Two decades after she made her first appearance at the meeting, world record-holder Barbora Spotakova notched up her 10th javelin victory at the Odlozil Memorial, winning with 60.21m at the World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meeting in Prague on Monday (7).
In a contest that was held in memoriam of 1952 Olympic javelin champion Dana Zatopkova, Spotakova took the lead in the first round with 58.81m and then improved to 60.21m in the following round, coming within four centimetres of the season&rsquo;s best she had set just a few days prior.
The two-time Olympic champion from the Czech Republic rounded out her series with a 59.85m effort in the final round. Greek U20 thrower Elina Tzengko was second with 57.92m.
Spotakova, 39, first competed at the Odlozil Memorial as a teenager back in 2001, around about the time she was considering a switch from the heptathlon to the javelin. In 2007 she achieved her first victory at the meet, then set a meeting record of 68.81m there one year later. She went on to win seven more times at this meeting between 2009 and 2017 before adding a 10th triumph on Monday.
Pavel Mialeshka led a Belarusian 1-2 in the men&rsquo;s javelin. Aliaksei Katkavets held the early lead with his opening effort of 82.91m, but Mialeshka took the lead in round four with 85.06m, breaking his PB from four years ago. 2013 world champion Vitezslav Vesely was third with a season&rsquo;s best of 82.63m.
World finalist Iryna Zhuk added to the Belarusian success, winning the women&rsquo;s pole vault with 4.65m.
Namibian teenager Christine Mboma came from behind to win the women&rsquo;s 200m in a national and meeting record of 22.67 (1.2m/s). The 18-year-old overtook Gina Bass (22.76) and Beatrice Masilingi (22.82) in the closing stages.
Liberia&rsquo;s Emmanuel Matadi won the men&rsquo;s 100m in 10.07 (0.8m/s), holding off a strong challenge from Panama&rsquo;s 2009 world 200m silver medallist Alonso Edward (10.09).
In the men&rsquo;s 1500m &ndash; the specialist distance of 1964 Olympic silver medallist Josef Odlozil, after whom the meeting is named &ndash; was won by Kenya&rsquo;s Boaz Kiprugut in a PB of 3:35.26.
Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics

Two decades after she made her first appearance at the meeting, world record-holder Barbora Spotakova notched up her 10th javelin victory at the Odlozil Memorial, winning with 60.21m at the World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meeting in Prague on Monday (7).

Spotakova secures 10th Odlozil Memorial victory in Prague

Some of the biggest names in Czech athletics are looking forward to competing at the Golden Spike in Ostrava on 8 September when the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting will host its 59th edition.
Rescheduled from its original date in May, the meeting will have a relatively full schedule of events, featuring domestic stars and other international athletes who will be based in Europe at that time.
Organisers are also hopeful that they will be able to welcome about 2500 spectators to Mestsky Stadium, while Czech TV will have a live broadcast of the meeting.
With world record-holder Jan Zelezny as the meeting director, both the women&rsquo;s and men&rsquo;s javelin fields are unsurprisingly strong.
Two-time Olympic champion and world record-holder Barbora Spotakova is already confirmed for the women&rsquo;s event. The three-time world champion opened her 2020 campaign in Kladno last month, winning with 63.69m. European silver medallist Nikola Ogrodnikova, who has a season&rsquo;s best of 64.22m, will also be in action in Ostrava.
Meanwhile, 2017 world silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch will contest the men&rsquo;s javelin. National record-holder and world indoor bronze medallist Tomas Stanek will compete in the men&rsquo;s shot put. More athletes will be announced on 16 July.
Sprints, hurdles and middle-distance events will also feature on the programme. The Emil Zatopek Memorial race, meanwhile, will possibly be held over 5000m.

Some of the biggest names in Czech athletics are looking forward to competing at the Golden Spike in Ostrava on 8 September when the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting will host its 59th edition.

Leading Czech athletes prepare for Ostrava’s Golden Spike

Victories by javelin aces Barbora Spotakova and Jakub Vadlejch highlighted the opening meeting of the Czech Athletics Federation's 'Back on the Track' series which kicked off in the central Bohemian city of Kladno on Monday (1).
Spotakova, who has held the world record in the event for nearly a dozen years, prevailed in the afternoon's most fiercely contested head-to-head. The two-time Olympic and three-time world champion opened with a modest 57.31m effort, but took command of the competition with a 63.69m throw in the second, her best toss since May of last year.
Nikola Ogrodnikova, the 2018 European silver medallist, fouled on her first two attempts but fought back with a 62.92m effort in round three. Neither improved over the next three rounds, however, leaving Spotakova with the win.
"I set the goal a little more carefully, 60 metres, and I believed that I would throw quite easily," said Spotakova, who also reached 62.81m in the final round. "Basically, I fulfilled that already in the warm-up, then I didn't catch it that much during the competition. At least one throw came off and I think there is still some reserve, which is great."
In the men's competition, Vadlejch produced just one measurable throw, an 84.31m toss in the first round, good enough for the victory. Given that he only threw farther on three occasions last year, his 2020 debut bodes well.
&nbsp;
<div id="5ed5fd8473fcce14e86c3976" class="dropMedia">
<div style="background-image: url('https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Small/49fabb7d-d50c-4595-90aa-8a101bf9bc4d.jpg');">&nbsp;</div>
Jakub Vadlejch in Kladno</div>
&nbsp;
Petr Frydrych, one of the rare few who wasn't making his 2020 debut - he threw 79.27 in Pilzen eight days ago - was second with 78.18m.&nbsp;
As expected, Tomas Stanek dominated the shot put, his best a 21.13m throw in the second round, to debut at No. 5 on the early season world list.
But Pavel Maslak, another of the meeting's poster boys, didn't fare as well in the 300m.
Instead, Jan Jirka, a five-time national champion, pulled off an upset win, clocking a 32.82 lifetime best over the rarely-run distance. Matej Krsek fought off Maslak's late race charge to take second in 33.05, with Maslak, a three-time world indoor 400m champion, third, another 0.05 back.
Elsewhere, Jan Kudlicka won the pole vault with a second round clearance at 5.40m before bowing out after three tries at 5.50m, and Marek Barta won the discus with 62.95m.
Lada Vondrova, a 400m silver medallist at the European U23 championships, won the women's 300m in 37.22. Diana Mezulianikova won the 1000m in 2:44.54, a world lead in that rarely-contested event.
The meeting was part of a massive nation-wide effort dubbed Together at the Start, an initiative that witnessed meetings organised in 173 cities, with some 17,000 athletes, across all age groups, competing.
Bob Ramsak for World Athletics

