The Prefontaine Classic will stage the best men&rsquo;s hammer competition on US soil since the 1996 Olympics when the discipline returns to the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Eugene on 28 May after a hiatus of 11 years.
The field includes the reigning Olympic champion and the top four finishers from last year&rsquo;s IAAF World Championships. The stadium record of 82.65m, set 12 years ago by 2004 Olympic champion Koji Murofushi, could even be challenged as two throwers in the non-Diamond-Race field have lifetime bests farther than that mark.
World champion Pawel Fajdek may be the youngest in the field, but &ndash; based on PBs &ndash; he is also the best. The 26-year-old Pole successfully defended his world title in Beijing last year and ended the season with an 18-meeting winning streak. He also improved his own national record to 83.93m, the best throw in the world since 2008.
Olympic champion Krisztian Pars has been one of the world&rsquo;s best hammer throwers for more than a decade. Since 2004, the 34-year-old Hungarian has finished in the top six at 13 consecutive major championships. He leads Fajdek at 29-16 in their career head-to-head record, although Fajdek has won their past eight encounters.
Tajikistan&rsquo;s Dilshod Nazarov earned the silver medal at the IAAF World Championships Beijing 2015. The three-time Asian Games champion has a best of 80.71m and finished between Fajdek and Pars in last year&rsquo;s IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge.
Poland&rsquo;s Wojciech Nowicki was a surprise bronze medallist at last year&rsquo;s World Championships. The 27-year-old set a PB of 78.71m in May and came within 16 centimetres of that to finish third in the Chinese capital.
Mostafa Al-Gamal owns the African record at 81.27m. Last year the Egyptian became Africa&rsquo;s first finalist in the men&rsquo;s hammer at the IAAF World Championships, eventually finishing seventh.
Marcel Lomnicky has finished eighth at the past two World Championships. The four-time Slovak champion won the NCAA title in 2009 and has a PB of 79.16m.
USA&rsquo;s Kibwe Johnson won three of his four national titles at Hayward Field. He set his lifetime best of 80.31m when winning in Eugene in 2011.
Organisers for the IAAF
2016 IAAF Diamond League calendar 6 May &ndash; Doha, QAT 14 May &ndash; Shanghai, CHN 22 May &ndash; Rabat, MAR 28 May &ndash; Eugene, USA 2 Jun &ndash; Rome, ITA 5 Jun &ndash; Birmingham, GBR 9 Jun &ndash; Oslo, NOR 16 Jun &ndash; Stockholm, SWE 15 Jul &ndash; Monaco, MON 22-23 Jul &ndash; London, GBR 25 Aug &ndash; Lausanne, SUI 27 Aug &ndash; Paris, FRA 1 Sep &ndash; Zurich, SUI 9 Sep &ndash; Brussels, BEL

The Prefontaine Classic will stage the best men’s hammer competition on US soil since the 1996 Olympics when the discipline returns to the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Eugene on 28 May after a hiatus of 11 years.

Hammer returns to Eugene – IAAF Diamond League

Poland&rsquo;s world hammer champion Pawel Fajdek extended his winning streak to nine competitions when he won at the Paavo Nurmi Games, an IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge meeting, with 80.71m in front of a capacity crowd of 12,000 in the Finnish city of Turku on Thursday (25).It was his second 80m-plus competition in the space of six days after winning at the European Team Championships with 81.64m in Cheboksary, Russia, on Saturday.Fajdek took the narrowest of leads in round two with a 77.07m effort against Hungary's Olympic champion Krisztian Pars&rsquo; 77.00m. But the Pole improved to 78.18m in round three and then produced the winning throw of 80.71m in round four.It was the first 80-metre throw at this stadium for more than 20 years and second best all-time behind Juha Tiainen&rsquo;s 80.88m meeting record from 1984.Behind the winner, there was a lot of movement in positions two to four, with Pars &ndash; who won in Turku at last year's meeting &ndash; finally taking second place with a 77.70m last-round throw.Tajikistan&rsquo;s Dilshod Nazarov, fifth at the 2013 IAAF World Championships, was fourth until his last throw of 77.47m, which gave him second place until Pars&rsquo; final attempt and third place at the finish of the competition. Egyptian Mostafa Hicham Al-Gamal set a season&rsquo;s best with each of his last two throws, 77.08m and 77.17m, for the fourth place. <h3>Pitkamaki saves best until last</h3> The most anticipated competition of the evening for the local fans was, of course, the men&rsquo;s javelin, and a nice following wind behind the athletes promised a good competition. So it proved, and it turned out to be the best men&rsquo;s javelin competition of this season in the world with a depth better than any of the IAAF Diamond League meetings so far.The competition got off to a great start with six athletes throwing beyond 80 metres on their first attempts. Local star Tero Pitkamaki led with an 85.08m throw and European champion Antti Ruuskanen also started promisingly with 84.32m while Egypt&rsquo;s Ihab Abdelrahman hit 83.63m.The 26-year-old Egyptian then took the lead with an 85.50m season&rsquo;s best with his third throw, and he held the lead until the final round.Pitkamaki threw beyond 84 metres twice with 84.48m and 84.44m before his last throw. Teemu Wirkkala, fifth at the 2008 Olympic Games, also found his best form since 2010, throwing 84.39m in round two, followed by 83.12m and 83.33m with his fifth and sixth throws. Wirkkala was third in the competition with Ruuskanen fourth and another Finn, Ari Mannio, recording the best result for fifth place in the world this season, 83.83m. Pitkamaki, having the penultimate throw of the competition, concentrated hard before his last effort. The 32-year-old Finn seemed a bit unsure after his implement left his hand, but raised his hand in the air moments before the javelin landed, knowing it had gone far. With the full stadium roaring, the javelin landed at 89.09m, the second-best throw in the world this season, only behind Julius Yego&rsquo;s 91.39m world lead. It was also Pitkamaki&rsquo;s best throw since September 2007 when he threw 90.33m in Osaka for the world title. This throw also eclipsed 1999 world champion Aki Parviainen&rsquo;s long-standing stadium record of 88.10m from 2000. <h3>More stadium records </h3> In the 1500m, Kenya&rsquo;s Elijah Manangoi won in 3:36.81, another stadium record, and countryman Isiah Koech took the 5000m in 13:08.94. In an all-Cuban duel in the 110m hurdles, Yordan O&rsquo;Farrill just edged Dayron Robles for the win in 13.29, with Robles timed at 13.32 for a season&rsquo;s best in the second place. South Africa&rsquo;s Godfrey Mokoena won the long jump (7.91m), Estonia&rsquo;s Rasmus Magi took the the 400m hurdles in 49.53 and Veli-Matti Partanen clocked a 19:35.09 personal best in the 5000m race walk.In the women&rsquo;s events, Cuba&rsquo;s Denia Caballero followed her huge 70-metre-plus throw in Bilbao last Saturday with a 65.17m to win the discus, breaking her own stadium record of 63.48m from last year. South Africa&rsquo;s Carina Horn lowered the 100m stadium record to 11.16, a personal best, and Kenya&rsquo;s Nancy Chepkwemoi won the 1500m in 4:06.90, also a personal best. Morocco&rsquo;s Salima Alami won the 3000m steeplechase in 9:28.49, which was also a stadium record, and Britain&rsquo;s Serita Solomon clocked 13.03 for the 100m hurdles win. Minna Nikkanen tried a Finnish pole vault record of 4.56m three times, and won with 4.46m while youth athlete Elina Lampela was fourth with a 4.16m national youth record and a world-youth-leading height.Mirko Jalava for the IAAF

Poland’s world hammer champion Pawel Fajdek extended his winning streak to nine competitions when he won at the Paavo Nurmi Games, an IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge meeting, with 80.71m in front of a capacity crowd of 12,000 in the Finnish city of Turku on Thursday (25).

