Going strictly by time, the Bowerman Mile at the Prefontaine Classic on Saturday (25) is one of the fastest races in the meeting&rsquo;s 49-year history.
Add in the storylines, and it&rsquo;s one of the most anticipated, too.
Featuring seven men with lifetime bests faster than 3:50, Olympic and world championship gold medallists, world record-holders and rivals whose banter has preceded the matchup for months, the mile caps a Wanda Diamond League meeting at Hayward Field whose potential for world-leading marks extends far beyond its final event.
Consider, for one, the women&rsquo;s 800m, and the early window it will open into this summer&rsquo;s Olympics. The field includes six of the eight competitors from last year&rsquo;s World Championships final in Budapest, including gold medallist Mary Moraa and silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson. Notably absent will be bronze medallist Athing Mu, the Olympic champion, who was initially scheduled to race but has been withdrawn out of precaution because of a sore hamstring.
Raevyn Rogers, the 2019 world silver medallist whose image adorns a tower standing high above Hayward Field, also is entered, along with Jemma Reekie, Nia Akins and Halimah Nakaayi, who is coming off a victory at the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix.
World champion Sha&rsquo;Carri Richardson and Elaine Thompson-Herah headline the women&rsquo;s 100m, along with world indoor 60m champion Julien Alfred and Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith, while world indoor 60m champion Christian Coleman and Ackeem Blake are among the fastest entered in the men's 100m.
Perhaps the most dominant athlete entering the meeting is Grant Holloway, the world 110m hurdles champion who has won all 10 races he has contested this year, including the indoor season and heats. That also includes running a world-leading 13.07 into a headwind to win in Atlanta last weekend.
The three-time world champion's last loss came on the very same Hayward Field track, at last September&rsquo;s Prefontaine Classic. The only remaining gap on Holloway&rsquo;s resume is an Olympic gold medal, and Saturday&rsquo;s race could be an early preview of Paris, as the field includes five who raced in last summer&rsquo;s World Championships final in Budapest, including silver medallist Hansle Parchment and Daniel Roberts, who earned bronze.
Shot put world record-holder and multiple world and Olympic champion Ryan Crouser will open his outdoor season in his home state and at the stadium where he owns the facility record, while trying to best Leonardo Fabbri&rsquo;s world-leading mark of 22.95m.
Since 2023, Crouser has lost in just one final &ndash; and it was at September&rsquo;s Prefontaine Classic to Joe Kovacs, who won in Los Angeles last weekend with 22.93m, and is entered again. Payton Otterdahl, who owns the world No.3 mark this year, also is in the field.
Those events offer no shortage of global medallists. Few, however, carry the prospect for as much drama as the mile.
Over the past year, Olympic 1500m champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Josh Kerr, who outkicked Ingebrigtsen for last year&rsquo;s world title in Budapest, have carried on a battle of words through the press about who could prevail in Paris.
Commonwealth champion Olli Hoare, who is part of the field following his 1500m win in Los Angeles last week, said the sport was better for the attention drawn by the back-and-forth between Ingebrigtsen and Kerr &ndash; but added that other racers wanted to strike the appropriate level of respect for their competitors, such as Yared Nuguse, whose PB of 3:43.97 was set battling Ingebrigtsen (4:43.73) down to the line at September&rsquo;s Pre Classic.
&ldquo;This is a big one. This is going to be a big one for a lot of egos,&rdquo; Hoare said in Los Angeles. &ldquo;But I think it&rsquo;s going to be a big one for me because it&rsquo;ll be the first race where I&rsquo;ll have an inkling of where I am with the world&rsquo;s best. There&rsquo;s a bit of tossing and turning with the banter but you can&rsquo;t disrespect that field. If you do, you&rsquo;ll get eaten alive.&rdquo;