Victories by javelin aces Barbora Spotakova and Jakub Vadlejch highlighted the opening meeting of the Czech Athletics Federation's 'Back on the Track' series which kicked off in the central Bohemian city of Kladno on Monday (1).

Spotakova and Vadlejch win javelin showdown in Kladno

Ruth Jebet threatened her own world record in the 3000m steeplechase at the Weltklasse Zurich on Thursday (24), the first of two 2017 IAAF Diamond League finals.
Jebet, who shattered the world record last year with an 8:52.78 run just 12 days after winning the Olympic title by some 40 metres, has had an off season by comparison this year, and came to Zurich with a point to prove after a disappointing fifth place finish at the World Championships in London 13 days ago.
In London she faded from first to fifth over the final lap but here, energised by another capacity crowd at Letzigrund Stadium, she looked the polar opposite.
From the midway point onward she was at or near the front, trading places with Kenyan Beatrice Chepkoech. With the clock reading 7:46, Jebet broke away for good at the bell, on a desperate chase of her standard set in the French capital last year. It appeared to be in reach as she approached the final straight but fell out of reach as she slowed to a sluggish stutter as she approached the final barrier. She nonetheless crossed the line in 8:55.29, the second fastest performance in history.
&ldquo;It was a great race,&rdquo; Jebet said. &ldquo;I wanted to run this time in London but I wasn&rsquo;t feeling good. It was three seconds from my personal best but the record is mine. Next year there is a new chance.&rdquo;
Chepkoech, who was fourth at the World Championships despite a race of mishaps, was second in 8:59.84 to become the fourth woman to dip under nine minutes.
Her compatriot Norah Jeruto knocked more than 10 seconds from her previous best to finish third in 9:05.31.&nbsp; In another race, this one for fourth, world champion Emma Coburn of the US closed well to prevail in 9:14.81, just ahead of Kenyan Hyvin Kiyeng who clocked 9:14.93.
The first IAAF Diamond League final under this year&rsquo;s new championship-style format featured several high profile head-to-heads which pitted freshly-minted world champions against Olympic gold medallists, battling for a part of the US$ 1.6 million prize purse, with $50,000 going to each winner, along with the Diamond Trophy.
<h3>Miller-Uibo dominates 200m</h3>
Shaunae Miller-Uibo powered to a 21.88 200m victory in one of the most anticipated face-offs of the evening to claim the first Diamond Trophy of her young career in what is, for now anyway, her second event.
Running in lane seven, the towering Bahamian powered off the turn to finish unchallenged en route to the second fastest performance of the year.
Elaine Thompson and Dafne Schippers, the former the Olympic champion over the distance and the latter the two-time world champion, were no match for Miller-Uibo, whose performances chipped 0.03 from the national record she set in Eugene in May, the last time the three squared off over the half lap.
&ldquo;I tried really hard and went for a fast race,&rdquo; said Miller-Uibo, whose late race loss of concentration cost her a medal in the 400m at the World Championships earlier this month. &ldquo;There was definitely some energy left in my legs.&rdquo;
Thompson was second in 22.00 with Marie Josee Ta Lou third in 22.09. Never quite in the hunt, Schippers was a distant fourth in 22.36.
<h3>Barshim and Kendricks remain unbeaten in 2017</h3>
Things went according to plan in the high jump with Mutaz Essa Barshim winning for the ninth time this year in as many competitions. Early evening conditions --unseasonably cool temperatures and a wet surface-- didn't bode well for the jumpers but as the night progressed the sun reappeared to salvage, at least in part, the competition.
The Qatari was perfect through 2.31m when he effectively won the competition, needed a second try before topping 2.33m and a third before clearing 2.36m en route to collecting a third Diamond Trophy.
Majd Eddin Ghazal of Syria was second at 2.31m, beating Bohdan Bondarenko of Ukraine on countback. No other jumpers went higher than 2.24m.
Like Barshim, Sam Kendricks also extended his 2017 unbeaten streak, in his case to to 11 after his victory at 5.87m to claim his first Diamond Trophy. There were nervous moments midway through the competition for the 24-year-old US jumper, who needed a third try before topping 5.80m. That gave Poles Piotr Lisek and Pawel Wojciechowski, who each topped 5.80m on their second attempts, the lead. But Kendricks topped 5.87m on his first attempt while Lisek and Wojciechowski could go no higher.&nbsp;
The story early on however was the unceremonious ending to Renaud Lavillenie's Diamond League reign. The Frenchman's quest for an eighth Diamond Trophy ended with three misses at his opening height of 5.63m.
<h3>Throws triumphs for Spotakova and Gong</h3>
In the women's javelin, things were going Sara Kolak's way until the final round, one which the Olympic champion began as the leader but would end no better than third.&nbsp;
The Croat controlled the competition from her third round 64.24m throw, only to be surpassed by both Australian Kelsey-Lee Roberts who threw a lifetime best of 64.53m, and two-time world champion Barbora Spotakova who stole the victory with her final round 65.54m effort and with it her Diamond Trophy after wins in 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2015.
As expected, Gong Lijiao dominated the women's shot put, winning by more than a metre with a fifth round 19.60m effort. Each of her six throws, even her opening 18.81m toss, would have sufficed for the victory, her tenth in as many starts this season.
Hungary's Anita Marton was second at 18.54m and Yuliya Leantsiuk of Belarus third at 18.47m.
<h3>Cheruiyot leads Kenyan romp at 1500m</h3>
Timothy Cheruiyot led a top-six finish for Kenya in the 1500m, holding off Silas Kiplagat and world champion Elijah Motonei Mangangoi down the homestretch to win in 3:33.93.
Kiplagat clocked 3:34.26 and Manangoi 3:34.65. Asbel Kiprop, a three-time Diamond Trophy winner, was fourth clocking 3:34.77.
The first Diamond Trophy of the night was claimed by Olga Rypakova who notched a minor upset in the triple jump.&nbsp; The 2012 Olympic champion, who was third in London earlier this month, arrived in Zurich without an international victory to her name in 2017, but that meant little in the series&rsquo; new set-up. Competing on the stadium&rsquo;s chilly and damp back straight, the Kazakh took immediate control with her 14.48m opening round leap. She improved to 14.55m in round four, enough padding it turned out, to nab her second series trophy.
&ldquo;I did not expect to win against Rojas and Ibarguen today,&rdquo; said Rypakova, who was the series winner in 2012. &ldquo;Today I felt good despite the rain.&rdquo;
World champion Yulimar Rojas was second with a 14.52 leap in round five, with Caterine Ibarguen, who took home the event&rsquo;s last four Diamond Trophies, third with 14.48m. The last time Ibarguen finished lower than second was on 31 May 2012.
The pre-programme includes a pair of strong women&rsquo;s races that weren&rsquo;t part of the Diamond Trophy hunt. Christania Williams produced a convincing 11.07 win in the 100m, a solid run given the early evening conditions. Jura Levy was a distant second in 11.18.
Czech Zuzana Hejnova ran down Sara Slott Petersen over the final barrier to take the 400m hurdles in 54.13, a season&rsquo;s best. The Dane clocked 54.35, equaling her 2017 best.
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF

Ruth Jebet threatened her own world record in the 3000m steeplechase at the Weltklasse Zurich on Thursday (24), the first of two 2017 IAAF Diamond League finals.


Jebet threatens world steeplechase record in Zurich - IAAF Diamond League

Ryan Crouser cruised to his tenth straight victory in the shot put to highlight the field events action at the Meeting International Mohammed VI d'Athletisme, the tenth stop of the 2017 IAAF Diamond League, in Rabat on Sunday (16).
Loosening up with a 21.91m toss in the first round, Crouser all but sealed his win with a 22.21m effort in the second. Illustrating remarkable consistency, he followed up with 22.44m in round three and his best, 22.47m, in the final round. It was the third best toss of his career and another meeting record to add to his growing collection.
"I'm loading now (with training) so I surprised myself today," said the 24-year-old, who remains unbeaten in 2017. "I concentrated on technique today and wanted to simulate a championship competition. I think I can throw a lot further in the next few weeks."
O'Dayne Richards produced the surprise of the competition with a 21.96m effort in the third round to smash his own Jamaican record by 27 centimetres.
Ryan Whiting was a distant third at 21.26m with Konrad Bukowiecki of Poland fourth at 21.12m.
In the women's javelin throw, Barbora Spotakova won her second successive Diamond League competition, her 63.73m from the opening round surviving as the day's farthest throw. The two-time Olympic champion had only one other measured effort, a 60.45m from round five, and is already looking ahead.
"I'm in good shape and I'm looking forward to the world championships," she said.
Martina Ratej of Slovenia was second at 62.46m, edging Tatsiana Khaladovich of Belarus by just eight centimetres.
<h3>Wojciechowski collects first 2017 Diamond League win</h3>
Pawel Wojciechowski collected his second career Diamond League win topping 5.85m, his second best leap of the year.
He needed two attempts at both 5.40m and 5.60m, but took command after topping 5.70m on his first try. With Raphael Holzdeppe and Piotr Lisek bowing out at 5.75m, Wojciechowski had the bar raised to 5.85m, which he negotiated on his third try.
"This is my second Diamond League win and gives me a lot of confidence," the 2011 world champion said. "This is the first year since 2011 that I can train and compete without pain."
Holzdeppe got the nod for second over Lisek on countback.
Meanwhile, Olympic champion Thiago Braz's struggles continued. The Brazilian failed three times at his opening height of 5.40m.
South African Rushwal Samaai and Jarrion Lawson waged a back-and-fourth battle in the long jump with Samaai ultimately prevailing by just two centimetres.
The South African took command from the outset with an 8.21m leap in the first round. Lawson, the US champion, opened with 7.99m but improved to 8.33m in the second to move ahead. Samaai responded nearly in kind, improving to 8.31m. In the next round he went further still, wrestling back the lead with an 8.35m leap. Lawson concluded the competition with a pair of 8.17m efforts to settle for second.
"I'm jumping well at the moment and I'm hoping to keep in good shape and stay healthy," said Samaai, who finished fifth in Rio last summer, one spot behind Lawson. He reached an 8.49m lifetime best at altitude at home in Potchefstroom in April.
Caterine Ibarguen took control of the triple jump in round two with a 14.33m leap, and padded it in round three with a 14.51m jump, 20 centimetres ahead of Kimberly Williams of Jamaica.
And finally, Andriy Protsenko of Ukraine prevailed in a modest high jump competition, the only jumper managing to top 2.29m.
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF

Ryan Crouser cruised to his tenth straight victory in the shot put to highlight the field events action at the Meeting International Mohammed VI d'Athletisme, the tenth stop of the 2017 IAAF Diamond League, in Rabat on Sunday (16).

