Ethiopia&rsquo;s Yomif Kejelcha regained the world half marathon record*, running 56:51 at the Media Marat&oacute;n Ciudad de Buenos Aires, a World Athletics Label road race, in the Argentinean capital on Sunday (23).
With that performance, Kejelcha took 29 seconds off the world record of 57:20* set by Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo in Lisbon in March &ndash; a mark that is pending ratification &ndash; to regain a world record he set in Valencia in October 2024 with a 57:30 clocking.
Kiplimo had clocked 56:42 in Barcelona last year, but it could not be ratified as a world record because the race conditions were not fully compliant with World Athletics rules.
The women's race in&nbsp;Buenos Aires was won by Ethiopia&rsquo;s Fotyen Tesfay who became an overwhelming victor thanks to a 1:03:57 performance.
The race was held under favourable weather conditions of 6&deg;C at the start with a slight breeze and Kejelcha set off behind two pacemakers &ndash; Uganda&rsquo;s Dillon Kipyeko and Kenya&rsquo;s Brian Kipmwetich Kipkore. Kejelcha said prior to the race that his target was to run inside 58 minutes and so the pacemakers were tasked with setting the early tempo of 2:45 per kilometre. Kipkore managed to go through the opening 5km in 13:45, closely followed by Kejelcha, while his Ethiopian compatriot Tadese Worku ran a couple of seconds behind.
Checking his watch often, Kejelcha clearly began to speed up and the confirmation came when the 29-year-old reached the 10km mark in 27:19 after a 5km split of 13:34 &ndash; fast, but still 19 seconds slower than Kiplimo&rsquo;s split on his way to his 57:20 world record.
Yet Kejelcha, who made history in London in April when he became the fastest debutant at the marathon with a stunning 1:59:40, kept on pushing and by the 15km mark the clock, after a 13:22 split for the 10km to 15km segment, was reading an incredible 40:41 &ndash; 11 seconds quicker than Kiplimo&rsquo;s split in Lisbon.&nbsp;
Boosted by those figures and taking advantage of a following wind section, Kejelcha continued flying over the next few kilometres at 2:40 per kilometre pace to get to the 20km marker in 54:04, running a superb 26:45 split between 10km and 20km.&nbsp;
Fully aware that he was the new world record-holder in the making, Kejelcha even found another gear over the closing kilometre, which only took him 2:32, to reach the finish line in 56:51 &ndash; taking 29 seconds off the world record and 39 seconds off his own lifetime best. Worku took the runner-up spot in 59:20, while Bereket Nega completed the Ethiopian podium sweep in 1:00:20.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m over the moon,&rdquo; said Kejelcha. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m super happy and right now I don&rsquo;t feel any tiredness. The travel from Ethiopia was too long and I was tired the first days here, but later I felt better and today I was full of beans.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I had planned to run conservatively over the early stages, but I felt good and decided to give it my all. This time is unbelievable; I can&rsquo;t describe it with words. I now hope to try the Argentinean meat, which has a very good reputation! And this afternoon I have been invited to watch the River Plate-Velez football match. I&rsquo;m very grateful.&rdquo;
<h2>Tesfay in a class of her own</h2>
The women&rsquo;s contest kicked off at a 3:05 per kilometre rhythm, Tesfay&rsquo;s pacemaker Gebretsadik Abraha taking command of the race. The opening 5km was covered in 15:28, with five women in contention &ndash; Nelvin Jepkemboi, Catherine Amanang'ole,&nbsp;Irine Jepchumba Kimais, Sheila Chepkirui and Tesfay.
The pace over the following kilometres increased to a 3:00 rhythm and that proved too strong for Tesfay&rsquo;s rivals who began to drop from the leading pack. It was at around the ninth kilometre when Tesfay broke away, reaching the 10km point in 30:31 &ndash; three seconds ahead of Jepkemboi and Amanang'ole. As had been the case for Kejelcha, Tesfay managed to run negative splits and, always running at Abraha&rsquo;s shoulder, she reached 15km in 45:27 for a 38-second advantage.
Over the closing kilometres, the 28-year-old Tesfay ran at 3:03 per kilometre pace to reach the finish line in 1:03:57 &ndash; the third-fastest performance of her career. It was only her second appearance of the year as she became the quickest marathon debutant in Barcelona in March courtesy of a 2:10:51 time.
Finishing behind her in Buenos Aires was Jepkemboi in 1:05:06, five seconds ahead of Amanang'ole.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m satisfied with my performance,&rdquo; said Tesfay. &ldquo;I aimed to run a bit faster, but I felt some discomfort in my leg and I couldn&rsquo;t run as quick as I wanted.&rdquo;
Emeterio Valiente for World Athletics
<h3>Leading results</h3>
Women 1&nbsp;Fotyen Tesfay (ETH) 1:03:57 2&nbsp;Nelvin Jepkemboi (KEN) 1:05:06 3 Catherine Amanang'ole (KEN) 1:05:11 4&nbsp;Irine Jepchumba Kimais (KEN) 1:06:04 5 Sheila Chepkirui (KEN) 1:06:13
Men 1&nbsp;Yomif Kejelcha (ETH) 56:51 2&nbsp;Tadese Worku (ETH) 59:20 3 Bereket Nega (ETH) 1:00:20 4 Jonathan Kipkoech Kamosong (KEN) 1:00:21 5 Simon Maywa (KEN) 1:00:57
*Subject to the usual ratification procedure
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-label-road-races/calendar-results/7243530/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results</a>
&nbsp;

Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha regained the world half marathon record*, running 56:51 at the Media Maratón Ciudad de Buenos Aires on Sunday (23)

