LaFond sails to world-leading 15.25m in Zagreb

Thea LaFond produced the best women’s triple jump performance in the world for almost four years, leaping a world-leading 15.25m (1.8m/s) at the Boris Hanzekovic Memorial in Zagreb on Friday (26).

The Olympic champion’s performance was one of six meeting records set at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, and it came in a high-quality contest against world champion Leyanis Perez Hernandez of Cuba.

Perez Hernandez had led with 14.74m before LaFond launched herself out to 15.25m in the fifth round. The mark smashed the meeting record of 14.77m, added 23 centimetres to the PB LaFond set when winning Olympic gold in 2024, and moved her to equal ninth on the world all-time list. It also lifted her to third on the North American all-time list.

Perez Hernandez responded with 14.76m in the sixth round but couldn’t get close to LaFond’s winning mark.

“I was really trying to project off the board and get a good hop, which I had been missing for most of the season,” said LaFond. “I’m not at the weight I’m normally at and I’m not running as fast as I normally do, but I feel so powerful. My coach and husband told me to focus on the take-off and be patient on the hop. On that last jump, I just told myself to forget everything else and launch off the board. It was probably one of the easiest jumps of my life. 15.25m – just saying it sounds insane.”

Alaysha Johnson won a thrilling women’s 100m hurdles in 12.43, getting the verdict in a photo finish from Rayniah Jones, who was given the same time. Both athletes shared the meeting record, while Alia Armstrong completed a US sweep of the top three in 12.51.

There was another meeting record in the men’s 110m hurdles, where Jamal Britt equalled the 12.98 mark that had stood since 1999. Japan’s Shunsuke Izumiya finished second in a PB of 13.00, with Kendry Menendez third in a PB of 13.02. World champion Cordell Tinch was fourth in 13.17.

Multiple global champion Elaine Thompson-Herah broke one of the oldest meeting records on the books, winning the women’s 100m in a season’s best of 10.91 to improve a mark that had stood since 1988. Fellow Jamaican Brianna Lyston was second in an equal season’s best of 10.94, while Poland’s Ewa Swoboda was third in a season’s best of 10.98.

Two other Jamaican women also broke meeting records. Stacey Ann Williams won the women’s 400m in 49.48, finishing ahead of Britain’s Yemi Mary John, who ran 50.33. Rushell Clayton improved her own meeting record in the women’s 400m hurdles, winning comfortably in 53.54 from Belgium’s Paulien Couckuyt, who set a PB of 54.32. World leader Emma Zapletalova looked out of sorts and coasted to fifth in 55.82.

Fajdek wins high-quality hammer contest

Pawel Fajdek made a stunning return to form and produced his best throw since winning his fifth world title in 2022, launching the hammer 81.89m to win a high-quality contest.

The Polish thrower, who was making his season debut, had been fifth heading into the fifth round. Moments earlier, Mykhaylo Kokhan had taken the lead with 81.42m, but Fajdek responded almost immediately, moving ahead with a mark that was just two centimetres shy of the meeting record set by Yann Chaussinand last year.

Kokhan finished second with 81.42m, while Chaussinand was third with 80.92m, a mark that had led from the second round until the fifth. Bence Halasz completed a rare contest with four men beyond 80 metres, throwing 80.71m.

In the men’s discus, Slovenia’s Kristjan Ceh saved his best for last. Britain’s Lawrence Okoye briefly took the lead in the fifth round with 68.24m, but Ceh responded in the final round with 70.32m to secure victory.

The men’s shot put, held on Thursday, was won by Rajindra Campbell with a Jamaican record of 22.44m. Leonardo Fabbri of Italy had taken the lead with 22.17m in the second round and improved to 22.21m in the third, before Campbell moved ahead in round five.

Miller-Uibo and De Grasse take 200m wins

Shaunae Miller-Uibo, the two-time Olympic 400m champion, won the women’s 200m convincingly in 22.19, finishing more than half a second ahead of Liberia’s Thelma Davies, who clocked 22.76.

Andre De Grasse – like Miller-Uibo, an Olympic gold medallist in 2021 – won the men’s race in 19.95, holding off a strong challenge from breakout Moroccan sprinter Yassine Hssine, who reduced his own national record to 20.00.

In the women’s high jump, held on Wednesday, Olympic champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh cleared 1.97m to win from Eleanor Patterson and Angelina Topic, who both cleared 1.95m.

Anvar Anvarov broke his own Uzbek record to win the men’s long jump with 8.29m, finishing just six centimetres ahead of Serbia’s Luka Boskovic, who set a PB of 8.23m.

Leonie Hugli continued her breakthrough season in the women’s javelin. The Swiss thrower, who started the year with a PB of 51.98m before improving to a national record of 61.94m in May, backed up that recent form with a 61.14m victory here in Zagreb.

Teenager Phoebe Gill led a British one-two in the women’s 800m, winning in 1:59.18 from Isabelle Boffey, who ran 1:59.70.

Elsewhere on the track, USA’s Nathan Green won the men’s 1500m in 3:32.46, while France’s Jordan Terrasse took the men’s 800m in 1:44.77. In the women’s 3000m, Ethiopian teenager Ngisti Molla stayed in the race after pacing duties and went on to win in 8:44.75.

• Results