Valarie Allman, winner of the discus at the Continental Tour Gold meeting at Mt SAC (© Kirby Lee)
Olympic champion Valarie Allman continued her impressive start to the season by recording the third best mark of her career, throwing 70.25m to win the women’s discus at the UC San Diego Triton Invitational on Friday (7).
After opening her 2023 campaign with a 67.90m win in Texas the week before, the world medallist added more than two metres to that mark to achieve her sixth career throw beyond 70 metres.
Her PB is the area record of 71.46m she threw in San Diego a year ago.
Finishing second on Friday was European medallist Jorinde van Klinken thanks to a 67.05m throw, while 2019 world champion Yaime Perez was third with 66.97m.
The men's discus on Saturday (8) was won by Sam Mattis with a 67.49m throw ahead of Alex Rose with 65.69m.
World discus silver medallist Mykolas Alekna opened his season with a 68.39m world lead at the Brutus Hamilton Invitational in Berkeley on Saturday (8), his series also including throws of 67.88m and 64.32m.
His fellow world silver medallist Camryn Rogers won the women's hammer competiton with a world-leading 77.30m ahead of Anna Purchase with a 73.02m PB.
Over at the Lloyd Wills Invitational in Baton Rouge on Saturday (8), world finalist Aleia Hobbs ran the fastest wind-legal women’s 100m time in the world so far this year, clocking 10.87 (2.0m/s) in her first individual race of the season.
.@AleiaBitOfThis clocks a meet record 10.87 (2.0 m/s) in her first 100 of the season!
— LSU Track & Field (@LSUTrackField) April 8, 2023
She now holds the new WL. 🔥#GeauxTigers | 📊 https://t.co/gi5RwaH1Sb pic.twitter.com/QXTXAkW0Z4
After teaming up with Mikiah Brisco, Candace Hill and Symone Mason to win the 4x100m in 42.26, Hobbs – who ran 6.94 to win the US indoor 60m title in February – returned to the track to clock the joint fifth-fastest time of her career and her quickest ever 100m season opener. That is despite her recovering from a broken bone in her hand, sustained after setting that area indoor 60m record in Albuquerque.
Her training partner Brisco won the other heat in 11.12 (1.4m/s), a time that Mason matched in second place.
At the Trojan Invitational in Los Angeles, Olympic and world 400m hurdles silver medallist Rai Benjamin improved his 2019 400m PB by a tenth of a second, winning in 44.21.
Fast times at Miramar Invitational
Abby Steiner, Oblique Seville and Sha'Carri Richardson were among the winners at the Miramar Invitational, a World Athletics Continental Tour Silver meeting, in Florida on Saturday (8).
Aided by tailwinds, some of them above the legal limit of 2.0m/s, athletes posted some quick early season marks.
Richardson ran the fourth-fastest women’s 100m recorded in all conditions, clocking 10.57 with a 4.1m/s tailwind. Behind her, Twanisha Terry ran 10.83 for second place, while Cambrea Sturgis also dipped under 11 seconds, winning the other final in 10.98 (3.2m/s). Richardson had earlier won her heat in 10.75 (2.8m/s).
The men’s 100m finals were also wind-assisted, but not by as much. Seville won the second heat in 9.91 (2.2m/s) ahead of his Jamaican compatriot Ackeem Blake (9.93), Canada’s Aaron Brown (9.97) and USA’s Ronnie Baker (9.98).
Steiner won her first 200m of the year in a wind-legal 22.23 (1.8m/s) ahead of Tamari Davis who ran a PB of 22.31 for the runner-up spot. Christian Coleman pipped world U20 record-holder Letsile Tebogo by three thousandths of a second in the men’s 200m, both athletes recording 20.00 (1.9m/s). Olympic and world silver medallist Kenny Bednarek was third in 20.37.
USA’s 2015 world 400m hurdles silver medallist Shamier Little took the women’s 400m in 50.73, while the men’s race was won by Alonzo Russell in a PB of 44.93, improving his previous best of 45.25 set in 2016.
Ajee Wilson opened her season with a 2:02.95 800m win, while Tonea Marshall clocked 12.62 (2.2m/s) for 100m hurdles victory.
Danniel Thomas-Dodd threw 18.48m to win the women’s shot put.