Kejelcha regains world half marathon record with 56:51 in Buenos Aires

Kenya&rsquo;s Hellen Obiri and Benson Kipruto will defend their TCS New York City Marathon titles against formidable fields when the World Athletics Platinum Label road race returns on 1 November.
Obiri took almost three minutes off the course record when she won in New York last year in 2:19:51, while Kipruto beat Alexander Mutiso by just 16 hundredths of a second as they both clocked 2:08:09.
This time Obiri will take on a field featuring Olympic champion Sifan Hassan, 2024 New York City Marathon champion Sheila Chepkirui, 2022 world champion Gotytom Gebreslase and last year&rsquo;s world bronze medallist Julia Paternain.
&ldquo;Last year&rsquo;s TCS New York City Marathon was a dream come true, from breaking the course record and capturing my second title to celebrating with the incredible fans who line every mile of the course,&rdquo; said Obiri. &ldquo;New York always brings out the best in me, and I&rsquo;m excited to return and feel the energy of each borough during such a historic year.&rdquo;
Dutch star Hassan, who has the fastest PB in the field of 2:13:44, returns after finishing sixth on her New York City Marathon debut last year.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m really looking forward to New York,&rdquo; said Hassan. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had a lot more time to get ready for this marathon than I did last year. I&rsquo;m happy I didn&rsquo;t take any risks with my injury in the spring, that&rsquo;s given me the chance to prepare properly and come into New York healthy. Training is going well, I really want to be competitive in New York this year.&rdquo;
North American half marathon record-holder Weini Kelati will make her marathon debut.
In the men&rsquo;s race, Kipruto will face two other former New York City Marathon champions, 2017 and 2019 winner Geoffrey Kamworor and Abdi Nageeye, who won in 2024. They will be joined by US record-holder Conner Mantz, Tokyo Marathon runner-up Deresa Geleta, 2024 Berlin Marathon runner-up CyBrian Kotut, world bronze medallist Iliass Aouani and Mohamed Esa, runner-up in Boston and Chicago in 2024.
European 5000m and half marathon record-holder Andreas Almgren, who claimed world 10,000m bronze last year, makes his marathon debut.
&ldquo;My first experience at the TCS New York City Marathon was unforgettable, and I am thrilled to return,&rdquo; said Kipruto. &ldquo;Every major marathon is important, but New York has a unique atmosphere and community. The competition will be particularly strong, and I&rsquo;m eager to defend my title on one of the sport&rsquo;s biggest stages.&rdquo;
<h3>Leading entries</h3>
Women Sifan Hassan (NED) 2:13:44 Hellen Obiri (KEN) 2:15:53 Sheila Chepkirui (KEN) 2:17:29 Gotytom Gebreslase (ETH) 2:18:11 Violah Cheptoo (KEN) 2:19:05 Edna Kiplagat (KEN) 2:19:50 Fiona O'Keeffe (USA) 2:22:10 Fabienne K&ouml;nigstein (GER) 2:22:17 Erika Kemp (USA) 2:22:56 Giovanna Epis (ITA) 2:23:46 Mercy Chelangat (KEN) 2:23:33 Annie Frisbie (USA) 2:24:12 Rie Kawauchi (JPN) 2:24:16 Amanda Vestri (USA) 2:25:40 Jessica McClain (USA) 2:25:46 Phily Bowden (GBR) 2:25:47 Lauren Hagans (USA) 2:25:47 Julia Paternain (URU) 2:25:47 Cailie Hughes (USA) debut Weini Kelati (USA) debut
Men Benson Kipruto (KEN) 2:02:16 Deresa Geleta (ETH) 2:02:38 CyBrian Kotut (KEN) 2:03:22 Abdi Nageeye (NED) 2:04:20 Geoffrey Kamworor (KEN) 2:04:23 Iliass Aouani (ITA) 2:04:26 Mohamed Esa (ETH) 2:04:39 Conner Mantz (USA) 2:04:43 Kengo Suzuki (JPN) 2:04:56 Yemaneberhan Crippa (ITA) 2:05:18 Edward Cheserek (KEN) 2:05:24 Ryota Kondo (JPN) 2:05:39 Zouhair Talbi (USA) 2:05:45 Peter Lynch (IRL) 2:06:08 Patrick Dever (GBR) 2:06:18 Haftu Strintzos (AUS) 2:06:20 Jack Rowe (GBR) 2:07:47 Andreas Almgren (SWE) debut Patrick Kiprop (KEN) debut Ahmed Muhamed (USA) debut

Kenya’s Hellen Obiri and Benson Kipruto will defend their TCS New York City Marathon titles against formidable fields when the World Athletics Platinum Label road race returns on 1 November.