Crouser dominates in Rabat - IAAF Diamond League

It wasn&rsquo;t the longest throw of her career, nor was it the most crucial. But when Barbora Spotakova launched her sixth round effort out to 68.26m at the London IAAF Diamond League meeting last Sunday the sense of satisfaction was written across her beaming face for all to see.
It was, she said a few moments later, &ldquo;a fantastic day&rdquo;.
Little wonder, for it was the 36-year-old world record holder&rsquo;s longest throw since winning Olympic gold in the same east London venue five years earlier, and timely proof that she is ready for one more tilt at regaining the world title she last won 10 years ago when she returns to the British capital in one month&rsquo;s time.
Spotakova had arrived at the meeting hotel of the M&uuml;ller Anniversary Games at 17:30 on Saturday evening feeling tired and a more than a little jaded after losing to Sara Kolak just two nights earlier in Lausanne.
<h3>Expecting the unexpected</h3>
Kolak, the 22-year-old who last summer relieved Spotakova of her eight-year reign as Olympic champion, had stolen the Czech veteran&rsquo;s thunder again in the Swiss city with a victory-snatching final throw of 68.43m that not only eclipsed Spotakova&rsquo;s opening effort of 67.40m but bumped her off the top of the world leaderboard and took her place at the head of the Road to the Final standings.
It was not merely a personal best but a national record for the Croatian, surpassing the 66.18m that had snared an Olympic gold medal in Rio where Spotakova had been forced to settle for bronze. It also placed her firmly in the favourite&rsquo;s seat for August&rsquo;s IAAF World Championships.
&ldquo;The competition in Lausanne was only two days ago which is too short, so I don&rsquo;t know what to expect,&rdquo; Spotakova had admitted on her arrival in the British capital. &ldquo;If the body recovers I could be 100 per cent. I feel tired right now, but it could feel different tomorrow.&rdquo;
For four rounds in the London Stadium it looked as if the result was about to go the same way. While Spotakova&rsquo;s javelin had been peppering the infield at 65 to 66 metres, Kolak had already set two meeting records and led by almost a metre and a half thanks to her third round throw of 67.83m &ndash; the second longest of her relatively short senior career.
When Spotakova opted to pass the fifth it seemed as if the game was up. But the former junior heptathlete has been an international competitor for 17 years and all that experience counts for something. She was merely saving those fatigued muscles for one last assault.
With the stadium announcer virtually handing victory to Kolak, Spotakova let fly with one of the biggest efforts of her career before turning to the crowd in celebration. She had exacted a small piece of revenge on the young pretender but more importantly send a quiet message, to herself as well as the watching world, that she remains a serious contender for the major crown.
&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t expect such a big throw even though I knew I was in good shape,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Competing back here flooded me with so many nice memories of 2012.
&ldquo;Now, I have to keep my form until August &ndash; it&rsquo;s pretty even with me and a couple of the other girls so I can&rsquo;t underestimate anyone. It will be a very exciting competition.&rdquo;
It often is with Spotakova who so memorably completed the full set of world, Olympic and European crowns in Zurich&rsquo;s Letzigrund Stadium three years ago when she took the continental title that had eluded her legendary coach Jan Zelezny just months after returning to competition following the birth of her son, Janek.
With three world, three Olympic and three European medals to her name, plus a world record that has stood for nine years, hers is one of the most glittering records in global athletics.
But it&rsquo;s a record that&rsquo;s lost a touch of lustre in the last few years, for that European triumph in 2014 was her last at a major championships. She could only finish ninth at the Beijing Worlds two years ago when she missed the cut, was fifth on her title defence at the Amsterdam Europeans last July, and third at the Rio Olympics &ndash; a set of results that has led prompted thoughts of retirement, ones she has doused for now, thanks largely to the spur of winning the London Worlds.
<h3>On next month's World Championships: 'This could be my last one'</h3>
&ldquo;I am still doing athletics just because there is a World Championships in London this year,&rdquo; she admitted. &ldquo;Otherwise I would maybe have finished before now.
&ldquo;This could be my last one, though, because it is getting harder and harder. I never say never, but it could be. If I win [in London] it&rsquo;s likely to force me to stop, more than if I don&rsquo;t.
&ldquo;I think the atmosphere will help me here,&rdquo; she added. &ldquo;I will soak up the atmosphere and the spectators are always very good here. They understand track and field so I hope they will help me.
&ldquo;Also, all the fans can travel here from the Czech Republic. Last year the Olympics were in Rio, and before then the World Championships were in Beijing &ndash; no one goes to cheer for me in Beijing or Rio. I will have more people supporting me in London.&rdquo;
As for her chances?
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;I hope I will fight for the medal, as every time. I am in good shape. I am always ready for the fight.&rdquo;&nbsp;
As she showed &ndash; yet again &ndash; at the London Stadium last Sunday.
Matthew Brown for the IAAF

It wasn’t the longest throw of her career, nor was it the most crucial. But when Barbora Spotakova launched her sixth round effort out to 68.26m at the London IAAF Diamond League meeting last Sunday the sense of satisfaction was written across her beaming face for all to see.

