Was it ever in doubt?
Faith Kipyegon continued to plunder the most revered middle distance marks in the sport, setting her third world record in 50 days on Friday (21), at the Herculis meeting in Monaco.
The Olympic and world champion has marched across Europe in the last seven weeks like a latter-day Caesar. She started this imperious run of Wanda Diamond League form in Florence on 2 June, when she became the first woman to run 1500m in under 3:50. She then conquered Paris a week later, this time splintering the 5000m record, before laying siege to the mile in Monaco.
On a hot and humid evening, Kipyegon did not allow anything to distract her from the prize. She locked in immediately to the world record pace being marked by flashing lights inside the track and relaxed into an easy rhythm for three laps.
But at the bell she charged out like a prize fighter, punching the world record into the dust with every stride. The pacing lights were a distant second as she skimmed around the track to stop the clock in 4:07.64*, more than four seconds faster than the standard her long-term rival Sifan Hassan set on the same track four years ago (4:12.33).
Kipyegon expected this performance, but that did not lessen her delight as she lay on the track afterwards, kicking those million-dollar legs in the air in glee.
&ldquo;I really enjoyed the race,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I came for that, I wanted to chase the world record.&rdquo;
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She won by almost seven seconds &ndash; more than half the length of the straight &ndash; despite three women behind her setting area records, six setting national records and 11 setting personal best times.
Ireland&rsquo;s Ciara Mageean set a national record in second (4:14.58) and moved to fifth on the world all-time list, just ahead of Ethiopia&rsquo;s Freweyni Hailu (4:14.79). Fourth-placed Laura Muir set a British record (4:15.24), fifth-placed Jessica Hull set an Oceanian and Australian record (4:15.34) and sixth-placed Nikki Hiltz set a North American and US record (4:16.35).
Hailu (6), Muir (7) and Hull (8) also entered the all-time top 10.
But none could touch Kipyegon, who is so confident of her form now that she intends to take on both the 1500m and 5000m at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 next month, and she has every chance of completing the rare double. It is one of the few accomplishments left for the two-time Olympic and world champion.
Monaco has become a middle distance paradise in the last decade and that trend continued in the men&rsquo;s events.
In the 800m, Kenya&rsquo;s Wyclife Kinyamal leap-frogged his compatriot Emmanuel Wanyonyi as the world leader to win in 1:43.22. It was a highly competitive affair as the first six men broke 1:44, Algeria&rsquo;s Slimane Moula claiming second (1:43.40) from front-running Canadian Marco Arop (1:43.51).
The Ethiopian contingent dominated the 5000m. World silver medallist Hagos Gebrhiwet was rewarded for a brave surge 500m from the finish. He produced the fastest race of his career (12:42.18) to hold off world leader Berihu Aregawi (12:42.58) and Telahun Bekele, who also set a personal best (12:42.70).
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/64bae296fd50408b7e869f97.jpg" alt="Hagos Gebrhiwet leads the 5000m in Monaco" />
Hagos Gebrhiwet leads the 5000m in Monaco (&copy; Chiara Montesano / Diamond League AG)
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The 3000m steeplechase also produced a 14-second personal best for Kenyan winner Simon Koech (8:04.19) as he upset his more-fancied compatriot Abraham Kibiwot (8:09.54).
In the men&rsquo;s 400m hurdles, Olympic champion Karsten Warholm took off like he was being chased by a lion, which he was, in the shape of the world champion Alison dos Santos in his comeback hurdles race after injury.
Warholm had a slight lead coming off the final bend and the race was effectively over when Dos Santos stumbled coming off the ninth hurdle, leaving the Norwegian to stride away and win in a world-leading time of 46.51, just 0.01 faster than his previous season&rsquo;s best but both a Diamond League and meeting record.
But crossing the finish line first always matters most to Warholm. &ldquo;The goal is always to get the win,&rdquo; he said.
Brazil&rsquo;s Dos Santos finished second in a still-impressive 47.66, just ahead of USA&rsquo;s CJ Allen (47.84), and will be better for the run.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/64bacf6120366cda31b2ee4a.jpg" alt="Karsten Warholm on his way to a Diamond League record in the 400m hurdles in Monaco" />
Karsten Warholm on his way to a Diamond League record in the 400m hurdles in Monaco (&copy; AFP / Getty Images)
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The women&rsquo;s sprint hurdles also produced a world lead, meeting record and personal best of&nbsp;12.30 (0.6m/s) for 2019 world champion Nia Ali as she was pushed all the way by Keni Harrison (12.31). Alaysha Johnson completed the US treble in 12.39.
It&rsquo;s rare meeting where the sprints are relegated to second billing but a regular occurrence in Monaco.
Nevertheless, world 200m champion Shericka Jackson dominated a strong field in her main event clocking 21.85 (0.2m/s) to win comfortably from Julien Alfred (22.08) and 2019 world champion Dina Asher-Smith (22.23).
African record-holder Ferdinand Omanyala (9.92, 0.6m/s) defied a late challenge from fellow African Letsile Tebogo (9.93) to win the men&rsquo;s 100m and declared his intent to claim the world title in Budapest.
In the women&rsquo;s 400m flat, Olympic and world 400m hurdles champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was a non-starter after feeling a twinge during training yesterday. In her absence, in-form Polish sprinter Natalia Kaczmarek triumphed in 49.63, just ahead of USA&rsquo;s Shamier Little in a personal best of 49.68.
The horizontal jumps produced two close and thrilling competitions.
Italy&rsquo;s rising star Larissa Iapichino snatched victory in the final round of the women&rsquo;s long jump, leaping a personal best of 6.95m to claim her third Diamond League victory of the season and press her claims as a genuine contender for the World Championships.
US champion Tara Davis-Woodhall had been languishing back in eighth place until the fifth round, when she produced her best jump of the competition, 6.88m, to propel herself into the lead ahead of the top three jump-off.
The 21-year-old Iapichino also made a last-gasp 6.81m leap in the fifth round to join Davis-Woodhall and world indoor champion Ivana Vuleta (6.86m) in the top three. But the Italian was the only one to improve in the sixth round to secure the win.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/64baf5ab31776084f7a69910.jpg" alt="Long jump winner Larissa Iapichino in Monaco" />
Long jump winner Larissa Iapichino in Monaco (&copy; Marta Gorczynska / Diamond League AG)
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World triple jump champion Yulimar Rojas fell short in her bid to qualify for Budapest in a second event, finishing 10th with 6.61m.
In the men&rsquo;s triple jump, prodigious Jamaican teenager Jaydon Hibbert led until the last round of the competition with a best effort of 17.66m, when the experienced and decorated Hugues Fabrice Zango found a little extra energy to soar from third to first with 17.70m.
The oppressive conditions did seem to dampen the vertical jumps where the most surprising result of the day was world champion and world record-holder Mondo Duplantis&rsquo; fourth place with a best of 5.72m, his first loss of the year.
Duplantis certainly looked hot and bothered as he searched for rhythm on the runway in his last competition before the world championships, but later dismissed his performance as &ldquo;just a bad day&rdquo;.
World silver medallist Chris Nilsen had no such problem as he equalled his best performance of the season (5.92m) to clinch the win. Ernest Obiena and Kurtis Marschall both cleared 5.82m to take the minor placings. &nbsp;
In the women&rsquo;s high jump, Australia&rsquo;s Nicola Olyslagers continued her unbeaten run in Europe this year, making a last-ditch clearance of 1.99m to snatch victory from the Ukrainian duo of Iryna Geraschenko and Yaroslava Mahuchikh and world champion Eleanor Patterson, who all cleared 1.96m.
The javelins didn&rsquo;t really fly either in the heavy air, but Czech world silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch claimed another win (85.95m) from Germany&rsquo;s Julian Weber (84.23m) and Trinidad and Tobago&rsquo;s Keshorn Walcott (81.31m).
Nicole Jeffery for World Athletics
*Subject to the usual ratification procedure

Six weeks on from setting two world records in eight days, Faith Kipyegon has another to add to her collection after running 4:07.64* to obliterate the world mile record at the EBS Herculis Meeting in Monaco