That list of seven men under 3:50, which includes Hoare, notably doesn&rsquo;t include Jake Wightman, who will be racing Ingebrigtsen for the first time since their duel at the 2022 World Championships in Oregon, when Wightman won gold; Abel Kipsang, who was fourth at the Tokyo Olympics; Geordie Beamish, less than three months after he stormed to the world indoor title; or Lamecha Girma, the steeplechase world record-holder who is making his mile debut.
&ldquo;Jake Wightman&rsquo;s back, he&rsquo;s a world champion,&rdquo; Hoare said. &ldquo;Yared Nuguse, 3:43 mile &ndash; these guys are keeping quiet and they&rsquo;re going to wait for their opportunity to strike. And when they do strike, I guarantee they will make a comment.&rdquo;
They are not the only accomplished names entered in the distances.
Athletics Kenya will determine its men's and women's Olympic 10,000m qualifiers at Hayward Field, with Kenya's two-time world cross-country champion Beatrice Chebet, the world leader at 5000m this season, part of a women's race that will include world champion Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia, eight months after Tsegay set the world 5000m record on the same track.
World record-holder Beatrice Chepkoech will attempt to retain her controlling hold over the steeplechase when she races top challenger Faith Cherotich. The Kenyan duo produced the two fastest times in the world this year at the Diamond League meeting in Xiamen, which Chepkoech won in 8:55.40 to Cherotich&rsquo;s 9:05.91. Olympic silver medallist Courtney Frerichs will no longer run after injuring the ACL and meniscus in her right knee.
One week after winning in Los Angeles, Diribe Welteji leads the 1500m field that includes 13 women who have run under four minutes. World indoor 3000m champion Elle St Pierre, who won the 5000m in Los Angeles, is running her first 1500m of the season, with Laura Muir, Nikki Hiltz, Jessica Hull, Hirut Meshesha and Cory McGee also entered.
Multiple world and Olympic gold medallist Sifan Hassan, as well as world No.2 Ejgayehu Taye, will feature in the 5000m.
In the field, world and Olympic pole vault champion Katie Moon opens her outdoor season against Sandi Morris, and in the triple jump four of the top five women this season are entered, led by Thea LaFond, whose 15.01m jump to win the world indoor title in Glasgow still stands as the mark to beat.
Olympic discus champion Valarie Allman has not lost in Eugene in two years, a run that includes claiming September&rsquo;s Diamond League final. That could change on Saturday because of the presence of world leader Yaime Perez, who finished second to Allman in Xiamen last month.
In the men&rsquo;s 200m, top US sprinters who will duel at the Olympic trials only weeks later will face off. Kenny Bednarek, fresh off a world-leading 19.67 in Doha, is scheduled to race against world No.2 Courtney Lindsey (19.71), with world silver medallist Erriyon Knighton making his season debut. Joe Fahnbulleh and Kyree King, winner of the Los Angeles Grand Prix 100m, are also entered.
Another winner in Los Angeles, Rai Benjamin, headlines the men&rsquo;s 400m hurdles, and he enters with considerable confidence after running 46.64, the ninth-fastest performance of all time.
&ldquo;I think I&rsquo;m the fastest guy in the field, honestly,&rdquo; Benjamin said of potential Olympic chances.
The women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles and women&rsquo;s hammer will not count towards Diamond League points totals, but will be more potential previews for global championships.
Women who account for five of the year&rsquo;s six fastest times, all of whom are separated by fractions of a second, will face off in the hurdles. Tonea Marshall, fresh off her victory in Los Angeles in 12.42, leads 2019 world champion Nia Ali, Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, two-time world champion Danielle Williams and world indoor champion Devynne Charlton.
Brooke Andersen&rsquo;s 79.92m throw from earlier this month remains the world-leading hammer mark this season but she will be challenged by world champion Camryn Rogers, 2019 world champion DeAnna Price and world silver medallist Janee&rsquo; Kassanavoid, who own the next three farthest throws this season.
Andrew Greif for World Athletics