With late round heroics in London, Spotakova shows she’s still very much a contender

Revenge was sweet indeed for Barbora Spotakova at the M&uuml;ller Anniversary Games in London this afternoon as the 36-year-old javelin world record-holder re-asserted her supremacy over the young pretender who has emerged from Croatia to challenge for her crown.
Sara Kolak not only took her Olympic title in Rio last summer but came to London for the ninth IAAF Diamond League meeting of the season fresh from a world-leading victory over her Czech rival in Lausanne and with a two-point advantage on the road to the final.
All that changed at the London Stadium this afternoon where a contest that produced three meeting records came to a thrilling climax as Spotakova snatched victory in the final round with 68.26m.
Not only was that her best throw of the year, indeed her best throw since winning the Olympic title in this same stadium five years ago, but it landed just 17 centimetres short of Kolak&rsquo;s Lausanne winner.
For Spotakova it brought back memories of her Olympic victory here five years ago and puts her in positive mood for a tilt at a second world title a full 10 years after she won her first.
&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t expect such a big throw even though I knew I was in good shape,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Competing back here flooded me with so many nice memories of 2012.
&ldquo;Now, I have to keep my form until August &ndash; it&rsquo;s pretty even with me and a couple of the other girls so I can&rsquo;t underestimate anyone, it will be a very exciting competition.&rdquo;
As for Kolak, the 22-year-old can feel unlucky at missing out on another IAAF Diamond League win as she led from round two and twice beat the old meeting record with 66.79m and 67.83m.
But victory slipped from her grasp with the penultimate throw of the competition as Spotakova improved from 66.34m in round four with her winning effort.
Slovenia&rsquo;s Martina Ratej was third with 64.85m, her best of the year.
There was another meeting record in the women&rsquo;s long jump where world champion Tianna Bartoletta beat her Lausanne victor Ivana Spanovic with a leap of 7.01m.
The Olympic champion matched her best of the year to take the lead from the Serbian in the fifth round after Spanovic had leapt 6.88m in the first then promptly retired.
&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t expecting that today, I felt good but I really surprised myself,&rdquo; said Bartoletta. &ldquo;It usually takes me until the championships to be on top form so I&rsquo;m really happy to jump so well today.
&ldquo;I have great memories of 2012 and running the 100m here. I&rsquo;ve never jumped here so I was so excited to get a preview for the World Championships and get a feel of the runway.
&ldquo;Now I&rsquo;m ready to come back. I don&rsquo;t even entertain the thought of not winning &ndash; I&rsquo;m coming back to retain my title.&rdquo;
For a moment, the women&rsquo;s high jump threatened to take the mantle of best field event of the day as Maria Lasitskene cleared 2.00m for the 23rd time to notch up her 20th consecutive victory, then made a serious attempt at a national record.
Lasitskene, who competes as an authorised neutral athlete, was the only jumper to manage 2.00m although USA&rsquo;s teen wonder Vashti Cunningham came close to matching her, having cleared 1.97m at her third try.
It wasn&rsquo;t to be, and Lasitskene had one go at 2.03m before attacking 2.08m.
&ldquo;We decided to try the Russian record of 2.08m &ndash; I think I had one good attempt,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;The points are good in the long run for the Diamond League, but I&rsquo;m not happy that I didn&rsquo;t jump higher.&rdquo;
Olympic champion Ekaterini Stefanidi once again showed imperious form in the pole vault when she sailed over 4.81m at the first attempt to take her third IAAF Diamond League victory of the year.
The event was pitched as a clash between the Olympic gold and silver medallists, but Rio runner-up Sandi Morris, who arrived in London late on Saturday from France, bowed out at 4.73m to finish fourth overall.
That left Stefanidi and Nicole B&uuml;chler, each with one failure at 4.73m. B&uuml;chler&rsquo;s task at 4.81m was to break the Swiss record, a feat just beyond her this time. Stefanidi had three valiant attempts at a Greek record of 4.91m, but wasn&rsquo;t close.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not a morning or early afternoon person so it took me a while to find my rhythm and get going,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;But, for a bad day, 4.81m is still fairly pleasing.&rdquo;
Jamaica&rsquo;s Fedrick Dacres looked on course for a one-centimetre victory over Philip Milanov in the discus before world leader Daniel St&auml;hl produced a sixth-round effort of 66.73m to move from third to first and maintain his supremacy in the road to the final.
Dacres had snatched the lead from Milanov at half way with 66.66m but had to settle for second as his last-round throw landed at 65.33m. With the final to come, St&auml;hl leads Dacres 2-1 in IAAF Diamond League head-to-heads and will go to the World Championships as favourite.
&ldquo;It was really nice to get the feel of the circle here and to perform well as Diamond League leader is good,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll look forward to throwing at the final in Brussels.&rdquo;
Jeff Henderson was the only man beyond eight metres in the long jump, the Olympic champion leading a US sweep of the top three with a best of 8.17m.
Matthew Brown for the IAAF

Revenge was sweet indeed for Barbora Spotakova at the Müller Anniversary Games in London this afternoon as the 36-year-old javelin world record-holder re-asserted her supremacy over the young pretender who has emerged from Croatia to challenge for her crown.

Spotakova gains revenge on Kolak in London – IAAF Diamond League

With the full set of Olympic medallists taking on the world champion, European champion and Diamond Race winner, it&rsquo;s easy to see why organisers of the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Eugene are saying it&rsquo;s the best women&rsquo;s javelin field in Prefontaine Classic history.
Barbora Spotakova of the Czech Republic is considered the world&rsquo;s best in many ways. The world record-holder at 72.28m since 2008, she owns the most Olympic medals in this event with three, led by golds in 2008 and 2012 before a bronze last summer in Rio, and she has claimed four of the event&rsquo;s seven Diamond Race trophies.
Also a four-time Olympian, Sunette Viljoen took the silver medal in Rio. The South African earned World Championships bronze medals in 2015 and 2011 and holds the African record of 69.35m.
Sara Kolak was the surprise winner in Rio last year. The 21-year-old Croatian smashed her own national record to take Olympic gold with 66.18m. Her last appearance in Eugene came when she took the bronze medal at the 2014 IAAF World U20 Championships.
Katharina Molitor won the world title in 2015 with a PB of 67.69m. The German will be making her first Pre Classic appearance.
Tatsiana Khaladovich won the European title last summer in Amsterdam with a PB of 66.34m before going on to finish fifth at the Olympic Games.
Madara Palameika won last year&rsquo;s Diamond Race and, like Spotakova, will be competing at her fifth Pre Classic. She has owned the Latvian record since 2009 and last year extended it to 66.18m when winning at the IAAF Diamond League final in Brussels.
Kathryn Mitchell is a two-Olympic finalist who will be making her first Pre Classic appearance.
The eighth and final position in the field will go to the top US javelin thrower this spring.
Organisers for the IAAF
2017 IAAF Diamond League calendar 5 May &ndash; Doha, QAT 13 May &ndash; Shanghai, CHN 27 May &ndash; Eugene, USA 8 Jun &ndash; Rome, ITA 15 Jun &ndash; Oslo, NOR 18 Jun &ndash; Stockholm, SWE 1 Jul &ndash; Paris, FRA 6 Jul &ndash; Lausanne, SUI 9 Jul &ndash; London, GBR 16 Jul &ndash; Rabat, MAR 21 Jul &ndash; Monaco, MON 20 Aug &ndash; Birmingham, GBR 24 Aug &ndash; Zurich, SUI 1 Sep &ndash; Brussels, BEL