Obiri and Kipruto to defend New York City Marathon titles

Mondo Duplantis cleared 6.21m to win a historic pole vault contest against Emmanouil Karalis who soared 6.16m during the Wanda Diamond League city event in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Thursday (20).
Sweden&rsquo;s Duplantis improved his own meeting record of 6.15m and had no failures on his way to his latest record-breaking performance, but Greece&rsquo;s Karalis offered him a strong challenge as he managed 6.16m &ndash; the second-best clearance of his career behind the 6.17m that places him second on the world all-time list behind Duplantis.
Only Duplantis himself has ever gone higher than his 6.21m in Lausanne and the two-time Olympic champion went on to attempt 6.32m &ndash; a mark that would have added another centimetre to his world record set in Uppsala in March &ndash; but he decided to call it a day after two tries at that height.
"I'm tired! But I feel really good, I feel really happy," said Duplantis. "That was such an amazing competition, everybody jumped so well, so I felt like I really had to step it up. I'm glad I jumped really well.
"That&rsquo;s competition, that&rsquo;s what we live for. I love to compete, I love competing against Manolo, especially when he is on his A-game like this. I just like to jump high. That's what I feel like I was made to do."
Competing in the city event held on the shores of Lake Geneva on the eve of the main Athletissima meeting, Duplantis and Karalis were still locked in battle as the bar reached 6.01m &ndash; both athletes having perfect scorecards up to that height. They both then passed at 6.11m.
Karalis, the world silver and Olympic bronze medallist, failed his first attempt at 6.16m and Duplantis soared into the lead as he managed it on his first try, adding a centimetre to his own meeting record from 2024. But Karalis responded by matching that new meeting record on his second attempt, clearing a height that only three athletes in history &ndash; Duplantis, Karalis and former world record-holder Renaud Lavillenie &ndash; have ever managed.
The bar went up to 6.21m, which Duplantis again cleared first time. Karalis had two attempts at that height before saving his last attempt for 6.26m and Duplantis was confirmed the winner when that was unsuccessful. Duplantis then had two attempts at 6.32m.
The epic pole vault competition saw three other athletes clear 5.91m &ndash; Kurtis Marschall finishing third, Sondre Guttormsen fourth and Chris Nilsen fifth on countback.
"It's been amazing. I always love competing here," said Karalis, who added 10 centimetres to the previous best ever non-winning mark. "Everyone jumped very well. It's always nice to put on a good show."
<h2>Werro and Benjamin set meeting records in stadium</h2>
Home star Audrey Werro was among the meeting record-breakers as attention turned to the main Athletissima meeting at the Pontaise Olympic Stadium on Friday (21).
The Swiss 22-year-old, who won the Diamond League title in Z&uuml;rich last year, controlled the 800m race but faced a strong late surge by Femke Broeders-Bol. Werro won in 1:55.33 ahead of Broeders-Bol in 1:55.41, the latter a Dutch record that improved the 1:55.54 achieved by Ellen van Langen when winning the Olympic title in Barcelona in 1992 &ndash; a time that Broeders-Bol matched when finishing third at the recent European Championships behind Werro.
Werro stayed a few strides back as the pacemaker went off hard, passing halfway in 55.3. Ethiopia&rsquo;s Saida Tsehaye moved up between Werro and Broeders-Bol but Broeders-Bol charged down the home straight, almost catching Werro at the line. Tsehaye was third in a PB of 1:56.92. Werro and&nbsp;Broeders-Bol next meet at the Diamond League meeting in&nbsp;Z&uuml;rich, where they will be joined in a stacked field by Keely Hodgkinson, Georgia Hunter Bell and Lilian Odira.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a88b8937c35931cf2a48f70.jpg" alt="Audrey Werro holds off Femke Broeders-Bol in the 800m in Lausanne" />
<div>
Audrey Werro holds off Femke Broeders-Bol in the 800m in Lausanne (&copy; Diamond League AG <img style="width: 16px; vertical-align: middle; display: inline;" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,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" alt="photographer icon" /> Marta Gorczynska)
Olympic and world champion Rai Benjamin returned to the 400m hurdles like he had never left, winning the non-Diamond League race in 46.67 &ndash; the fourth-fastest time of the season &ndash; to break a meeting record set by Edwin Moses in 1981. Benjamin turns his attention back to the 400m flat &ndash; his focus for the season so far &ndash; in Silesia on Sunday.
USA&rsquo;s Olympic champion Masai Russell maintained her win streak in the 100m hurdles, backing up her Diamond League victories in Monaco, Eugene, Xiamen and Shaoxing/Keqiao with another meeting record-breaking performance. She clocked 12.27 this time to beat Nadine Visser (12.42) and Alaysha Johnson (12.49).
Another meeting record fell in the 3000m steeplechase as Olympic champion Winfred Yavi ran a well-judged race, clocking 9:00.04 to easily hold off world champion Faith Cherotich who secured second place in 9:01.90. Marwa Bouzayani was third in 9:05.55.
<h2>Wanyonyi wins 800m battle</h2>
Kenya&rsquo;s Olympic and world champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi won his first Diamond League 800m of the year, chasing down the fast-starting Marco Arop and holding off the fast-finishing Djamel Sedjati to triumph in 1:42.19.
Canada&rsquo;s world leader and 2023 world champion Arop set off with intent, following the pacemaker as the 400-metre mark was reached in 48.86. Arop took over as the pacer stepped aside but he couldn&rsquo;t hold on and was passed by Wanyonyi, Brandon Miller and Sedjati down the home straight. Wanyonyi followed his world 1000m record in Monaco to get a second Diamond League win of the year, followed by Sedjati in 1:42.31, Miller in 1:42.55 and Arop in 1:43.18.
Emma Zapletalov&aacute; strode to her fifth Diamond League 400m hurdles win of the year, clocking 52.41 for the second-fastest time in the world this season behind her own world lead of 52.30 set in Doha. Anna Cockrell was second in 53.15 and Paulien Couckuyt was third in a Belgian record of 53.28.
Botswana&rsquo;s Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo showed his strength in the final Diamond League track event of the evening, winning the 200m in 19.87 (-0.3m/s) ahead of Sinesipho Dambile (19.98).
There was a career-first Diamond League win for USA&rsquo;s Kayla White in the women&rsquo;s 200m. The world 4x100m champion finished clear ahead of world silver medallist Amy Hunt and Olympic finalist Favour Ofili, clocking 22.18 (0.3m/s) to their shared time of 22.32. There was disappointment for two-time world 200m champion Shericka Jackson as she pulled up off the bend and finished her race laid on the track.
The 110m hurdles was not a Diamond discipline but USA&rsquo;s Jamal Britt still put on a show, winning in 13.13 (-0.5m/s) ahead of Kendry L. Men&eacute;ndez in 13.20. World record-holder Ja'Kobe Tharp hit a barrier and jogged over the finish line in eighth.
Bahrain&rsquo;s Birhanu Balew kicked to victory in the 5000m, leading the top six under 13 minutes to win in 12:57.55 &ndash; his fourth consecutive race under that 13-minute barrier. Parker Wolfe was second in 12:58.20 and Nico Young was third in 12:58.33.
<h2>Pathirage pips Chopra in javelin clash</h2>
Sri Lanka&rsquo;s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage and India&rsquo;s Neeraj Chopra both surpassed 88 metres in the javelin, world leader Pathirage winning with his third-round 88.14m to beat Chopra&rsquo;s season&rsquo;s best of 88.05m from the second round.
Japan&rsquo;s Olympic champion Haruka Kitaguchi clinched her first Diamond League win of the year in the women&rsquo;s event, throwing a season&rsquo;s best of 64.90m to beat Flor Denis Ruiz Hurtado with 64.29m.
USA&rsquo;s 2022 world U20 champion Hana Moll denied two-time world indoor medallist Angelica Moser a pole vault win on home soil, soaring 4.84m on her final attempt to get her first Diamond League triumph ahead of Moser who managed 4.74m. Olympic champion Nina Kennedy warmed up in Lausanne but withdrew ahead of the competition.
Olympic champion Milti&aacute;dis Tent&oacute;glou beat another home favourite in the long jump, leaping a wind-aided 8.24m (2.1m/s) to secure top spot ahead of Simon Ehammer with a best of 8.13m.
Pedro Pichardo won the triple jump by a single centimetre. The world champion soared 17.44m into a headwind in the second round and that remained enough to win &ndash; just &ndash; as Yasser Mohammed Triki responded with a wind-assisted 17.43m (2.7m/s) in the final round. Andy D&iacute;az Hern&aacute;ndez, who jumped 18.15m to beat Pichardo at the recent European Championships, was third this time with a 17.20m leap.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/diamond-league/calendar-results/7214027/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results</a>
&nbsp;
</div>
</div>

Mondo Duplantis cleared 6.21m to win a historic pole vault contest against Emmanouil Karalis, while Audrey Werro pipped Femke Broeders-Bol in a brilliant 800m battle

Duplantis clears 6.21m, Karalis 6.16m in historic pole vault contest in Lausanne

World 10km record-holder Agnes Ngetich and world half marathon silver medallist Daniel Ebenyo are among the 16 athletes named on Kenya&rsquo;s team for the World Athletics Road Running Championships Copenhagen 26 on 19-20 September.
Ngetich heads to Copenhagen looking to add another global title to the world cross-country crown she claimed in Tallahassee in January. She will contest the half marathon, an event in which she holds the Kenyan record of 1:03:04 &ndash; a time that places her second on the world all-time list.
She is joined on the women&rsquo;s half marathon team by Daisilah Jerono, Lilian Kasait and Veronica Loleo.
In the men&rsquo;s half marathon, Ebenyo will be looking to go one better than his silver medal behind his teammate Sabastian Sawe in Riga three years ago.
His global medal haul also already includes world cross-country bronze from Tallahassee and world 10,000m silver from Budapest in 2023.
He will be joined in the&nbsp;men&rsquo;s half marathon&nbsp;squad by Nicholas Kipkorir, Michael Kiplangat and Gideon Rono.
Commonwealth Games 5000m champion Mathew Kipsang and 2022 African 10,000m gold medallist Caroline Nyaga are among the athletes announced for the 5km.
The mile races will feature Naomi Korir and Brian Komen.
Kenya topped the medal table at the last edition of the World Road Running Championships in Riga with five gold medals, three silver and four bronze.
<h3>Kenyan team for Copenhagen</h3>
WOMEN Mile: Mirriam Cherop, Naomi Korir 5km: Caroline Gitonga, Caroline Nyaga Half marathon: Daisilah Jerono, Lilian Kasait, Veronica Loleo, Agnes Ngetich
MEN Mile: Brian Komen, Daniel Munguti 5km: Charles Kiboino, Mathew Kipsang Half marathon: Daniel Ebenyo, Nicholas Kipkorir, Michael Kiplangat, Gideon Rono

World Athletics Road Running Championships

World 10km record-holder Agnes Ngetich and world half marathon silver medallist Daniel Ebenyo are among the 16 athletes named on Kenya’s team for the World Athletics Road Running Championships Copenhagen 26