Prefontaine Classic

The Bowerman Mile is one of the fastest - and most anticipated - races at the Prefontaine Classic

Mile clash the big attraction in Eugene

Only a year after winning his long-sought world title, one of the world&rsquo;s top sprinters couldn&rsquo;t run away from the sport fast enough.
Michael Norman had spent every year since he was a teenager consumed by athletics, attempting to live up to the considerable promise that first showed in 2016, when he nearly made the US Olympic team while still in high school. But that changed in 2023. Injured and frustrated by changes that had not gone to plan, the 2022 world 400m champion &ldquo;completely shut out&rdquo; athletics following July&rsquo;s US Championships.&nbsp;
He stopped training. He left the country on vacation. When the World Athletics Championships began in Budapest, he watched only the races featuring Rai Benjamin, his longtime friend and training partner, and nothing else. He didn&rsquo;t watch a meeting again until the World Athletics Relays, nine months later.&nbsp;
The unplanned break &ldquo;gave me peace,&rdquo; he said, and made him more patient and mature as an athlete. When Norman returned to training on 1 November under his former coach, Quincy Watts, he was out of shape. Yet it had been more than worth it. Taking what he called &ldquo;small, small steps moving in the right direction&rdquo; left him refreshed and ready to go after what he called his ultimate 2024 goal: Olympic redemption.&nbsp;
&ldquo;It gave me the clarity that I needed because I was on a downward spiral toward hating the sport, so I was like, I just need to take a step back, gather myself before I get into this like, point of no return,&rdquo; Norman said after winning at Saturday&rsquo;s <a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-continental-tour/news/los-angeles-grand-prix-2024-benjamin-mclaughlin-levrone" target="_blank" rel="noopener">USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix</a> in 44.53. &ldquo;It was really important for me to give myself the space and be a normal person for just a little bit of time.&rdquo;
It wasn't Norman&rsquo;s first time seeking deeper answers about his running. After the sprinter set the US high school record for 400m, he finished fourth at the NCAA Championships one year later, only to respond the following season by breaking the collegiate record and turning professional. In 2021, after fading from pre-race favourite to fifth at the Tokyo Olympics, Norman spent the next several months trying to understand what had led to an outcome he described at the time so &ldquo;devastating" that the gold medal he earned for his leg on the US 4x400m team in Tokyo provided zero solace. He poured that frustration into his training in 2022 and rebounded by claiming the world 400m gold medal in Oregon in front of a raucous crowd of US fans.&nbsp;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/62db60f63201da1f7aa0fd45.jpg" alt="Michael Norman celebrates his 400m win at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22" />
Michael Norman celebrates his 400m win at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
Coming off that victory, Norman opted for change, dabbling in shorter sprints. As part of his move to drop down to the 100m, he switched coaches from Watts to John Smith. Yet by last May, he had felt discomfort behind a knee while racing in Doha and was never fully healthy again. After finishing eighth in the 100m at the 2023 US Championships, Norman said he had dealt with tendonitis as well as &ldquo;setback after setback.&rdquo;
He did not use the bye into the World Championships 400m field he had earned as the 2022 champion. He began his hard break instead, just days after the US Championships, and re-examined the sacrifices he'd made for his career.
&ldquo;When I&rsquo;m in competition and training mode I kind of have that mentality where track comes first over everything and that comes with all aspects of my life &ndash; friendships, relationships, just anything,&rdquo; Norman said. &ldquo;So, when I felt like the track side of my life was falling apart, I was like, &lsquo;OK, I need to take a step back and just kind of be a regular human being. Catch up with some friends I haven&rsquo;t talked to in years, just be a normal 26-year-old.&rsquo; And that&rsquo;s what I did. I took a step back.
&ldquo;I think it was really healthy for me to have that break. It got to a point where it was very tiring, especially when I wasn&rsquo;t seeing the fruits from my labour. I just said, you know what? What do I want to do as a person right now?&rdquo;
Norman proposed to his girlfriend. A self-described foodie, Norman ate what he wanted, or skipped breakfast. He travelled to Mexico for the first time while on vacation with high-school friends. After returning from his Mexican vacation, Norman was invited by Benjamin, the No.2 all-time 400m hurdles star, to drop by at training in Los Angeles before Benjamin left for Budapest and the World Championships. Norman caught up with Benjamin and former training partners including Kendall Ellis, &ldquo;and I was like, I miss it,&rdquo; Norman said. &ldquo;Coach Watts came and then I was like, this is where I&rsquo;m supposed to be. And that was the decision that, I&rsquo;m going back here.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to be patient with yourself when you don&rsquo;t really see a clear path of where to go or where you&rsquo;re heading so, yeah, it&rsquo;s been quite difficult. But if you have the right people around you, they&rsquo;ll remind you of the good, the bad and they&rsquo;ll help you through any situation. I think that&rsquo;s what&rsquo;s helped me a lot.&rdquo;
It wasn&rsquo;t his only homecoming. Norman would also be going back to the 400m. His reasoning?
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just not worth the risk to jump down into those shorter events, especially in a year like this just because if you don&rsquo;t execute and you don&rsquo;t perform the way you want to, or the way that people expected &hellip; things don&rsquo;t look good,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s safer and less of a risk for me to be competing in the 400m, which I still enjoy just as much.&rdquo;
His 2024 season has also not gone necessarily as smoothly as hoped, despite running a 44.21 clocking on 4 May that puts him at No.3 this season. What he called &ldquo;body-type issues&rdquo; limited how much he could sprint between January and May, and they &ndash; along with last season&rsquo;s injuries &ndash; are why he called managing his health the theme of his year. That, and redemption.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s quite a journey,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s exciting.&rdquo;
Andrew Greif for World Athletics