With the full set of Olympic medallists taking on the world champion, European champion and Diamond Race winner, it’s easy to see why organisers of the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Eugene are saying it’s the best women’s javelin field in Prefontaine Classic history.

Eugene assembles its best ever women’s javelin field – IAAF Diamond League

Two-time defending champion Barbora Spotakova is aiming for a third gold medal in the women&rsquo;s javelin at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and if Tirunesh Dibaba, Valerie Adams and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce all fall short earlier in the athletics programme then the Czech thrower could become the first woman ever to get three individual athletics gold medals in the same event.
Spotakova, then a newly-minted world champion, threw a European record of 71.32m in 2008 to win the Beijing final in the last round and then threw the still-standing world record of 72.28m at the end of the season in Stuttgart.
In 2012, she dominated the competition from the beginning in London, but Spotakova&rsquo;s uneven record at the IAAF World Championships is evidence that she is beatable.
After her 2007 victory, she was second in 2009 and 2011, then skipped the 2013 season on maternity leave. After returning in 2014, the world record-holder struggled at the IAAF World Championships Beijing 2015 and finished ninth.
Her form this year has been somewhat mixed. She finished sixth on her season debut at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Rome, but rebounded to win in Prague four days later. She then threw a world-leading 66.87m to win the Czech title, but finished fifth at the European Championships and third at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Monaco.
But on 4 August, just a few days before heading out to Rio, she threw 66.06m in a low-key competition, showing that her form is picking up again at the right time.
Should Spotakova not deliver in Rio, the cast of challengers is broad and the event competitive.
<h3>No Molitor among German trio</h3>
The German team is so deep, world champion Katharina Molitor was not even selected for Rio; 2011 world U18 champion Christin Hussong, second on the 2016 world list at 66.41m, and 2010 European champion Linda Stahl, fifth at 65.25m, lead that team, along with 2013 world champion Christina Obergfoll.
Tatsiana Khaladovich of Belarus was the surprise winner of the European title earlier this summer, and followed up with a victory in Monaco. Khaladovich is the only woman to have thrown beyond 65m three times this year.
The Chinese duo of Lyu Huihui, a silver medallist last year in Beijing, and Li Lingwei were surprisingly competitive last year but their cover is blown now and it will be no surprise should they appear among the medalists in Rio. They will be joined in Rio by Liu Shiying.
Another perennial contender is South Africa&rsquo;s Sunette Viljoen, the 2015 world leader who took bronze in Beijing and finished just outside the medals in London.
Also worthy of consideration as a potential medal contender is Latvia&rsquo;s Madara Palameika, the current Diamond Race leader after having shown good early season form when winning at the IAAF Diamond League meetings in Rabat and Birmingham.
Palameika finished eighth in London four years ago but it should be noted she didn&rsquo;t reach the final of either the 2013 or 2015 World Championships and was only seventh at the European Championships last month.
Parker Morse for the IAAF

Two-time defending champion Barbora Spotakova is aiming for a third gold medal in the women’s javelin at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and if Tirunesh Dibaba, Valerie Adams and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce all fall short earlier in the athletics programme then the Czech thrower could become the first woman ever to get three individual athletics gold medals in the same event.

