Organisers of the Golden Spike Ostrava have added more star names to the list of participants for the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting on 31 May.
German javelin thrower Johannes Vetter, the world leader for four of the past five seasons, will take on Czech duo Jakub Vadlejch and V&iacute;tezslav Vesely, the Olympic silver and bronze medallists respectively.
Vetter, the 2017 world champion, won in Ostrava last year with 94.20m, just 44 centimetres shy of the meeting record set by world record-holder Jan Zelezny back in 1996.
&ldquo;I am really looking forward to competing again in Ostrava,&rdquo; said Vetter, whose 97.76 PB throw from 2020 places him second on the world all-time list behind Zelezny&rsquo;s 98.48m world record. &ldquo;Last year I had a phenomenal competition there and of course I want to do the same this year.&rdquo;
The winners of the past three world shot put titles will go head-to-head in Ostrava as two-time world champion Joe Kovacs takes on 2017 world champion Tom Walsh. Czech record-holder Tomas Stanek will also feature in the line-up.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m excited to return to the Ostrava Golden Spike where I know they love the big throws,&rdquo; said Kovacs. &ldquo;This is a key competition in my build-up to the World Championships. I know Ostrava will bring a great competition and atmosphere.&rdquo;
Another winner of two global titles will feature in the men&rsquo;s long jump. Olympic and world indoor champion Miltiadis Tentoglou returns to Ostrava for his third Golden Spike appearance, but he didn't win, at least for now.
&ldquo;After a great Indoor season, I&rsquo;m already looking forward to the summer with two highlights: the World Championships and the European Championships,&rdquo; said Tentoglou. &ldquo;To be in top shape there and attack the top positions is the main goal. I started my indoor season in Ostrava and it ended well, so hopefully it will be the same for my outdoor season.&rdquo;
In the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles, world indoor champion Cyrena Samba-Mayela will take on Olympic bronze medallist Megan Tapper
Gianmarco Tamberi, Femke Bol, Christine Mboma and Tina Sutej have already been announced.
Organisers for World Athletics

Johannes Vetter, Joe Kovacs, Tom Walsh and Cyrena Samba-Mayela among the latest additions

More clashes between global medallists confirmed for Ostrava

Organisers of the Paavo Nurmi Games have announced that three winners of global titles will go head-to-head-to-head in the men&rsquo;s javelin at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Turku on 14 June.
Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra will take on world champion Anderson Peters and 2017 world champion Johannes Vetter. Julian Weber, the fourth-place finisher at the Tokyo Olympic Games, adds further depth and quality to the event.
It will be the first time all four men have met in a final.
Chopra made history when he won in Tokyo last year, earning India&rsquo;s first Olympic gold medal in athletics and instantly becoming a sporting superstar in his home country. Earlier in the season he had broken his own national record with 88.07m.
Before the Olympics, Vetter had dominated the event for the best part of two years. The German moved to second on the world all-time list when he threw 97.76m in Silesia in 2020. He returned to the Polish region last year and came close to matching that throw with 96.29m, the third-best throw in history.
Although Peters went undefeated for the whole of 2019, the Grenadian was still something of a surprise winner of the world title in Doha that year. Earlier in the season he had won the NCAA title, then broke his own national record to win at the Pan-American Games with 87.31m.
Weber may not have a global title to his name, but he is a consistent performer on the circuit and at major championships. The German, who has a PB of 88.29m, was sixth at the 2019 World Championships and placed second at the 2021 Wanda Diamond League final.
&ldquo;We can expect a world championship-level competition,&rdquo; said Arttu Salonen, who is in charge of recruiting athletes for the Paavo Nurmi Games. &ldquo;Negotiations are still under way with several international stars, and we are also after the Finnish top names with Lassi Etel&auml;talo leading the way.
&ldquo;Since Chopra did not compete after the Tokyo Olympic Games, there will surely be great tension in the upcoming clashes between Vetter and Chopra.&rdquo;
Finland &ndash; and Turku in particular &ndash; is a place where fans appreciate the javelin.
&ldquo;The previous results from Paavo Nurmi Stadium speak for themselves,&rdquo; said Salonen. &ldquo;The year before last, Vetter won in Turku with a throw of 91.49m, while last year, Marcin Krukowski threw a Polish record of 89.55m.&rdquo;
Organisers for World Athletics

Three winners of global titles will go head-to-head-to-head in the men’s javelin at the Paavo Nurmi Games

Chopra, Vetter and Peters to clash in Turku

World champion Anzhelika Sidorova became just the fourth woman in history to scale five metres in the pole vault, winning with 5.01m at Weltklasse Zurich on Thursday (9) to take the 2021 Wanda Diamond League title.
With Mondo Duplantis winning the men&rsquo;s pole vault with 6.06m, it was the first competition in history in which the five-metre and six-metre barriers had both been bettered.
For quite some time Sidorova had looked to be the next in line to join the exclusive club. Her previous best, 4.95m, was set when winning the world title in Doha, but the authorised neutral athlete was a little below that at the Tokyo Olympics, taking silver with 4.85m.
But, perhaps motivated by narrowly missing out on Olympic gold, Sidorova was a woman on a mission in Zurich. She cleared all of her heights on her first attempt, up to and including 4.91m. 2016 Olympic champion Katerina Stefanidi was the last of Sidorova&rsquo;s opponents, having cleared a best of 4.77m before registering a failure at 4.84m and two misses at 4.91m. Olympic champion Katie Nageotte, meanwhile, was disappointed to register three failures at her opening height of 4.57m.
Sidorova, meanwhile, continued with her incredible series, going over 4.96m on her first try. She then had the bar raised to 5.01m and finally got over it on her third attempt.
&ldquo;I think this is really the right place to jump high,&rdquo; said Sidorova after winning in the same stadium where the world record was set back in 2009. &ldquo;Heading to the stadium, I did not feel like it was coming today. I think we are all a bit tired already after a long season. I still cannot believe I got over the five-metre barrier today.&rdquo;
On a great night for pole vaulting, Olympic champion Mondo Duplantis produced the first ever six-metre vault in Zurich's Letzigrund Stadium, winning the men's contest with a meeting record of 6.06m.
The 21-year-old Swede opened at 5.58m and followed it with first-time clearances at 5.83m and 5.93m. Two-time world champion Sam Kendricks and Timur Morgunov also got over the latter, doing so on their second attempts, but would ultimately go no higher. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/613a69b3ee37d62dd11399be.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 Duplantis registered his first failure of the day at 5.98m but got over it on his second try to break Igor Trandenkov's meeting record from 1996.
Duplantis then got over 6.06m on his first try, the fourth-best outdoor clearance of his career, to extend the meeting record even higher.
He ended his competition with three attempts at a would-be world record height of 6.19m, which were unsuccessful, but he was more than happy to wrap up his Wanda Diamond League campaign with the trophy. 
<h2>Olympic champions leading all the way</h2>
Duplantis and Sidorova weren&rsquo;t the only field event winners in Zurich to have led from the early stages before finishing with a flourish.
World and Olympic champion Yulimar Rojas sailed out to a meeting record of 15.27m (-0.4m/s) to take an early lead in the women&rsquo;s triple jump. She followed it with three fouls, but landed beyond 15 metres again in the penultimate round (15.22m) before ending with a mammoth 15.48m (0.3m/s), smashing her own meeting record from the first round.
Her winning jump is the fourth best mark in history, and it was also her 16th jump beyond 15 metres in 2021 &ndash; a record tally for a single season. The Venezuelan now owns six of the top seven jumps in history.
Jamaica&rsquo;s world silver medallist Shanieka Ricketts took second place with 14.64m ahead of compatriot Kimberly Williams (14.47m). 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/613a57408254afbb38e8dc66.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 Olympic champion Pedro Pablo Pichardo was similarly dominant in the men&rsquo;s triple jump.
The Portuguese record-holder opened with 17.26m and it wasn&rsquo;t until the fifth round that he improved on that, jumping 17.27m. World indoor record-holder Hugues Fabrice Zango came close to Pichardo&rsquo;s lead with 17.20m in round five, but Pichardo pulled out a huge 17.70m effort in the final round to ultimately win by a comfortable margin.
&ldquo;At the beginning it felt a little cold, but eventually I warmed up and the jump came out,&rdquo; said Pichardo. &ldquo;The atmosphere here is great, and every time we have a crowd like this in the stadium, it really has an impact on the athletes &ndash; it is very important for us.&rdquo;
Valarie Allman capped her incredible season by winning the women&rsquo;s discus with 69.20m.
The US thrower opened with 66.48m to take an early lead, but multiple Diamond trophy winner Sandra Perkovic closed the gap in the fourth round with 65.77m. Allman responded, though, and threw 69.20m in round five. Perkovic ended with 67.22m but it wasn&rsquo;t enough to catch the US thrower.
&ldquo;I definitely reacted when Sandra threw a distance close to my first throw,&rdquo; said Allman, whose biggest throws of the year have all come in the competitions that mattered most: the US Trials, the Olympic Games and the Wanda Diamond League final.
&ldquo;The women&rsquo;s discus right now is so intense and competitive, and this is pushing all of us to put up good competitive results,&rdquo; she added. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/613a6fe48a5188153224e6bf.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 World and Olympic champion Daniel Stahl extended his winning streak in the men&rsquo;s discus. The Swede&rsquo;s opening throw of 66.49m remained the best mark of the competition, though it came under pressure in the fifth round from Slovenia&rsquo;s Kristjan Ceh (65.39m) and world silver medallist Fedrick Dacres (65.33m).
Gianmarco Tamberi was another Olympic champion who was victorious in Zurich.
The effervescent Italian, who shared the Olympic gold medal with world champion Mutaz Barshim in Tokyo, was flawless up to and including 2.30m. Ilya Ivanyuk and Ukraine&rsquo;s Andriy Protsenko were the only other athletes to clear that height, doing so on their third attempts.
Tamberi then got over 2.32m on his second try, while Ivanyuk exited the competition at that height. Protsenko had two misses at 2.32m and one at 2.34m.
As soon as Protsenko had failed at 2.34m, Tamberi was confirmed the winner. But he continued jumping and, responding well to the energy from the crowd, got over 2.34m on his second try to secure the Diamond Trophy. 
<h2>Redemption for Vetter and Hussong</h2>
One of the biggest shocks of the Tokyo Olympics was the ninth-place finish of Johannes Vetter in the men&rsquo;s javelin.
The German had dominated the event for the past two years, winning 19 consecutive competitions ahead of the Games, and regularly throwing well beyond 90 metres. But he struggled to throw well on the surface in Tokyo&rsquo;s Stadium and wound up ninth in the final with a best of 82.52m. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/613a6fbe8a5188153224e6bc.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 In Zurich, however, the 2017 world champion recaptured his usual form and won the men&rsquo;s javelin with a second-round throw of 89.11m. Compatriot Julian Weber, the fourth-place finisher at the Olympics, was second with 87.03m.
Christin Hussong may not have been as strong a pre-event favourite as Vetter going into the Olympics, but the German was considered one of the main medal contenders for the women&rsquo;s javelin. But she, too, finished down in an uncharacteristic ninth at the Games.
The European champion returned to winning ways in Zurich and took the women&rsquo;s javelin crown with a best of 65.26m in the final round, beating world champion Kelsey-Lee Barber of Australia (62.68m).
Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics

World champion becomes fourth member of the five-metre club

Sidorova joins five-metre club to take Diamond trophy in Zurich

Sweden&rsquo;s Olympic pole vault champion Mondo Duplantis, who suffered a rare defeat in the blustery conditions at Thursday's meeting in Lausanne, will hope to return to business-as-usual on Saturday (28) when the Wanda Diamond League moves on to the Stade Charlety in Paris.
The 20-year-old world record-holder, who could only finish fourth with a best of 5.62m at the Stade de la Pontaise, will once again face the winner, his old US college rival Chris Nilsen.
The Tokyo 2020 silver medallist secured top billing in Switzerland on countback from his US compatriot, double world champion Sam Kendricks, after both had cleared 5.82m.
The ever-amiable, but ever-competitive Kendricks still has things to prove this season after being kept from the Olympics by an untimely positive Covid-19 test.
The planned action replay in the women&rsquo;s 100m between Jamaica&rsquo;s double Olympic champions Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, two days after their latest meeting in Lausanne, will not come to pass as the latter has withdrawn.
The 34-year-old, who ran 10.60 for the third fastest time ever in beating Thompson-Herah at the Stade de la Pontaise, is reportedly suffering from some understandable fatigue.
Thompson-Herah will still need to be in her sharpest form, however, to withstand the challenge of a field that will include Britain&rsquo;s world 200m champion Dina Asher-Smith, who was unable to run that event in Tokyo following a severe hamstring injury earlier this season but did come away with a bronze medal as part of the British 4x100m relay team.
And Jamaica&rsquo;s 400m specialist Shericka Jackson, third in Tokyo, Eugene and Lausanne behind her two compatriots, has also moved on to this part of the concluding European leg of the Diamond League season.
Jamaica&rsquo;s Olympic 110 metres hurdles champion Hansle Parchment, who beat the favourite for the title in Tokyo, the United States&rsquo; world champion and world indoor record-holder Grant Holloway, saw the other side of life in Lausanne as he finished last in 13.58 in a race win by Devon Allen of the United States in 13.05. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6128c907692dbe76ab673cc0.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 The latter US athlete will be there again in Paris, as will home athlete and European champion Pascal Martinot-Lagarde, third in Switzerland, and France&rsquo;s Tokyo 2020 finalist Aurel Manga.
In the men&rsquo;s 200m the two US sprinters who finished first and second in Lausanne in the hugely impressive times of 19.65 and 19.77 respectively &ndash; the Tokyo silver medallist Kenny Bednarek and Olympic 100m silver medallist Fred Kerley &ndash; will do battle again.
They will be joined by Josephus Lyles, younger brother of world champion and Olympic bronze medallist Noah, who will be seeking to improve on the best of 20.03 he set in Eugene.
Having cheered himself up after a miserable Tokyo performance by winning the Lausanne javelin competition with 88.54m, Germany&rsquo;s 2017 world champion Johannes Vetter may be in the mood to get closer to the 97.76m effort of last year that put him second in the all-time list.
His rivals will include the Czech Republic&rsquo;s Olympic silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch, who was second in Lausanne with 85.73m.
Canada&rsquo;s Marco Arop, who beat Kenya&rsquo;s men&rsquo;s Olympic 800m gold and silver medallists Emmanuel Korir and Ferguson Rotich to win in Lausanne, will only have the latter to deal with in Paris, although the Tokyo bronze medallist Patryk Dobek of Poland and fourth-placer Peter Bol of Australia will also be in contention again.
In the women&rsquo;s high jump, Olympic champion Mariya Lasitskene, competing as an authorised neutral athlete, will seek to maintain her winning momentum having won on countback in Lausanne with a clearance of 1.98m.
She will have Australia&rsquo;s Tokyo silver medallist Nicola McDermott and Ukraine&rsquo;s world silver medallist and Olympic bronze medallist Yaroslava Mahuchikh for company.
Morocco&rsquo;s Soufiane El Bakkali, who in Tokyo became the first non-Kenyan to win the men&rsquo;s Olympic 3000m steeplechase title since Poland's Bronislaw Malinowski at the 1980 Moscow Games &ndash; which Kenya boycotted &ndash; will be favourite to record another victory in Paris.
But El Bakkali will have serious Kenyan opposition in the form of the Olympic bronze medallist and the returning Rio 2016 Games gold medallist and double world champion Conseslus Kipruto, who dropped out of the Kenyan Olympic trials after two laps following a troubled build-up to the event.
Despite Kipruto&rsquo;s outstanding success in major championships, El Bakkali is the fastest runner in the field with a best of 7:58.15. Kipruto, surprisingly, has never bettered 8 minutes, with a best of 8:00.12. Ethiopia&rsquo;s challenge will be headed by the 20-year-old Tokyo and 2019 world silver medallist Lamecha Girma, who has run 8:01.36.
The women&rsquo;s 3000m event will feature Rio 2016 800m silver medallist from Burundi, Francine Niyonsaba. Niyonsaba was celebrating reaching the Olympic 5000m final earlier this month only to learn that she had been disqualified from her semifinal for a lane infringement. She laid down a big marker in response at last Saturday&rsquo;s Prefontaine Classic in Eugene as she won a two miles race that was not on the Diamond League programme in a national record of 9:00.75, finishing ahead of Ethiopia&rsquo;s world 5000m and 10,000m record-holder and Olympic 10,000m silver medallist Letesenbet Gidey and Kenya&rsquo;s double world 5000m champion Hellen Obiri.
Niyonsaba has yet to record an official 3000m time &ndash; and her first mark could prove spectacular. Meanwhile Germany&rsquo;s Konstanze Klosterhalfen, with a best of 8:20.07, and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Fantu Worku, who has run 8:32.10, will also be likely to figure prominently.
Burkina Faso&rsquo;s Olympic triple jump bronze medallist Hugues Fabrice Zango, based in France and coached by the host nation&rsquo;s 2013 world champion Teddy Tamgho, is favourite in an event that includes the Tokyo surprise package, Yasser Triki, who finished fifth in an Algerian record of 17.43m.
Also in the mix will be Donald Scott of the United States, who has a best identical to Triki and finished seventh in the Tokyo final.
The exuberant Zango, who has an outdoor best of 17.82m, set a world indoor record of 18.07m earlier this year.
Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic, who won in Lausanne in 50.40, and Allyson Felix of the United States will be the favourites in an intriguing women&rsquo;s 400m race. Also involved will be the 21-year-old Dutch Olympic 400m hurdles bronze medallist Femke Bol, switching back to the flat event at which she won the European indoor title earlier this year having set a Lausanne meeting record of 53.05 in her specialist event. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6108e0c6030a679c16317ae0.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 The field also includes three other Tokyo 400m finalists in Jamaica&rsquo;s Candice McLeod, Britain&rsquo;s Jodie Williams and Quanera Hayes of the United States.
Meanwhile the women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles, while lacking Bol, looks likely to feature a strong contest between Shamier Little of the United States, who has run buoyantly on the tour since failing to earn an Olympic place, and Ukraine&rsquo;s Anna Ryzhykova.
The absence of a women&rsquo;s discus event at the Eugene Diamond League meeting last Saturday prevented Tokyo gold medallist Valarie Allman from making a triumphant return to competition on home soil. But Allman will have her moment in the French capital, where she will face a formidable field that includes Croatia&rsquo;s Sandra Perkovic, whose ambitions of earning a third consecutive Olympic title in Tokyo fell just short as she finished fourth with a best of 65.01m.
The Olympic silver and bronze medallists, Kristin Pudenz of Germany and Cuba&rsquo;s world champion Yaime Perez, will also be in the field, as will home thrower Melina Robert-Michon, the Rio 2016 silver medallist, who will be seeking a happier competitive experience following her failure to reach the Tokyo final.
Jamaica&rsquo;s Olympic bronze medallist Megan Tapper is one of three women&rsquo;s 100m hurdlers with a best of 12.53 in a race that includes the Nigerian who missed a medal by one place in Tokyo, Tobi Amusan, who has a best of 12.48, and her fellow Jamaican Britany Anderson, eighth in the Olympic final, who is the fastest in the field with a best of 12.40.
Also in the mix will be&nbsp;Christina Clemons, a semifinalist in Tokyo who has a best of 12.51.
Mike Rowbottom for World Athletics

