Speedy times from Fraser-Pryce and Thompson-Herah

World 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah both continued their good form at the fourth Velocity Fest meeting in Kingston, Jamaica.

Following an 11.28 (-2.7m/s) run in the heats, Fraser-Pryce clocked 10.87 (1.4m/s) in the second round to jump to the top of this year’s world list. Just minutes later, Thompson-Herah came close to matching that time as she sped to 10.88 (0.3m/s) to win her race.

World silver medallists Fedrick Dacres and Shanieka Ricketts were also in action in the Jamaican capital. Dacres won the men’s discus with 64.45m, while Ricketts won the women’s triple jump with 14.21m.

The fifth Velocity Fest meeting will be held on Sunday (9) with Fraser-Pryce and Thompson-Herah both entered for the 200m.

Poland’s leading throwers out in force in Spala

Many of Poland’s top athletes were in action at the Skolimowska Throws Festival in Spala on Saturday (8) as four-time world champion Pawel Fajdek and European champion Wojciech Nowicki renewed their rivalry in the hammer.

Theirs is one of the longest and most hotly contested domestic rivalries within the sport, dating back to their teenage years. While Fajdek leads in their career head-to-head record, Nowicki has levelled the score in recent years. Since the start of 2018, Nowicki has won 11 of their 24 clashes, including the 2018 European Championships.

But while Nowicki ended 2019 as the world leader, Fajdek successfully defended his world title and won eight of their 12 duels.

Both men opened their 2020 campaigns today in Spala and Nowicki came out on top, winning with 78.50m. He led from the outset, opening with 77.08m before sending his next five efforts beyond 78 metres. Any of his throws would have been enough to win as Fajdek finished second with a solid 76.77m.

In the U20 men’s competition, Dawid Pilat added almost a metre to the Polish U20 record he set in June with the 6kg implement, throwing 76.55m.

The women’s hammer was of a similar high standard. 2017 world bronze medallist Malwina Kopron threw 74.18m to comfortably beat World University Games bronze medallist Katarzyna Furmanek (70.74m) and world silver medallist Joanna Fiodorow (66.28m).

Elsewhere, Michal Haratyk won the men’s shot put from Konrad Bukowiecki, 21.45m to 20.36m, while 2015 world champion Piotr Malachowski won a close discus contest from Robert Urbanek, 64.87m to 64.73m. In her first competition of the year, Polish record-holder Maria Andrejczyk won the javelin with 62.04m.

Dongmo extends Portuguese record, Ehammer's breakthrough continues

On a busy weekend of national championships across Europe, there were some notable marks in Portugal, Switzerland and Germany.

On the first day of action at the Portuguese Championships in Lisbon, Auriol Dongmo added another 26 centimetres to the national shot put record she set in June. Her winning heave of 19.53m is the best throw in the world so far this year.

Three women jumped beyond 14 metres in the triple jump, and in a close contest just 16 centimetres separated the top three competitors. Patricia Mamona won with 14.26m (2.0m/s) with Evelise Veiga taking second place with a wind-assisted 14.16m and Susana Costa placing third (14.10m).

World silver medallist Joao Vieira won the men’s 3000m race walk in 11:45.85, while Ana Cabecinha took the women’s title in 12:43.01.

At the Swiss Combined Events Championships in Langenthal, Simon Ehammer continued his impressive breakthrough into the senior ranks. Having already surpassed eight metres in the long jump and 8000 points in the decathlon this year, he added more than 200 points to his PB to win the decathlon title.

With big PBs in the 100m (10.50), shot put (13.75m) and 400m (47.27), he was on pace for a big score from the outset. His momentum continued throughout the second day as the 20-year-old recorded three more PBs, including 13.73 in the 110m hurdles, and he ended his competition with a lifetime best of 8231, the best score in the world this year and just 103 points shy of the Swiss record set 37 years ago.

Annik Kalin, also just 20 years of age, won the heptathlon title with 6167, just three points shy of the PB she set last month.

At the German Championships in Brunswick, 2017 world champion Johannes Vetter won the men's javelin by more than 10 metres, topping the contest with 87.36m. European silver medallist Andreas Hofmann was a distant second with 77.35m.

Competing off a shortened approach and jumping into a headwind in what was her first outdoor long jump competition of 2020, world champion Malaika Mihambo won the long jump with 6.71m (-1.2m/s).

Deniz Almas backed up his recent 100m PB. One week after clocking 10.08 on Weinheim’s fast track, the 23-year-old ran 10.09 (0.1m/s) in Brunswick to add the national 100m crown to the 60m title he won indoors in February.

The other highlight from the first day of action came from European champion Christin Hussong, who won the women’s javelin with 63.93m.

At the Lithuanian Championships in Palanga, 2017 world champion Andrius Gudzius dominated the discus with 68.16m. Edis Matusevicius won the men’s javelin with 81.38m and Dovile Kilty took the women’s triple jump title with 14.18m (1.2m/s).

Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics