m.
Cuba&rsquo;s Leyanis P&eacute;rez Hern&aacute;ndez achieved the leap of her life to win the triple jump, surpassing 15-metres with a legal wind for the first time with 15.06m (-0.1m/s) in the final round.&nbsp;
Before that, the world champion sat in second place with her opening jump of 14.80m &ndash; a mark she followed with four fouls. World indoor bronze medallist Saly Sarr had the lead at that point with 14.85m from the fourth round, but they both had more to give. Sarr improved to a PB of 14.99m (0.7m/s) in the final round but P&eacute;rez Hern&aacute;ndez had the next jump and she maintained her composure to soar 15.06m, adding eight centimetres to her two-year-old PB to become the latest member of the 15-metre club. Sarr finished second with that 14.99m PB, while Olympic champion Thea LaFond was third on 14.79m (-0.9m/s).
China&rsquo;s world U20 champion Yan Ziyi also saved her best for last, winning the javelin with 68.75m in the final round. The 18-year-old, who threw 71.74m in Xiamen to move to second on the world all-time list, held the lead from the second round as she opened with a foul before managing 64.60m. Two-time world U20 champion Adriana Vilago&scaron; was second on 63.18m.
The men&rsquo;s high jump was won by Ukraine&rsquo;s world indoor champion Oleh Doroshchuk thanks to his clearance of 2.32m. Kimani Jack cleared 2.30m to finish second, while Sarvesh Anil Kushare was third on 2.26m.
Jess Whittington for World Athletics
*Subject to the usual ratification procedure
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Emmanuel Wanyonyi made his 1000m debut in sensational style, running 2:11.83* to break the long-standing world record at the Meeting International d’Athlétisme Herculis EBS

Wanyonyi breaks world 1000m record with 2:11.83 in Monaco

Adrianna Sułek-Schubert will target her fourth heptathlon win at the Wiesław Czapiewski Memorial when she returns to the World Athletics Combined Events Tour Gold event in the Polish town of Nakło nad Notecią this weekend (11-12).
She goes up against Austria&rsquo;s 2019 world bronze medallist Verena Mayr, while the decathlon features Czechia&rsquo;s world indoor fourth-place finisher Vil&eacute;m Str&aacute;sk&yacute;.
Sułek-Schubert defends her heptathlon title. The 2022 European silver medallist was coached by the late Wiesław Czapiewski, in whose honour the meeting is held. She set a meeting record of 6290 at the inaugural edition in 2022, then scored 6007 to win in 2024 and went close to her meeting record with 6287 to retain her title last year.
The 27-year-old started her first heptathlon of the year in Warsaw at the end of last month but withdrew after clocking 13.85 in the hurdles due to illness. She finished fourth at her home World Indoor Championships in Toruń in March, four years on from her pentathlon silver in Belgrade, her performances in Toruń including a shot put PB of 14.89m.
Mayr was third in Nakło nad Notecią with 6159 last year and also returns. The 31-year-old opened her outdoor season by contesting the shot put and high jump in Grenoble in May and lines up for her first heptathlon of the year.
She is joined by her compatriot Sarah Lagger, who won at the Austrian Combined Events Championships last month with a score of 5950, as well as Sweden&rsquo;s Bianca Salming and Erika W&auml;rff, who set a PB of 6271 at the G&ouml;tzis Hypomeeting in May.
Ad&eacute;la Tk&aacute;čov&aacute; is also in PB form &ndash; she scored 6227 to win at the Czech Combined Events Championships last month.
In the decathlon, Str&aacute;sk&yacute; returns looking to go one better than his runner-up finish in a PB of 8136 last year. The 2023 World University Games champion is back in combined events action for the first time since finishing fourth at the World Indoor Championships with a heptathlon PB of 6188. That followed his fifth-place finish at the World Indoor Championships in 2025 and sixth place the year before that.
He sits second on the entry list to French 22-year-old Maxime Moitie-Charnois who set a PB of 8156 to finish second at the French Championships in Talence last year. He scored 7975 in G&ouml;tzis in May.
Lithuania&rsquo;s Edgaras Benkunskas finished second to Str&aacute;sk&yacute; at the World University Games three years ago and faces him again, contesting his first decathlon of the year.
Puerto Rico&rsquo;s Yariel Soto set a PB of 8032 when finishing second in Arona last year, while Czechia&rsquo;s Adam Havl&iacute;ček was just five points off that mark with the PB of 8027 he achieved in Brno, also last month.&nbsp;
<h3>Leading entries</h3>
Women&rsquo;s heptathlon Adrianna Sułek-Schubert (POL) 6672 Verena Mayr (AUT) 6591 Erika W&auml;rff (SWE) 6271 Ad&eacute;la Tk&aacute;čov&aacute; (CZE) 6227 Sarah Lagger (AUT) 6225 Bianca Salming (SWE) 6185 Anastasia Ntragkomirova (GRE) 6163 Lovisa Karlsson (SWE) 6146 Edyta Bielska (POL) 6062
Men&rsquo;s decathlon Maxime Moitie-Charnois (FRA) 8156 Vil&eacute;m Str&aacute;sk&yacute; (CZE) 8136 Edgaras Benkunskas (LTU) 8098 Yariel Soto (PUR) 8032 Adam Havl&iacute;ček (CZE) 8027 Finley Gaio (SUI) 8022 Zsombor G&aacute;lp&aacute;l (HUN) 8006