Sweden’s Olympic pole vault champion Mondo Duplantis, who suffered a rare defeat in the blustery conditions at Thursday's meeting in Lausanne, will hope to return to business-as-usual on Saturday (28) when the Wanda Diamond League moves on to the Stade Charlety in Paris.

More key clashes as Diamond League continues in Paris

Returning to competition for the first time since the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Ajla Del Ponte improved her Swiss 100m record to 10.90 (1.8m/s) as part of a sprint double at the R&eacute;sisprint meeting in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, on Saturday (14).
After clocking 11.26 (-1.6m/s) to win her heat, she improved to 10.90 to win the final, taking 0.01 off her previous Swiss record set in the heats at the Tokyo Olympics, where she went on to finish fifth in the final.
In the 200m she also went sub-23 seconds for the first time, winning in 22.38 (1.9m/s). Portugal&rsquo;s Lorene Bazolo was also among the national record-breakers, clocking 11.10 and 22.64 to finish second in both the 100m and 200m.
Mouhamadou Fall of France won the men&rsquo;s 100m in a wind-assisted 9.97 (2.5m/s) and was second in the 200m (20.10), wihch was won by Taymir Burnet of the Netherlands in 20.07 (2.1m/s).
The Swiss record also fell in the men&rsquo;s 110m hurdles, with Jason Joseph&nbsp;clocking 13.12 (1.7m/s), while Ludvy Vaillant of France won the men&rsquo;s 400m hurdles in 48.80. Poland&rsquo;s Anna Kielbasinska won the women&rsquo;s 400m in 50.38.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7158274" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results</a> 
<h2>Vetter returns with 86.17m</h2>
After his ninth-place finish at the Olympic Games, Germany&rsquo;s 2017 world javelin champion Johannes Vetter threw 86.17m to win in Offenburg on Sunday (15).
Grenada's 2019 world champion Anderson Peters was second with 85.85m, while Czech Republic&rsquo;s Nikola Ogrodnikova won the women&rsquo;s competition with 60.40m ahead of the USA&rsquo;s Kara Winger with 59.80m. 
<h2>Bracy runs 9.85</h2>
The USA&rsquo;s Marvin Bracy equalled his 100m PB with 9.85 (-0.4m/s) to win at the Ed Murphey Classic, a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meeting, in Memphis on Sunday (15). Canada&rsquo;s Jerome Blake was second in 10.06, while Kyree King won the 200m in 20.15 (2.0m/s).
Kiara Parker ran 11.30 (-1.2m/s) and Dezerea Bryant 22.78 (-0.1) to finish top in the 100m and 200m respectively.
Olympic fourth-placer Devon Allen won the 110m hurdles in 13.14 (-0.5m/s), while Jamaica&rsquo;s Danielle Williams ran 12.64 (-0.2) in the 100m hurdles and 2015 world 400m hurdles silver medallist Shamier Little won the women&rsquo;s 400m in 50.65. The men&rsquo;s 400m was claimed by Trinidad and Tobago&rsquo;s Machel Cedenio in 45.98.
There were shot put wins for Darrell Hill (20.79m) and Jessica Ramsey (19.21m).
The first day of the competition (14) included 1500m wins for Rebecca Mehra (4:04.90) and Henry Wynne (3:37.07).&nbsp;
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7170960" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results</a> 
<h2>Kenyan record for Omurwa&nbsp;</h2>
Ferdinand Omurwa twice improved the Kenyan 100m record, first clocking 9.96 (0.4m.s) in the heats and then 9.86 (0.6m/s) in the final in Andorf, Austria, on Saturday (14). That mark puts him equal third on the African all-time list.
Turkey&rsquo;s 2017 world champion Ramil Guliyev won the men&rsquo;s 200m in 20.47 (0.2m/s), while Austria&rsquo;s Ina Huemer won the women&rsquo;s race in 23.31 (0.8m/s).
Olympic bronze medallist Lukas Weisshaidinger won the discus with a 63.88m throw.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7171147" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results</a> 
<h2>Bol among winners in Szczecin</h2>
Australia&rsquo;s Olympic 800m fourth-placer Peter Bol won his first race since Tokyo, clocking 1:45.49 for victory at the Wieslaw Maniak Memorial in Szczecin, Poland, on Sunday (15). Aleksandra Gulyayeva won the women race in 2:00.46.