The XXXIII Olympic Games

Michael Norman had spent every year since he was a teenager consumed by athletics

At peace, Norman on journey to Olympic redemption

"When I see someone win from a Caribbean island, I feel like I win, too."
Jereem Richards is a multiple global medallist, who got 400m gold for Trinidad and Tobago at the 2022 World Indoor Championships in Belgrade.
He also formed part of his nation&rsquo;s victorious 4x400m team at the 2017 World Championships in London and in an exclusive interview with <a href="https://worldathletics.org/videos/playlist/latest-videos/66474054ac6a7dcbab8cae3f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Athletics Inside Track</a>, the 30-year-old talks about the Caribbean connection in athletics ahead of Paris 2024 from where he hopes to bring home his first Olympic medal.
Click the thumbnail to watch:<a href="https://worldathletics.org/videos/playlist/latest-videos/66474054ac6a7dcbab8cae3f" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/66473ef5df1e6599ba2ad962.jpg" alt="Jereem" /></a>
"I would say Trinidad and Tobago is a melting pot of the Caribbean. We have a very diverse people and we have a mixture of cultures when it comes to food, music and everything like that. It&rsquo;s definitely a really great country," he says.
"Track and field, to me, means a lot. To Trinidad and Tobago it is definitely one of the most successful sports we had in history, I would say the most successful sport we had in the history of Trinidad and Tobago. I try my best to use my platform to not just educate people about the sport, but keep the people of Trinidad and Tobago interested in track and field.
"It means a lot to see a fellow Caribbean island athlete win something. It definitely feels special.&nbsp;
"A piece of advice to someone young in track and field, I would say: try to find the good in each and every situation. Even if things don&rsquo;t go your way, there&rsquo;s going to be something, some part of that bad situation, that had good in it. And even if you can&rsquo;t find the good in it, use it as an example of what not to do or use it as motivation working forward.
"This has been my dream, to be an Olympic medallist, from the first day I started running track and field, and I&rsquo;m just excited to go through the cycle this year and see how it turns out in Paris. I think my entire life journey builds up to this moment."