Adrianna Sułek-Schubert will target her fourth heptathlon win at the Wiesław Czapiewski Memorial when she returns to the World Athletics Combined Events Tour Gold event

Sułek-Schubert to defend Czapiewski Memorial title

Jake Wightman has long had a love of coffee. So, the 2022 world 1500m champion and his fellow athlete Zak Seddon set up their own business, Last Rep Coffee, which is the global supplier for the World Athletics Ultimate Championship. In the build-up to Budapest, Wightman sat down to talk about his other working life in a new series, Side Track.
<h3>How is the business going?</h3>
We&rsquo;re pretty proud of it. We started when I was in Tokyo during the World Championships last year, which probably wasn&rsquo;t the best timing, but there&rsquo;s been a lot of good and exciting opportunities in the first year. I think it&rsquo;s been a lot sooner than expected.
<h3>What&rsquo;s the ethos behind it?</h3>
Zak and I planned it for three years and getting the brand right and how we wanted it was the hardest part. We wanted fun and personality and to adapt to what people want &ndash; an athlete, team organisations, a meeting, to provide unique opportunities for that. We realised that the real power was coming to an event and creating a space where it feels part of the occasion rather than a separate company. For example, we&rsquo;ve got bags with beans from Budapest &ndash; from local roasters &ndash; and merch from the Ultimate Championship but every one has a different story. This one is a story pertinent to me too as I&rsquo;m trying to get to the championship as well as an athlete. Essentially, we&rsquo;re a platform to bring people together with coffee and have a good time.
<h3>What was the origin story behind the business?</h3>
Many athletes have coffee as a big part of their lives. There&rsquo;s a lot of free time and we meet other athletes and friends, and chatting about anything other than the sport is a nice way to switch off. So, there&rsquo;s that social element but also a performance association as to why people drink coffee before they train. And we didn&rsquo;t think there was anything runners could identify with when it came to choosing a coffee brand. Now, there&rsquo;s a bag on the shelf which is cool, it&rsquo;s something people can relate to and be part of this little family.
<h3>Has the growth of the business been bigger than you can cope with?</h3>
No, not so far. There&rsquo;s been some opportunities that have been too much of a commitment &ndash; we had the chance to go into a physical coffee shop but that&rsquo;s a step too far at the moment. We know we can supply good coffee beans and cool bags and cups, our baristas are amazing at making good coffee. And there&rsquo;s a big gap in the market as an athlete going to meets and there being good coffee &ndash; we all spend so much time finding a hidden gem. Athletes drink a lot of it and are a bit snobby. This makes life better. We&rsquo;re not into coffee that alienates people &ndash; not really niche beans but really good roasters that everyone likes. Crowd pleasers if you like.
<h3>Let&rsquo;s talk about the artwork. It&rsquo;s pretty cool.</h3>
Originally people think it&rsquo;s us but actually it&rsquo;s just guys with generic brown hair. It&rsquo;s identifying with an old school runner, it&rsquo;s pretty fun. We&rsquo;ve also got him on a bike and lifting weights. The beauty is that it&rsquo;s easy to tailor. We&rsquo;re working with Team Scotland for the Commonwealth Games, too &ndash; for that he&rsquo;s got a tartan kilt. The main aim is not to take ourselves too seriously. It&rsquo;s about being a bit tongue in cheek and enjoying it. Coffee&rsquo;s not serious, it&rsquo;s a social drink for any part of your day.
<h3>Do you come from a business background at all?</h3>
I actually did a business degree at university, and my first venture into business was recovery tool kits which you clipped on to your bag with a mini foam roller, resistance bands, massage balls. It went well but it was hard to do as the running went better and it had to go on the back burner. I regret not keeping on doing it as I was passionate about it and genuinely believed it would work.&nbsp;
<h3>So how will Last Rep Coffee look in Budapest?</h3>
We&rsquo;re going to be there in the athlete lounges, we&rsquo;re going to have baristas in the hotels with coffee cups, and each athlete is going to get a custom bag of beans from Budapest and a cup with it as well. We&rsquo;ll also be in the VIP area of the stadium.
<h3>And what about with Team Scotland at the Commonwealth Games?</h3>
Every athlete will get his or her own bag and a cup within that. We&rsquo;re using a roaster in Scotland as well.
<h3>What&rsquo;s the plan for the business going forward?</h3>
We&rsquo;d love to be part of the Olympic experience or Team GB &ndash; that would be a huge long-term aim &ndash; or things like the Diamond League, London Marathon or, in cycling, part of British Cycling or Ineos. One thing we&rsquo;ve done is a bag with Alex Yee so we&rsquo;d like to do more with athletes and be story tellers with that &ndash; big athletes with big personalities. We&rsquo;d just love to bring more people to our brand.
<h3>Has the business helped or hindered your running at all?</h3>
It&rsquo;s definitely helped. I probably have undiagnosed ADHD as my mind ticks over a lot. I don&rsquo;t want to think about sport every minute of the day so, when I finish running, I have something I can chuck the same level of commitment and effort into. It&rsquo;s so cool, I really enjoy it and I think it&rsquo;s helped.
<h3>How long before this becomes a full-time career and you stop the competitive running?</h3>
I think Los Angeles is the end point unless London gets the World Championships in 2029 and then it&rsquo;d be silly not to carry on for another year. I don&rsquo;t have a burning desire to do loads before I retire. I still want to run well at major championships and win but I don&rsquo;t have to do it, these things are just opportunities. This year, there&rsquo;s some great opportunities with the Commonwealth Games, the European Championships and the Ultimate in Budapest. Racing&rsquo;s the fun bit.

Jake Wightman is a world 1500m champion but, when not taking on the world's best, he runs his own business Last Rep Coffee.

Side track with Jake Wightman

Athlete development will be the focus on and off the field of play at the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26 following the launch of the Athletes Connect initiative.
Building on the success of the athlete zones at the 2024 edition of the World U20 Championships in Lima and at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25, Athletes Connect will offer workshops and talks from some of the sport&rsquo;s legends as well as games in a space dedicated to athletes ahead of and during the competition in Oregon, from 3-10 August.
The main objective of Athletes Connect is to educate, empower and develop the new generation of track and field elite athletes as they embark on their journey towards becoming professionals of the sport.
The workshops will be presented by shot put superstar Valerie Adams, New Zealand&rsquo;s two-time Olympic and eight-time world champion who won world U18 and world U20 titles at the start of her career.
As part of that, four talks will be given on two topics:
&bull; &lsquo;Your athlete journey&rsquo; with triple jump ace Christian Taylor, decathlon great Ashton Eaton and sprinter turned track analyst Ato Boldon. It will offer insight into balancing education and a sporting career, building a support network and entourage, and life after sport.
&bull; &lsquo;Your image, your power&rsquo; with commentator Rob Walker and a major social media platform. This will focus on how to capitalise on athlete star power, working with the media, and the power of social media.
The talks will be held across two days at the Student Welcome Centre Theatre at the University of Oregon &ndash; &lsquo;Your athlete journey&rsquo; on Monday 3 August and &lsquo;Your image, your power&rsquo; on Tuesday 4 August. There will be two sessions for each talk, one from 2:00pm to 4:00pm and another from 5:00pm to 7:00pm each day.
Athletes Connect will also incorporate an athlete zone at the University of Oregon&rsquo;s Bean Hall featuring US town fair style educational games with giveaways such as tote bags with education booklets.
Multiple content areas will be available for either athlete self-capture or capture with professional content creators involving photography or video. The content will be distributed to athletes with posting and messaging guidance to help them build their online brands.
More than 1500 people visited the athlete zone during the 2024 World U20 Championships as athletes gained insight into topics such as health &amp; science, safeguarding, social media, athlete representatives, and athletics rules and regulations.
&ldquo;For many athletes, the World U20 Championships will be their first experience of global competition and it is really important that the development opportunities do not end there, on the field of play,&rdquo; said Adams, now Chair of the World Athletics Athletes' Commission and a World Athletics Council Member.
&ldquo;Seeing the impact of similar initiatives in Lima and Tokyo proves what a great chance this is to empower and equip athletes at the start of their hopefully long and fruitful careers. I encourage all areas to support athletes through such initiatives.&rdquo;
Further information about Athletes Connect will be available to athletes on site at the WU20 Oregon 26.
World Athletics

World Athletics U20 Championships

Athlete development will be the focus on and off the field of play at the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26 following the launch of the Athletes Connect initiative.

Athletes Connect to empower athletes at World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26