Fajdek triumphs in Turku

The eighth edition of the Meeting International Mohammed VI in Rabat, Morocco&rsquo;s top annual athletics event and an IAAF World Challenge meeting, will have Bogdan Bondarenko, Allyson Felix and Kirani James among its stars on 14 June, organisers announced on Tuesday (19).Bondarenko will face Russia&rsquo;s Olympic champion Ivan Ukhov while James has Domincan Republic&rsquo;s Luguelin Santos and Saudi Arabia&rsquo;s Youssef Al-Masrahi among his rivals.Felix has confirmed her presence but she has yet to decide whether she will contest the 100m or 400m.The men&rsquo;s hammer is part of IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge will have the top two in the world in recent years, Hungary&rsquo;s current Olympic and European champion Krisztian Pars and Poland&rsquo;s reigning world champion Pawel Fajdek, duel for supremacy once again.Kenyan runners will be out in force in the longer distances, including Silas Kiplagat and Jairus Birech, the fastest men in the world in the 1500m and 3000m steeplechase in 2014. Both men will compete in their specialist events in Rabat.Compatriots Vivian Cheruiyot, Sally Kipyego and Janet Kisa are the main names in the women&rsquo;s 3000m.France&rsquo;s Pascal Martinot-Lagarde and South Africa&rsquo;s Godfrey Khotso Mokoena look to be the favourites in the 110m hurdles and long jump.African javelin throwers, Egypt&rsquo;s Ihab Abdelrahman and Kenya&rsquo;s Julius Yego, will be part of what should be an entertaining competition that also includes Russia&rsquo;s world bronze medallist Dmitri Tarabin and Czech Republic&rsquo;s Petr Frydrych.Ukraine&rsquo;s In-form Anna Mishchenko and Greece&rsquo;s Nikoleta Kyriakopoulou lead the list of names for the women&rsquo;s 1500m and pole vault respectively.Poland's Adam Kszczot will contest the 800m, which should be an exciting battle with Kenyan opponents Ferguson Rotich and Timothy Kitum&nbsp;; while the women&rsquo;s race over two laps of the track features Russia&rsquo;s Olympic bronze medallist Yekaterina Poistogova against Belarus's European champion Maryna Arzamasova.Phil Minshull and organisers for the IAAF

The 8th edition of the Meeting International Mohammed VI in Rabat, Morocco’s top annual athletics event and an IAAF World Challenge meeting, will have Bogdan Bondarenko,Kirani James and Allyson Felix among its stars on 14 June, organisers announced on Tuesday (19).

Bondarenko, Felix and James to top the bill in Rabat

As has become&nbsp;traditional, the men's and women's hammer events will be held the day before the main meeting at Ostrava Golden Spike meeting, which is part of the IAAF World Challenge and IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge, on 25 May.The organisers announced on Friday (10) an impressive array of top throwing talent including Poland&rsquo;s world record-holder and European champion Anita Wlodarczyk, Germany&rsquo;s former world record-holder Betty Heidler, Slovakia&rsquo;s Martina Hrasnova and Poland&rsquo;s Johanna Fiodorow, the latter duo taking the silver and bronze medals at the European Championships in Zurich last summer.From further afield, Asian Games winner Wang Zheng will also be making a trip to the Czech city. On the men&rsquo;s side, Hungary&rsquo;s Olympic and European champion Krisztian Pars will face his familiar foe, Poland&rsquo;s world champion Pawel Fajdek. Since they first met in 2009, they have competed against each other no fewer than 36 times to date, the score standing 28-8 to Pars although Fajdek memorably beat his rival to the world title in Moscow two years ago.Russia&rsquo;s Sergey Litvinov, Tajikistan&rsquo;s Dilshod Nazarov and Egypt&rsquo;s Mostafa Al-Gamal are also in the men&rsquo;s field. The meeting organisers believe that both the meeting records &ndash; Pars' 82.28m and Heidler's 78.07m, both from 2012 &ndash; could be threatened.Organisers for the IAAF

As has become traditional, the men's and women's hammer events will be held the day before the main meeting at Ostrava Golden Spike meeting, which is part of the IAAF World Challenge and IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge, on 25 May.

European champions Wlodarczyk and Pars lead the hammer fields in Ostrava

The 15th European Cup Winter Throwing in the Portuguese city of Leiria saw a host of good performances as many of the people who might be expected to be medal contenders at the IAAF World Championships this summer had their first serious outdoor competition over the weekend (14-15).In the women&rsquo;s discus on Sunday, Germany&rsquo;s Nadine Muller &ndash; under the watchful eye of German team coach Jurgen Schult who still holds the world record in the men's event &ndash; threw 65.27m to beat France&rsquo;s Melina Robert Michon, who was second with 64.75m. Russia&rsquo;s Valeriy Iordan won the men&rsquo;s javelin with 83.00m from Germany&rsquo;s 2014 Diamond Race winner Thomas Rohler, who was second with 81.83m.Another Russian thrower, Anna Bulgakova, took the honours in the women&rsquo;s hammer with 72.06m, with Germany&rsquo;s former world champion and world record-holder Betty Heidler down in fourth with 70.42m.In a rather modest men&rsquo;s shot put, after decent distances at last weekend&rsquo;s European Indoor Championships, Spain&rsquo;s European silver medallist Borja Vivas won with 20.15m.The discus also provided the highlight of the first day on Saturday (14) with Estonia&rsquo;s Martin Kupper winning the men&rsquo;s competition with a world-leading second-round throw of 66.67m, which added more than a metre and a half to his previous best. Four more men threw beyond 65 metres with Lithuania&rsquo;s Andrius Gudzius second with 65.51m, Russia&rsquo;s Viktor Butenko third with 65.44m and Apostolis Parellis of Cyprus fourth with 65.04m.Hungary&rsquo;s Olympic and European champion Krisztian Pars got the better of world champion Paweł Fajdek thanks to a fourth-round effort of 79.24m, with the Pole more than three metres in arrears.The win took Pars&rsquo; career record over Fajdek to 28-8 but it&rsquo;s a measure of the pair&rsquo;s dominance of the hammer in the past three years or so that nobody has beaten both men in the same competition since September 2011.Yulia Leantsiuk of Belarus reached 18.56m to win the women&rsquo;s shot, turning the tables on Hungary&rsquo;s European indoor champion Anita Marton, who was second with 17.59m. Slovenia&rsquo;s Martina Ratej was the best in the women&rsquo;s javelin, her final-round effort of 62.43m moving her from sixth to first.Phil Minshull for the IAAF

The 15th European Cup Winter Throwing in the Portuguese city of Leiria saw a host of good performances as many of the people who might be expected to be medal contenders at the IAAF World Championships this summer had their first serious outdoor competition over the weekend (14-15).