Preview: women's javelin – Rio 2016 Olympic Games

Barbora Spotakova proved&nbsp;she is well on track to take her third successive Olympic javelin title later this summer by&nbsp;throwing a world lead of&nbsp;66.87m to win at the Czech Championships in Tabor on Sunday (19).
The 34-year-old&rsquo;s mark catapults her to the head of the 2016 rankings, and makes her the athlete to beat with less than two months to go until the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.&nbsp;
Spotakova&rsquo;s throw came in the first round and&nbsp;surpassed her season&rsquo;s best by more than three metres. However, the Czech star also backed it up with a decent 63.04m throw in the fifth round.
&ldquo;Definitely I am back on the scene,&rdquo; said Spotakova, who holds the world record at 72.28m. &ldquo;I hoped to be around the level of 65 metres so I was overwhelmed after the first round.&nbsp;After the first attempt, it was very difficult to stay focused because I was very happy, so after that I threw for the crowd.&rdquo;
Spotakova has struggled with a foot injury in recent years, but revealed that she is now pain-free and looking forward to re-asserting her dominance in the event later this summer.
&ldquo;Finally nothing hurts me and I get very good feelings from throwing,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I hope the same feelings will come back to me in Rio again.&rdquo;
The host city of Tabor, in the south of Czech Republic, played host to a thrilling two days of competition as the country&rsquo;s top athletes tested their shape prior to the upcoming European Championships next month.
The men's javelin and&nbsp;high jump were&nbsp;affected by heavy rain so the number of attempts was limited.&nbsp;However, former world champion Vitezslav Vesely coped best with conditions, taking the title with a biggest throw&nbsp;of 77.92m.
In the men&rsquo;s high jump, Jaroslav Baba stopped jumping at 2.12m after securing the title.
For the first time, the prologue to the championships was held outside the stadium, with the shot put final taking place in the local Zizka Square.&nbsp;Tomas Stanek reached 20.39m in the third round to take&nbsp;gold.
&ldquo;I did not expect to throw so far because I had a slight backache, but I loved the special atmosphere in the city,&rdquo; he said.
Second place went to Ladislav Prasil, the bronze medallist from the 2015 European Indoor Championships, who managed a best of 20.19m.
<h3>Hruba on a high once again</h3>
World youth champion Michaela Hruba once again showed her potential by equalling her national junior record in the women&rsquo;s high jump, clearing 1.93m to take the victory on Saturday.
The 18-year-old from Brno, who finished second at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Oslo earlier this month, also had decent but ultimately unsuccessful attempts at 1.96m.
&ldquo;I still feel my ankle a bit so I did not know what to expect today,&rdquo; said Hruba. &ldquo;But the great support of the full stadium pushed me forward.&rdquo;
There was another notable performance in the men&acute;s 100m. Jan Veleba fulfilled the qualification standard for the European Championships in Amsterdam by clocking 10.28 to take the national title.
Another qualifier for the championships came in 400m hurdles as 19-year-old Vit Muller ran 50.45 and in the women&rsquo;s pole vault, 21-year-old Rebeka Silhanova improved her PB to 4.40m and beat 2012 European champion Jirina Ptacnikova.
In men&acute;s pole vault, the bronze medallist from the last European Championships Jan Kudlicka took gold with a best clearance of 5.55m.
<h3>Drahotova&nbsp;shows versatility</h3>
The championships also provided the opportunity for athletes to test their shape at different distances.
European 20km race walk bronze medallist Anezka Drahotova traded&nbsp;her walking shoes for racing spikes, competing over 5000m and finishing sixth in 17:10.61. Victory went to the second fastest woman in Czech history, Simona Vrzalova, in 16:41.00.
Heptathlete Katerina Cachova, the winner at the recent Kladno TNT Expess Meeting, won gold in the 100m hurdles in 13.08 (+1.9m/s). &ldquo;After Kladno, we basically only relaxed but still I felt a bit tired in the morning so I&rsquo;m glad I managed to show a nice result,&rdquo; stated Cachova, who also recorded 6.17m in the long jump.
Hammer thrower Lukas Melich secured his 11th national title despite struggling with his technique from the outset, but nonetheless recorded a highly respectable winning throw of 74.88m. In the women&rsquo;s equivalent, Katerina Safrankova improved the championship record with 71.06m.
Zuzana Hejnova did not start in the women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles as she continues her recovery from an achilles tendon injury and Denisa Rosolova chose to focus on the flat 400m, and gained a comfortable win in 53.95 shortly after the competition was interrupted due to a thunderstorm.
Zuzana Trojakova for the IAAF

Barbora Spotakova showed she is well on track to take her third successive Olympic javelin title later this summer when throwing a 66.87m to win the Czech Championships in Tabor on Sunday (19). 

Spotakova throws world lead of 66.87m at Czech Championships

Mutaz Essa Barshim and Barbora Spotakova went to the IAAF World Championships, Beijing 2015 as the bookmaker&rsquo;s favourites for their events but failed to get a medal of any hue, however the pair got partial compensation at the 2015 IAAF Diamond League final in Zurich on Thursday (3).Barshim finished fourth in the Chinese capital but Qatar&rsquo;s world indoor champion beat all three men who finished ahead of him on Sunday as he was the only man able to negotiate 2.32m in the cold and damp conditions at the Weltklasse Zurich meeting. Three men went over 2.29m, Barshim and the Beijing joint silver medallists Bogdan Bondarenko and Zhang Guowei, with Bondarenko holding the best cards at this point as the only man with a clean slate.However, Barshim regained the initiative when he scaled 2.32m with his first attempt. Jumping first, Bondarenko fouled his first attempt at this height and then passed to 2.34m while Zhang, who had needed all three attempts to get over 2.29m, brought the bar down three times.At 2.34m, neither Barshim nor Bondarenko could clear the bar and so the victory and, thanks to the eight points for the win, the Diamond Race as well went to the Qatari.Derek Drouin had a competition to forget after the delight and ecstasy of him taking the world title on Sunday. The Canadian cleared a modest 2.19m and then retired from the competition after one failed attempt at 2.23m.With all the javelin throwers rather tentative on the wet run up, Spotakova redeemed herself after suffering all sorts of technical problems in Beijing, where she finished ninth. The world record-holder launched her implement out in the fourth round to 64.31m to win by more than a metre from Canada&rsquo;s Liz Gleadle, who was second with 62.70m.Germany&rsquo;s surprise world champion Katharina Molitor was third with 62.43m and, like Drouin, clearly was finding it difficult to produce her best form after the emotional high of getting a gold medal on the global stage on Sunday.<h3>Silva loses her Midas touch</h3>Another Beijing world champion to come down to earth, albeit with less of a bump than Drouin and Molitor, was Cuban pole vaulter Yarisley Silva.In an intriguingly tactical competition, three women were still in the competition with the bar at 4.72m.Silva and 2011 world champion Fabiana Murer went over with their first attempt, after both women had endured problems at the previous height of 4.67m and failed twice.Greece&rsquo;s Nikoleta Kyriakopoulou was also in the competition but failed with her first jump and then opted to take her remaining jumps when the bar was raised to 4.77m.She then went straight over this height at the first time of asking, putting the pressure on her two rivals, who both failed once and then opted to follow the rising bar.At 4.82m, all three women failed and so, like Barshim and Spotakova, Kyriakopoulou not only took the accolades on the night but also the Diamond Race.Greg Rutherford, who had described himself the day before as &ldquo;still having fire in my belly&rdquo;, fared better than his three fellow world champions in the late-finishing field events, when he took the Zurich long jump contest with a fifth-round 8.32m.Britain&rsquo;s Olympic champion had taken the lead in the second round with 8.27m but then saw USA&rsquo;s Marquis Dendy, who didn&rsquo;t even make the final in Beijing, go out to 8.32m with his fourth effort.Jumping last in the penultimate round, Rutherford equalled that distance and regained his place at the top of the field thanks to a better second effort.After watching Dendy only reach 8.11m with his last jump, Rutherford passed his final attempt, secure in the knowledge that victory in Zurich and the Diamond Race was his. But he had a brief fright in the final round when world silver medallist Fabrice Lapierre uncorked a good jump; the Australian&rsquo;s effort was measured at 8.27m and he finished third.Phil Minshull for the IAAF