Returning to competition for the first time since the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Ajla Del Ponte improved her Swiss 100m record to 10.90,

Del Ponte sets Swiss record as part of sprint double in La Chaux-de-Fonds

Bouncing back from his first 100m defeat since 2019, Trayvon Bromell won the 100m at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Gateshead on Tuesday evening (13) to re-establish himself as the favourite for gold at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.
Bromell&rsquo;s victory in 9.98 was among the highlights of the British Muller Grand Prix that also featured a meeting and Spanish record in the men&rsquo;s 3000m by Mohamed Katir and wins by Jamaican sprinter Elaine Thompson-Herah, Dutch hurdles star Femke Bol and German javelin thrower Johannes Vetter.
The seventh Wanda Diamond League meeting of the season came just 10 days before the 23 July opening of the Tokyo Games and 17 days before the start of the athletics competition on 30 July.
Bromell, who clocked a world-leading 9.77 in June and won the 100m in 9.80 at the US Olympic Trials last month, had finished a disappointing fifth in 10.01 at last Friday&rsquo;s Herculis EBS Diamond League meeting in Monaco.
In cool conditions in northeast England, Bromell regained much of the form that has made him the world&rsquo;s top 100m sprinter over the past two years. He burst quickly out of the blocks in lane five, surged to the front and led the rest of the way.
British runners CJ Ujah and Zharnel Hughes finished second and third in 10.10 and 10.13, respectively. Canada&rsquo;s Andre de Grasse, the Olympic and world 100m bronze medallist, settled for fourth, and Fred Kerley, third at the US Trials, was fifth &ndash; both also timed in 10.13.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll take that win and I really want to get back into training, get my body under wraps, recover and get ready for Tokyo,&rdquo; Bromell said. &ldquo;I want to be healthy and I'm blessed for that.&rdquo;
Tokyo will be the second Olympics for Bromell, who was carried off the track after injuring his achilles in the sprint relay at the 2016 Rio Games.
&ldquo;I just hope I'm making everybody proud and not just in chasing medals but in the sense of teaching people to keep fighting even when things are rough,&rdquo; he said.
The final event of the evening produced the meet&rsquo;s top performance when Katir clocked 7:27.64 to move to third on the European all-time list and 15th on the world all-time list, one place ahead of Eliud Kipchoge. It came just two months after Katir won the 5000m on the same track in Gateshead. And last week in Monaco, he set a national 1500m record of 3:28.76.
Now Katir heads to Tokyo on an exceptional run of form. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/60edfe4816290989cabdbd19.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="633" />
 &ldquo;I had a dream to be part of the Olympic Games,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I've worked very hard to achieve this goal and this performance is the consequence of working hard and training in the mountains. The first time I won in Gateshead it gave me a lot of confidence and positive energy and I thought, 'Hey, I can make it&rsquo;.&rdquo;
Thompson-Herah, the Olympic 100m and 200m champion, won the 200m on Tuesday in 22.43, ahead of Britain&rsquo;s Jodie Williams in 22.60 and Nigeria&rsquo;s Blessing Okagbare in 22.61.
The Jamaican had been scheduled to face world 200m champion Dina Asher-Smith, but the British star withdrew ahead of the meet with a tight hamstring.
&ldquo;It helps me to build my confidence to get that win on the board,&rdquo; Thompson-Herah said. &ldquo;It may not be my fastest time but I'm still pleased with that. I need to get the work in to get that curve as quick as possible and keep pushing forward.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Tokyo will be my second Olympics and I'm pretty excited now,&rdquo; she added. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been there and I know what it feels like and, even though there are no crowds, I will hope to put on a show.&rdquo;
In the women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles, 21-year-old Bol extended her unbeaten run this season to six races with a third consecutive victory over US rival Shamier Little &ndash; and this time it wasn&rsquo;t close.
Bol pulled away down the homestretch to win going away by 10 metres in 53.24, while Little finished second in 54.53. Jamaica&rsquo;s Janieve Russell was third in 54.66.
The race lacked the tight finish and blistering times of the previous two meetings between Bol and Little. Bol edged Little at the Diamond League meeting in Stockholm on 4 July, clocking 52.37 to move to fourth on the world all-time list. Little, who finished fourth at the US Trials and failed to qualify for Tokyo, ran 52.39 for fifth on the world all-time list.
The two faced off again two days later in Szekesfehervar, with Bol fending off Little to win in 52.81 to the US hurdler&rsquo;s 52.85. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/60edeca4a80166ac8dcd1a35.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="633" />
 &ldquo;It was nice that this time I was out in front of Shamier so it was mentally different because the other two times I have been chasing,&rdquo; Bol said. &ldquo;So that was a really good exercise especially with Tokyo on my mind.
&ldquo;I couldn't have had a better preparation for Tokyo and I cannot wait now. I am so excited I can finally go.&rdquo;
Bol will be a medal contender in Tokyo in a star-studded event that also features the two US athletes with the two fastest times on the world all-time list &ndash; Sydney McLaughlin and Dalilah Muhammad. McLaughlin won the US Olympic Trials last month in 51.90, smashing Muhammad&rsquo;s world record by more than a quarter of a second with the first sub-52 time in history.
Vetter came to Gateshead with hopes of challenging Jan Zelezny&rsquo;s 25-year-old javelin world record of 98.48m, or at least Steve Backley&rsquo;s meeting record of 90.81m. The German came close to the world record last year with a throw of 97.76m and threw 96.29m to win his event at the European Team Championships in May.
But the conditions were not ideal on Tuesday and Vetter sealed victory with 85.25m on his sixth and final throw. Fellow German Julian Weber was second with 81.07m.
&ldquo;The world record is possible in Tokyo,&rdquo; Vetter said. &ldquo;You can't plan throws though and if it happens, it happens. The first goal is staying healthy, getting the gold medal and then I think about the world record.&rdquo; 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/60edf26efc4a076b7df39ced.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="633" />
 Isaiah Harris, fourth at the US Trials, took the men&rsquo;s 800m in 1:44.76, with Wycliffe Kinyamal of Kenya second in 1:44.91 and Peter Bol of Australia third in 1:45.22. Clayton Murphy, winner at the US Trials, lagged in sixth place in 1:45.72.
&ldquo;I was happy with that,&rdquo; Harris said. &ldquo;I kind of wanted to PR but to get a win is just as good.&rdquo;
Jamaicans finished 1-2 in the 110m hurdles, with Tokyo-bound national champion Ronald Levy triumphing in 13.22 ahead of 2016 Olympic champion Omar McLeod in 13.42.
&ldquo;I just came out here to execute,&rdquo; Levy said. &ldquo;I fell short at the start but I picked it up at the end.&rdquo;
McLeod, who missed out on a place in Tokyo after finishing last at the Jamaican Olympic Trials, felt a measure of satisfaction after his improved performance in Gateshead.
&ldquo;I am a bit out of it but happy to finish healthy,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Now I'm just going to try and finish the season well and keep putting in the performances. I've got to get some quality work in and then we can see where we go from there.&rdquo;
Ukraine&rsquo;s Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk won the women&rsquo;s long jump with a best jump of 6.77m, beating world champion Malaika Mihambo of Germany with 6.65m.
World heptathlon champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson, making a comeback after tearing her achilles last December, was satisfied with her leap of 6.10m.
&ldquo;I didn't know what to expect. It was all about the feeling, I was about trying to get on to the board, it was about getting back to my 19-stride run-up,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I only got one no-jump. It's proved I've made big strides and that I can come out and do the full five jumps off my full approach.&rdquo;
World indoor champion Sandi Morris of the US won the pole vault in 4.76m, with British record-holder Holly Bradshaw second with 4.71m and Wilma Murto of Finland third with 4.61m.
&ldquo;I've had a really tough time this last month,&rdquo; Morris said. &ldquo;I've had a couple of bad meets and my confidence was lacking a bit so I really needed today. I decided that I'd have no expectations and just have fun and any time I jump for fun I always jump high. It's amazing how you can have five bad meets and one good meet and your world flips back to normal.&rdquo;
Britain&rsquo;s Cindy Sember won the 100m hurdles in 12.69 ahead of Payton Chadwick of the US in 12.75 and Nadine Visser of the Netherlands in 12.78.
In the men&rsquo;s mile, Elliot Giles held off fellow British athlete Jake Heyward in a photo finish to win in a personal best 3:52.49. Heyward clocked a PB of 3:52.50.
Katie Grace of the US took the women&rsquo;s mile in a world-leading 4:27.20, and Jamaica&rsquo;s Stephenie Ann McPherson won the women&rsquo;s 400m in 50.44.
Portugal&rsquo;s Pedro Pablo Pichardo, a two-time world silver medallist, won the men&rsquo;s triple jump with a best leap of 17.50m. Donald Thomas of The Bahamas won the men&rsquo;s high jump with a best of 2.25m.
Steve Wilson for World Athletics

Bouncing back from his first 100m defeat since 2019, Trayvon Bromell won the 100m at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Gateshead on Tuesday evening (13) to re-establish himself as the favourite for gold at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.