Muller, Kupper and Pars impress at the European Cup Winter Throwing 

Statisticians Mirko Jalava and A Lennart Julin look back on the best throwing performances of the year.<h3>Men&rsquo;s shot put </h3> The 25-year-old US shot putter Joe Kovacs became the latest addition to the 22-metre club with a world-leading 22.03m toss to win at the US Championships in July, but the arguable number one athlete in the event this year is someone who is still not yet a member of this club. David Storl, the winner of the past two world titles, had a breathtaking season with 22 wins out of 28 competitions, indoors and out. The 24-year-old German came close to the 22-metre line with a 21.97m personal best at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in London in July and had several important wins during the season.Ryan Whiting, who was impressive during the indoor season, handed Storl one of his losses at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Sopot, Poland, back in March. The 28-year-old US athlete won with 22.05m and earlier won the US Indoor Championships with a world-leading indoor mark of 22.23m. Storl, who finished second in Sopot with 21.79m, went on to win his second successive European title in Zurich with 21.41m before adding an impressive 21.55m win at the IAAF Continental Cup at the end of the season.Reese Hoffa won 10 of his 17 meetings and the 37-year-old only once finished outside the top three. Hoffa&rsquo;s best result of 21.88m came at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Zurich. O&rsquo;Dayne Richards made good progress during the season. The 25-year-old Jamaican didn&rsquo;t make the World Indoor final, but after his first ever 21-metre throw in Kingston in May, when he reached 21.11m, he found the big throws at the right times. At the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, his fourth effort of 21.61m was a national record and brought him the title. He went on to finish second at the Continental Cup behind Storl with 21.10m.<h3>Men&rsquo;s discus </h3> Robert Harting might not have ripped his jersey apart following his second successive European title, but otherwise it was business as usual for the German. The 30-year-old soldier suffered his only defeat (in addition to an unusual indoor meeting loss in March) in his second outdoor outing of the season in May in Halle, where Poland&rsquo;s Piotr Malachowski won with a world-leading 69.28m against Harting&rsquo;s 68.28m.After that, the German scored 12 straight wins, including another European title in Zurich to make it 13 wins in 14 meets in 2014 with his season&rsquo;s best of 68.47m coming at the IAAF World Challenge meeting in Hengelo in June.Malachowski produced the world-leading mark early in the season but had no answer to Harting during the rest of the summer. The 2010 European champion was left out of the medals this time with a fourth-place finish in Zurich at the European Championships. Gerd Kanter was only ninth on the 2014 world list but, like usual, there were a few athletes ahead of him who were also capable of duplicating their best results on the big occasion. The 35-year-old Estonian got better towards the end of the season and got his best result in his last competition of the year, on home soil in P&auml;rnu, with a 66.28m toss. Kanter also grabbed his third European silver medal in Zurich in addition to his second places in 2006 and 2012.<h3>Men&rsquo;s hammer </h3> There was a surprise early season world leader, and new 80-metre club member, with Egypt&rsquo;s Mostafa Hicham Al-Gamal throwing 81.27m for an African record in Cairo back in March.The 26-year-old had a little trouble getting into the groove in Europe later, but found his rhythm again in August winning the African Championships in Marrakech with 79.09m and later placing second at the IAAF Continental Cup in the same stadium with 78.89m.However, Krisztian Pars was again the top thrower in the world. The 32-year-old Hungarian won his second straight European title with an 82.69m personal best in Zurich in August. Overall, Pars competed 21 times during the season winning 16 competitions including, at various times, four world-leading performances. Pawel Fajdek started the season with plenty of throws at 78-79 metres, but the Pole hit his first world-leading mark with a personal best of 82.37m in Velenje in July. The 25-year-old then finished a close second behind Pars in Zurich with 82.05m before smashing the Polish record with a 83.48m effort in Warsaw in August at the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial meeting. The fourth athlete over the 80-metre line in 2014 was three-time Asian Games winner Dilshod Nazarov from Tajikistan with 80.62m in Ostrava in June.<h3>Men&rsquo;s javelin </h3>It was an unusual season in this event with plenty of unexpected things happening. Firstly, the consensus number one thrower of the season only placed seventh in the 2014 world list. Tero Pitkamaki was sixth in his season&rsquo;s opener in Shanghai, but after that the Finn placed in the top three in the rest of his 12 meetings during the season. The 31-year-old threw a 86.63m season&rsquo;s best at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Paris and won a bronze medal at the European Championships.The furthest throw of the season came in the first IAAF Diamond League meeting of the season in Shanghai and in the first round as well. Egypt&rsquo;s Ihab Abdelrahman El Sayed, coached by a Finn, Petteri Piironen, hit the jackpot with his first throw of 89.21m, eclipsing Marius Corbett&rsquo;s African record of 88.75m from 1998. The 25-year-old made a massive improvement of more than five metres to his previous personal best. Abdelrahman&rsquo;s rest of the season did not continue as smoothly, but he did get back to form in July with an 87.10m win against Pitk&auml;m&auml;ki in Paris. After finishing with a silver medal at the African Championships behind Kenya&rsquo;s Julius Yego, he came back to win at the IAAF Continental Cup with 85.44m.Yego also won the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow while Antti Ruuskanen surprised everyone at the European Championships in Zurich. The 30-year-old Finn unleashed an 88.01m personal best for the win and added another victory in Stockholm with 87.24m at the IAAF Diamond League meeting there. Germany&rsquo;s Thomas R&ouml;hler did not succeed at the Europeans, but won at the IAAF Diamond League final in Zurich with an impressive personal best of 87.63m.Czech Republic&rsquo;s world champion V&iacute;tezslav Vesely&rsquo;s season was far from perfect, but he still came up with the silver medal at the European Championships.But there was one more surprise to come late in the season In the South Korean city of Inchon, at the Asian Games, 29-year-old Zhao Qinggang entered the competition with an 81.18m season&rsquo;s best but broke the Chinese record twice with 85.29m and 86.50m before an extraordinary 89.15m Asian record with his last throw, only six centimetres adrift from Abdelrahman El Sayed&rsquo;s world-leading mark.