Four meeting records tumble in Hengelo

In perfect conditions and with enthusiastic crowds, four meeting records fell at the AA-Drink FBK Games as Hengelo hosted the sixth leg of the IAAF World Challenge series on Sunday (8).

World triple jump champion Caterine Ibarguen, 2008 Olympic 100m silver medallist Richard Thompson, world indoor high jump bronze medallist Andriy Protsenko and world 100m hurdles finalist Queen Harrison were the meeting record-breakers, while Cornelius Kangogo clocked a world-leading time in the 3000m.

The meeting also featured victories from the likes of three-time world discus champion Robert Harting and pole vault world record-holder Renaud Lavillenie, while Olympic decathlon champion Ashton Eaton smashed his personal best in the 400m hurdles, his chosen event for 2014.

Ibarguen keeps on winning

Caterine Ibarguen’s last loss in the triple jump came when she took the silver medal at the 2012 Olympic Games. Having lasted the entire 2013 season undefeated and leaping a world-leading 14.87m earlier this year, for a brief moment it looked as though her run would come to an end in Hengelo.

The Colombian led at halfway with 14.24m, but Jamaica’s Kimberly Williams leapt four centimetres farther in the fifth round, only to see Ibarguen respond straight away with 14.31m. Williams then flew out to 14.56m on her final attempt to break the meeting record and regain the lead, but once again Ibarguen bounced back with the final jump of the competition, leaping 14.63m. Poland’s Anna Jagaciak was third with 14.20m.

In his first competition since clocking a heavily wind-assisted 9.74, Trinidad and Tobago’s Richard Thompson broke the 100m meeting record with 9.95, aided by a useful 1.4m/s following breeze. It was his fastest wind-legal performance in the 100m since setting the national record of 9.85 in 2011.

In second place, British youngster Chijindu Ujah improved his PB to 9.96 for a European age-20 best and UK under-23 record. Jason Rogers of St Kitts and Nevis was third in 10.06.

Another meeting record was broken in the men’s high jump, where Ukraine’s Andriy Protsenko jumped an outdoor PB of 2.33m. Russia’s Aleksey Dmitrik was second with 2.29m and Zhang Guowei third with 2.26m.

The other meeting record came from USA’s Queen Harrison in the 100m hurdles. With a near-flawless race, she clocked 12.56 (0.9m/s) – the second-fastest performance of her career – with a big lead over world bronze medallist Tiffany Porter (12.87). Jacquelyn Coward finishing third in 12.90.

Revenge for Harting

Last year in Hengelo, Piotr Malachowski ended Harting’s 35-meeting winning streak in the discus with a Polish record and world-leading mark of 71.84m. But this year Harting was on top, throwing a season’s best of 68.47m as Malachowski settled for second place with 67.07m.

Having broken the Belgian record earlier this year with 64.32m, Philip Milanov added almost two metres to that mark with 66.02m for third place.

Renaud Lavillenie was one of the big stars at this meeting and he did not disappoint. While all the other pole vaulters were packing away their poles, Lavillenie was busy clearing his winning height of 5.80m.

The Olympic champion then had the bar raised to a would-be meeting record of 5.91m, but the windy conditions didn’t help him and he failed three times.

With a last 400m of 56.02 and a tremendous sprint against Augustine Choge, 20-year-old Cornelius Kangogo won the 3000m in a world-leading time of 7:41.27.

Choge finished in 7:41.57 and US veteran Bernard Lagat was third in 7:41.94. The victory earned Kangogo the Haile Gebrselassie Trophy, an honour named after the Ethiopian legend who set three world records on the Hengelo track.

Hassan delights home crowd

Sifan Hassan didn’t disappoint the home crowd and ran a bold race in the 1500m, finishing in 4:01.79, just two seconds outside her recent Dutch record of 3:59.38. Britain’s Laura Muir set a big PB of 4:01.92 in second place, as did Sweden’s Meraf Bahta, who finished third in 4:03.16.

Two-time world silver medallist Javier Culson ran a season’s best in the 400m hurdles, winning in 48.66. But perhaps the happiest man in the field was Ashton Eaton. In just his fourth race over the one-lap barriers, the decathlon world record-holder was second in a PB of 49.07, taking more than half a second off his previous best. Cornel Fredericks was third in 49.31.

In the long jump, Louis Tsatoumas was the surprising winner with a second-round leap of 8.25m. The Greek record-holder who won in Doha earlier this year improved his season’s best by three centimetres.

Olympic champion Greg Rutherford had a consistent series of six valid attempts, just one of them short of the eight-metre mark. He saved his best for the final round, but his 8.24m was just one centimetre short of Tsatoumas’s winning mark. World silver medallist and Dutch record-holder Ignisious Gaisah jumped a season’s best of 8.09m.

USA’s Jeneba Tarmoh ran her fastest 100m of the year, winning in 11.12 into a -0.7m/s headwind. Compatriot Barbara Pierre was second in 11.20 and Jamaica’s Schillonie Calvert third in 11.26. 2008 Olympic silver medallist Kerron Stewart was only eighth in 11.39.

Biwott and Martinez impress over two laps

Robert Biwott was the smartest and fastest man in the 800m. Hidden behind pacemaker Bram Som and the Dutch revelation Thijmen Kupers, he waited until the last 200 metres to take the lead.

Sprinting towards the finish line, the world youth 1500m champion won in 1:44.75, just 0.06 shy of the PB he set when winning the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Shanghai. Uganda’s Ronald Musagala was second in a PB of 1:45.27 and Kupers was third in 1:45.68.

The women’s two-lap race was also littered with personal bests and season’s bests. USA’s world bronze medallist Brenda Martinez opened up a big lead after the first lap, and although the field closed in on her down the home straight, she help on to win in a season’s best of 1:59.24.

Uganda’s Winnie Nanyondo was second in a PB of 1:59.39 and Cuba’s Rosemary Almanza was third in 1:59.70. In fourth, European champion Lynsey Sharp set a PB of 2:00.09.

In the women’s high jump, Oksana Okuneva equalled her PB of 1.95m to win on count-back from Croatia’s Ana Simic. Irina Gordeyeva was third with 1.92m.

William Sharman won the 110m hurdles in 13.32 (1.6m/s). Xie Wenjun, winner in Shanghai earlier this year, was second in 13.39 and Olympic finalist Lawrence Clarke third in 13.41.

The men’s race was won by South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk in 45.07, his fastest performance at sea level and just 0.15 slower than the PB he set at altitude when winning the South African title earlier this year. Olympic silver medallist Luguelin Santos (45.19) and David Verburg (45.36) finished second and third respectively.

In the women’s 400m, the top three finishers all set season’s bests. Floria Guei of France won in 51.80, followed by Esther Cremer (51.87) and Marie Gayot (51.96).

Cors van den Brink for the IAAF