Ngetich and Ebenyo lead Kenyan team for Copenhagen

Original song, written and performed by the pole vault world record-holder and two-time Olympic champion, with accompanying music video launch globally ahead of the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship
World Athletics has announced the release of the Ultimate Anthem, Gold, performed by athletics superstar Mondo Duplantis of Sweden. The song was written by Duplantis himself, together with Carl Silvergran and Oscar Chase, and was produced by Oscar Chase.
The song has been released globally across major music streaming providers, including <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/0hQ07Pj9zxsvNYkG8TkYJv" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Spotify</a> and <a href="https://music.apple.com/us/artist/mondo/1797003188" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Apple Music</a>. The official music video is now live and can be viewed <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mxNSyzAQsc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> and below. Behind-the-scenes photo and video assets from the making of the music video can be found <a href="https://worldathletics.photoshelter.com/galleries/C0000fomcbMdzBt8/G0000TVpjbW892zI/Ultimate-Anthem-Music-Video-Mondo-Duplantis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>, for editorial use only.
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2mxNSyzAQsc?si=mytMk6YJ2gL97IJv" width="100%" height="475" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
&ldquo;I wrote the song around representing something that&rsquo;s a lot bigger than yourself,&rdquo; said Duplantis. &ldquo;I think that&rsquo;s what we all do when we&rsquo;re on the track. We represent our family, our team, our coaches, and I love that concept. Music and sports are the two things that bring people together in the best way, and Gold is an expression of that.&rdquo;
Gold will become the signature sound of the World Athletics Ultimate Championship. It will be woven into the broadcast and live event experience, connecting fans in-stadium with audiences around the world. Duplantis will perform Gold live in-stadium to close out the championship on Sunday 13 September.
&ldquo;The Ultimate is purposefully designed to showcase the talents and passions of our sport&rsquo;s biggest stars, on and off the track,&rdquo; said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe. &ldquo;Mondo is one of our most recognisable and accomplished athletes, and we could not be more excited that he is the one who created the Ultimate Anthem. This is a massive global sporting championship, and it felt appropriate to have an anthem that serves to inspire our audiences and fans across the world written and performed by one of the greats.&rdquo;&nbsp;
The music video was filmed in Budapest, Hungary, host city of the inaugural edition of the Ultimate taking place on 11-13 September. Duplantis filmed at some of the city&rsquo;s most famous landmarks including Fisherman&rsquo;s Bastion and Heroes&rsquo; Square, placing Budapest at the heart of the storytelling of Gold.
The video also features personal archival footage of Duplantis as a child and as a young athlete, alongside footage from some of the most defining moments in his sporting career. Family, friends, fellow pole vaulters and other track and field stars also feature, collectively celebrating their moments of triumph.
Dynamic transitions and creative camera motions tie everything together, capturing the fluidity, energy and power of human movement, which sits right at the heart of athletics.
Duplantis, who is represented by Sony Music Sweden, has spent years writing and producing music alongside his historic athletics career. Working between Stockholm and Louisiana, where he grew up, he has steadily developed his craft and amassed more than 11 million streams on Spotify alone.
The World Athletics Ultimate Championship is set to transform the athletics calendar and settle the debate over which athlete is the best of the best every two years &ndash; pitting world champions, Olympic champions, Wanda Diamond League winners and the year&rsquo;s top-ranked athletes against each other to crown the champion of champions. The Ultimate features a historic prize pot of $10 million.
Learn more about the Ultimate Championship <a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-ultimate-championship/2026">here</a> and purchase tickets <a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-ultimate-championship/2026/tickets">here</a>.

World Athletics Ultimate Championship

Original song and accompanying music video launch globally ahead of the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship

World Athletics releases Ultimate Anthem: 'Gold' by Mondo Duplantis

Julien Alfred meeting Melissa Jefferson-Wooden in the 100m, Karsten Warholm racing Alison dos Santos in the 400m hurdles, and Nicola Olyslagers facing Yaroslava Mahuchikh in the high jump are among the many top-class clashes expected at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Silesia on Sunday (23).
Numerous world record-holders are in action at the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial, Warholm and Mahuchikh joined by Mondo Duplantis, Ja'Kobe Tharp and Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who returns to Diamond League action for the first time in almost two years.
With places at the Diamond League Final in Brussels on the line, and spots at the inaugural Ultimate Championship up for grabs for the winners of those events in Brussels, athletes will want to make their mark when they return to the Silesian Stadium.
The women&rsquo;s 100m stars the Olympic champion against the world champion as Alfred and Jefferson-Wooden clash over the distance for the first time since last year&rsquo;s world final.
Saint Lucia&rsquo;s Olympic champion Alfred is unbeaten this season, while USA&rsquo;s treble 2025 world champion Jefferson-Wooden has lost only once &ndash; to Alfred over 200m in Rome. Jefferson-Wooden won last year in Silesia, equalling the meeting record of 10.66.
But it may not be just a two-way battle as they form part of a formidable field along with 2023 world champion Sha'Carri Richardson, two-time world 200m champion Shericka Jackson, world silver medallist Tina Clayton, last year&rsquo;s runner-up Tia Clayton and home favourite Ewa Swoboda.
The men&rsquo;s race also features the world champion as Jamaica&rsquo;s Oblique Seville goes for his second Diamond League win of the season. He was second to Nigeria&rsquo;s Kayinsola Ajayi in both London and Eugene and Ajayi is also among the entries for an event that features heats before the final. They will be joined by the in-form Emmanuel Eseme, Akani Simbine, Jordan Anthony and Kenny Bednarek.
With Olympic and world 400m hurdles champion Rai Benjamin racing the flat 400m in Silesia, up against world champion Collen Kebinatshipi, the hurdles offers another head-to-head battle between Norway&rsquo;s world record-holder Warholm and Brazil&rsquo;s 2022 world champion Dos Santos. Dos Santos is the world leader with 46.48 and has beaten Warholm in their three clashes so far this season but Warholm won in London in 46.61. In the 400m, Kebinatshipi will be looking to put down another strong marker after his Diamond League records in Paris and Monaco, 43.44 at the latter.
Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino leads the entries for the women&rsquo;s 400m in which she will face home star Natalia Bukowiecka. Paulino is unbeaten this year, her wins including at the Diamond League meetings in Doha, Monaco, London and Paris &ndash; the latter in a Diamond League record and world lead of 48.48.
Tharp, who improved the world record to 12.75 in Eugene in June, stars in the 110m hurdles against world champion Cordell Tinch and their US compatriots Jamal Britt and Trey Cunningham. The 100m hurdles is not a Diamond discipline but it still offers a strong field as home favourite Pia Skrzyszowska races Alaysha Johnson, Danielle Williams and Megan Simmonds.
<h2>Ingebrigtsen back at scene of world record</h2>
Norway&rsquo;s two-time Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen heads back to the track on which he broke the world 3000m record in 2024, returning to Diamond League competition for the first time since September of that year following injury.
He contests the 1500m this time, a couple of weeks on from his European 5000m title win in Birmingham &ndash; his first race since the world final in Tokyo last year. This time his rivals include Olympic champion Cole Hocker, world champion Isaac Nader and 2022 world champion Jake Wightman.
Also in 1500m action, world silver medallist Dorcus Ewoi takes on world leader Birke Haylom, Olympic silver medallist Jess Hull, Olympic 800m silver medallist Tsige Duguma, Nikki Hiltz and Klaudia Kazimierska.
World leader Likina Amebaw, who won in Rome in a PB of 14:18.41, will renew her rivalry with her Ethiopian compatriot Medina Eisa, who beat her in Doha, in a 5000m that features double world medallist Nadia Battocletti, fresh off a European double title win.
Two-time world and Olympic champion Soufiane El Bakkali goes in the 3000m steeplechase against world bronze medallist Edmund Serem, El Bakkali looking to extend his win streak this season to four Diamond League races.
<h2>Duplantis aims high, Mahuchikh faces Olyslagers</h2>
Sweden&rsquo;s Mondo Duplantis and Emmanouil Karalis of Greece had a brilliant pole vault battle in Lausanne on Thursday, respectively clearing 6.21m and 6.16m, and they meet again in the non-Diamond League contest in Silesia. The Kamila Skolimowska Memorial is where Duplantis set the 10th of his now 15 world records &ndash; 6.26m in 2024.
The leading eight high jumpers in the world this year feature in an entry list topped by Ukraine&rsquo;s world record-holder and Olympic champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Australia&rsquo;s world champion Nicola Olyslagers. They face Eleanor Patterson, who beat Olyslagers to the Commonwealth title, plus Angelina Topić and Yuliia Levchenko.
Another world record-holder is in action in the discus as Mykolas Alekna takes on world leader Matthew Denny, who sits second on the world all-time list, as well as global gold medallists Kristjan Čeh, Daniel St&aring;hl and Roj&eacute; Stona.
In the triple jump, world leader and Olympic champion Thea LaFond, who has jumped 15.25m this year, competes against Davisleydi Velazco, who has jumped 15.13m, as well as world champion Leyanis P&eacute;rez Hern&aacute;ndez, another 15-metre-plus athlete this year.
The world leaders in the shot put and hammer all compete in the non-Diamond League contests in Silesia. Leonardo Fabbri goes up against Tom Walsh and Joe Kovacs in the men&rsquo;s shot put, while the hammer battles star Olympic and world champion Camryn Rogers against DeAnna Price and Bence Hal&aacute;sz against Ethan Katzberg.
A series of field events kick off the action on the eve of the main meeting. On Saturday, Gianmarco Tamberi faces Oleh Doroshchuk, JuVaughn Harrison, Woo Sanghyeok and Mutaz Barshim in the high jump.
Alyssa Jones, Malaika Mihambo and Agate de Sousa, who have all jumped seven metres this year, meet in the long jump, while the non-Diamond League women&rsquo;s shot put stars the three top-ranked athletes in the world: Jessica Schilder, Chase Jackson and Sarah Mitton.