<h3>Women&rsquo;s shot put </h3> Despite returning from a couple of operations in the autumn of 2013 and some new injury problems, this was another great year in the &lsquo;Valerie Adams Era&rsquo; which saw her being crowned as the female World Athlete of the Year.Even though she was not able to uphold her 20-metre-plus streak, which had dated back to August 2010, the affable New Zealander did manage to keep her multiple-year winning streak intact and her victories included wins at the IAAF World Indoor Championships, the Commonwealth Games and in the Diamond Race.Just as clear-cut as number two was Germany&rsquo;s Christina Schwanitz who won all her competitions except the five &ndash; the World Indoor Championships and four IAAF Diamond League meetings&nbsp;&ndash; where she faced Adams. Schwanitz, who won the IAAF Continental Cup when Adams was a last-minute withdrawal due to injury, was also the only one besides Adams to go beyond 20 metres.Eight more putters surpassed 19 metres during 2014 but only three of those could be classified as consistent at that level: USA&rsquo;s Michelle Carter, China&rsquo;s Gong Lijiao and Russia&rsquo;s Yevgeniya Kolodko.Newcomers over 19 metres this year were Hungary&rsquo;s Anita Marton, USA&rsquo;s Felisha Johnson and Belarus&rsquo; Alyona Dubitskaya who all are 24-25 years old and who have been gradually improving over the years.With the exception of super-talents like Adams who reached 19 metres before turning 20, this is an event where you clearly need time to achieve great distances so it is no coincidence that the top three of 2014 this year turned 30 (Adams) or 29 (Schwanitz and Carter).Consequently, we will have to be patient about progress of teenage talents like China&rsquo;s 2011 world youth champion and 2014 world junior champion Guo Tianqian and Turkey&rsquo;s 2013 world youth champion Emel Dereli who both have just started to throw about 18 metres.<h3>Women&rsquo;s discus </h3> Sandra Perkovic has dominated this event for the past three years and in 2014 she was throwing better than ever, finally surpassing the 70-metre barrier; not just once, but three times. Her top mark of 71.08m came at the European Championships and was the longest throw in the world since 1992. Even more impressive was that Perkovic achieved it in Zurich, inside a stadium in a championship setting.Despite her dominance, Perkovic did not manage to stay undefeated again. In 2012, she had one loss to Dani Samuels; in 2013, one to Gia Lewis-Smallwood; and in 2014, one to Lewis-Smallwood at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Glasgow and one to both Lewis-Smallwood and Samuels at the IAAF Continental Cup. The story of Lewis-Smallwood&rsquo;s rise to the world elite is one of the most remarkable. While both Perkovic, European champion at 20, and Samuels, world champion at 21, had early successes, the US thrower is the archetypal late bloomer. She was almost 30 before she reached 60 metres, had to wait two more years to get on the US national team and then another two years before she reached an international championship final.This year at age 34, she set a US record of 69.17m and won at the IAAF Continental Cup.Behind the quite distinct top three, it seems that Germany and Cuba are providing the prospects for the future. Leading that group of throwers born in the 1990s is Germany&rsquo;s 2012 world junior shot put champion Shanice Craft, who demonstrated consistency around 64 metres throughout the whole summer and who performed well in the major events.<h3>Women&rsquo;s hammer </h3> World records are nowadays few and far between in stadium events, so when Anita Wlodarczyk sent her hammer flying out to 79.58m at the IAAF World Challenge meeting in Berlin on 31 August, it certainly was one of the highlights of the year.Except for a loss to previous record-holder Betty Heidler in her seasonal opener in Ostrava, Wlodarczyk ruled the event. She won her other six competitions and her shortest mark of the year, 75.21m, was surpassed by only five others. Inevitably, Wlodarczyk won the IAAF Hammer Challenge handily with Heidler in second.Except for Wlodarczyk&rsquo;s exploits, 2014 was a fairly quiet year for the hammer. Russia&rsquo;s Tatyana Lysenko, who took the 2013 world title, ended her season early after just a few meetings where she had been throwing some ten metres below her previous level and later announced she was pregnant.Heidler was the only serious challenger to Wlodarczyk but the German once more was lacking consistency on the big occasion and had to be content with fifth place at the Europeans.One of the most interesting recent trends in the women&rsquo;s hammer world is the ever-stronger presence of the North American throwers. This year, Canada&rsquo;s Sultana Frizell is in fourth place on the world list with her area record of 75.73m and, behind her, there are two US women in the top 10.<h3>Women&rsquo;s javelin </h3> World record-holder Barbora Spotakova stayed away from the event, apart from one end-of-season outing, in 2013 to become a mother but still immediately reclaimed the number one position in the world. The only small blemish in her 2014 record was second place in the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Birmingham where she was surprised by Canada&rsquo;s inspired Liz Gleadle.Otherwise, it was Spotakova all the way from the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Rome, which she won by more than three metres, in early June on to the Europeans in August and then to the IAAF Diamond League final in Brussels, which she also won by more than three metres before finishing off her season with a win at the IAAF Continental Cup in September. However, Spotakova might find it tougher next year when her two previous main rivals &ndash; Russia&rsquo;s Mariya Abakumova and Germany&rsquo;s Christina Obergf&ouml;ll &ndash; are scheduled to return after taking 2014 off to start their own families.Also likely to be reckoned with even more next year are Australia&rsquo;s Kim Mickle and South Africa&rsquo;s Sunette Viljoen, who had the Commonwealth Games and the African Championships as main priorities. Mickle won in Glasgow ahead of Viljoen and the latter then took her continental title in Marrakech. Currently the top echelon in the event consists of throwers close to, or already in, their 30s, so an obvious question is: &ldquo;Are there any new challengers on the horizon?&rdquo;On the brink in 2014 were two 23-year-olds: Serbia&rsquo;s Tatjana Jelaca who was a surprise second at the Europeans, and Ukraine&rsquo;s Hanna Hatsko-Fedusova who raised her best by almost six metres to 67.29m.Mirko Jalava (men&rsquo;s events) and A Lennart Julin (women&rsquo;s events) for the IAAF