Every elite field at the Meeting International d&rsquo;Athl&eacute;tisme Herculis EBS features a reigning Olympic, world or world indoor champion as the sport&rsquo;s leading lights return to Monaco for the 10th Wanda Diamond League meeting of the season on Friday (10).
In many cases those global gold medallists will go head-to-head &ndash; Julien Alfred and Gabby Thomas in the 200m, Mattia Furlani and Miltiadis Tentoglou in the long jump, Katie Moon and Nina Kennedy in the pole vault, Thea LaFond and Leyanis P&eacute;rez in the triple jump, and Oblique Seville, Letsile Tebogo and Jordan Anthony in the 100m are just some of the top-class clashes on offer.
Faith Kipyegon is back at the scene of her world mile record, while another world record-holder headlines the pole vault as Mondo Duplantis returns to familiar territory to defend his Herculis crown.
Two Olympic champions come together in the 200m as USA&rsquo;s Thomas takes on Saint Lucia&rsquo;s Alfred. Thomas, the Olympic 200m champion, opens her Diamond League season one month on from running 21.70 &ndash; the third-fastest time of her career &ndash; in Texas, while Olympic 100m champion Alfred seeks her third Diamond League win of the season following her 100m and 200m victories in Oslo and Rome. But they will have to contend with world leader Adaejah Hodge, the 20-year-old who ran 21.68 last month and finished third in the 100m on her Diamond League debut in Eugene on Saturday.
The men&rsquo;s 100m is similarly stacked as Jamaica&rsquo;s world champion Seville faces Botswana&rsquo;s Olympic 200m champion Tebogo and USA&rsquo;s world indoor 60m champion Anthony. Seville, who holds the world lead of 9.82, and Tebogo will both be looking to rebound after finishing second in the 100m and the 200m, respectively, in Eugene.
USA&rsquo;s Masai Russell has been edging closer to the world 100m hurdles record, her 12.14 at the Diamond League meeting in Xiamen missing the global mark by just 0.02. The Olympic champion is unbeaten in the discipline this year, her most recent performance being her 12.24 in Eugene on Saturday, but among those looking to challenge her are Nadine Visser, Pia Skrzyszowska and Alaysha Johnson.
Botswana&rsquo;s Collen Kebinatshipi and Dominican Republic&rsquo;s Marileidy Paulino set Diamond League 400m records in Paris and they both star in Monaco. World champion Kebinatshipi will aim to maintain his Diamond League 400m win streak after victories in Xiamen, Paris and Eugene &ndash; the latter ahead of world 400m hurdles champion Rai Benjamin, who is a late addition to the Monaco field. Like&nbsp;Kebinatshipi, Zakithi Nene has dipped under 44 seconds this season &ndash; when finishing runner-up to Kebinatshipi in Paris &ndash; and will want to challenge again, along with Matt Hudson-Smith and Jacory Patterson.
Olympic champion Paulino is also unbeaten in the Diamond League 400m so far this year after wins in Doha and Paris. She takes on the likes of Nickisha Pryce, who won the Diamond League in Shanghai, plus Lurdes Gloria Manuel and Roxana G&oacute;mez.
<h2>Kipyegon and Wanyonyi return</h2>
Kenya&rsquo;s Kipyegon created history at the Louis II Stadium with her world mile record of 4:07.64 in 2023 and she returns to race the 3000m.
The multiple global gold medallist opened her track season with a 5000m win in Shanghai after a road 10km debut in Monaco in February and continues her comeback following a hamstring injury. The mile in Eugene on Saturday was her first race since Shanghai and she finished third, two places ahead of Olympic and world 1500m medallist Jess Hull who set a world 2000m record in Monaco in 2024 and runs as a pacemaker this time. They line up alongside two-time world indoor gold medallist Freweyni Hailu and world cross-country champion Agnes Ngetich in her first track race of the season, plus French Olympic triathlon champion Cassandre Beaugrand.