Mutaz Essa Barshim and Barbora Spotakova went to the IAAF World Championships, Beijing 2015 as the bookmaker’s favourites for their events but failed to get a medal of any hue, however the pair got partial compensation at the 2015 IAAF Diamond League final in Zurich on Thursday.

Barshim and Spotakova bounce back in Zurich after Beijing blues – IAAF Diamond League

Caterine Ibarguen, newly established as the Pan American champion, extended her winning run to 28 competitions at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Stockholm with another demoralising performance &ndash; that is, if you were one of her opponents.In the opening Diamond Race event of Thursday night, three-and-a-half hours before the main action got underway, the 31-year-old Colombian and world champion produced five jumps, the best of them 14.69m, that were superior to anything anyone else could manage.She passed on her last round as the rain which had fallen lightly throughout the competition redoubled, and the floodlights came on to clarify proceedings for the few hundred enthusiasts who had turned up early with their umbrellas.Ibarguen, her dayglo-lime knee socks standing out in the relative gloom of the venerable 1912 Olympic stadium, laid down her marker with a first-round effort of 14.59m, which gave her a lead of more than half a metre. Olympic champion Olga Rypakova of Kazakhstan provided a serious response with a second-round jump of 14.30m, but was unable to improve upon that as her rival added further efforts of 14.51m, 14.49m, 14.60m and 14.69m.Ibarguen now has an unassailable 13-point lead ahead of the Zurich final of her event on 3 September. All she needs to do is turn up fit to compete in the Swiss city to claim a hat-trick of Diamond Race trophies.&ldquo;The weather was not what I expected,&rdquo; said Ibarguen. &ldquo;It was not nice, but I did the job. I feel great. Now I have 28 victories in a row. I&rsquo;m working hard for Beijing and the gold medal is what I expect.&rdquo;<h3>Malachowski off key when slinging in the rain </h3>Rain was still falling steadily an hour later as the men&rsquo;s discus got underway, although it eased off for the final two rounds. By that point, Belgium&rsquo;s Philip Milanov had demonstrated the best aptitude in the slippery conditions, as he had done when winning in similar circumstances in London last Friday, and led with a fourth-round effort of 64.50m.But Poland&rsquo;s Diamond Race leader Piotr Malachowski produced a final-round flourish as the sun arrived through the clouds, reaching out to 65.95m, a season&rsquo;s best.Milanov responded with an improved effort in the final round which had him staring hopefully at the digital board before it came up with the relatively disappointing news that he had only improved to 64.97m.Malachowski now has a 17-11 lead over his countryman Robert Urbanek, third here with 63.25m, in the Diamond Race as they head to Zurich. &ldquo;My goal today was to throw 66 metres and reach the Olympic qualifying standard for next year,&rdquo; said Milanov. &ldquo;Lately I have performed well in the rain so I&rsquo;m hoping for rainy conditions in Beijing!&rdquo;The Polish winner viewed the conditions differently. &ldquo;The rain was very bad for me, the circle was very slippery so I&rsquo;m very happy with the result.&rdquo;Cuba&rsquo;s Olympic silver medallist Yarisley Silva finished triumphant in a women&rsquo;s pole vault that turned into an intriguing tactical battle between herself and her two main rivals, Greece&rsquo;s Diamond Race leader Nikoleta Kyriakopoulou and Brazil&rsquo;s 2011 world champion Fabiana Murer.Silva was the only woman to clear 4.81m, although the result was not decided until the next height, when Murer &ndash; who had skipped after two failures at that height &ndash; was unable to turn her last vault to advantage.Both Murer and Silva had delayed their entry until 4.46m, which they both cleared first time. Kyriakopoulou delayed further still but also achieved a first-time clearance at 4.56m, a height Silva also cleared first time.Murer skipped to 4.61m, clearing first time, but her two main rivals moved straight to first-time clearances at 4.66m. Only the Brazilian vaulted when the bar was raised to 4.71m, clearing it at her second attempt, but she gambled again on passing at 4.76m, which both her rivals managed, and this time it didn&rsquo;t pay off as she could go no further.Kyriakopoulou looked the favourite as vaulting began at 4.81m, having had no failures as against Silva&rsquo;s two, but she was unable to progress further and the Cuban&rsquo;s clearance in a second attempt proved decisive, before the latter failed with her three attempts at a world-leading height and meeting record of 4.86m.The women&rsquo;s javelin was an equally competitive affair, with double Olympic champion Barbora Spotakova winning with a third-round effort of 65.66m which took the lead from South Africa&rsquo;s Sunette Viljoen, who finished second with 64.03m, a centimetre ahead of Germany&rsquo;s Linda Stahl.Mike Rowbottom for the IAAF

Caterine Ibarguen, newly established as the Pan American champion, extended her winning run to 28 competitions at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Stockholm with another demoralising performance – that is, if you were one of her opponents.