Statisticians A Lennart Julin and Mirko Jalava look back on the best throwing performances of the year.

2014 end-of-year reviews – throws

Although they were never expected to be in the hunt for overall victory at the IAAF Continental Cup, Marrakech 2014, being the host nation certainly didn’t harm Africa as they got off to a good start on the first day of action in Marrakech on Saturday (13).Returning to the stadium in which he won the African title last month, Commonwealth champion Cornel Fredericks made good use of his strong finish in the 400m hurdles to overtake Javier Culson on the home straight, winning in 48.34. It was Africa’s first win in this event since 1998, the last time the competition was held in Africa.The host nation’s strong results continued with Mostafa Al-Gamel finishing a better-than-expected second in the hammer, throwing 78.89m to place just 10 centimetres behind Olympic champion Krisztian Pars with world champion Pawel Fajdek in third with 78.05m.Africa then secured two of the top three places in the men’s 5000m as Isiah Koech sprinted away to win in 13:26.86 with team-mate Nguse Amlosom in third, 13:31.31. Zane Robertson of Asia-Pacific finished in between the two in second place, clocking 13:29.27.But despite their early exuberance, the might of Europe and the Americas eventually showed.Two-time world champion David Storl saved his best throw for the last round in the shot, bagging maximum points for Europe with his 21.55m effort. O’Dayne Richards of the Americas team was a surprise second-place finisher, throwing 21.10m ahead of team-mate Joe Kovacs (20.87m).The Americas picked up eight points in the women’s 400m hurdles with world leader Kaliese Spencer dipping below 54 seconds, winning in 53.81. European champion Eilidh Child was second in 54.42.World champion Caterine Ibarguen also lived up to her favourite tag, winning the triple jump by improving with every round. She opened with 14.30m, then improved to 14.43m and 14.52m, passing the final round. It was the first time an athlete from the Americas has won the women’s triple jump at the World Cup or Continental Cup.World indoor champion Ekaterina Koneva was second with 14.27m, one centimetre ahead of Europe team-mate Olga Saladukha.Shock loss for PerkovicAmericas then made up valuable points in the women’s discus as Gia Lewis-Smallwood pulled off a surprise victory with 64.55m. Former world champion Dani Samuels, representing Asia-Pacific, was second with 64.39m, while world and Olympic champion Sandra Perkovic was an uncharacteristic third with 62.08m, her lowest finishing position in a discus competition since July 2010.Having suffered defeats in her past two races, world champion Eunice Sum got back to winning ways in the 800m in Marrakech. Asia-Pacific’s Tintu Luka led through 400m in a swift 57.91 and at this stage of the season, few of the athletes in the field had the legs to maintain that pace.Sum did, though, and strode away down the home stretch to win in 1:58.21 to notch up Africa’s sixth win in the women’s 800m in the past seven editions of this competition.Ajee Wilson of the Americas was second in 2:00.07 with European champion Marina Arzamasova coming through to take third in 2:00.31.Americas score big in women’s sprintsAmericas bagged maximum points in the women’s 400m and 100m. World indoor champion Francena McCorory won the 400m from Novlene Williams-Mills, 49.94 to 50.08. In fourth, Kabange Mupopo – captain of the Zambian football team and competing in her first year of athletics – set a national record of 50.87.In the shorter sprint, Veronica Campbell-Brown powered away from the field to win in 11.08 into a -1.5m/s headwind. Americas team-mate Michelle-Lee Ahye was second in 11.25, just holding off European champion Dafne Schippers by 0.01.In the men’s 400m, LaShawn Merritt regained his title from eight years ago, clocking 44.60 to win for the Americas. He left his charge late though, overtaking African champion Isaac Makwala right at the end as the Botswanan clocked 44.84 from Yousef Masrahi of Asia-Pacific, 45.03.The closest finish of the day came in the men’s 100m as just 0.01 separated the top three.European champion James Dasaolu had a significant lead at half way, but it was then eaten into by Mike Rodgers of the Americas and Femi Ogunode of Asia-Pacific. The three athletes crossed the line in unison, but after a short wait Dasaolu was announced the winner with 10.03.Rodgers was given second place with 10.04 and Ogunode third with the same time.Dibaba back to winning waysDespite being one of the sensations of the winter season and breaking the world indoor record at the distance, Genzebe Dibaba had been defeated in all of her races over 3000m this summer. But she remedied that in Marrrakech by giving Africa their fourth consecutive victory in the discipline at this competition.The first two kilometres were slow as the field jogged through 1000m in 3:09.50 and 2000m in 6:19.84 but Dibaba then took up the running and covered the final kilometre in 2:37.7 to win in 8:57.53. In second, European 5000m champion Meraf Bahta chased hard to cross the line in 8:58.48.More valuable points came Africa’s way in an exciting men’s 1500m race in which world indoor champion Ayanleh Souleiman defeated world champion Asbel Kiprop for the sixth time this year. After Europe’s Henrik Ingebrigtsen led for the first half, Souleiman then moved into the lead.Kiprop kicked hard with half a lap remaining, but the Djiboutian athlete maintained his lead and won in 3:48.91 from Kiprop’s 3:49.10. European champion Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad was third in 3:49.53.Bondarenko bounces backHe may have suffered another defeat to world indoor champion Mutaz Essa Barshim at the IAAF Diamond League final in Brussels last week, but world and European champion Bogdan Bondarenko was nothing if not motivated tonight in Marrakech.Bondarenko entered the competition with a first-time clearance at 2.27m, a height at which Barshim needed two attempts. Both athletes then needed three tries at 2.34m as Olympic champion Ivan Ukhov, representing Europe, moved into the lead with a second-time clearance.With the bar at 2.37m, Bondarenko flew over on his first attempt as Barshim failed three times. Ukhov then retired from the competition as Bondarenko ended his series with a trio of failures at 2.43m. Nevertheless, both he and Ukhov achieved their main goal of securing maximum points for Europe.Ignisious Gaisah bagged another eight points for Europe in the long jump, winning with 8.11m (-0.7m/s). The Dutchamn was the only man to surpass eight metres as Will Claye of the Americas was second with 7.98m, two centimetres ahead of South Africa’s Zarck Visser.Three African all-comers’ records fallAfter winning at the IAAF Diamond League final in Brussels, European champion Barbora Spotakova had mentioned how she prefers competing in front of an enthusiastic crowd. The Czech thrower may not have had such conditions tonight in Marrakech, but that didn’t stop her from breaking the African all-comers’ record with her third-round throw of 65.52m.African champion Sunette Viljoen was second with 63.72m with Liz Gleadle of the Americas, the only woman to beat Spotakova this year, taking third with 61.38m.Asia-Pacific’s only win of the day came – somewhat surprisingly – in the women’s pole vault. World leader and pre-event favourite Fabiana Murer failed to get over her opening height, leaving the way clear for Li Ling to take the win with 4.55m, the best women’s pole vault mark ever witnessed on African soil. Another African all-comers’ record fell in the men’s 4x100m as a team comprising Kim Collins, Mike Rodgers, Nesta Carter and Richard Thompson won in 37.97, despite never having ran together as a team before today.In second, Europe – represented by continental champions Great Britain – finished second in 38.62, half a second ahead of a Nigerian team representing Africa.Americas won the women’s 4x100m relay too. The top two finishers from the 100m, Campbell-Brown and Ahye, teamed up with Tianna Bartoletta and Samantha Henry-Robinson to win in 42.44. European champions Great Britain were a comfortable second in 42.98. An all-star African team were disqualified, giving third place to Japan’s national squad, who were wearing the purple and yellow vests of Asia-Pacific.At the end of the first day, Europe leads the competition as expected with 222.5 points. Americas are second with 191 with Africa in third (164) and Asia-Pacific fourth (137.5).Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF

Although they were never expected to be in the hunt for overall victory at the IAAF Continental Cup, Marrakech 2014, being the host nation certainly didn’t harm Africa as they got off to a good start on the first day of action in Marrakech on Saturday (13).