Another Olympic triathlon champion goes in the men&rsquo;s 5000m as Great Britain&rsquo;s Alex Yee races world silver medallist Isaac Kimeli, Biniam Mehary and Birhanu Balew, who ran an Asian record of 12:47.73 in Oslo.
The men&rsquo;s 1000m is also a clash of global medallists. Kenya&rsquo;s world and Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi won the 800m in Monaco in 1:41.44 last year, breaking a meeting record that had been set by Algeria&rsquo;s world and Olympic medallist Djamel Sedjati the year before, and the pair compete again &ndash; this time over the slightly longer distance &ndash; in a race also starring world leader Mohamed Attaoui, 2022 world 1500m champion Jake Wightman, Ben Pattison, Bryce Hoppel and Gabriel Tual.
New Zealand&rsquo;s world champion Geordie Beamish seeks his first Diamond League win of the year as he goes in a 3000m steeplechase rematch against world bronze medallist Edmund Serem, Olympic bronze medallist Abraham Kibiwot and Simon Koech, who broke eight minutes in Rabat.
<h2>Fierce field fights at every turn</h2>
For the first time, the Herculis will feature both men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s pole vault contests, giving Sweden&rsquo;s world record-holder Mondo Duplantis &ndash; now a Monaco resident &ndash; the chance to build on the meeting record of 6.05m he set last year. The men&rsquo;s competition is not a Diamond League discipline this year but it still features a strong field as world and Olympic champion Duplantis faces multiple world medallist Kurtis Marschall, who beat him in Stockholm.
The women&rsquo;s event is another that pits world champion against Olympic champion as USA&rsquo;s Katie Moon faces Australia&rsquo;s Nina Kennedy &ndash; both with a best of 4.80m so far this year &ndash; as well as Imogen Ayris and in-form twin sisters Hana and Amanda Moll.
Dominica&rsquo;s Olympic champion Thea LaFond produced the best women&rsquo;s triple jump performance in the world for almost four years in Zagreb recently as she soared a national record of 15.25m to win by almost half a metre ahead of Cuba&rsquo;s world champion Leyanis P&eacute;rez Hern&aacute;ndez. They clash again in a quality contest that also features Davisleydi Velazco, who jumped 15.13m last month, and world indoor bronze medallist Saly Sarr.
Italy&rsquo;s world champion Mattia Furlani is set to make his return after the injury he sustained during the Diamond League meeting in Xiamen and he is not easing himself back in gently as he goes up against all five men who sit ahead of him on this season&rsquo;s world long jump top list: world leader Simon Ehammer, who jumped 8.51m during the decathlon at G&ouml;tzis, plus two-time Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou, world indoor champion Gerson Bald&eacute;, world indoor bronze medallist Bozhidar Sar&acirc;boyukov and 19-year-old Jorge Hodel&iacute;n who set a world U20 record of 8.46m last month.
Since throwing 71.74m in Xiamen to move to second on the world javelin all-time list, China&rsquo;s 18-year-old Yan Ziyi has clinched two more Diamond League meeting wins in Oslo and Paris and is the athlete to beat in Monaco. Looking to challenge her are Japan&rsquo;s Olympic champion Haruka Kitaguchi and Sigrid Borge, who sits second on the season top list with her 65.00m throw for the runner-up spot in Xiamen.
In the high jump, Ukraine&rsquo;s Oleh Doroshchuk, who recently jumped an outdoor PB of 2.33m, faces Jan &Scaron;tefela, Kimani Jack and Sarvesh Anil Kushare, who have all also surpassed 2.30m this year, plus multiple global champions Mutaz Barshim and Gianmarco Tamberi, the latter a late entry.
Jess Whittington for World Athletics

Every elite field at the Meeting International d’Athlétisme Herculis EBS features a reigning Olympic, world or world indoor champion

Star clashes fill every moment in Monaco

Mattia Furlani is one of the rising stars of global athletics. The 21-year-old has already won world long jump titles indoors and outdoors and he became an Olympic medallist in Paris.
The Italian sat down to reveal his ultimate clash, night out and much more.
Ultimate performance&hellip; Paris 2024 with the Olympic medal.
Ultimate event&hellip; The pole vault, I get so excited when they jump to crazy heights.
Ultimate career ambition&hellip; The European or even world record.
Ultimate athlete&hellip; Grant Holloway &ndash; he is extraordinary, truly an absurd talent.
Ultimate clash&hellip; The challenge with the Bulgarian (Bozhidar Sar&acirc;boyukov) in Metz (where they both jumped 8.39m) was absurd.
Ultimate memory&hellip; The gold medal in Tokyo, an unrepeatable journey.
Ultimate venue&hellip; Florence is one of my favourite places &ndash; it&rsquo;s just too beautiful.
Ultimate meal&hellip; The unbeatable pizza.
Ultimate night out/in&hellip; Nightclub with my friends.
Ultimate talent&hellip; I&rsquo;m a very good gamer.
Ultimate day off&hellip; With the family, perhaps with a good lunch.
Ultimate holiday destination&hellip; At the seaside maybe if it's summer, or on the go-kart track.
Ultimate pre-competition song&hellip; Heaven and Hell by Kanye West.
Ultimate movie&hellip; Inception.
Ultimate possession&hellip; My watch collection.

At the age of 21, Mattia Furlani is already a world champion indoors and out as well as an Olympic medallist. This week the Italian answers the Ultimate questions.

Kerr breaks world mile record with 3:42.66 in London

Forty years since the World Athletics U20 Championships began

Side Track with Katie Moon

Star-studded fields ready to line up in London

Former athletics coach and writer McNab dies