Kipyegon obliterates world mile record with 4:07.64 in Monaco

As the last stop on the Wanda Diamond League before the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23, it&rsquo;s no wonder so many of the sport&rsquo;s big stars are heading to the British capital for the London Athletics Meet on Sunday (21).
Every discipline boasts either a world or Olympic champion or a past winner of a global title of some sort. And most events feature a clash between several of those, perhaps the most enthralling battle being the women&rsquo;s 5000m, where the Olympic, world and Diamond League champions will collide.
Sifan Hassan is the Olympic champion at that distance &ndash; and at the 10,000m. The Dutch runner is undefeated across four distances this year, having won over 5000m in Portland last month, and prior to that winning both the 10,000m and 1500m on successive days at the FBK Games in early June.
Not forgetting, of course, that her last appearance in London was a triumphant one, as she won the London Marathon in April on her debut at the distance, clocking 2:18:33.
But Sunday&rsquo;s race could be her toughest test of the year so far as she&rsquo;ll take on world champion Gudaf Tsegay and world cross-country champion Beatrice Chebet, winner of the 5000m at last year&rsquo;s Diamond League Final, the African Championships and the Commonwealth Games.
Like Hassan, Tsegay is also undefeated this year. The Ethiopian enjoyed a stunning indoor campaign, clocking world-leading times at 1500m, 3000m and the mile. She has raced twice outdoors so far, winning the 1500m in Rabat in 3:54.03 and the 10,000m at Ethiopia&rsquo;s World Trials in a PB of 29:29.73.
But Chebet is also a formidable contender. Following her well-timed triumph at the World Cross in February, the Kenyan won the 5000m at the Kip Keino Classic in May, the 3000m at the Bislett Games in Oslo in a world-leading 8:25.01, and the 5000m at the Bauhaus Galan in Stockholm in 14:36.52.
All three of these global champions would have watched with interest as Faith Kipyegon broke the world record for this distance in Paris last month. But while all three have the potential to challenge that mark of 14:05.20, their focus in London will be to get one up on their rivals ahead of next month&rsquo;s World Championships.
They aren&rsquo;t the only global champions in the field, either. The line-up also includes four highly promising Ethiopians who have won medals at the World U20 Championships in recent years.
World U20 1500m champion Birke Haylom will be making her 5000m debut in London. The 17-year-old has shown incredible form at her specialist discipline this season, breaking Kipyegon&rsquo;s African U20 record with 3:54.93, and clocking a world U20 mile record of 4:17.13.
She will be joined by world U20 5000m champion Medina Eisa, 2021 world U20 5000m champion Mizan Alem, who clocked a 10,000m PB of 29:59.03 earlier this year, and triple world U20 medallist Melknat Wudu.
Other contenders include USA&rsquo;s Alicia Monson and Norway&rsquo;s Karoline Bjerkeli Grovdal.
<h2>Crouser and Moon lead loaded field events</h2>
Shot putter Ryan Crouser and pole vaulter Katie Moon, the world and Olympic champions in their respective disciplines, are among the star names in the field events. Competition will be fierce, too, as both disciplines feature the top eight athletes in the world rankings.
Crouser, who extended his own world record to 23.56m in May, is undefeated so far this year. The US thrower&rsquo;s shortest winning distance came in Lausanne, where his 22.29m heave was still enough to win by 30 centimetres. More recently he won in Silesia (22.55m) and Szekesfehervar (22.51m).
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6474c2d89e169e32c6ca7dd4.jpg" alt="Ryan Crouser" />
Ryan Crouser (&copy; Errol Anderson)
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He&rsquo;ll take on two-time world champion Joe Kovacs, 2017 world champion Tom Walsh, USA&rsquo;s Payton Otterdahl and New Zealand&rsquo;s Jacko Gill.
Like Crouser, Moon has been the clear No.1 in her event this year. She held the world-leading mark indoors (4.83m) then continued that momentum outdoors, winning in Doha (4.81m), Florence (4.71m) and Lausanne (4.82m) before taking the US title with a world-leading 4.90m.
The world&rsquo;s best athletes in the women&rsquo;s pole vault never shy away from competing against each other, and London will be no different as world indoor champion Sandi Morris, world bronze medallist Nina Kennedy, European champion Wilma Murto, 2016 Olympic champion Katarina Stefanidi and world indoor bronze medallist Tina Sutej are all set to compete.
Kristjan Ceh, Daniel Stahl and Andrius Gudzius &ndash; the three men who, between them, have won the past four global titles &ndash; will clash in the discus. Ceh, who leads this year&rsquo;s world list with 71.86m, was beaten into third place earlier this week in Szekesfehervar, where Stahl won (68.98m) ahead of Gudzius (67.66m).
Mutaz Barshim enjoyed a confidence-boosting victory in Silesia last weekend ahead of the defence of his world high jump title in Budapest next month. The Olympic champion from Qatar cleared a world-leading 2.36m, pushed by the improvement of Tobias Potye, who cleared 2.34m. Both men will clash again in London, along with USA&rsquo;s JuVaughn Harrison and Australia&rsquo;s Joel Baden.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/64536e1dad1f94d994d2a6b3.jpg" alt="Qatari high jumper Mutaz Barshim" />
Qatari high jumper Mutaz Barshim (&copy; Getty Images)
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Elsewhere in the field events, US champion Tara Davis-Woodhall will face world indoor champion Ivana Vuleta, world finalist Quanesha Burks and European indoor champion Jazmin Sawyers in the long jump.
<h2>Richardson v Jackson &ndash; take three</h2>
World 200m champion Shericka Jackson and US champion Sha&rsquo;Carri Richardson will lock horns over 100m for the third time this year.
They clashed in Doha at the start of the season with Richardson winning comfortably on that occasion, clocking 10.76 to Jackson&rsquo;s 10.85.
But their race in Silesia last weekend was a lot closer; Richardson once again clocked 10.76, but this time she won by 0.02, passing her Jamaican rival just metres before the finish.
Their career head-to-head record now stands at three wins apiece, so Sunday&rsquo;s race will be something of a decider.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/645548f1712382f47cab256c.jpg" alt="Sha'Carri Richardson wins the 100m ahead of Shericka Jackson and Dina Asher-Smith at the Doha Diamond League" />
Sha'Carri Richardson wins the 100m ahead of Shericka Jackson and Dina Asher-Smith at the Doha Diamond League (&copy; AFP / Getty Images)
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Marie-Josee Ta Lou will also be one to watch, having won in Oslo (10.75) and Lausanne (10.88) last month. US indoor champion Aleia Hobbs and British duo Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita add further quality to the field.
Two-time world 200m champion Noah Lyles contests his specialist distance in London, looking to extend a winning streak that goes back to August 2021. He&rsquo;ll take on world 100m leader Zharnel Hughes, who clocked a slightly wind-assisted 19.77 to win the British 200m title earlier this month, as well as Botswana&rsquo;s Letsile Tobogo and Alexander Ogando of the Dominican Republic.
World record-holder Wayde van Niekerk will start as favourite for the men&rsquo;s 400m. The South African appears to be approaching the kind of form that carried him to world and Olympic titles a few years ago. He recently won in Silesia in 44.08, his fastest time since winning the 2017 world title on the same track he&rsquo;ll be racing on this weekend.
Bryce Deadmon, Vernon Norwood and Ryan Willie form a strong US challenge, while European champion Matt Hudson-Smith carries British hopes.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/642adc3ce514eba83f3e1dfa.jpg" alt="South African sprinter Wayde van Niekerk" />
South African sprinter Wayde van Niekerk (&copy; Getty Images)
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World champion Grant Holloway takes on Olympic champion Hansle Parchment of Jamaica in the 110m hurdles. Three other US athletes with PBs of 13.00 &ndash; Daniel Roberts, Trey Cunningham and Freddie Crittenden &ndash; are also in the field, as is Japanese record-holder Shunsuke Izumiya.
In the women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles, world leader Femke Bol takes on US champion Shamier Little, Commonwealth champion Janieve Russell and Jamaica&rsquo;s Rushell Clayton.
<h2>Hodgkinson aims to end on a high</h2>
The women&rsquo;s 800m is the last event on the programme, so organisers and fans will be hopeful for a home victory from Keely Hodgkinson.
Following a superb indoor season, the world and Olympic silver medallist opened her outdoor campaign in Paris last month, where she clocked a world-leading 1:55.77, breaking her own British record.
Three weeks later, she was beaten in Lausanne by Kenyan rival Mary Moraa, but since then Hodgkinson has won the British 800m title in 1:58.26 and worked on her speed at the European U23 Championships, where she took bronze in the 400m in a PB of 51.76.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/649ca50eb13237b9d37dcdf3.jpg" alt="Keely Hodgkinson in Paris" />
Keely Hodgkinson in Paris (&copy; Getty Images)
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The 21-year-old returns to her main event in London and takes on 2019 world champion Halimah Nakaayi, Jamaica&rsquo;s Natoya Goule-Toppin, Ethiopia&rsquo;s Diribe Welteji, Australia&rsquo;s Catriona Bisset, Olympic finalist Jemma Reekie and world finalist Anita Horvat.
Elsewhere on the track, world record-holder Beatrice Chepkoech faces fellow Kenyan Jackline Chepkoech and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Zerfe Wondemagegn in the women&rsquo;s steeplechase. US champion Kristlin Gear and her compatriot Courtney Wayment are also in the field.
The men&rsquo;s 1500m features six men who have broken 3:30 this year, led by 2019 world champion Timothy Cheruiyot, US champion Yared Nuguse and Commonwealth champion Ollie Hoare.
Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics

Every discipline boasts either a world or Olympic champion or a past winner of a global title of some sort

Stars collide at every turn in London

Five-time world 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce stormed to a meeting record of 10.82 to win her first 100m of the season at the Spitzen Leichtathletik meeting in Lucerne &ndash; a World Athletics Continental Tour Silver meeting &ndash; on Friday (21).
The Jamaican sprint legend is returning from the injury that delayed the start to her season. She made her season debut earlier this month when finishing second over 200m at the Jamaican Championships in 22.26. With her performance tonight in Lucerne, she now moves to an encouraging fourth on this year&rsquo;s world list over 100m.
Oceanian record-holder Zoe Hobbs finished second in 11.08 ahead of USA&rsquo;s Kennedy Blackmon (11.11).
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m satisfied to set a meeting record in my first 100m race of the season,&rdquo; said the 36-year-old, who will be racing in Madrid this weekend. &ldquo;It was a new situation for me to come back from injury and start the season this late.&rdquo;
USA&rsquo;s 2019 world silver medallist Brittany Brown won the women&rsquo;s 200m in 22.05 in her first race of the season over this distance, finishing 0.44 ahead of Jenna Prandini and moving to seventh on the 2023 world list. Brown will be heading to the World Championships in Budapest next month in the 100m, having finished second at the US Trials in a PB of 10.90.
&ldquo;I am very happy, because it was my season opener in the 200m,&rdquo; said Brown, who was just 0.06 shy of her PB. &ldquo;I competed at this meeting in 2018 and 2022, and I always enjoy the atmosphere and the support from the crowd.&rdquo;
Jamaica&rsquo;s Julian Forte won the men&rsquo;s 100m in 9.99 ahead of Jamaican champion Rohan Watson (10.03). Brandon Carnes took third place in 10.06, but returned to the track later in the evening to win the men&rsquo;s 200m in a season&rsquo;s best of 20.09, just 0.02 shy of his PB. World finalist Luxolo Adams of South Africa was second in 20.16.
Two-time Commonwealth champion Janieve Russell won a competitive 400m hurdles in a season&rsquo;s best of 53.65 ahead of 2019 world champion Dalilah Muhammad (54.01), Jamaica&rsquo;s Andrenette Knight (54.13) and USA&rsquo;s Anna Cockrell (54.45).
On what turned out to be a great evening for Jamaican athletes, Tyler Mason won the men&rsquo;s 110m hurdles in 13.19 from compatriot Orlando Bennett (13.22). Amoi Brown made it a Jamaican sprint hurdles double by winning the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles in 12.64 ahead of 2015 world champion Danielle Williams (12.68) and USA&rsquo;s Tonea Marshall (12.69).
Rusheen McDonald was yet another Jamaican winner tonight, taking the men&rsquo;s 400m in 44.80.
Teenager Peninah Muthoni Mutisya pulled clear in the closing stages of the women&rsquo;s 800m to win in a PB of 1:58.76, improving on the PB she set at the recent Kenyan Trials and moving her to fifth on the African U20 all-time list. Compatriot Vivian Kiprotich Chebet, who finished runner-up at the Kenyan Trials, was second again here in 1:59.71.
Dominic Lobalu set a meeting record of 7:37.39 to win the men&rsquo;s 3000m, beating USA&rsquo;s Olin Hacker (7:38.10) and Germany&rsquo;s Mohamed Abdilaahi (7:38.98).
USA&rsquo;s Bridget Williams needed three attempts to clear 4.55m and 4.65m before clearing 4.71m at the second time of asking to win the women&rsquo;s pole vault from New Zealand&rsquo;s Eliza McCartney (4.65m).
Four days after throwing a world-leading 67.04m in Silesia, Japan&rsquo;s Haruka Kitaguchi won the women&rsquo;s javelin with a sixth-round effort of 62.52m. Yulemis Aguilar was second with 60.93m.
&ldquo;Today&rsquo;s competition was a bit difficult for me after throwing over 67 metres a few days ago,&rdquo; said Kitaguchi, the world bronze medallist. &ldquo;That mark meant a lot to me, but my goal is to throw far at the World Championships in Budapest and reach the podium there.&rdquo;
Elsewhere in the throws, USA&rsquo;s Roger Steen won the men&rsquo;s shot put with 21.41m.
Diego Sampaolo for World Athletics

Five-time world 100m champion breaks meeting record

Fraser-Pryce makes 100m season debut with 10.82 in Lucerne

Women&rsquo;s world indoor pentathlon record 5055 Nafissatou Thiam (BEL) Istanbul, 3 March 2023
Men&rsquo;s world U20 triple jump record 17.54m (i) Jaydon Hibbert (JAM) Albuquerque, 11 March 2023
&nbsp;
Nafi Thiam&rsquo;s world indoor pentathlon record of 5055 from the European Indoor Championships and Jaydon Hibbert&rsquo;s outright world U20 triple jump record from the NCAA Indoor Championships have been ratified.
Thiam produced one of the standout moments of the European Indoor Championships on 3 March to win her third European indoor title, putting together her best ever indoor series.
She opened by equalling her 8.23 PB in the 60m hurdles and followed it with a 1.92m clearance in the high jump, after which she moved into the lead. An outright shot put PB of 15.54m gave her a comfortable margin at the top of the leaderboard and she followed that with a 6.59m leap in the long jump, putting her on course to break the world record.
Poland&rsquo;s Adrianna Sulek had also been having the competition of her life and was close to world record pace too heading into the 800m. Sulek dominated that race, crossing the line in 2:07.17, but Thiam also ran well, clocking an indoor PB of 2:13.60 to give her an overall winning tally of 5055. Sulek finished second with 5014.
Thiam&rsquo;s score added 42 points to the previous world record of 5013, set by Ukraine&rsquo;s Nataliya Dobrynska on 9 March 2012 at the World Indoor Championships in Istanbul.
Sulek crossed the line before Thiam and so technically scored 5014 &ndash; higher than the pre-event world record &ndash; six seconds before Thiam finished the competition with 5055. But it is the position of World Athletics that only Thiam&rsquo;s mark will be ratified.
Eight days after Thiam&rsquo;s record-breaking feat, Jamaican triple jumper Jaydon Hibbert made history at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Albuquerque on 11 March.
The world U20 champion bounded out to a winning leap of 17.54m in the first round of the men&rsquo;s triple jump. Not only did he break the collegiate record that had stood since 1986, he also broke the world U20 indoor record of 17.20m &ndash; previously set by France&rsquo;s Melvin Raffin in Belgrade on 3 March 2017 &ndash; and the outright world U20 record of 17.50m set by East Germany&rsquo;s Volker Mai in Erfurt on 23 June 1985.
Two months after winning the NCAA indoor title, Hibbert sailed out to an outdoor PB of 17.87m at the SEC Championships in Baton Rouge. The mark has been submitted for ratification; if approved, that will stand as the outdoor world U20 record, while his 17.54m leap will remain at the world U20 indoor record.
World Athletics