Europe lead overnight as hosts Africa have brief moments in spotlight at IAAF Continental Cup, Marrakech 2014

It was billed as a battle of the Europeans, and Hungary’s Olympic champion Krisztian Pars duly delivered top points for Europe. But Egypt’s Mostafa El Gamel upset the odds by taking second ahead of Polish record-holder Pawel Fajdek who couldn’t get close to his world lead.Having lost five times to Fajdek, this year, Pars proved he is the man for the big moment, adding the Continental Cup crown to the European Championships gold he took at Fajdek’s expense in Zurich last month.Pars’ best effort of 78.99m came in round two as no one managed to get beyond the 80-metre line.On paper, Fajdek should have been fighting for top honours with his Hungarian rival, but the world champion, who has thrown a personal best of 83.48m this year, could go no better than 78.05m as the more consistent El Gamel claimed second with 78.89m.It was the bulkier Pars who took the early lead with 78.96m in the first of the four rounds. He added another three centimetres in the second when the bespectacled Fajdek closed the gap on his team-mate with 78.05m, having stepped out of the circle first time up.That was only good enough for third at half way, however, as African record-holder El Gamel threw 78.24m to put Africa in contention for its first ever victory in this event.Pars was nothing if not consistent, reaching 78.66m in the third and 77.55m in the fourth.But his heart must have been in his mouth at the end as El Gamel finished with 78.89m, failing by just 10cm to add a second win in this stadium to the African title he took here last month. He has the honour, however, of being the first African hammer thrower to finish in the top three at the World or Continental Cup.Matt Brown for the IAAF

It was billed as a battle of the Europeans, and Hungary’s Olympic champion Krisztian Pars duly delivered top points for Europe. But Egypt’s Mostafa El Gamel upset the odds by taking second ahead of Polish record-holder Pawel Fajdek who couldn’t get close to his world lead.

Report: men’s hammer – IAAF Continental Cup, Marrakech 2014

- Read on for English and French language versions of this story - La traduction française suit le texte anglaisFor the second year in succession, Poland’s Anita Wlodarczyk won the women’s IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge, while Krisztian Pars beat last year’s winner Pawel Fajdek in the men’s contest.Wlodarczyk ended her Hammer Throw Challenge campaign in the best way possible, by setting a world record at the IAAF World Challenge meeting in Berlin.With metres equating to points in the challenge and world records being worth an extra point, her 79.58m throw in the German capital brought her season tally to 232.52. Earlier in the year the Pole had won in Szekesfehervar with 75.53m and placed second in Ostrava with 76.41m.Heidler, whose world record Wlodarczyk broke, was one of two Germans in the top three in the final standings. Her score of 228.54 was enough to finish almost six points ahead of compatriot Kathrin Klaas.Last year, Pars and Fajdek were separated by just 0.06 in the final standings as world champion Fajdek took the spoils. But this year Hungary’s Olympic champion got his revenge, winning by more than three points.With each athlete’s three best marks in the series counting towards the final scores, Pars threw beyond 80 metres in each of his scoring competitions. He threw 81.57m in Ostrava, beating Fajdek, and again finished ahead of his arch-rival in Szekesfehervar with a winning distance of 82.49m.Although Fajdek won in Rieti, throwing 81.11m to Pars’ 80.78m, the latter had already done enough to win the Hammer Throw Challenge.It was the third year in succession that Pars and Fajdek had filled the top two spots, with Pars regaining his title from 2012. Tajikistan’s Dilshod Nazarov finished third, just 0.08 behind Fajdek, while African record-holder Mostafa Al-Gamel was further back in fourth.Since the series began in 2010, the winning score in the men’s contest has improved with each year. That trend continued in 2014 with Pars’ tally of 244.84 being the best ever.The winners of the IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge will each receive US $30,000 with prize money being awarded for the top 12 finishers.IAAF*****Wlodarczyk et Pars terminent la saison 2014 en tête du Challenge du Marteau de l'IAAF Pour la seconde année consécutive, la Polonaise Anita Wlodarczyk a remporté le Challenge du marteau de l’IAAF, tandis que, chez les hommes, Krisztian Pars a battu le vainqueur de l’an dernier, Pawel Fajdek.&nbsp; Wlodarczyk a terminé sa campagne du Challenge du marteau en apothéose, établissant un nouveau record du monde à l’occasion de la compétition du Challenge mondial de l’IAAF de Berlin. Avec les mètres lancés équivalant aux points décernés dans le Challenge, et un record du monde valant un point supplémentaire, son lancer de 79,58m dans la capitale allemande a porté son total pour la saison à 232,52. Plus tôt dans l’année, la Polonaise avait gagné à Szekesfehervar avec 75,53m puis terminé seconde à Ostrava avec 76,41m.Heidler, dont Wlodarczyk a battu le record du monde, était une de deux Allemandes sur le podium. Son score de 228,54 lui a permis de terminer près de six points devant sa compatriote, Kathrin Klaas, troisième.Chez les hommes, l’an dernier, il n’y avait que 0,06 points séparant Pars de Fajdek au classement final, le champion du monde en titre Fajdek s’adjugeant alors la victoire. Cette année, le champion olympique hongrois a pris sa revanche, gagnant avec plus de trois points d’avance. Avec les meilleurs lancers de chaque athlète dans la série pris en compte pour les scores finaux, Pars a franchi la barrière des 80 mètres lors de chacune des compétitions concernées. Il a ainsi atteint 81,57m à Ostrava, où il a battu Fajdek, avant de ne venir à nouveau à bout de son grand rival à Szekesfehervar, cette fois avec un jet gagnant de 82,49m.Bien que Fajdek ait remporté la mise à Rieti, avec un jet de 81,11m, reléguant Pars et ses&nbsp; 80,78m en seconde position à cette occasion, ce dernier en avait déjà fait suffisamment pour remporter le Challenge du Lancer de marteau de l’IAAF 2014.C’est la troisième année de suite que Pars et Fajdek occupent les deux premières places du Challenge, Pars reprenant le titre qui lui était revenu en 2012. Dilshod Nazarov, du Tadjikistan, a terminé troisième, à tout juste 0,08 de Fajdek, tandis que le détenteur du record d’Afrique Mostafa Al-Gamel finissait quatrième. Depuis l’inauguration de la série en 2010, le score gagnant la compétition masculine s’est révélé meilleur chaque saison, une tendance encore confirmée en 2014, avec le total de Pars de 244,84 le plus élevé à date. Les vainqueurs du Challenge du Lancer de marteau de l’IAAF recevront chacun 30&nbsp;000 dollars US, avec des primes accordées aux douze premiers du classement.IAAF

For the second year in succession, Poland’s Anita Wlodarczyk won the women’s IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge, while Krisztian Pars beat last year’s winner Pawel Fajdek in the men’s contest.

Wlodarczyk and Pars end 2014 season at the top of the IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge

Poland&rsquo;s world champion Pawel Fajdek got the 44th edition of the Rieti IAAF World Challenge meeting off on a high note with an outstanding victory in the final men&rsquo;s contest in this year&rsquo;s IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge with a winning throw of 81.11m on Saturday (6). This year&rsquo;s African champion Mostafa El Gamel from Egypt took an early lead with 77.71m with his first attempt but the competition came to life in the second round when Fajdek was the first to throw over 80 metres with 81.11m, which was to stand up as the winner, while Olympic and European champion Krisztian Pars came close to the 80-metre barrier with 79.82m. Pars got beyond the 80-metre line with 80.03m in the third round and put Fajdek&rsquo;s leading position under threat when he improved further to 80.78m with his fourth attempt. The Hungarian also produced efforts of 80.70m and 80.04m with his last two throws but it was not enough to overtake Fajdek as the Pole fouled his final three attempts although, with the competition won, his last effort and the very last throw of the competition attempt was beyond 82 metres.Al Gamel improved in both the fifth and sixth rounds, with 77.92m and 78.50m respectively, to finish third.&nbsp; Despite the defeat in the Raul Guidobaldi Stadium, Pars clinched the IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge for the third time in four years and, subject to official confirmation, will shortly be receiving the first-prize cheque for US $30,000.The total from his best three competitions in the challenge &ndash; in which metres are converted directly to points &ndash; was 244.84 points, the best tally in the five years of the challenge.Last year&rsquo;s winner Fajdek was more than three metres in arrears, with 241.49 points, but his win in Rieti was crucial in moving him up to second place in the 2014 standings.Dilshod Nazarov from Tajikistan was third with 241.37 points and Al Gamel fourth with 234.80 points. &ldquo;The competition was good," said Fajdek. "It was my fourth time in Rieti but it was my first win here. I feel it was important to win over Pars one week before the Continental Cup in Marrakesh.&ldquo;I set a national record and I finished second at the European Championships, so it was a good year for me but, because of an injury I did not train enough," he added. "I will now go back to Poland to prepare for an 82 or 83-metre throw in Marrakesh."Diego Sampaolo for the IAAF

Poland’s world champion Pawel Fajdek got the 44th edition of the Rieti IAAF World Challenge meeting off on a high note with an outstanding victory in the final men’s contest in this year’s IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge with a winning throw of 81.11m on Saturday (6).

Fajdek wins in Rieti but IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge title goes to Pars

The men&rsquo;s high jump clash between Bogdan Bondarenko and Andriy Protsenko will top the bill at the 44th edition of the IAAF World Challenge meeting in the famous Raul Guidobaldi athletics stadium in Rieti on Sunday (7). The Ukrainian pair &ndash; who are familiar foes having faced each other 32 times in a rivalry that stretches back almost a decade to when they were in their mid-teens &ndash; fly direct to Italy after competing in Brussels on Friday night. The meeting record of 2.38m, set by Igor Paklin in 1986, could be under threat. Bondarenko must start as favourite having come out ahead in their last nine head-to-head meetings including, most recently, the European Championships last month when the world champion added a continental title to his collection and Protsenko had to settle for the silver medal.The Rieti runway first became famous to high jump fans in 1984 when Valery Sereda and Carlo Thranardt broke the then European record, both men clearing 2.37m in a fantastic competition. The Rieti meeting will also see the conclusion of the 2014 IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge. The women's challenge came to an end in Berlin last Sunday, with a spectacular world record from Anita Wlodarcyzk. On Saturday afternoon, the day before the main Rieti meeting, this year's men's challenge will be decided. Hungary&rsquo;s Olympic champion Krisztian Pars, who won his second European title in Zurich, will square off against world champion Pawel Fajdek, who recently improved the Polish record with 83.48m in Warsaw. With both men in form, Koji Murofushi&rsquo;s meeting record of 82.62m from 2007 could be under threat. Kiplagat and Souleiman out to extend the track's traditionThe Raul Guidobaldi track has always been known as the temple of middle-distance running and this year Rieti will try to live up to that reputation once again.Kenay&rsquo;s Silas Kiplagat, the fourth-fastest 1500m man of all time with his 3:27.64 set in Monaco six weeks ago, will be looking for his third win in a row over the distance after clocking 3:31.86 in 2012 and 3:30.13 in 2013, and possibly run under 3:30 again.Djibouti&rsquo;s world indoor 1500m champion Ayanleh Souleiman will try to improve his 1:43.69 seasonal best in a great men&rsquo;s 800m race against Poland&rsquo;s European champion Adam Kszczot and Algeria&rsquo;s Olympic 1500m champion Taoufik Makhloufi, who clocked 1:43.53 over two laps of the track in Berlin on Sunday.The women&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase sees Tunisia&rsquo;s Olympic silver medallist Habiba Ghribi try to continue her late-season run of form after winning at the IAAF Diamond League final in Zurich a week ago in a season's best of 9:15.23.The women&rsquo;s 800m will feature another European champion, Belarus&rsquo; Marina Arzamasava, who clocked a personal best of 1:58.15 when she won her continental title in Zurich. For Italian fans, the women&rsquo;s 800m also features Federica Del Buono, just 19, who finished fifth in the 1500m at the European Championships. The daughter of former middle-distance star Gianni Del Buono, and coached by her mother Rossella Gramola, she has an 800m best of 2:01.80 but that could be lowered on Sunday afternoon on the fast Rieti track. &nbsp;US sprint star, and former World Athlete of the Year, Allyson Felix will make her debut on the Rieti track in the women&rsquo;s 100m. Justin Gatlin, the fastest man in the world this year in the 100m and the 200m with 9.80 and 19.68, will provide the highlight of the men&rsquo;s race in the shorter sprint. Nesta Carter, winner in Stockholm last month in 9.96, will return to the track where he clocked his personal best of 9.78 in 2010. Another Jamaican, Asafa Powell, who broke the then world record with 9.74 in 2007, will also make his return to Rieti while the field also features this year&rsquo;s European 100m and 200m silver medallist Christophe Lemaitre, who won in Rieti in 2012. &nbsp;The men&rsquo;s 300m will commemorate the former 200m world record-holder Pietro Mennea, who set a 300m world best of 32.23 in 1979 on the Raul Guidobaldi track and competed 11 times in the Rieti meeting. Last year, Jamaica&rsquo;s Rusheen McDonald broke Mennea&rsquo;s track record with 31.97.&nbsp; Diego Sampaolo for the IAAF

The men’s high jump clash between Bohdan Bondarenko and Andriy Protsenko will top the bill at the 44th edition of the IAAF World Challenge meeting in the famous Raul Guidobaldi athletics stadium in Rieti on Sunday (7). 