"When I see someone win from a Caribbean island, I feel like I win, too"

Jereem Richards: small islands, big dreams

South Africa&rsquo;s Prudence Sekgodiso achieved her first ever victory in a Wanda Diamond League meeting, winning the 800m at the Meeting International Mohammed VI d&rsquo;Athl&eacute;tisme in Marrakesh in a world-leading 1:57.26 on Sunday (19).
There were also meeting records for Chase Jackson in the women&rsquo;s shot put and Lazaro Martinez in the men&rsquo;s triple jump, while home favourite Soufiane El Bakkali once again delivered in the steeplechase.
Sekgodiso had been undefeated so far this year on home turf, but this was the 22-year-old&rsquo;s first international race of the season and she duly raised her game. Olympic finalist Habitam Alemu of Ethiopia led through the first lap in 57.07, but Sekgodiso timed her finish to perfection to emerge victorious with her second PB of the year, taking 0.79 off the mark she set in Pretoria in March.
Alemu was second in 1:57.70 and Noelie Yarigo was further back in third in 1:59.96.
In the final race of the night, El Bakkali ensured the fans in the stadium went home happy as he triumphed in the steeplechase.
The Moroccan was contesting his first steeplechase of the season and was up against talented Ethiopian duo Getnet Wale and Samuel Firewu, as well as Kenya&rsquo;s Amos Serem. After an opening kilometre of 2:42.62 from the pacemaker, Wale took up the running and led through 2000m in 5:30.66.
He ended up as El Bakkali&rsquo;s toughest challenger in the closing stages, but the world and Olympic champion crossed the line first in 8:09.40 to maintain his winning streak. Wale was a close second in 8:09.78 with Serem a further second back in third.
There was an even closer finish in the women&rsquo;s 5000m. A breakaway pack of five women &ndash; comprising Kenya&rsquo;s Edinah Jebitok and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Medina Eisa, Fotyen Tesfay, Melknat Wudu and Likina Amebaw &ndash; emerged in the closing stages. That was reduced to three on the final lap as Tesfay, Eisa and Jebitok started to sprint for the line.
Just when it looked as though Tesfay was going to hold on, her compatriot Eisa came charging through to take the win by 0.05 in 14:34.16. Tesfay was at least rewarded with a PB, as was Jebitok (14:35.64).
Shortly before the Ethiopian 1-2 in the 5000m, there was a Kenyan 1-2 in the men&rsquo;s 800m.
The consistent Emmanuel Wanyonyi, still just 19 years of age, held off a strong challenge from compatriot Wyclife Kinyamal to win in 1:43.84. Kinyamal followed in 1:43.98 while France&rsquo;s Yanis Meziane was third (1:44.13).
France&rsquo;s Azeddine Habz stole a march on a competitive 1500m field to run away with victory in 3:32.86. Contesting his first outdoor race of 2024, the European indoor bronze medallist positioned himself near the front of the pack from the outset while Ethiopia&rsquo;s Lamecha Girma initially stayed towards the back of the field.
Girma, along with British duo Elliot Giles and George Mills, moved up through the field with a lap to go, but Habz had already started his long run for home by then and could not be caught. He finished 0.61 ahead of Mills, who just caught Giles on the line. Girma was fourth in 3:33.54.
<h2>National and meeting records fall on the field</h2>
Serbian teenager Angelina Topic notched up her second high jump victory in this year&rsquo;s Wanda Diamond League, this time with a national record.