Thiam's 5055 and Hibbert's 17.54m are now officially records

Ratified: Thiam’s world indoor pentathlon record and Hibbert’s world U20 triple jump record

La Montee du Nid d&rsquo;Aigle provides the stunning backdrop of Mont Blanc for the next gold label race in the Valsir Mountain Running World Cup on Saturday (22).
Kenya&rsquo;s Patrick Kipngeno and Joyce Njeru, who front-ran their way to course records here last year, return to the French region of Saint Gervais to defend their titles, but they will face stiff opposition.
Njeru is fresh from her victory at Fletta Trail last weekend and a runner-up finish in Montemuro a few weeks prior. She is joint leader in the World Cup rankings, alongside Britain&rsquo;s Scout Adkin who will not be in Saint Gervais this weekend. But Njeru&rsquo;s fellow Kenyan Lucy Murigi &ndash; the winner here in 2021 &ndash; will be taking part and can never be discounted.
Italy&rsquo;s Camilla Magliano was third here last year and more recently finished fourth at Montemuro. She is consistently strong in uphill-only races so will be one to watch, as will Finland&rsquo;s Susanna Saapunki, having made the move from cross-country skiing to mountain running over the past couple of years. Belgium&rsquo;s Charlotte Cotton, who was seventh at Montemuro, will also be toeing the line, as will USA&rsquo;s Sarah Carter and Andie Cornish.
The men&rsquo;s race could likely become a showdown between Kipngeno and his fellow Kenyan Philemon Kiriago. Kipngeno won Piz Tri Vertical last weekend and is the vertical uphill world champion so it would take a brave person to bet against him. But Kiriago broke the course record at Fletta Trail last weekend, and he will be keen to improve upon his runner-up finish from La Montee du Nid d&rsquo;Aigle last year.
Ireland&rsquo;s Zak Hanna finished 11th here last year, and was fourth in a competitive Broken Arrow VK back in June. Britain&rsquo;s Joe Steward had a good outing last weekend in Malonno, finishing third in Piz Tri Vertical and eighth in Fletta Trail, as well as finishing eighth in the World Championships vertical uphill race, so he will be one to watch. Compatriot Jacob Adkin, the 2019 European mountain running champion, finished 10th here last year and could well improve on that this year.
Czechia&rsquo;s Ondrej Fejfar achieved two top-10 finishes at Broken Arrow this year and will be looking to improve his World Cup standing, while France&rsquo;s Alric Petit, who was 14th at Fletta Trail and 25th here last year, leads the home challenge.
La Montee du Nid d&rsquo;Aigle (or Eagle&rsquo;s Nest) became part of the World Cup series in 2021, but the event has been running for 36 years. At 19.5km with 2000m of ascent, the uphill-only route starts at Le Fayet at 596m and heads along the river towards Saint Gervais, and then climbs gradually to La Villette. It then heads away from the road and into the trees and begins to climb more steeply all the way up to the finish at Refuge du Nid d&rsquo;Aigle at 2394m.
Kirsty Reade (WMRA) for World Athletics

La Montee du Nid d’Aigle provides the stunning backdrop of Mont Blanc for the next gold label race in the Valsir Mountain Running World Cup.

Course record-holders Kipngeno and Njeru return to Montee du Nid d’Aigle

World indoor silver medallist Adrianna Sulek will defend her title at the Wieslaw Czapiewski Memorial &ndash; the last stop on the Combined Events Tour before the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 &ndash; on 22-23 July.
For Sulek, it will be an opportunity to remember her former coach, after whom the meeting is named. The Pole was coached by Czapiewski up until his death in 2019.
Sulek won in Bydgoszcz last year with 6290, which at the time was just 25 points shy of her PB. She went on to improve on that with 6429 in G&ouml;tzis before breaking the Polish record with 6672 to finish fourth at the World Championships. She ended her 2022 season by taking silver at the European Championships with 6532.
She started 2023 in tremendous form, breaking her own national indoor pentathlon record with 4860 and then improving on that at the European Indoor Championships with 5014. Her score was better than the pre-event world record, but world and Olympic champion beat her to the title &ndash; and the world record &ndash; with 5055.
Outdoors, Sulek finished third in G&ouml;tzis with 6480 &ndash; her best score outside of a major championships &ndash; and last month she won the Polish heptathlon title with a comfortable 6152.
Sulek was the overall winner of the Combined Events Tour last year, and a strong performance this weekend should see her move to the top of the standings for 2023.
She&rsquo;ll have strong opposition from home and abroad. Britain&rsquo;s Jade O&rsquo;Dowda, the Commonwealth bronze medallist, heads to Bydgoszcz following a PB of 6255 in G&ouml;tzis, where she finished 10th. Since then, she has set PBs in the long jump and 100m hurdles, so there could be potential to improve on her score in Bydgoszcz.
Poland&rsquo;s Paulina Ligarska will be Sulek&rsquo;s biggest domestic rival. She set a PB of 6241 last year and finished 10th at the World Championships, while her best so far this year is 6013.
Geraldine Ruckstuhl, the 2015 world U18 champion, is also entered. The Swiss heptathlete scored 5872 in her last complete heptathlon, while her PB of 6391 dates back to 2018.
Belgium&rsquo;s Thomas van der Plaetsen leads the men&rsquo;s decathlon field. The 2016 European champion had a limited 2022 season, after injuring himself at the 2021 Olympic Games, but he returned to combined events action earlier this year and finished fourth in Ratingen with 8233 &ndash; a series that included PBs in the shot put (14.72m) and javelin (68.94m).
He will now look to build on that and get close to the PB of 8430 he set in 2021. He will also have the World Championships qualifying standard of 8460 in his sights, or will at least want to bank enough world rankings points to put himself in a position to qualify for Budapest.
Several other decathletes will be keen to boost their world ranking in Bydgoszcz.
Ondrej Kopecky returns to defend his title. The Czech decathlete won in Bydgoszcz last year with 8041 &ndash; his first time above 8000 points &ndash; and then improved to 8310 to win the Czech title. Earlier this year he won the national indoor title with a heptathlon PB of 6024 and finished sixth at the European Indoor Championships. He placed 17th in G&ouml;tzis with 7928 and currently sits just two places outside the world rankings quota for a place in Budapest.
Germany&rsquo;s 2017 world bronze medallist Kai Kazmirek is yet to complete a decathlon this year, but his performances in individual disciplines suggest he&rsquo;s in form to surpass 8000 points.
Pawel Wiesiolek and Rafal Horbowicz lead the domestic challenge. Wiesiolek, an 8333 decathlete at his best, has a season&rsquo;s best of 7872 and he came within five points of that mark to win the Polish title last month. Horbowicz, meanwhile, is the national indoor champion and has set a decathlon PB of 7800 earlier this year.