Bondarenko and Protsenko, Pars and Fajdek provide head-to-head thrills in Rieti

World-leading performances by Olympic champions Sandra Perkovic and Krisztian Pars provided the highlights of the fifth day of action at the European Championships in Zurich on Saturday (16).
Perkovic produced the most dominant performance of the week with a fifth-round 71.08m national record effort to secure her third successive continental discus throw title.
The Croatian won by nearly six metres, the biggest margin of victory in the event in the history of the European Championships, and was the best throw in the world since 1992.
&ldquo;The world lead and national record is perfect for me. Now I will see if I have something further in me for the rest of the season,&rdquo; said Perkovic, who improved on her own world season lead of 70.52m from May&rsquo;s IAAF Diamond League meeting in Shanghai.
Melina Robert-Michon of France reached 65.33m for silver, exactly one metre better than bronze medallist Shanice Craft.
Pars defends, extends personal best and world lead to 82.69m
Earlier, Pars won a dramatic hammer throw showdown with Poland&rsquo;s world champion Pawel Fajdek to become just the second back-to-back title winner in the event at the European Championships.
Pars led after a first-round 78.11m effort, but was overtaken briefly in the second when Fajdek reached 78.45m.
The Hungarian then responded with an 82.18m heave in round three to put the competition as good as out of reach.
Fajdek kept the pressure on, threatening for the lead in the fifth round with an 82.05m effort, the third-farthest of his career, but that only managed to stoke Pars&rsquo;s competitive fire as he closed the competition with a massive 82.69m bomb.
&ldquo;The European title is amazing, especially because I managed to improve step-by-step in every attempt,&rdquo; said Pars, who has twice improved his personal best this season.
Sergey Litvinov of Russia took the bronze thanks to a 79.35m effort in round five.
Litvinov is the son of former world record-holder Sergey Litvinov, who won silver and bronze at these championships in 1986 and 1982 respectively.
Lavillenie dominates
As expected, the men&rsquo;s pole vault was all about world record-holder Renaud Lavillenie, who needed just two jumps to capture his third straight title.
The Frenchman entered the competition at 5.65m, a height just four others managed, and then sealed the win with a first-round clearance at 5.80m after the rest of the field had already bowed out at 5.75m.
He went on to clear 5.90m with his second attempt before ending the competition with three tries at a would-be championship record of 6.01m.
Poland&rsquo;s 2011 world champion Pawel Wojciechowski took silver on count back over Czech Republic&rsquo;s Jan Kudlicka and France&rsquo;s Kevin Menaldo who shared the bronze. All three men cleared 5.70m.
Daunay captures first marathon triumph
In the day&rsquo;s first event, France&rsquo;s Christelle Daunay broke from Italy&rsquo;s Valeria Straneo in the 40th kilometre to cruise to a long-awaited victory in the women&rsquo;s marathon with a 2:25:14 championship record.
&ldquo;I did it. I highlighted a beautiful career with the most beautiful medal,&rdquo; said Daunay, whose victory was her first over the distance in nine tries.
&ldquo;It was not easy, the time shows it. I had to be there, I had to be patient. I felt very confident about myself and tactically I made the right choice,&rdquo; she added.
Patience was key in her battle with Straneo. The pair ran virtually together from the start, taking turns at or near the front as the pack gradually dwindled over the four-loop course.
About eight women were at the front at 10km, passed in 34:30, and six were together five kilometres later, a 51:42 split.
By the midway point the pace had reduced the leaders to just a trio: Daunay, Straneo and Turkey&rsquo;s former 5000m world record-holder Elvan Abeylegesse.
The latter was dropped by 30km, leaving just two to duel for the next 10 kilometres. Daunay&rsquo;s decisive move with two kilometres remaining quickly created a three-second gap, one she&rsquo;d stretch to a comfortable 13 seconds by the time she reached the finish line.
Straneo clocked 2:25:27 for silver with Portugal&rsquo;s Jessica Augusto taking the bronze in 2:25:41. All three were well under the previous championship mark of 2:26:05 set by Italy&rsquo;s Maria Guida in 2002.
Arzamasova outsprints Sharp
The 800m was a two-woman race until the final 50 metres when Maryna Arzamasova broke away and left defending champion Lynsey Sharp in her wake to win in 1:58.15.
It was a big personal best for the 26-year-old, who was the bronze medallist in these championships two years ago and has since raced to world and European indoor bronze.
&ldquo;Everything worked great today: the weather, the opponents, my body,&rdquo; said Arzamasova, who arrived in Zurich with a 1:59.30 best from 2011.
&ldquo;My plan was to run fast from the beginning because I feel much more comfortable in a fast race and I had enough strength in the finish too. However, I was happy to let Sharp be at the front and the pace was not too fast for me.&rdquo;
Sharp, who led the field through the bell and into the home stretch, clocked 1:58.80 for a Scottish record and her second major silver medal of the summer after her Commonwealth accolade.
Three-peat for Saladukha 
Following the examples set by Perkovic and Lavillenie, Olga Saladukha won her third successive triple jump title with a narrow four-centimetre victory over Russia&rsquo;s world indoor champion Yekaterina Koneva.
The Ukrainian leapt 14.73m in the second round, a jump that would hold up for the win.
Koneva&rsquo;s best of 14.69m also came in the second round in a competition in which no other woman reached 14.50m.
Bahta upsets Hassan at 5000m
In a tactical women&rsquo;s 5000m, Meraf Bahta foiled a pair of double victory aspirations while claiming the first medal of any kind at this distance for Sweden.
The 25-year-old, who fled to Sweden from her native Eritrea four years ago, dictated the pace for much of the race&rsquo;s waning stages and still managed to beat back Friday&rsquo;s 1500m winner Sifan Hassan&rsquo;s late race challenge to take the gold in 15:31.39.
Hassan, who moved from the middle of the pack to second over the final lap, couldn&rsquo;t quite mustre the speed to overtake Bahta, and had to settle for second in 15:31.79.
Great Britain&rsquo;s 10,000m champion Jo Pavey was in the hunt until the bell but faded over the final lap and finished seventh.
Child takes 400m hurdles gold
Finally, in the women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles, Eilidh Child of Great Britain held off a stiff two-pronged attack in the final 15 metres to win her first international senior title.
Carrying a slight lead into the final straight off of the ninth hurdle, the two-time Commonwealth Games silver medallist reached the line in 54.48, fending off the late charge by Ukraine&rsquo;s Anna Titimets, who took the silver in 54.56, and Russia&rsquo;s 2012 European champion Irina Davydova, who was third this time in 54.60.
In qualifying action in the relays, Germany (38.15) and Great Britain (38.26) were the quickest in the men&rsquo;s 4x100m relay.
France (42.29) were the fastest in the women&rsquo;s 4x100m first round while defending champions Germany didn&rsquo;t finish after a botched exchange.
In the 4x400m relay, Great Britain (3:00.65) and Ukraine (3:28.18) led the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s qualifiers respectively.
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF

World-leading performances by Olympic champions Sandra Perkovic and Krisztian Pars provided the highlights of the fifth day of action at the European Championships in Zurich on Saturday (16). 