Nine days after winning in Doha with 1.94m, the European bronze medallist dominated the competition, winning with a first-time clearance at 1.95m and then going on to clear a Serbian record of 1.98m on her third try. Germany&rsquo;s Christina Honsel was second with 1.91m.
Chase Jackson broke a 10-year-old meeting record in the shot put with a second-round heave of 20.00m, adding 31 centimetres to Valerie Adams&rsquo; mark from 2014. The two-time world champion took an early lead with 19.62m, then threw her winning mark in the next round. Germany&rsquo;s world indoor silver medallist Yemisi Ogunleye was her closest challenger, throwing 19.40m.
Recent world record-breaker Mykolas Alekna racked up his third consecutive competition beyond 70 metres in the discus. The Lithuanian fouled his first attempt but then took the lead in round two with 69.94m. He then unleashed a 70.70m throw in round four &ndash; just eight centimetres shy of the meeting record &ndash; to extend his lead over Australia&rsquo;s Matt Denny (67.74m). World and Olympic champion Daniel Stahl was third with 67.49m.
The meeting record &ndash; admittedly one of the more vulnerable ones in the books &ndash; fell with the first attempt in the men&rsquo;s triple jump. Olympic champion Pedro Pichardo bounded out to 16.76m in round one to break a 10-year-old meeting record of 16.62m that had stood to Nelson Evora. Cuba&rsquo;s 2022 world indoor champion Lazaro Martinez then exceeded it with 17.10m in round three, which remained the best mark of the day.
Elsewhere, Switzerland&rsquo;s Angelica Moser won the women&rsquo;s pole vault with 4.73m as Italy&rsquo;s Roberta Bruni placed second with 4.65m.
<h2>Doom strikes at 400m</h2>
World indoor champion Alexander Doom opened his individual outdoor campaign, and the Belgian clearly picked up where he left off from the indoor season.
Nigeria&rsquo;s Emmanuel Bamidele got off to a strong start and led at half way, but Doom, Muzala Samukonga and Bayapo Ndori were all close behind on the final bend. As they came into the home straight, Bamidele&rsquo;s challenge started to fade, while the other three forged ahead.
Just as he had done at the World Indoor Championships over 400m and in the 4x400m, Doom timed his finish well to claim victory in a PB of 44.51, which puts him second on the Belgian all-time list in between Jonathan (44.43) and Kevin Borlee (44.56).
Samukonga was second in a season&rsquo;s best of 44.54 and Ndori took third (44.59).
Two-time world champion Shericka Jackson made her long-awaited 200m season debut and emerged with a victory &ndash; but only just.
Jackson, the second-fastest woman of all time, crossed the line in first place in 22.82 (-1.0m/s) but instead of pulling away from the field to win by a clear distance, as she often does, the Jamaican appeared to be fighting for victory all the way. Maboundou Kone of the Ivory Coast was second in 22.96.
Cameroon&rsquo;s Emmanuel Eseme got the better of Olympic 200m champion Andre de Grasse in the men&rsquo;s 100m, winning in 10.11 (-0.8m/s) to the Canadian&rsquo;s 10.19.
World bronze medallist Rushell Clayton led a Jamaican 1-2 in the women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles, winning in 53.98 from compatriot Shiann Salmon, who clocked a season&rsquo;s best of 54.27.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/diamond-league/calendar-results/7174052/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results</a>

South Africa’s Prudence Sekgodiso achieved her first ever victory in a Wanda Diamond League meeting

Sekgodiso clocks world 800m lead in Marrakesh

Despite thinking he was &ldquo;done for&rdquo; in the closing stages of the U20 men&rsquo;s 10km at the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Antalya 24, <a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/australia/isaac-beacroft-14963962" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Isaac Beacroft</a> refused to give up.
Persevering to get gold on his international debut, the 16-year-old launched himself into the global spotlight in Turkiye. Now, with 100 days to go to the World Athletics U20 Championships Lima 24, Beacroft has another major contest on his radar.
The team event in Antalya was Beacroft&rsquo;s first ever competition outside of Australia and only his second ever race on the road. But judging it to perfection, <a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-race-walking-team-championshi/world-athletics-race-walking-team-championshi-7199325/news/report/antalya-24-u20-men-10km-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in a thrilling finish he reeled in race leader Shi Shengji of China to claim the crown</a> in an Oceanian U20 record of 39:56.
Known for his record-breaking exploits in Australia, Beacroft made further history by becoming the youngest ever winner of an U20 title at the event.
&ldquo;I'm just amazed, I can't believe it. I'm so happy with what I just did,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I thought I was done for when the Chinese athlete put about 50 metres or so on me and then I clawed it back. Someone got put in the penalty box and I just thought, &lsquo;okay, that&rsquo;s my opening here&rsquo;. I took on the race and timed it right.&rdquo;
He will hope to do the same when he returns to the track for the World U20 Championships in Peru, where he will contest the 10,000m race walk on 30 August.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve qualified for the World U20 Championships so hopefully I can get there and give that a good shake as well,&rdquo; added Beacroft, who will turn 17 on 18 July. &ldquo;For now, I&rsquo;ll live in the present, celebrate this, get back home to Australia and get among it with my mates, see my family and keep doing what I do, I guess.&rdquo;
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dMUO40QquBk?si=Cd1qqqN4bJM3ExTq" width="100%" height="475" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<h2>AFL&rsquo;s loss is athletics&rsquo; gain</h2>
What he has been doing has been working very well, so far. Beacroft began race walking as an under-nine, through a Little Athletics programme. His father, David, and some of his family had been race walkers as younger athletes and Beacroft junior found his own passion for the sport. Now David is his coach.
&ldquo;I found race walking great, so stuck at it, kept going and now I&rsquo;ve ended up here, which is just unreal,&rdquo; said the teenager.
Despite having broken numerous age group records, for a long time athletics was not his sole focus. Beacroft also played Australian rules football, training with the GWS Giants Academy.
Now concentrating on race walking, most of his training is done in Blacktown in New South Wales, where he is based. He also goes on training camps, one of those being at altitude in the Perisher Valley in January, when he spent time in the company of some of the nation&rsquo;s senior stars.
Maintaining Australia&rsquo;s legacy in the race walks is important to Beacroft and that made his experience in Antalya even more special.
&ldquo;We got bronze in the team (men&rsquo;s 10km team event in Antalya, alongside Riley Coughlan) and the last time we did that was Declan Tingay and Kyle Swan (in 2018), who we&rsquo;ve got a lot to do with,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re all on the team now and everyone gets along. That&rsquo;s another point of success for me &ndash; the team environment in Australia. We&rsquo;re all tightly knit and it&rsquo;s so good to follow in their footsteps and take it on &ndash; take on the world.&rdquo;
<h2>All steps lead to Lima</h2>
Beacroft&rsquo;s title win in Antalya has understandably provided great motivation, especially as he looks to take on the world again in August. He is also determined to do his family and support network proud.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s big motivation. The gold medal, I&rsquo;ve got plenty of people to thank for that,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I just really want to emphasise my support crew. I don&rsquo;t say it much, but I appreciate dad and mum and everyone in my group, my friends, my girlfriend &ndash; everyone. I couldn&rsquo;t do it without them.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6649e132876f1a5a2ba56d49.jpg" alt="Isaac Beacroft with his fellow World Race Walking Team Championships medallists Shi Shengji and Luo Jiawei" />
Isaac Beacroft with his fellow World Race Walking Team Championships medallists Shi Shengji and Luo Jiawei (&copy; Francesca Grana)
</div>
One of the team managers in Antalya was a certain Jared Tallent, the four-time Olympic and three-time world race walk medallist who also claimed six World Race Walking Cup medals and two Commonwealth Games medals during his highly successful career.
He is of course someone that Beacroft looks up to and having the chance to learn from such figures is not something the teenager takes for granted.
&ldquo;He shares his experiences and really helps me out,&rdquo; said Beacroft. &ldquo;And Brent Vallance, too. He is the head coach of Australia race walking and he has got some awesome advice.&rdquo;
And when someone like Tallent describes an athlete as a &ldquo;generational talent&rdquo;, it would be wise to take note.
&ldquo;I had the privilege of witnessing Isaac&rsquo;s incredible speed and potential at our national walks camp in January, where he impressed national lead coach Brent Vallance and me with his training,&rdquo; said Tallent. &ldquo;He challenged our best senior athletes, and we knew then that he would be a force to be reckoned with at Antalya, and therefore no surprise he won gold.
&ldquo;Isaac is a generational talent and a technically brilliant walker. It's been amazing to watch his progression over the past couple of years, as he's consistently set new records at every distance in Australia under the guidance of his coach, David Beacroft. He's a humble and supportive teammate, and it's great to see him and his fellow competitors working together towards success. Australia now has the deepest field of quality junior male race walkers we've ever had.
&ldquo;Australia has a rich history of success at the Olympics in race walking, with seven medals in the last 20 years,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;However, we've gone 28 years without a world junior medal in the walk. With 100 days until Lima, Isaac is poised to break that drought as the favourite to win gold. I'll do everything I can to support athletes and coaches in Australia to achieve success and continue our proud tradition in race walking.&rdquo;
While Beacroft also hopes his journey will include success in Lima and beyond, he&rsquo;ll be making sure to relish it all. He even has advice for athletes looking to follow in his own footsteps.
&ldquo;If I could give any advice for anyone coming through &ndash; enjoy the sport, that&rsquo;s what gives you the success,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;A base platform of really loving what you do, and then all the success comes with it.&rdquo;
Jess Whittington for World Athletics