Bromell and Katir shine in Gateshead at final pre-Olympic test

With the Tokyo Olympics less than two weeks away, many of the world&rsquo;s top athletes will get a last chance to test their competitive form when they line up in the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Gateshead, England, on Tuesday (13).
US sprinter Trayvon Bromell, German javelin thrower Johannes Vetter, Jamaican sprint star Elaine Thompson-Herah and British heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson are among the top names entered in the Muller Grand Prix.
Despite the late withdrawals of British world 200m champion Dina Asher-Smith and Dutch middle-distance star Sifan Hassan, the meet features an array of world and Olympic champions and will serve as a crucial tune-up ahead of Tokyo. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/60ec18d7967305e835a5b98e.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="624" />
 The seventh Diamond League meeting of the season &ndash; and second in Gateshead &ndash; comes just 10 days before the 23 July opening of the Tokyo Games and 17 days before the start of the Olympic athletics competition on 30 July.
Many athletes are returning to the venue in northeast England for the second time this season. Gateshead hosted the Diamond League opener in May after the meeting was moved from Rabat, Morocco. Tuesday&rsquo;s meeting was originally scheduled to take place at the Olympic Stadium in London but was switched to Gateshead due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
World 100m leader Bromell will be looking to bounce back after a disappointing performance in last Friday&rsquo;s Herculis EBS Diamond League meeting in Monaco, where he clocked 10.01 and finished fifth in a race won by American teammate Ronnie Baker in 9.91. It was Bromell&rsquo;s first 100m defeat since 2019, having won four races in 2020 and 10 this year.
Bromell, who ran 9.77 in June for the fastest time in the world this year and won the 100m in 9.80 at the US Olympic Trials in Eugene last month, will be determined to regain the form that made him the favourite for gold in Tokyo.
Bromell will go up against Fred Kerley, who qualified for Tokyo by finishing third in 9.86 at the US trials, and Canada&rsquo;s Andre De Grasse, the Olympic and world 100m bronze medallist. Isiah Young, who has clocked 9.89 this season, is also in the 100m line-up, along with British sprinters Adam Gemili and Chijindu Ujah.
About 40 members of Team GB&rsquo;s athletics team for Tokyo &ndash; more than half the entire squad &ndash; will be in action in Gateshead. Missing, however, will be Asher-Smith, who pulled out citing a tight hamstring. She opted not to take any risks ahead of the Olympics.
&ldquo;As you all know, I love running in front of a home crowd but I have to make smart decisions for myself and my body ahead of Tokyo,&rsquo;&rsquo; Asher-Smith said in a statement on Twitter. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m sorry to those who were hoping to see me run this week but I&rsquo;m looking forward to making you all proud in a few weeks&rsquo; time.&rdquo;
Asher-Smith had been scheduled to run the 200m in a marquee matchup against Thompson-Herah, the reigning Olympic 100m and 200m champion. The Jamaican will now be the favourite in a field that also includes American Tamara Clark, who finished fourth in the US Olympic Trials in a personal best of 21.98.
Hassan, the women&rsquo;s world champion at 1500m and 10,000m, also withdrew due to a tight hamstring and preferring not to take any chances before Tokyo, where she looks set to contest the 5000m-10,000m double. Hasan had been scheduled to run the mile, in which she holds the world record of 4:12.33. Winnie Nanyondo of Uganda, who has a season&rsquo;s best of 4:00.84 in the 1500m, and American Kate Grace, who clocked 1:57.36 for the 800m in Stockholm, now start as favourites.
The men&rsquo;s mile has past winner Jake Wightman of Britain in the field along with European indoor 800m record-breaker Elliot Giles, who will be running the 800m in Tokyo.
If conditions are good, Vetter could challenge Jan Zelezny&rsquo;s 25-year-old javelin world record of 98.48m. The German came close last year with a throw of 97.76m and threw 96.29m to win his event at the European Team Championships in May. Vetter has been successful competing in Britain, winning the world title in London in 2017.
Javelin records have been set in the UK before, with Zelezny throwing 95.66m in Sheffield in 1993 and Britain&rsquo;s Steve Backley setting a mark of 90.98m at London&rsquo;s Crystal Palace in 1990. Also in the javelin field in Gateshead are world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada and 2012 Olympic gold medallist Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad &amp; Tobago.
Still making her way back to full fitness after an Achilles injury, Johnson-Thompson is entered in the women&rsquo;s long jump, where she will take on world champion Malaika Mihambo of Germany. In Stockholm, Mihambo produced the best jump of 7.02m in the third round but settled for second place in the new final-three format when her final effort of 6.77m was bettered by the 6.88m of Ivana Spanovic of Serbia. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/2d33a4db-0c3f-40b9-860a-7150dacfb0dc.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="650" />
 In the women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles, 21-year-old Dutch star Femke Bol will resume her rivalry with US athlete Shamier Little for the third time this season.
Bol, the European indoor 400m champion who is unbeaten in five hurdles races this season, edged Little in the Diamond League meeting in Stockholm on 4 July, clocking 52.37 for the fourth fastest time in history. Little, who finished fourth at the US trials and failed to qualify for Tokyo, ran 52.39 for the fifth fastest time in history.
The two faced off again two days later at the Istvan Gyulai Memorial meet in Hungary, with Bol fending off Little to win in 52.81 to the American&rsquo;s 52.85.
The men&rsquo;s 800m field is headed by Clayton Murphy, who won the US Olympic Trials in 1:43.17. He will face the men who finished third and fourth behind him &ndash; Bryce Hoppel and Isaiah Harris &ndash; as well as world silver medalist Amel Tuka, who will be seeking Bosnia and Herzogovina&rsquo;s first ever Olympic medal in Tokyo.
The women&rsquo;s pole vault features US champion Katie Nageotte, the world leader with a jump of 4.95m, plus world indoor champion Sandi Morris of the US and British record-holder Holly Bradshaw.
Steve Wilson for World Athletics

With the Tokyo Olympics less than two weeks away, many of the world’s top athletes will get a last chance to test their competitive form when they line up in the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Gateshead, England, on Tuesday.