Julien Alfred meeting Melissa Jefferson-Wooden in the 100m, Karsten Warholm racing Alison dos Santos in the 400m hurdles, and Nicola Olyslagers facing Yaroslava Mahuchikh in the high jump are among the many top-class clashes expected at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Silesia

Jefferson-Wooden and Alfred in 100m clash, Ingebrigtsen returns in Silesia

World Athletics has announced a series of competition innovations and technical regulations ahead of the World Athletics Ultimate Championship, taking place on 11-13 September in Budapest, Hungary. 
The lane draft
Athletes competing in the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s 200m will select their preferred semifinal heat and lane in world rankings seed order live as part of The Day Before. This concept is being trialled for the 200m at the Ultimate as part of a bold effort to transform the standard, anonymous lane allocation process into an athlete-centred product that generates analysis and conversation before the competition has even started. 
No ties in vertical jumps
In keeping with the foundational concept of the Ultimate Championship &ndash; a competition designed to determine who is the best of the best &ndash; there will be no first-place ties in the vertical jumps. A tie for first place will be resolved by a jump-off. 
Round progression in field events
Except for the vertical jumps, round progression in the field events will use the format model (8:8:6:4) over four rounds.
&bull; In rounds one and two, all eight athletes will be entitled to an attempt.
&bull; In round three, the six highest ranked athletes in the standings after the second round will be entitled to an attempt.
&bull; In the fourth and final round, the four highest-ranked athletes in the standings after the third round will be entitled to an attempt. 
Attempt orders
&bull; In vertical jumps, the attempt order shall be seed order starting with the lowest seeded athlete and finishing with the highest seeded athlete.
&bull; In horizontal jumps and throws, the attempt order will be:
- In round one, in seed order with highest seeded athlete competing first and lowest seeded athlete competing last.
- In each subsequent round, in the order of the standings after the preceding round, with highest ranked athlete competing first and lowest ranked athlete competing last.
- Athlete recovery times as outlined in the technical regulations will be respected. 
No jury of appeal
There will be no jury of appeal appointed to the Ultimate Championship. Athletes will still be able to make an immediate oral protest directly on the field of play to the referee, and athletes or representatives on their behalf can submit written protests to the technical information centre (TIC) within 30 minutes of official results being announced for the respective event.
&nbsp;
These updates are in addition to the <a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-ultimate-championship/2026/news/press-releases/extensive-innovations-world-athletics-ultimate-championship" target="_blank" rel="noopener">previously announced innovations</a> across the entirety of the Ultimate, including:
Refined broadcast product
&bull; New elements including fan feedback, an updated broadcast graphics package featuring augmented reality, athlete headshots, win probabilities, projected finishing positions, refreshed look and feel, and race clock shifting to the centre of the screen to better serve a vertical screen experience.
&bull; Show script developed around the streamlined competition timetable to ensure all moments of magic are captured and no storylines are missed. 
Live event experience
&bull; Energetic sound identity built around the Ultimate Anthem, developed by world record-holder and Ultimate Star Mondo Duplantis.
&bull; Live acts during session warm-up.
&bull; Centre-court style interviews shown both in-stadium and on-broadcast.
&bull; Athlete introductions and other event presentation elements developed in cooperation with world and Olympic champion and Ultimate Star Noah Lyles. 
Competition
&bull; Field of play will feature a dramatic black infield with only the competition areas in use during the session showcased in sharp contrast, drawing fans towards the ongoing action. Conceptual renderings of the field of play are available for editorial use <a href="https://worldathletics.photoshelter.com/galleries/C0000fomcbMdzBt8/G00004v9zFzzpNHQ/Ultimate-Innovations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
&bull; Timetable designed with the organising principle of one field event being contested at a time, whenever possible. 
Athlete experience
&bull; The Day Before
- Five distinct moments will form The Day Before: the press conference, the red carpet, the lane draft, the media day, and the Kids&rsquo; Athletics Ultimate Challenge. All will occur on 10 September between 2:00pm and 5:00pm, the day prior to competition, with all competing athletes and accredited media invited to attend. Ultimate Stars Letsile Tebogo and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden will serve as team captains for the Kids&rsquo; Athletics Ultimate Challenge.
&bull; Reserved rights carved out for participating athletes to publish race footage on digital channels.
&bull; Athlete access to World Athletics-commissioned photography.
&bull; Olympic champion and Ultimate Star Tara Davis-Woodhall will serve as lead content creator for the Ultimate, adding another layer of athlete-led storytelling.
&bull; Athlete-only after-party will be Club Ultimate by Noah Lyles.
&bull; Special access and collective seating for athlete friends and family.
&bull; Reimagining of awards means no medals; all athletes will receive a participation token. Ultimate Champions will each earn a trophy designed to connect with their participation token to form a complete piece. 
Digital platforms
&bull; Brand-new mobile app launching at the Ultimate, bringing together live results, athlete stories, video content, interactive games, predictions and tailored notifications.