Adrianna Sulek and Thomas van der Plaetsen lead the fields

Sulek seeks second success in Bydgoszcz

A quintet of current world record-holders top the billing for the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Monaco this Friday (21), with Faith Kipyegon, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Yulimar Rojas, Mondo Duplantis and Karsten Warholm using the EBS Herculis Meeting to tune up for the World Athletics Championships which get underway in Budapest in less than a month.
Who would bet against Olympic and world 1500m champion Kipyegon to set a third consecutive world record in this year&rsquo;s Wanda Diamond League when she rejoins the series after putting in another short training block in Kenya in the past month?
Kipyegon went on a record-breaking tear in June, becoming the first woman to crack 3:50 for the 1500m as she set a new global standard of 3:49.11 in Florence (2 June) and then following up with an even more impressive run exactly one week later in Paris, when she brought down the 5000m world record, clocking 14:05.20.
Now she turns her attention to the mile, where her personal best of 4:16.71 was set in 2015 when she was a full 10 seconds slower over 1500m than she is this year. The mile world record stands at 4:12.33, set by Kipyegon&rsquo;s long-time rival Sifan Hassan on the Stade Louis II track at Herculis in 2019. If Kipyegon&rsquo;s progress this year is reflected in this race, then another exhilarating performance is on its way.
A strong field has also been assembled around her, including Olympic silver medallist Laura Muir (PB of 4:18.03), Oceanian record-holder Jessica Hull of Australia (4:18.24) and US 1500m champion Nikki Hiltz (4:18.38).
Monaco has become a middle distance runner&rsquo;s paradise in recent years, with world records also set over the men&rsquo;s 5000m and women&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase, and another fine men&rsquo;s 5000m field has been assembled this year, headed by this year&rsquo;s world leader Berihu Aregawi (12:40.45) and a high-class quartet of his Ethiopian compatriots &ndash; Telahun Bekele, Hagos Gebrhiwet, Samuel Tefera and Kuma Girma &ndash; as well as Uganda&rsquo;s world cross-country champion Jacob Kiplimo, Kenyans Nicholas Kipkorir and Jacob Krop and leading Europeans Mohamed Katir of Spain and Yemaneberhan Crippa of Italy.
The men&rsquo;s 800m has five of the six fastest men this year, including pace-setting Kenyan Emmanuel Wanyonyi (world leader with 1:43.27), Wycliffe Kinyamal and Olympic and world champion Emmanual Korir, in-form Canadian Marco Arop (1:43.30 this year), as well as emerging Algerian duo Slimane Moula and Djamel Sedjati, who have both run well under 1:44 this year.
Kenya&rsquo;s Commonwealth champion Abraham Kibiwot (8:05.51 this year) leads a solid 3000m steeplechase field, which also features former world and Olympic champion Conseslus Kipruto.
But the best race over barriers in Monaco is likely to come in the men&rsquo;s 400m hurdles where the Olympic champion Karsten Warholm will meet the world champion Alison Dos Santos for the first time since last year&rsquo;s World Championships in Oregon. Warholm was far from his best at that time after returning from injury but has returned to top form this season, while this time it is the Brazilian who is feeling his way back from an injury break.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/60e8b20aad7a0587741376b3.jpg" alt="Karsten Warholm wins the 400m hurdles at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Monaco" />
Karsten Warholm wins the 400m hurdles at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Monaco (&copy; AFP / Getty Images)
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Dos Santos will be contesting his first 400m hurdles race of the year but said he never considered tackling a smaller challenge as he finds his way back from injury.
&ldquo;If you want to be one of the great athletes, you have to run with the great athletes," he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m healthy and I&rsquo;m ready to run fast.&rdquo;
Warholm said the experience of &ldquo;being humiliated&rdquo; at the World Championships in Oregon last year (he finished seventh in the final after coming back from injury) was fuelling his return to top form this season.
Asked who was the best 400m hurdler in the world right now, both looked ahead to Budapest, where that will be decided.
&ldquo;If you look at the paper, I have the quickest time but Alison hasn&rsquo;t run the 400m hurdles yet,&rdquo; Warholm said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be exciting to run against him now, and Rai (Benjamin) ran fast at the US Trials, so I think that&rsquo;s why people should really look forward to Budapest this year, because it&rsquo;s quite an open competition&hellip; we will have to wait and see.&rdquo;
World 400m hurdles champion and record-holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will continue her flirtation with the flat 400m in Monaco, having burst through the 49-second barrier at the US Trials earlier this month with a world-leading 48.74.
She will test her progress against Ireland&rsquo;s NCAA champion Rhasidat Adeleke (49.20) and Poland&rsquo;s Natalia Kaczmarek, who made a big breakthrough to win her home Diamond League meeting in Silesia last weekend in 49.48.
Of her focus on the flat 400m this year, McLaughlin-Levrone said she still regarded herself as a 'freshman' in the event, despite having the fastest time of the year and being a prime contender for the world title in the new event next month.
&ldquo;The first few races were a little wonky but I&rsquo;m starting to get the rhythm of it, which is awesome.&rdquo;
She said she expected that working on her speed this year and taking a break from the hurdles would leave her in a better place when she returns to her specialist event.
&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s about reaching out, branching out, and continuing to progress so that when we do put the hurdles back in front, the flat speed is there," she said.
She is playing her cards close to her chest with regards to her programme for next year&rsquo;s Paris Olympics, but she said doubling up the 400m events was possible at some future championships.
&ldquo;If the schedule allows it, I think it&rsquo;s possible," she said. "Obviously for the World Championships this year, it would have been insane &ndash; six 400s in five days sounds crazy to me &ndash; but if, further down the road, the schedule allows for it, I think it&rsquo;s definitely something that&rsquo;s doable. It just has to give the athlete time to be prepared for the rounds.&rdquo;
She said the difference between the two events was that the hurdles was 'more calculated' because of the required stride pattern, whereas the 400m flat was &ldquo;a sprint and you are just running for your life&rdquo;.
The women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles is unfailingly competitive at Diamond League level as most of the world&rsquo;s best line up week after week. In Monaco, this race will almost be a re-run of the US trials earlier this month, where 2019 world champion Nia Ali triumphed, from former world-record holder Kendra Harrison.
However the highlight of the women&rsquo;s sprint programme may well be the meeting between the fastest two 200m sprinters this season, US champion Gabby Thomas (21.60) and Jamaica&rsquo;s world champion Shericka Jackson (21.71), with US college star Julien Alfred of St Lucia and 2019 world champion Dina Asher-Smith also in the mix.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/64a925232739636b11a97f2a.jpg" alt="Jamaican sprinter Shericka Jackson" />
Jamaican sprinter Shericka Jackson (&copy; Matt Quine)
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The men&rsquo;s 100m has an African flavour, featuring the top three sprinters from the sub-Sahara &ndash; Akani Simbine of South Africa (coming off a win in Silesia), Kenya&rsquo;s Ferdinand Omanyala and Botswana&rsquo;s world U20 champion Letsile Tebogo &ndash; but the Jamaican trio of Yohan Blake, Ackeem Blake and Kishane Thompson, as well as USA&rsquo;s Courtney Lindsey, will keep them honest.
A strong jumps programme in Monaco is highlighted by an exceptionally strong men&rsquo;s pole vault field, stacked with past global champions, medallists and current contenders, including Sam Kendricks, Renaud Lavillenie and Chris Nilsen as well as new six-metre man Ernest Obiena of the Philippines. But they face the virtually impossible task of trying to clip Duplantis&rsquo; wings as he eyes off another record-breaking performance in Budapest next month.
Duplantis returns to Monaco for the first time since 2020, when the event was Covid-affected but was still able to offer a rare crowd of 5000 socially-distanced spectators.
He said the heat and humidity reminded him of growing up in Louisiana, his US home state, so he was comfortable with the conditions.
&ldquo;I know it&rsquo;s a really good place to jump and I can jump high here," he said. &ldquo;The times that I&rsquo;ve jumped here, it has been as still as we possibly could have inside a stadium&hellip; that&rsquo;s great for us pole vaulters. It&rsquo;s a lot easier to be consistent and to find the rhythm on the runway.&rdquo;
His ambition for the competition is, as always, to win first against the best pole vault field assembled so far this year, but also to 'replicate' some of the jumps he hopes to do in Budapest.
&ldquo;In the back of my head, I will know it&rsquo;s the last competition before the World Championships so I think there is an added sense of pressure that I will be putting on myself, just because I want to make sure I have everything right and I&rsquo;m in the right place building up to the World Championships," he said. "I&rsquo;m going to try to go out there and get a sense of where I&rsquo;m at and get some extra reassurance on the track as far as the rhythm on the run and what poles to jump because those are decisions you have to make. Tomorrow is the last chance to collect all that data and just try to jump high.&rdquo;
He also confirmed that he was up for the challenge offered by Olympic 400m hurdles champion Karsten Warholm on the training track yesterday, to race him over 100m, once they have the World Championships behind them.
&ldquo;I would really like to do it and I think he&rsquo;s pretty keen also. I think it&rsquo;s very possible &ndash; especially with our two personalities. We like a good challenge and we like something out of our comfort zone too. We both want to do it just for the fun of doing another event because we don&rsquo;t get to do that. I would really like to race Karsten. I&rsquo;m not saying that would be easy for me but I think I could compete for sure.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
Olympic and world triple jump champion Yulimar Rojas adds intrigue to the women&rsquo;s long jump field as she needs to register a qualifying jump (6.85m) if she is to fulfil her long-held ambition of doubling up in the two jumps at the World Championships. The level of competition should help her get there, with this season&rsquo;s top two seven-metre jumpers Tara Davis-Woodhall and Ackelia Smith also in the field, along with world indoor champion Ivana Vuleta, rising Italian Larissa Iapichino and Nigeria&rsquo;s Olympic and world medallist Ese Brume.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/60e8b36aad7a0587741376bc.jpg" alt="Yulimar Rojas in action in the triple jump at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Monaco" />
Yulimar Rojas in action in the triple jump at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Monaco (&copy; AFP / Getty Images)
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The women&rsquo;s high jump shapes as a duel between the Ukrainian and Australian contingents, who between them have all the two-metre jumps this season. World indoor champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh and last-start Diamond League winner Iryna Gerashchenko square off against Australia&rsquo;s Olympic silver medallist and world leader Nicola Olyslagers (2.02m) and world champion Eleanor Patterson, just back from injury.
There is also plenty of interest in the men&rsquo;s triple jump, with 18-year-old Jamaican revelation Jaydon Hibbert (the world leader with 17.87m this year) taking on world and Olympic medallist Hugues Fabrice Zango and Cuba&rsquo;s world indoor champion Lazaro Martinez.
The only throwing event on the programme is the men&rsquo;s javelin, where two-time world champion Anderson Peters and Olympic silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch will take on Germany&rsquo;s European champion Julian Weber.
Nicole Jeffery for World Athletics

Faith Kipyegon, Karsten Warholm, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Mondo Duplantis and Yulimar Rojas all set to star at the EBS Herculis meeting

Kipyegon, Warholm and McLaughlin-Levrone among world stars to descend on Monaco

Revealing moments 10 to 1 in the greatest World Championships moments vote, as decided by the fans

Greatest World Championships moments – top 10

Olympic champion Steven Gardiner made a statement just one month out from the World Athletics Championships, running a world 400m lead of 43.74 &ndash; the second-fastest performance of his career so far &ndash; at the Gyulai Istvan Memorial in Szekesfehervar on Tuesday (18).
Some of the world&rsquo;s best athletes were in Hungary for this season&rsquo;s penultimate World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting as they sought strong results ahead of their return for the global showpiece taking place in Budapest between 19-27 August.
Gardiner was among them and a day after explaining at the pre-event press conference how he feels &ldquo;like my old self again&rdquo;, he proved it with a dominant run that saw him shoot into the lead of this season&rsquo;s top list.
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The Bahamian sprinter sits sixth on the world all-time list with the 43.48 PB he set when winning world gold in 2019, but he was unable to defend that title in Oregon due to injury. He returned to competition in March and stayed patient, building his way back ahead of Budapest.
Racing in hot and sunny conditions in Szekesfehervar, he improved the meeting record of 44.30 he set in 2015 to replace Muzala Samukonga as the fastest 400m runner in the world this year.&nbsp;Samukonga clocked&nbsp;43.91 in April, while world record-holder Wayde van Niekerk continued his own comeback with a 44.08 win at the Diamond League meeting in Silesia on Sunday.&nbsp;
Rusheen McDonald chased&nbsp;Gardiner to second place in 44.03 &ndash; also his second-fastest ever time behind his Jamaican record from 2015 &ndash; while USA&rsquo;s Vernon Norwood was third in 44.63.
&ldquo;I think that is my old self again out there and I&rsquo;m happy,"&nbsp;Gardiner said. "It gives me more confidence to know that I can do anything, it&rsquo;s possible. I went out there and I did what I had to do and I surprised myself today.&rdquo;
The women&rsquo;s 100m starred a first ever clash between Julien Alfred and Sha'Carri Richardson &ndash; both unbeaten in the discipline this year &ndash; as Alfred looked to make an impression on her professional debut.
The 22-year-old certainly did that, securing a strong start and striding away from the rest of the field to win in 10.89 (0.7m/s) &ndash; 0.08 off the PB she set in Texas in May. The Saint Lucian sprinter, who has won multiple NCAA titles for the University of Texas over the past couple of years, finished clear ahead of US champion Richardson, who closed the gap a touch in the final stages and finished second in 10.97. Her US compatriot Tamari Davis was third in 11.02.
&ldquo;A lot of people would say it is a surprise result, but I felt the power and I knew I could do it,&rdquo; said Alfred, who next competes in the 200m at the Diamond League in Monaco. &ldquo;I could not be in any better shape one month before the World Championships.&rdquo;
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Shericka Jackson secured another win as she continues her journey towards her world title defence in Budapest. The Jamaican clocked 22.02 (1.0m/s) in the 200m to triumph ahead of Ireland&rsquo;s Rhasidat Adeleke, also making her professional debut, who came close to her PB with 22.36. Anthonique Strachan was third in 22.45.
The men&rsquo;s 200m closed the programme and Dominican Republic&rsquo;s Alexander Ogando dipped under 20 seconds to pip USA&rsquo;s Erriyon Knighton &ndash; 19.99 to 20.05 (1.1m/s). Jamaica&rsquo;s Andrew Hudson finished third in 20.36.
There was a first 100m win of the season for Jamaica&rsquo;s 2011 world champion Yohan Blake as he clocked 10.04 (0.1m/s) to lead a Jamaican top three ahead of Ackeem Blake (10.09) and Rohan Watson (10.10).
Nigeria&rsquo;s world champion and world record-holder Tobi Amusan showed her consistency in the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles, following up her win in 12.34 at Sunday&rsquo;s&nbsp;Diamond League meeting in Silesia with a 12.35 (-0.5m/s) winning performance in Szekesfehervar. She held off 2019 world champion Nia Ali, who clocked 12.41, while her US compatriot Alaysha Johnson was third in 12.50.
USA&rsquo;s Daniel Roberts edged Jamaica&rsquo;s Olympic champion Hansle Parchment and Tyler Mason to win the men&rsquo;s 110m hurdles, dipping over the finish line in 13.12 (0.5m/s) to his rivals&rsquo; matching time of 13.14.
Andrenette Knight started strongly in the women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles and she held on to turn the tables on national champion Janieve Russell and lead a Jamaican top four. Knight &ndash; runner-up to Russell at the Jamaican Championships earlier this month &ndash; improved her PB to 53.26 to win this time, with Russell second in 53.72 and Rushell Clayton third in 53.79. World bronze medallist Sada Williams cruised to victory in the women&rsquo;s 400m, the Barbadian sprinter striding over the finish in 50.34 ahead of Romania&rsquo;s Andrea Miklos in 50.80 and Austria's Susanne Gogl-Walli in a PB of 50.87.
World record-holder Ryan Crouser continued his dominance in the men&rsquo;s shot put, throwing 22.51m to win by almost half a metre. That mark came in the fourth round, with three of his other valid throws also beyond 22.40m.
His US compatriot Joe Kovacs, competing in front of some of his Hungarian family, took an early lead with 22.06m in the opening round but Crouser threw 22.42m on his second attempt for a lead he wouldn&rsquo;t relinquish. That opener ended up being Kovacs&rsquo; best and he finished second, with New Zealand&rsquo;s Tom Walsh third with 21.85m.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/64b78f975652a8392bee4d45.jpg" alt="Shot put winner Ryan Crouser in Szekesfehervar" />
Shot put winner Ryan Crouser in Szekesfehervar (&copy; Thiago Ribeiro)
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World champion Kristjan Ceh and Olympic champion Daniel Stahl were tied on 14 career wins apiece head of their contest in Szekesfehervar but now it&rsquo;s Stahl who holds the advantage as he thew 68.98m to win the men&rsquo;s discus ahead of Andrius Gudzius (67.66m) and Ceh (67.60m).
Three days after his European U23 title win in Espoo, Mykhaylo Kokhan maintained his unbeaten year with a 79.37m season&rsquo;s best &ndash; his farthest throw in two years &ndash; to win the men&rsquo;s hammer.
The 22-year-old, who set his PB of 80.78m to triumph in Szekesfehervar in 2021, surpassed 76 metres with all six of his attempts, winning by more than a metre ahead of Olympic champion Wojciech Nowicki (77.89m) and home favourite Bence Halasz (77.82m). Ukraine&rsquo;s Kokhan backed up his winning mark from the fifth round with throws of 78.90m in the final round and 78.61m in the fourth.
Just 5cm separated Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou and 2019 world champion Tajay Gayle in the men&rsquo;s long jump, as&nbsp;Tentoglou prevailed with 8.29m in the last round ahead of Gayle's 8.24m from round four.
Serbia&rsquo;s Milica Gardasevic soared to top spot in the women&rsquo;s long jump, leaping 6.80m to win ahead of Nigeria&rsquo;s world silver medallist Ese Brume and Hungarian champion Petra Banhidi-Farkas. Gardasevic leapt 6.71m in the second round and that would have been enough &ndash; just &ndash; for her to triumph ahead of Brume with 6.69m from the same round. But the Serbian champion went even farther in the final round to consolidate her victory. Banhidi-Farkas&rsquo; best was 6.66m from the third round.
Nelly Chepchirchir broke the meeting record to win the women&rsquo;s 1500m, claiming a convincing victory in 4:00.18 ahead of her compatriot Brenda Chebet in a 4:01.25 PB in a repeat of the Kenyan World Championships Trials top two. Uganda&rsquo;s Winnie Nanyondo finished third in 4:01.96.
Australia&rsquo;s Peter Bol and Gabriel Tual of France were locked in battle in the closing stages of the men&rsquo;s 800m &ndash; Tual having taken over when the pacemaker stepped off at 600m but Bol readying himself to cover the move. As Tual forged ahead, Bol &ndash; who recently lost his Oceanian record-holder to his training partner Joseph Deng &ndash; stayed close and managed to edge ahead at the finish, winning in 1:44.48 to Tual&rsquo;s 1:44.55. USA&rsquo;s Clayton Murphy was third in 1:45.53 and Deng, who ran 1:43.99 in France earlier this month, finished seventh.
Morocco&rsquo;s Mohamed Tindouft won a tactical men&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase, clocking 8:15.73 just two days after another 8:15 performance at the Diamond League meeting in Silesia. To the fore of a large group at the bell, Tindouft kicked to string the field out for the first time. He was chased by Ethiopia&rsquo;s world U20 silver medallist Samuel Firewu, who finished second in a PB of 8:16.40, and Uganda&rsquo;s Leonard Chemutai, third in a PB of 8:17.14.
Jess Whittington for World Athletics

Olympic champion Steven Gardiner made a statement just one month out from the World Athletics Championships, running a world 400m lead of 43.74 at the Gyulai Istvan Memorial

Gardiner strikes with world 400m lead in Szekesfehervar

To mark next month&rsquo;s World Athletics Championships Budapest 23, Hungary&rsquo;s premier one-day track &amp; field meeting &ndash; the Gyulai Istvan Memorial &ndash; has been awarded the World Athletics Heritage Plaque.
This year&rsquo;s edition of Hungary&rsquo;s World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting takes place today (18) at the Bregyo Athletic Center in Szekesfehervar.
The plaque is the second to be awarded to Hungary this year. At the opening of the MOWA Heritage Exhibition in Budapest on 14 April, <a href="https://worldathletics.org/heritage/plaque/news/mihaly-igloi-heritage-plaque" target="_blank" rel="noopener">coaching great Mihaly Igloi was honoured in the posthumous category of &lsquo;Legend&rsquo;</a>. The plaque was announced by World Athletics CEO Jon Ridgeon, who presented the award to Miklos Gyulai, President of the Hungarian Athletics Association, for their safe keeping until a permanent location for its display is agreed.
The <a href="https://worldathletics.org/heritage/plaque" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Athletics Heritage Plaque</a> is a location-based recognition, awarded for an outstanding contribution to the worldwide history and development of the sport of track and field athletics and of out-of-stadia athletics disciplines such as cross country, mountain, road, trail and ultra-running, and race walking.
The Gyulai Istvan Memorial, which is a member of the annual Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix series, was founded in 2011, and because of its young age would superficially seem to be an unusual recipient of a heritage award.
However, the meeting is linked to two of the most influential figures in Hungarian athletics history and has been an important engine for the development of the sport in Hungary since its creation.
The Memorial is the successor of the world-famous Budapest Grand Prix of the 1980s and was created in memory of Istvan Gyulai (1943-2006), annually celebrating the sporting legacy of the 1964 Olympic sprinter who was a 28-time Hungarian athletics champion.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/64b5ae256919170aaa5d1ec8.jpg" alt="Istvan Gyulai in action" />
Istvan Gyulai in action (&copy; Gyulai Istvan Memorial)
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Gyulai, a written and broadcast sports journalist and commentator, was Head of Sport of Hungarian Television (MTV). An IAAF Council Member from 1984 to 2001, he later served as the General Secretary of both the IAAF (1991-2006) and the International Sports Press Association from 1989 to 1992. He was also Chairman of the IAAF Press Commission from 1991 to 2003 and Vice President of Hungarian Athletics Association from 1991 to 2001. Gyulai was appointed Honorary Life President of the Hungarian Athletics Federation in 2001.
Every year the athlete with the best result at the Gyulai Istvan Memorial, as calculated by the World Athletics Scoring Tables, receives the Dr. Bojidar Spiriev Trophy.
The award is made in memory of Dr. Bojidar Spiriev who four decades ago invented the scoring tables which serve as a basis for the current World Athletics World Rankings. Each year the trophy is presented by Attila Spiriev, son of Dr. Bojidar Spiriev and sports director of the Gyulai Istvan Memorial&nbsp;&ndash; Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix.
The World Athletics competition permit for the Gyulai Istvan Memorial is annually awarded to the Hungarian Athletics Association. Appropriately, it will be Istvan&rsquo;s oldest son Miklos, the association&rsquo;s president, who will receive the plaque during the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23. A permanent location for the plaque has yet to be decided.
The plaque, which has been bestowed in the category of &lsquo;Competition&rsquo;, is the 87th plaque to have been awarded worldwide since the creation of the World Athletics Plaque was announced by World Athletics President Sebastian Coe at a World Athletics Heritage Night in Monaco in December 2018.
Chris Turner for World Athletics Heritage

To mark next month’s World Athletics Championships Budapest 23, Hungary’s premier one-day track & field meeting – the Gyulai Istvan Memorial – has been awarded the World Athletics Heritage Plaque.

Gyulai Istvan Memorial recognised with Heritage Plaque

The World Athletics Continental Tour Gold series continues on Tuesday (18) with the Gyulai Istvan Memorial in Szekesfehervar.
World champions Shericka Jackson, Ryan Crouser, Tobi Amusan and Kristjan Ceh are <a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-continental-tour/news/szekesfehervar-gyulai-istvan-memorial-ceh-jackson-richardson-crouser" target="_blank" rel="noopener">among the athletes competing in Hungary</a>, one month out from the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
Here&rsquo;s how you can follow the action. 
<h2>Follow and watch</h2>
<a href="https://gyulaimemorial.hu/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Timetable and start lists</a> | <a href="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/document/64b590e4ba533483a87a97c1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Media information sheets and athlete biographies</a>
A two-hour live stream of the meeting, on Tuesday 18 July, will be available in a number of territories via the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/worldathletics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Athletics YouTube channel</a>. The live stream will start at 17:15 local time, CEST (15:15 GMT, 16:15 BST). 
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/L_IRJI1t9bo" width="100%" height="475" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
 The YouTube stream will be geoblocked in the following territories: Angola, Anguilla, Antigua &amp; Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bolivia, Bosnia &amp; Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Caribbean Netherlands, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Comoros, Congo - Brazzaville, Congo - Kinshasa, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cura&ccedil;ao, Czechia, C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Ivoire, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Finland, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Macao, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Mozambique, Namibia, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Rwanda, Senegal, Serbia (&amp; Kosovo), Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, St. Barth&eacute;lemy, St. Kitts &amp; Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Martin, St. Vincent &amp; Grenadines, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, S&atilde;o Tom&eacute; &amp; Pr&iacute;ncipe, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad &amp; Tobago, Turks &amp; Caicos Islands, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Zambia, Zimbabwe
 Coverage of the meeting will be available in the territories listed below. Be sure to check local listings - some broadcasts may be live while others will consist of highlights.
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border-color: #333333; border-style: solid; height: 837px; width: 80%;" border="1" width="80%" cellpadding="2">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Super Sport (GSL1 / LIYU / SSME / VR3 / VR3A)</td>
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Congo DR, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 89px;">
<td style="height: 89px;" valign="top">Flow Sports</td>
<td style="height: 89px;" valign="top">Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadaloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Saint Barthelemy, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Saint Martin, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">DirecTV (VC 618/1618)</td>
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">T Sports (TV and digital)</td>
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Bangladesh</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Arena Sport (AP3)</td>
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Bosnia Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">ESPN (Star+)</td>
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Brazil, Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">SPOTV (SPOTV2)</td>
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Brunei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">CBC (digital channels)</td>
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Canada</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Arena Sport (AS1)</td>
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Croatia</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Czech TV (live on ceskatelevize.cz/sport and from 22:30 CEST on CT Sport)</td>
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Czech Republic</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Viaplay</td>
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Denmark</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">MTV (CMore Sport 1)</td>
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Finland</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Cosmote (COSMOTE Sport7HD)</td>
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Greece</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">MTVA</td>
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Hungary</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Viaplay</td>
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Iceland</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px; vertical-align: top;">Viacom18 (Sports18 - 1 + Sports18 - 1 HD and JioCinema)&nbsp;</td>
<td style="height: 22px; vertical-align: top;">India</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Sport 5 (5PLUS)</td>
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Israel</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Sky (Sky Sport Arena)</td>
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Italy</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Ziggo Sport (Ziggo Sport &amp; Ziggo Sport Select)</td>
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Netherlands</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Viaplay (V sport + and Viaplay)</td>
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Norway</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Polsat (Polsat Sport)</td>
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Poland</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">SPORT.TV (SPORT.TV6)</td>
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Portugal</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Match TV (ARENA)</td>
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Russia</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">JOJ TV (TV JOJ Sport)</td>
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Slovakia</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Arena Sport (AS1)</td>
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Slovenia</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">TVE (live on RTVE Play and delayed on Teledeporte)</td>
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Spain</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Viaplay (Viasat Sport Extra)</td>
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Sweden</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Swiss Sport TV</td>
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Switzerland</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">ELTA (ELTA SPORTS 2)</td>
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Taiwan</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Poverkhnost (Sport 1)</td>
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Ukraine</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">Viaplay (Viaplay Sports 1)</td>
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">United Kingdom</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top"><a href="https://flosports.link/3MUjYtv" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FloSports</a> (FloTrack / MileSplit)</td>
<td style="height: 22px;" valign="top">USA</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;
<h2>Social media</h2>
- World Athletics: <a href="https://twitter.com/WorldAthletics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/WorldAthletics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/worldathletics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a>&nbsp;| <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@worldathletics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TikTok</a> - Gyulai Istvan Memorial: <a href="https://gyulaimemorial.hu/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website</a> |&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/gyulaimemorial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/gyulaimemorial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/gyulaimemorial/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a>
&nbsp;

Catch all the action from the Gyulai Istvan Memorial

How to follow and watch the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Szekesfehervar

After the previous day&rsquo;s Piz Tri Vertical, where both of the course records were broken, the excitement continued at the Fletta Trail on Sunday (16) in Malonno, where Joyce Njeru and Philemon Kiriago took top honours to bank valuable points in the Valsir Mountain Running World Cup.
At 21km long and with 1,100m of ascent, the Fletta Trail is a fast course with long, runnable ascents and descents. Starting in Malonno (525m) the runners climb steadily for 4km up to 960m, before heading downhill for a kilometre, then climbing again up to the highest point of the course at 1,271m. Then begins the fast and furious 7km descent all the way back to Malonno.
Conditions were already warm &ndash; approaching 32C as the race progressed &ndash; as the women&rsquo;s race set off, and initially it looked like it could be a carbon copy of yesterday&rsquo;s Piz Tri Vertical, with Andrea Mayr striking out for the front from the start. She slowly carved out a lead on the first long uphill, just as she had on the vertical uphill race yesterday, but she was chased initially by Britain&rsquo;s Scout Adkin and Njeru.
Njeru never fully lost touch with Mayr on the uphill, while Adkin, Romania&rsquo;s Monica Florea, Finland&rsquo;s Susanna Saapunki, and Kenyan duo Philaries Kisang and Lucy Murigi were relatively close together chasing the lead duo.
By the highest point on the course, Mayr had built up a significant lead over Njeru, while the race for third was still open with six athletes in with a chance. Njeru saved her effort for the descent back to the finish, and she was the first athlete to reach the streets of Malonno.
The Kenyan won in 1:39:05, 40 seconds ahead of Mayr. Kisang completed the podium in 1:41:13 with Florea fourth and Adkin fifth.
Like the women&rsquo;s contest, the men&rsquo;s race was stacked with former winners, a world champion and many other strong contenders, including four of the top five finishers from yesterday&rsquo;s Piz Tri Vertical.
From the start, Philemon Kiriago &ndash; the runner-up at the Piz Tri Vertical &ndash; seemed determined to better his second place from 2022 and he struck out in the lead. He was chased hard by Germany&rsquo;s Filimon Abraham, Sylvain Cachard of France, and an ever-changing chase group a bit further back.
On the long final descent, Kiriago stretched his lead from 30 seconds to almost three minutes by the time he emerged on the streets of Malonno. He crossed the line in a course record of 1:24:22, achieving the target he had set himself going into the race.
Abraham held on to take second place in 1:27:14, but perhaps the biggest surprise came from Italy&rsquo;s Cesare Maestri, who worked his way steadily up to third place in 1:28:49. Cachard was fourth and Filosi finished fifth.
After a double header weekend, with many athletes taking part in both races, some athletes have added significantly to their World Cup points. Kiriago, with his second place yesterday and first place today, shoots to the top of the men&rsquo;s World Cup standings with 90 points. Adkin adds a second and a fifth place to her tally, and now sits in the joint lead of the women&rsquo;s competition with Joyce Njeru, whose fifth and first also give her a total of 110 points. Andrea Mayr&rsquo;s highly successful weekend puts her just behind Adkin and Njeru, alongside Anna Gibson on 90 points.
Kirsty Reade (WMRA) for World Athletics
<h3>Leading results</h3>
Women 1 Joyce Njeru (KEN) 1:39:05 2 Andrea Mayr (AUT) 1:39:45 3 Philaries Kisang (KEN) 1:41:13 4 Monica Florea (ROU) 1:43:04 5 Scout Adkin (GBR) 1:43:24
Men 1 Philemon Kiriago (KEN) 1:24:22 2 Filimon Abraham (GER) 1:27:14 3 Cesare Maestri (ITA) 1:28:49 4 Sylvain Cachard (FRA) 1:29:14 5 Marco Filosi (ITA) 1:29:29

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