Bromell, Thompson-Herah and Vetter headline last Diamond League before Tokyo

German star Johannes Vetter grabbed the headlines by throwing 92.14m in the men&rsquo;s javelin on a cool and rainy evening at the Spitzen Leichtathletik meeting, a World Athletics Continental Tour Silver event,&nbsp;at the Allmend Stadium in Lucerne&nbsp;on Tuesday (29).
Vetter opened the competition with 89.19m in the first round before improving to 92.14m from his second attempt. The 2017 world champion threw the javelin to 91.39 in the third round before withdrawing from competition after three attempts. Trinidad and Tobago&rsquo;s 2012 Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott finished second with 85.16m ahead of Julian Weber from Germany (84.85m).
Vetter has now thrown over 91 metres in seven competitions this season. He leads the world rankings with his impressive 96.29m set at the European Team Championships.
Vetter made his return to Lucerne, where he set his first German record with 94.44m in 2017, a month before winning the world gold medal in London. &ldquo;Lucerne is like a home meeting for me and I am happy to be back in this venue,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The organisation and the atmosphere are perfect. Spectators created a great atmosphere in the stadium.
&ldquo;It was not easy to throw tonight. I would have liked to produce a better result, but my body was too tired after throwing 93.59 in Kuortane three days ago. I am happy that I managed to perform well again and throw over 92 metres.&rdquo;
Vetter highlighted a great night from German athletes, who claimed seven wins.
Reigning European champion Christin Hussong completed the German double by winning the women&rsquo;s javelin throw with 64.02m in the third round. Hussong won for the third time in her career in Lucerne. The German thrower produced four more throws over the 60-metre barrier (62.53m, 61.38m, 60.77m and 60.56m) which would have been enough to win the competition, as former European champion Tatsiana Khaladovich finished second with 60.31m.
&ldquo;The conditions were very tough for javeliin throw,&rdquo; said Hussong. &ldquo;Throwing again over the Olympic qualifying standard in rainy weather is a good result.&rdquo; 
<h3>Kiplimo runs meeting record,&nbsp;Van Niekerk wins 400m</h3>
World half marathon champion Jacob Kiplimo from Uganda won the men&rsquo;s 5000m, setting a meeting record with 12:55.21. Kenya&rsquo;s Daniel Simiyu, who recently finished second at the Kenyan Olympic Trials, improved his PB to 12:55.88 to take the runner-up spot ahead of Boniface Kibiwott (13:06.36).
Olympic champion and world record-holder Wayde van Niekerk won his first 400m race this season in 44.87 on European soil in far from ideal weather conditions. Van Niekerk stormed into the lead going into the final bend before clocking his second sub-45 time in 2021. The South African star set the qualifying standard in Madrid with 44.56 earlier this year. Irishman Christopher O&rsquo;Donnell finished a distant second in 45.55.
Van Niekerk made his comeback to the Lucerne meeting where he broke the 20-second barrier for 200m for the first time in his career in 2015 with 19.94.
&ldquo;I thank Switzerland for the warm welcome,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I am grateful to the organisers. It&rsquo;s always nice to return here. It was a positive win and I want to use the momentum. My aim is to win the gold medal in Tokyo.&rdquo;
Olympic and world finalist Akani Simbine from South Africa continued his unbeaten streak this season by winning the men&rsquo;s 100m in 10.11 (-0.2m/s), beating his compatriot Thando Dlodlo, who took second place in a season&rsquo;s best of 10.20.
Three-time world medallist Marie Josee Ta Lou claimed the win in the women&rsquo;s 100m with 11.09 (-0.4m/s) ahead of world 200m bronze medallist Mujinga Kambundji, who took second place with 11.24. Kayla White from the USA finished third with 11.31. Kambundji, who won the Swiss title last weekend in 11.05 in Langenthal, was one of the most cheered athletes by the enthusiastic Lucerne fans.&nbsp; 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/60dc473e990564eba2d94c7a.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="633" /> (&copy;&nbsp;Hanspeter Roos) 
<h3>Shot put success for Adams</h3>
Four-time world champion Valerie Adams won the women&rsquo;s shot put with 18.91m. Adams produced four more attempts over 18 metres (18.30m, 18.43m, 18.40m and 18.59m) which would have been enough to win the competition. Germany&rsquo;s Alina Kenzel finished second with 17.87m.
Robeilys Peinado from Venezuela cleared 4.61m on her first attempt to win the women&rsquo;s pole vault in difficult weather conditions. Lisa Gunnarsson from Sweden took second place with 4.41m.
Ditaji Kambundji, the younger sister of Mujinga, delighted the local fans with a win in the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles in 13.11 (-0.8m/s) a few days after claiming her second consecutive Swiss title in 13.03 in Langenthal. She had also improved her PB to 12.94 earlier this month at the Continental Tour Bronze meeting in Geneva.
Namibian 18-year-old rising sprint star Beatrice Masilingi continued her great season with another win in the women&rsquo;s 200m ina lifetime best of 22.67 ahead of German champion Alexandra Burghardt (23.16) and Lisa Marie Kwayie (23.28).
European silver medallist Alex Wilson provided another win for Switzerland in the men&rsquo;s 200m in 20.64 (-0.3m/s). Dlodlo won the 200m B race in 20.74.&nbsp;
German champion Christina Hering launched her kick with 300m to go to take the win in the women&rsquo;s 800m with 2:00.04 ahead of Lore Hoffmann from Switzerland (2:00.38) and Katharina Trost (2:00.92).&nbsp;
European bronze medallist Thomas Barr from Ireland won the men&rsquo;s 400m hurdles with 49.12, beating the USA&rsquo;s Quincy Downing (49.42) and Nick Smidt from the Netherlands (49.73).
Ruswahl Samaai saved his best for last by clinching the win in the men&rsquo;s long jump in the sixth round with 8.06m. The South African jumper was the only athlete to go beyond eight metres, as Emiliano Lasa from Uruguay finished second with 7.90m ahead of Lester Alcides Lescay from Cuba (7.83m).
German champion Carolina Krafzik won the women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles in 55.55, beating Tia-Adana Belle from Barbados (56.00).&nbsp;
Gabriel Constantino from Brazil took a very close win in the men&rsquo;s 110 hurdles in 13.60, sharing the same time as second-placer Petr Svoboda from Czech Republic.
Robert Farken from Germany won the men&rsquo;s 1500m, setting a meeting record with 3:36.80.
Diego Sampaolo for World Athletics

German star Johannes Vetter grabbed the headlines by throwing 92.14m in the men’s javelin on a cool and rainy evening at the Spitzen Leichtathletik meeting.

Vetter throws 92.14m to light up Lucerne

Germany&rsquo;s Johannes Vetter made his comeback by throwing 93.59m to win the javelin at the Kuortane Games &ndash; a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meeting &ndash; in Finland on Saturday (26).
The 2017 world champion&rsquo;s last competition had been the European Athletics Team Championships Super League in Silesia, where he retired after two throws (of 94.24m and 96.29m) having experienced some discomfort in his adductor.
Back in action in Kuortane, the 28-year-old opened with 88.96m before improving to 93.59m in the second round. He then passed his third attempt and fouled on his fourth and fifth before also passing the final round.
Vetter has now thrown beyond 91 metres in six consecutive competitions this season, with his best being that 96.29m recorded in Silesia.
Trinidad and Tobago&rsquo;s 2012 Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott threw&nbsp;89.12m in the second round to finish runner-up ahead of India&rsquo;s Commonwealth champion Neeraj Chopra who recorded a best of 86.79m, also in the second round. 
<h3>Stahl sets world lead&nbsp;</h3>
The men&rsquo;s discus was a great contest as Sweden&rsquo;s world champion Daniel Stahl threw a world lead of 70.55m to beat Slovenia&rsquo;s European U23 champion Kristjan Ceh by 20 centimetres.
Ceh achieved his 70.35m throw in the third round &ndash; his first ever mark beyond 70 metres to improve his national record &ndash; and had led the competition until the final round when Stahl launched his world lead. Ceh backed up his PB performance with 70.22m from his last attempt.
Sweden&rsquo;s Simon Pettersson finished third with a best of 67.39m.
Joining his compatriot in success was European indoor medallist Thobias Montler as he leapt 8.13m (1.2m/s) in the final round to win the long jump, also recording 8.10m (1.6m/s) in the third round.
Australia&rsquo;s world champion Kelsey-Lee Barber threw 60.05m to win the women&rsquo;s javelin competition ahead of South Africa&rsquo;s Jo-Ane Van Dyk with 59.31m, while Sweden&rsquo;s Maja Nilsson won the high jump with a first-time clearance of 1.91m.
Finland&rsquo;s Kristiina M&auml;kel&auml; improved her triple jump PB to 14.41m (1.4m/s), while Wilma Murto cleared 4.61m and Mikko Paavola 5.54m to win the pole vault competitions.
Finland&rsquo;s Annimari Korte won the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles final in a slightly wind-assisted 12.82 (2.1m/s) and Norway&rsquo;s Line Kloster won the 400m hurdles in 56.30, while Finland&rsquo;s Riku Illukka and Samuli Samuelsson clocked matching PBs of 10.27 (1.9m/s) to lead the men&rsquo;s 100m final. Kenya&rsquo;s Eglay Nalyanya won the women&rsquo;s 800m in 2.00.56 and Norway&rsquo;s Ferdinand Kvan Edman ran a PB of 3.38.36 to win the men's 1500m.
&nbsp;
<h2>Mihambo leaps 6.92m in Leverkusen</h2>
Germany&rsquo;s world long jump champion Malaika Mihambo achieved her longest leap in the world so far this year, soaring 6.92m (0.5m/s) at the #True Athletes Classics &ndash; a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meeting &ndash; in Leverkusen on Sunday (27).
Maryse Luzolo was second with a PB of 6.69m (1.1m/s), while Cuba&rsquo;s world champion Yaime Perez threw 63.33m to win the women&rsquo;s discus.
Three athletes cleared 5.80m in the men&rsquo;s pole vault, with Olympic champion Thiago Braz and Asian champion Ernest Obiena sharing victory and Bo Kanda Lita Baehre placing third on countback.
Tatjana Pinto won the women&rsquo;s 100m final in 11.18 (0.7m/s) after clocking 11.10 (2.0m/s) in the heats, while Arthur Cisse ran 10.19 (1.8m/s) to win the men&rsquo;s final.
The men&rsquo;s 800m saw victory for Collins Kipruto in 1:44.57, while his fellow Kenyan Edinah Jebitok won the women&rsquo;s 1500m in 4:03.46.
Jess Whittington for World Athletics

Germany’s Johannes Vetter made his comeback by throwing 93.59m to win the javelin at the Kuortane Games – a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meeting – in Finland on Saturday.

Vetter returns with 93.59m in Kuortane

Kendra Harrison and Johannes Vetter are the latest global stars to sign up to the M&uuml;ller British Grand Prix as Gateshead prepares to host its second Wanda Diamond League meeting of the year on Tuesday 13 July.
Harrison set the world record of 12.20 at the Anniversary Games in the London Stadium five years ago and she will travel to Gateshead next month in great shape following her recent victory at the US Olympic Trials in Eugene, where she clocked a season&rsquo;s best of 12.47.
&ldquo;I always enjoy competing in England &ndash; the fans are knowledgeable and I usually race pretty well there too,&rdquo; said Harrison, who also holds the meeting record for the Birmingham Diamond League (12.45). &ldquo;My world record came at the Anniversary Games in London in 2016, then a couple of years later I won the world indoor title in Birmingham and enjoyed another win at the Anniversary Games in London that summer.
&ldquo;I was really pleased to win the US Olympic Trials this week and am now looking forward to finalising my preparations for the Tokyo Games,&rdquo; added Harrison, who may have an eye on the Gateshead stadium record of 12.57, set back in 2004 by Glory Alozie. &ldquo;The M&uuml;ller British Grand Prix in Gateshead next month will be a great place to do it too and I&rsquo;m excited about the competition.&rdquo;
In Gateshead Harrison will face British No.1 Cindy Sember, among others.
Vetter has been closing in on Jan Zelezny&rsquo;s world javelin record over the past 12 months. Zelezny&rsquo;s mark of 98.48m was set 25 years ago in Jena, but in Poland last year Vetter came close to surpassing it with 97.76m &ndash; the longest throw in the world for more than two decades.
The 28-year-old from Germany has been in sensational form this year, too, as he threw 96.29m to win his event by 11 metres at the European Team Championships last month.
The omens are good when it comes to Vetter attacking Zelezny&rsquo;s record at Gateshead. The last time Vetter competed in Britain, he won the world title in London in 2017. It is also not unusual to see javelin world records set in the UK. Czech legend Zelezny threw a world record of 95.66m in Sheffield in 1993, whereas Britain&rsquo;s Steve Backley broke the world record with 90.98m at Crystal Palace in London in 1990.
&ldquo;I have been really pleased with my form so far this year and am hoping for another good performance at the M&uuml;ller British Grand Prix in Gateshead next month,&rdquo; said Vetter. &ldquo;It will be an important test ahead of the Tokyo Olympics and I look forward to throwing well there.
&ldquo;I have good memories of competing in England. My world title in 2017 was won in the Olympic Stadium in London and there is always good support at British meetings from their knowledgeable crowd.&rdquo;
On attacking the world record, the German said earlier this year: &ldquo;The conditions have to be right and in the javelin you need your whole body. You need the right speed, a good plant foot, the right release point, trajectory and transfer of weight.
&ldquo;Trying to throw long is like going into a casino and playing roulette &ndash; the odds are against you.&rdquo;
The news of Vetter&rsquo;s participation follows the announcement of a world-class pole vault line-up that includes world champion Anzhelika Sidorova, Olympic champion Katerina Stefanidi, world indoor champion Sandi Morris, world leader Katie Nageotte and British record-holder Holly Bradshaw.
In addition, British star Dina Asher-Smith will be racing over 200m and Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands will compete in the mile.
Organisers for World Athletics

Kendra Harrison and Johannes Vetter are the latest global stars to sign up to the Müller British Grand Prix as Gateshead prepares to host its second Wanda Diamond League meeting of the year on Tuesday 13 July.