World Athletics has announced a series of competition innovations and technical regulations ahead of the World Athletics Ultimate Championship.

Competition innovations and technical regulations announced ahead of Ultimate Championship

Joanna Hayes is a former 100m hurdler who won Olympic gold at the Athens Games in 2004 before later turning to coaching. She now guides, among others, the three-time Olympic gold medallist Rai Benjamin.
<h3>How was the transition for you from athlete to coach?</h3>
When I was a kid I wanted to be a teacher. I coached middle school kids years ago when I was still competing to make a little money on the side and then started coaching high school when I retired in 2009. I was also broadcasting and travelling around the world with my daughter but knew I needed to make a career decision. Some jobs opened up at college and I started at UCLA coaching. Then some of those athletes went pro but hung around so I sort of transitioned to coaching pro athletes.
<h3>How different is it coaching college kids to pro athletes?</h3>
It&rsquo;s more round-the-clock with the collegiate athletes wheres pro athletes are grown-ups so you don&rsquo;t need to police their lives. You know, for example, they&rsquo;re always going to come to practice. But I really like doing both and you&rsquo;re trying to make a difference to both. If the college athletes turn pro then great but, if not, they turn to the job field. So, you&rsquo;re also helping them to prepare for and adapt to society. In the real world, no one&rsquo;s going to hold your hand and, if you&rsquo;re late for work, you&rsquo;re likely going to get fired.
<h3>Does the coaching philosophy and approach vary between the two camps?</h3>
No matter what level you&rsquo;re coaching at &ndash; little kids, pros, collegiate &ndash; it&rsquo;s about the relationship and trust between the two. You really have to work to have a personal relationship with these people and have that trust factor &ndash; without it, it doesn&rsquo;t work. For the younger ones, that can be harder as they&rsquo;re often focused on others but I tell them to focus on their own journey and no one else. Ultimately, you have to trust your athlete and trust your coach. If both do that, things can work.
<h3>Is there an ideal athlete to coach?</h3>
You want athletes that love it and go all in. Again, you need that trust and to believe in the programme. And if it doesn&rsquo;t work, I can say &lsquo;my mistake&rsquo; and fix it. Then you build that bond: they win, I win, they lose, I lose. The harder they work the more personally you feel it.
<h3>What about Rai Benjamin &ndash; he makes it look easy, but that&rsquo;s clearly not the case?</h3>
No, it doesn&rsquo;t come easy. He&rsquo;s had so many injuries throughout his career. The majority of championships, there&rsquo;s been something wrong with him but he just locks in. He works hard, he has conversations, he&rsquo;s open and honest &ndash; be that good and bad. Plus, he&rsquo;s a jokester and he&rsquo;s good at taking the pain out of the workouts. But when it&rsquo;s time to go, he always locks in.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/66b67419ea6b30c3dc1450eb.jpg" alt="Rai Benjamin wins the 400m hurdles title at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games" />
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Rai Benjamin wins the 400m hurdles title at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (&copy; Dan Vernon)
<h3>Is there a moment or training session when you know he&rsquo;s ready?</h3>
I&rsquo;ll start putting in certain workouts or times to complete. If he can hit it twice, we&rsquo;re ready to go. He&rsquo;ll say X, Y and Z, and then I know he&rsquo;s ready.&nbsp;
<h3>When an athlete like that wins major championships, how do you keep the motivation year on year?</h3>
That&rsquo;s a good question as it&rsquo;s hard to maintain the energy and will to win. With Rai before when he was getting silver medals, we had a talk. He just said I&rsquo;m going to enjoy this, I&rsquo;m not thinking about winning or a medal and that took off the stress and pressure. So he did a lot of enjoying the process and learning and getting better with new workouts. So, enjoying what you&rsquo;re doing allows you to have energy each year. Take this year, we decided to run the 400m early on to keep things light and more motivated for the year.
<h3>As a coach are you on a perpetual learning curve?</h3>
Yes, I think I learn every day. I feel with the 400m hurdles I must have done all the workouts and then you still find ways to do new things. And as a coach everyone is different so you need a level of humility. I&rsquo;m a human being not an AI coach, if I don&rsquo;t know something I have the humility to ask a mentor or friend. Otherwise, I&rsquo;m wasting time because I'm afraid to say I&rsquo;m not sure. I know a lot and have a lot of knowledge but I forget things and my assistant coaches remind me of stuff when I forget.
<h3>Is there ever a point where you think you&rsquo;ve failed with an athlete?</h3>
It doesn&rsquo;t happen a lot but I&rsquo;ve had a couple that have moved location and that&rsquo;s not really a problem. If an athlete changes coaches they&rsquo;ve clearly put a lot of thought into it so, for me, it&rsquo;s not personal. I&rsquo;m not going to be for everyone, not everyone will believe what I say and trust me. That&rsquo;s normal. I don&rsquo;t know any coach that has got everyone right.
<h3>Do you see yourself coaching for years to come?</h3>
When people say can I coach them, I need to know my bandwidth as I have to coach with everything I have. I have to be honest with myself. Right now, I don&rsquo;t know how long I will coach. This is the career that chose me. What else would I do? I don&rsquo;t have any more options! I could try to be an influencer!? This is the career path I&rsquo;m on. How long it will last? I&rsquo;ll do this until don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;m effective anymore and then I&rsquo;ll stop.
</div>
</div>

Joanna Hayes is a former 100m hurdler who won Olympic gold at the Athens Games in 2004 before later turning to coaching. She now guides, among others, the three-time Olympic gold medallist Rai Benjamin.