Harrison and Vetter confirmed for Gateshead

All eyes were on the javelin on the first day of the European Athletics Team Championships Super League in Silesia on Saturday (29) and Johannes Vetter again ensured that the attention was more than justified as he launched the spear 96.29m.
Back in the stadium where he threw 97.76m at the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial last September, Germany&rsquo;s 2017 world champion achieved another incredible mark &ndash; the third best ever in history behind his own PB and the world record of 98.48m <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/heritage/news/jan-zelezny-javelin-world-record-silver-anniversary" target="_blank" rel="noopener">set by Jan Zelezny 25 years ago</a>.
Vetter&rsquo;s opening throw was also impressive as he started with 94.24m to add four centimetres to his own world lead and break the championship record. He added another two metres on to that in the second round before retiring from the competition due to some discomfort in his adductor.
He won the competition by more than 11 metres, with Poland&rsquo;s Marcin Krukowski throwing 85.12m to finish second and Odei Jainaga breaking the Spanish record with 84.80m in third.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Performance of the day. 🙌 Performance of the season as well?<a href="https://twitter.com/jojo_javelin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jojo_javelin</a> produces the third longest throw in history with 96.29m in Silesia! 🤯🤯🤯<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ETCH2021?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ETCH2021</a> <a href="https://t.co/rC9cSBFgJ1">pic.twitter.com/rC9cSBFgJ1</a>
&mdash; European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroAthletics/status/1398689598990082050?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 29, 2021</a></blockquote>
 Another championship record was set in the men&rsquo;s 5000m as Italy&rsquo;s Yemaneberhan Crippa won in 13:17.23, holding off France&rsquo;s Hugo Hay (13:17.95) and Spain&rsquo;s Carlos Mayo (13:18.15).&nbsp;
European champion Michal Haratyk was among the host nation&rsquo;s winners as he threw 21.34m for full points in the shot put.
His compatriot Pia Skrzyszowska, the European U20 100m hurdles silver medallist, won a close 100m flat contest in 11.25 (1.3m/s) and will return to race over the barriers on Sunday, with Germany&rsquo;s Lisa Mayer pipping Britain&rsquo;s Imani Lansiquot for the runner up spot as both athletes recorded 11.27. Mouhamadou Fall ran 10.28 (-0.5m/s) to win the men&rsquo;s race for France.
Lansiquot was back on the track for the 4x100m and formed part of the winning British team, combining with Beth Dobbin, Bianca Williams and Desiree Henry to run 43.36 ahead of Poland with 43.83.&nbsp;Germany won the men&rsquo;s 4x100m in 38.73.
Poland&rsquo;s European U23 champion Natalia Kaczmarek ran 51.36 to win the 400m, while victory in the men&rsquo;s race went to France&rsquo;s Thomas Jordier with 45.65. Another athlete gaining top marks for France was 2015 world hammer bronze medallist Alexandra Tavernier who threw 75.06m.
<h3>Fajdek breaks competition record</h3>
Four-time world champion Pawel Fajdek produced the highlight on the second day of action in Silesia, breaking the long-standing competition record in the hammer.
The Pole took the lead in the first round with 76.90 and then improved in the next two rounds, throwing 79.64m and 82.98m. His winning mark added eight centimetres to the competition record set by Juri Tamm back in 1985 when the competition was known as the European Cup. Spain&rsquo;s Javier Cienfuegos was a distant runner-up with 77.11m.
The big throws continued in the women&rsquo;s javelin as European champion Christin Hussong dominated the competition. The German thrower opened with 65.37m then followed it with a lifetime best of 69.19m &ndash; a mark that moves her to eighth on the world all-time list. She ended her series with 64.73m in a competition in which no other woman threw beyond 60 metres.
Elsewhere in the field events, Britain&rsquo;s Lawrence Okoye won the men&rsquo;s discus with 64.22m and 2016 European champion Max Hess won the triple jump with 17.13m, beating Pedro Pablo Pichardo by 12 centimetres.
Ese Desalu and Beth Dobbin were the 200m winners, clocking 20.48 and 22.78 respectively.
The event ended on a high for the host nation as Poland won the women&rsquo;s 4x400m in 3:26.37. Italy won the men&rsquo;s 4x400m in 3:02.64 with Poland finishing third, earning enough points to give them the overall victory in the team standings.
<h3>Mu improves&nbsp;North American U20 record</h3>
Two weeks after running 49.84 to break Sanya Richards-Ross' North American U20 400m record, the USA&rsquo;s Athing Mu improved it again, clocking 49.68 at the NCAA West Preliminary in Texas on Saturday (29).
That mark moves the 18-year-old to fourth on the world all-time list.
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/60b2d0c99c0cb28cf0774a4e.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="575" /> Athing Mu breaks the North American U20 400m record in Texas&nbsp;(&copy; Kirby Lee)
 Over in Belgium on the same day, European indoor champion Femke Bol broke the Dutch 400m record, clocking 50.56. That improves on the 50.77 run by Lisanne de Witte when claiming European bronze in 2018.
<h3>Pettersson pips Stahl</h3>
Sweden&rsquo;s European fourth-placer Simon Pettersson handed world champion Daniel Stahl a rare domestic discus defeat after adding almost two metres to his PB in Vaxjo on Saturday (29).
The 27-year-old threw 69.48m in the fourth round of the competition to which Stahl responded with 69.11m in the fifth round, but having fouled on all his other attempts Stahl had to settle for second.
Stahl's final foul looked to be a big mark, however. After the competition it was measured at 73.83m, just 25cm shy of the 35-year-old world record, but Stahl was unable to remain in the circle.
Fanny Roos threw 19.30m to improve her Swedish shot put record.
<h3>Kessler breaks Ryun's record in Portland</h3>
He may not have won his race, but 18-year-old Hobbs Kessler stole the spotlight at the Portland Track Festival on Saturday (29), breaking Alan Webb's US high school record and Jim Ryun's long-standing North American U20 record in the 1500m.
Craig Engels won the race in 3:33.64 with British duo Charlie Grice (3:33.81) and Jake Heyward (3:33.99) finishing close behind. USA's Henry Wynne was fourth (3:34.08) and Kessler crossed the line in fifth, stopping the clock at 3:34.36. Kessler's previous PB was 3:40.46, set one month ago, and he now ranks 27th on the world U20 all-time list.
World champion Donavan Brazier won the men's 800m by a narrow margin from Mexico's Jesus Lopez, 1:45.09 to 1:45.14.
The women's 800m was similarly close with Canada's Gabriela DeBues-Stafford winning in a PB of 1:58.70 from USA's Sabrina Southerland (1:58.82). USA's Kate Grace, Chanelle Price, Cory McGee and Raevyn Rogers all finished inside two minutes.
USA's 2017 world silver medallist Courtney Frerichs claimed a clear 3000m steeplechase victory in Portland, running 9:21.13. Behind her, Valerie Constien, Lizzie Bird, and Mel Lawrence all ran PBs and finished inside the Olympic qualifying standard of 9:30.00.
Mason Ferlic won the men&rsquo;s steeplechase in 8:18.79 as Benard Keter was also under the Tokyo standard with&nbsp;8:20.40.
Japanese 5000m record-holder Suguru Osako, who ran 2:05 for the marathon in Tokyo last year, won the 10,000m in 27:56.44. Caroline Kipkirui won the women&rsquo;s race in 31:44.06.
<h3>Ngeny runs 800m world lead in Nairobi</h3>
Despite&nbsp;Nairobi's 1800m above sea level altitude, Elias Ngeny ran a world-leading PB of 1:43.84 to win the Athletics Kenya Olympic Games pre-trials on Saturday (29). Hillary Biwott was second in 1:44.80 and Noah Kibet third in 1:45.11.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Congratulations ￼ Elias Ngeno from Kaptagat timed 1:43.84 to clocked Olympics qualifications time in 800m and World Lead Men&rsquo;s 800m Elias Ngeno 1:43.84 Hillary Biwot 1:44.80 Noah Kibet 1:45.11 Edwin Melly 1:45.51 Gideon Kiplimo 1:45.53 <a href="https://t.co/yF46Uvm1UI">pic.twitter.com/yF46Uvm1UI</a>
&mdash; Athletics Kenya (@athletics_kenya) <a href="https://twitter.com/athletics_kenya/status/1398561393612308480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 29, 2021</a></blockquote>
 Mary Moraa won the women's 800m in&nbsp;2:01.12, while Michael Kibet ran 13:21.39 in the men's 5000m final and Naomi Chepngeno 15:34.10 to win the women's race.
Edward Cheserek ran 28:10.41 and&nbsp;Sharon Lodeki clocked 31:43.34&nbsp;for 10,000m on Friday (28).
Jess Whittington for World Athletics

All eyes were on the javelin on the first day of the European Athletics Team Championships Super League in Silesia on Saturday (29) and Johannes Vetter again ensured that the attention was justified as he launched the spear 96.29m.

Vetter throws 96.29m in Silesia for third best javelin mark in history

Johannes Vetter notched up a fourth consecutive javelin victory beyond 90 metres, winning at the Anhalt Meeting &ndash; part of the World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze series &ndash; in Dessau on Friday (21).
Showing no signs of tiredness from his world-leading 94.20m effort in Ostrava two days prior, the 2017 world champion opened with a solid 87.67m before sending his spear beyond the 90-metre line in round two with 91.86m.
That mark added exactly one metre the meeting record that had stood to Sergey Makarov for 19 years. But Vetter wasn&rsquo;t finished, and he threw 93.20m in the next round to consolidate his lead. After an 88.09 effort in round four, he retired from the competition, more than satisfied with his performance.
World and Olympic finalist Julian Weber was second with a season&rsquo;s best of 84.51m while Moldova&rsquo;s Andrain Mardare was third with 82.99m.
&ldquo;I actually didn&rsquo;t expect to throw this far again today &ndash; 93.20m is quite something, especially since my last competition was just 48 hours ago. So yes, I&rsquo;m really happy with the result,&rdquo; said Vetter, who has already thrown 90 metres seven times this year, equalling his best single-season tally. &ldquo;It was a pretty solid series overall, but as a precaution I decided to pass on the last two attempts. Not necessarily to preserve energy, I think I&rsquo;ve shown that I&rsquo;ve got enough of that at the moment with that 93-metre throw, but I didn&rsquo;t want to take any risk. You do feel it, that competition in Ostrava just two days ago. This year the Olympics is the big goal, that&rsquo;s the main motivation until then, but I am really pleased with how well things are going.
&ldquo;Of course, gold at the Olympics is the big goal. I don&rsquo;t think we had expected for things to be going as well as they are at the moment, some may call it early form, for us it&rsquo;s more manifestation to help us determine at which level I&rsquo;m at, but I know there&rsquo;s still more in the tank. The main thing now is to stay healthy, not to rush things, to not take all six throws when you feel your body is starting to tire and continue to concentrate on what really matters.&rdquo;
Only Zelezny has managed to produce more 90-metre throws than Vetter in a single season. The Czech legend, who holds the world record at 98.48m, managed 14 90-metre throws in 1995. He also achieved five consecutive 90-metre competitions that season; Vetter is currently at four such competitions.
&ldquo;To be able to throw as consistently as I am at the moment, I don&rsquo;t think anyone has been able to do that since Jan Zelezny and that makes me incredibly proud and happy,&rdquo; said Vetter. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s still a long way to go to Tokyo.&rdquo;
World champions Malaika Mihambo and Sam Kendricks were comfortable winners of their respective events.
Kendricks won the men&rsquo;s pole vault with 5.80m and went on to have three solid attempts at a would-be meeting record of 5.91m. Mihambo, meanwhile, leaped 6.68m (1.1m/s) to win the long jump by 17 centimetres.
Ukraine&rsquo;s Iryna Herashchenko emerged as the surprising winner of the high jump, winning on countback from world silver medallist Yaroslava Mahuchikh as both women cleared 1.92m. World champion Mariya Lasitskene finished equal seventh with a best clearance of 1.80m.
Elsewhere, Belgium&rsquo;s Cynthia Bolingo set a meeting record of 51.75 to win the women&rsquo;s 400m, and Poland&rsquo;s Pia Skryszowska held off a strong challenge from Elvira Herman to win the 100m hurdles by 0.02 in 12.92. Benjamin Robert won the men&rsquo;s 800m in 1:45.79.
Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics

Johannes Vetter notched up a fourth consecutive javelin victory beyond 90 metres, winning at the Anhalt Meeting – part of the World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze series – in Dessau on Friday (21).