Coaching class with Joanna Hayes

How to guide the transition from world-class U20 to elite senior athlete was the focus of the coach symposium &ndash; &lsquo;The Bridge to Sustainable Excellence&rsquo; &ndash; held during the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26.
More than 120 coaches and 181 online viewers from around the world gathered on the final day of competition (9 August) to hear from leading experts in athletics and to share ideas and build community.
Keynote addresses from World Athletics President Sebastian Coe and Coaches&rsquo; Commission Chair Frank Dick kicked off the four-hour programme that featured talks by Peter Thompson, Kim Cousins and Jim Radcliffe. The day concluded with a panel discussion between the speakers and four-time Olympic medallist turned coach and broadcaster Ato Boldon. The symposium and panel were moderated by Olympic sprinter Barbara Petr&aacute;hn, a member of the Coaches&rsquo; Commission.
International coach&nbsp;Thompson&nbsp;opened the talks with a session on career management &ndash; &lsquo;Saving the talent, navigating the &ldquo;danger zone&rdquo; (ages 19-22)&rsquo;.
Olympic and Paralympic coach Cousins then gave a talk titled &lsquo;Are you prepared to win? Planning and periodisation for winning performance&rsquo;.
When asked why these symposiums are integral and what it means for her to be involved, Cousins said: &ldquo;I love coaches' education. Coaches before me taught me.
&ldquo;These coaching symposiums allow us to come together from all over the world, to share information, to share scenarios, and to share stories. If we can help each other grow, it only makes a sport grow in itself. It&rsquo;s an incredible honour to be able to share information and talk with folks around the world, and celebrate track and field.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a85f3e0b5589d89726cbd72.jpg" alt="Kim Cousins speaks during the coach symposium in Oregon" />
<div>
Kim Cousins speaks during the coach symposium in Oregon (&copy; World Athletics Media Academy <img style="width: 16px; vertical-align: middle; display: inline;" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,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" alt="photographer icon" /> MCayden Marlar)
The final talk of the day, by biomechanics expert Radcliffe, was on the ever-growing world of AI and its role in track and field: &lsquo;AI-powered biomechanics in the field &ndash; smartphone analysis for technical precision?&rsquo;
&ldquo;When you think about all the different coaches throughout the world, or even throughout the US, the one thing, especially about track and field, is there's a certain approach to everything in terms of how it's coached, how it's planned,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;So, the more people that can share their views on it and the different ways they go about getting to the same goal and objective, is just helpful for everybody.&nbsp;
&ldquo;All the coaching education is basically giving people more understanding &ndash; whether they agree with it or whether they disagree with it, it's still understanding, which leads to more control over how athletes can develop and perform.&rdquo;
The panel, titled &lsquo;The modern athlete blueprint: scaling sustainable elite careers&rsquo;, was full of lively discussion. It was driven by questions and comments from the various coaches in attendance, highlighting the information sharing and community-driven coaching education that is the beating heart of the symposium.&nbsp;
With a blend of in-person and online learning through the <a href="https://www.elearning.worldathletics.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Education Hub</a>, development is central to the World Athletics vision for the global growth of athletics.&nbsp;&nbsp;
This commitment is implemented through a range of innovative programmes and activities that align with the <a href="https://worldathletics.org/about-iaaf/documents/strategic-plans-and-reports" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Plan for Athletics 2022-2030 and Pioneering Change 2024-2027</a>.&nbsp;
Nicole Montello for the World Athletics Media Academy
</div>
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World Athletics U20 Championships

How to guide the transition from world-class U20 to elite senior athlete was the focus of the coach symposium held during the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26.

Spotlight on U20 to senior transition during coach symposium in Oregon

Audrey Werro, Mondo Duplantis, Emmanuel Wanyonyi and Masai Russell will be among the stars in action when the Wanda Diamond League resumes in Lausanne this week.
World pole vault record-holder Duplantis headlines the city event on the shores of Lake Geneva on Thursday (20) before the main Athletissima meeting at the Pontaise Olympic Stadium on Friday (21).
Sweden&rsquo;s Duplantis makes his eighth appearance in Lausanne, fresh off clearing a championship record of 6.15m to win his fourth successive European pole vault title in Birmingham. That height also stands as the Athletissima record, set by Duplantis in 2024. He will again be challenged by Greece&rsquo;s Emmanouil Karalis, who added European silver to his major medal collection on Sunday, and Australia&rsquo;s Kurtis Marschall, who handed Duplantis his first defeat in almost three years in Stockholm in June.
It was also in Stockholm that Swiss star Werro ran 1:53.98 to move to third on the world 800m all-time list. She strengthened that position by clocking 1:53.80 in Paris later that month and most recently beat Keely Hodgkinson and Femke Broeders-Bol to the European title in Birmingham.
Werro and Broeders-Bol clash again in Lausanne and this time they face Kenya&rsquo;s world champion Lilian Odira, winner at the Diamond League meeting in Eugene.
Beyond victory in Lausanne, athletes will be competing for places at the Diamond League Final in Brussels where Werro will want to retain her Diamond League title. A win in Brussels also secures guaranteed entry for events contested at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship, making the Diamond League Final the last opportunity for athletes to book their place in Budapest automatically.
The men&rsquo;s 800m sees Kenya&rsquo;s Olympic and world champion Wanyonyi return to the scene of his 1:41.11 from 2024 &ndash; a performance that places him joint second on the world all-time list. He goes on the hunt for his first Diamond League 800m win of the year, following the world 1000m record of 2:11.83 he set in Monaco last month. His competition includes Canada&rsquo;s world leader Marco Arop, who won at the Paris Diamond League in 1:41.84, and USA&rsquo;s Brandon Miller, the winner of the London Diamond League.
<h2>D&iacute;az set to soar</h2>
Italy&rsquo;s Andy D&iacute;az Hern&aacute;ndez soared to fourth on the world triple jump all-time list at the European Championships and the world indoor champion will want to maintain the momentum in Lausanne as he competes for the first time since that 18.15m leap.
Portugal&rsquo;s world champion Pedro Pichardo was runner-up in that high-quality contest, while D&iacute;az&rsquo;s compatriot Andrea Dallavalle was third and they all compete again, up against Jamaica&rsquo;s Jordan Scott who beat D&iacute;az during the Diamond League in Oslo. Christian Taylor&rsquo;s meeting record, set in 2015, stands at 18.06m.
The top three in the European long jump final also renew their rivalry as Olympic champion Milti&aacute;dis Tent&oacute;glou again meets Swiss favourite Simon Ehammer and Bulgaria&rsquo;s Bozhidar Sar&acirc;boyukov.
Another home star goes in the pole vault as two-time world indoor medallist Angelica Moser returns to action after winning European gold with a 4.80m clearance. Finland&rsquo;s Wilma Heltel&auml; secured European silver behind her and in Lausanne they face multiple global champions Nina Kennedy and Katie Moon.
Two athletes who have surpassed 90 metres this season &ndash; Sri Lanka&rsquo;s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage and Germany&rsquo;s Julian Weber &ndash; will clash in a javelin contest that also brings together the winners of the past four world titles: Keshorn Walcott, Neeraj Chopra and Anderson Peters.
The women&rsquo;s event features Colombia&rsquo;s Flor Denis Ruiz Hurtado who improved her own South American record to 67.34m to retain her title at the Central American and Caribbean Games earlier this month. She competes for her first Diamond League win of the year against Sigrid Borge, who threw 65.00m to finish second in Xiamen, and Adriana Vilago&scaron;, the runner-up in Paris, as well as Olympic champion Haruka Kitaguchi.
<h2>Sprint showdowns</h2>
The 100m hurdles stars a clash between the Olympic champion and the world champion as USA&rsquo;s Masai Russell goes up against home star Ditaji Kambundji. Russell is unbeaten in the 100m hurdles this year and she ran 12.14 in Xiamen in May &ndash; a performance just 0.02 off the world record. Adding further strength to the field are Monaco runner-up Alaysha Johnson, Nadine Visser and Pia Skrzyszowska.
The 110m hurdles is not a Diamond discipline in Lausanne but it still features a formidable field led by USA&rsquo;s world record-holder Ja'Kobe Tharp.
The men&rsquo;s 200m is the final Diamond discipline on the programme and it brings together Botswana&rsquo;s Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo, Puerto Rico&rsquo;s Jos&eacute; Figueroa and South Africa&rsquo;s Sinesipho Dambile, who have all broken 19.85 this season.
Jamaica&rsquo;s two-time world 200m champion Shericka Jackson takes on Favour Ofili, Kayla White and Amy Hunt in the women&rsquo;s race, Jackson looking to add to her two Diamond League victories this year in China. Hunt returns to Diamond League action after winning a record four gold medals at the European Championships.
Emma Zapletalov&aacute; goes for her fifth Diamond League win this year in the 400m hurdles, while the men&rsquo;s non-Diamond League event includes Olympic and world champion Rai Benjamin in what looks to be his sole hurdles outing in a season in which he is focused on the 400m. His most recent race was the London Diamond League 400m, which he won in a PB of 44.05.
Olympic champion Winfred Yavi goes up against world champion Faith Cherotich in the 3000m steeplechase, both athletes having clocked 8:51 this season. Switzerland&rsquo;s Dominic Lokinyomo Lobalu will target back-to-back Diamond League wins following his 5000m victory in Monaco but will line up after a busy week at the European Championships where he contested the 5000m and 10,000m, getting silver in the latter. He faces Birhanu Balew, Parker Wolfe and Grant Fisher.

Audrey Werro, Mondo Duplantis, Emmanuel Wanyonyi and Masai Russell will be among the stars in action when the Wanda Diamond League resumes in Lausanne this week.

Star clashes to light up Lausanne as Diamond League resumes

Yaroslava Mahuchikh claimed the world high jump title in Budapest in 2023 before going on to become crowned Olympic champion the following year. Ahead of her return to the Hungarian capital, we asked her... What's your Ultimate?
Ultimate performance... My world record.
Ultimate event (bar your own)... 100m hurdles.
Ultimate career goal... To become one of the greatest high jumpers of all time.
Ultimate athlete... Usain Bolt.
Ultimate memory... Winning Olympic gold in Paris.
Ultimate venue... Stade de France, Paris.
Ultimate meal... Pasta carbonara.
Ultimate night out/night in... A night out dancing. 💃🏻 
Ultimate possession... The people closer to me. 💗
Ultimate hidden talent... Making a cute journal with stickers. 😅
Ultimate day off... Coffee, books, baking something sweet and no alarm.
Ultimate holiday destination... Ukraine.
Ultimate pre-competition song... You Don&rsquo;t Know Me by Jax Jones.
Ultimate movie... Any Marvel film.

Yaroslava Mahuchikh claimed the world title in Budapest in 2023 before going on to become crowned Olympic champion the following year. On her return to the Hungarian capital, we asked her... What's your Ultimate?

What's your Ultimate? Yaroslava Mahuchikh

Mondo Duplantis brought the European Championships in Birmingham to a spectacular conclusion on Sunday (16), clearing a championship record of 6.15m to win his fourth successive pole vault title.
There was drama elsewhere on the final evening at Alexander Stadium, with Larissa Iapichino prevailing in an extraordinarily close women&rsquo;s long jump, Georgia Hunter Bell delivering another gold medal for the host nation and Amy Hunt becoming the first athlete in European Championships history to win four gold medals at a single edition. Italy then had the final say, winning the men&rsquo;s 4x400m to finish top of the medal table.
Duplantis had been expected to dominate the pole vault, but Emmanouil Karalis pushed the world record-holder deep into the competition.
Duplantis cleared 6.10m at the first attempt, while Karalis came agonisingly close but dislodged the bar on the way down. The Greek then gambled, passing his two remaining attempts to move to 6.15m.
Duplantis again cleared at the first time of asking, improving the championship record of 6.10m he had set in Rome two years ago. Karalis missed once at 6.15m before passing again and using his final attempt at 6.20m, where another near miss ended his challenge. He took silver with 6.00m.
Earlier in the day, Alisa Vainio produced a dominant performance to win the women&rsquo;s marathon in 2:22:26, taking almost three minutes off the championship record. The Finn finished almost five minutes ahead of Hungary&rsquo;s Lili Anna Vindics-T&oacute;th, whose PB of 2:27:21 earned her silver. Britain&rsquo;s Abbie Donnelly took bronze in 2:27:33.
Germany&rsquo;s Amanal Petros also broke the championship record in the men&rsquo;s race, winning his first major title in 2:09:11. The world silver medallist made his decisive move during the second half and spent much of the closing stages running alone before Italy&rsquo;s Pietro Riva reduced the gap late on. Petros held on to win by seven seconds from Riva.
<h2>Iapichino prevails in long jump thriller</h2>
Just six centimetres separated the leading five athletes in a remarkably close women&rsquo;s long jump final.
Iapichino laid down the challenge immediately with a wind-assisted 7.00m in the opening round. Britain&rsquo;s Jazmin Sawyers responded with 6.95m and then improved to 6.99m in round four, putting her within one centimetre of the lead.
France&rsquo;s Hilary Kpatcha was just another centimetre back with 6.98m, while Portugal&rsquo;s world indoor champion Agate de Sousa reached 6.96m and defending champion Malaika Mihambo 6.94m.
None could overhaul Iapichino, who held on to take gold ahead of Sawyers and Kpatcha.
Georgia Hunter Bell gave the home crowd another title to celebrate in the women&rsquo;s 1500m. The world indoor champion produced a decisive final lap of 58.44, pulling clear to win in 4:07.78 and secure her first senior European outdoor title.
Elsewhere in the individual finals, Germany&rsquo;s Frederik Ruppert won the men&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase in 8:25.33 and Croatia&rsquo;s Sara Kolak took the women&rsquo;s javelin title with 62.43m.
<h2>Hunt and Asher-Smith make history in mixed 4x100m</h2>
Jeremiah Azu, Dina Asher-Smith, Zharnel Hughes and Hunt combined to win the mixed 4x100m in a European record of 39.97, holding off Germany, who finished second in 40.11.
It completed an extraordinary championships for Hunt. Having already won the individual 100m and 200m titles before anchoring Britain to victory in the women&rsquo;s 4x100m on Saturday, she became the first athlete in the 92-year history of the European Championships to win four gold medals at a single edition.
It was also another landmark race for Asher-Smith. The mixed relay gold extended her all-time European medal tally to 11, making her the outright most decorated athlete in championship history.
The Netherlands successfully defended their women&rsquo;s 4x400m title, winning the event for a third successive edition.
Lieke Klaver opened up a sizeable advantage on the second leg and, although Britain remained in contention, Femke Broeders-Bol resisted a strong challenge from Emily Newnham on the anchor to bring the Dutch team home in 3:21.10. Great Britain took silver in 3:21.68.
<h2>Italy have the final say</h2>
The championships &ndash; and the battle for the top of the medal table &ndash; came down to the final race.
Italy and Great Britain entered the men&rsquo;s 4x400m with nine gold medals apiece. Britain started strongly, but Luca Sito put Italy into the lead on the second leg before Lorenzo Benati held off Britain&rsquo;s Charlie Dobson to win by just 0.03, 2:59.16 to 2:59.19.
That victory ensured Italy topped the medal table for the second successive edition, finishing with 10 golds and 22 medals overall, ahead of Great Britain&rsquo;s nine golds. Italy also topped the placings table with 202 points, ahead of Great Britain &amp; NI on 174.5 and Germany on 161.

European Athletics Championships

Mondo Duplantis brought the European Championships in Birmingham to a spectacular conclusion on Sunday

What's your Ultimate? Marileidy Paulino

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Alekna throws Diamond League record, Dos Santos and Jefferson-Wooden win key clashes in Silesia