World Athletics U20 Championships

Despite thinking he was “done for” in the closing stages of the U20 men’s 10km at the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Antalya 24, Isaac Beacroft refused to give up

From Antalya to Lima for rising race walk star Beacroft

Australia&rsquo;s Rose Davies continued her breakthrough by taking apart the 5000m meeting record at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix &ndash; a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting &ndash; in Tokyo on Sunday (19).
The 24-year-old, who before this year had never broken 15 minutes for 5000m, set her third PB of the year to win by more than three seconds in 14:41.65, less than two seconds outside the Oceanian record.
The race set off at a steady pace with 1000m being passed in 3:00.19 and 2000m in 5:59.01. Davies and Kenya&rsquo;s Margaret Akidor then started to push the pace and reached 3000m in 8:55.41. The next kilometre was covered in another 2:56 as the pair started to ease away from Davies&rsquo; compatriot Isobel Batt-Doyle.
With a 2:50 final kilometre, Davies finally shook off the challenge of Akidor and went on to cross the line in 14:41.65 with Akidor finishing second in 14:41.65. Batt-Doyle was a distant third in 15:08.67.
Davies broke 15 minutes for the first time in Melbourne earlier this year with 14:57.54, and then reduced her PB to 14:47.86 at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Suzhou last month.
Japanese javelin star Haruka Kitaguchi delighted the home crowd by snatching victory in the sixth round, just as she had done at the World Championships in Budapest last year.
New Zealand&rsquo;s Tori Peeters took an early lead with 61.16m, while Kitaguchi opened with 60.20m. World silver medallist Flor Denis Ruiz Hurtado of Colombia moved into pole position in round five with 62.06m, which prompted Peeters (61.26m) and Kitaguchi (62.02m) to improve.
But with her final throw of the competition, Kitaguchi sent her spear out to 63.45m to take a well-received triumph in front of her adoring fans.
There were further Japanese victories in the men&rsquo;s hurdles events. National record-holder Rachid Muratake clocked a season&rsquo;s best of 13.22 (-0.6m/s) to win the 110m hurdles comfortably from Senegal&rsquo;s Louis Francois Mendy (13.50).
All-round hurdles talent Ken Toyoda was a similarly dominant winner of the 400m hurdles. He clocked a PB of 48.36 to finish several strides ahead of compatriot Haruto Deguchi (48.91).
China&rsquo;s Wu Yanii took the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles in 12.80, crossing the line 0.10 ahead of Japan&rsquo;s Yumi Tanaka.
Australian champion Yual Reath equalled his PB of 2.30m to take a confidence-boosting victory over 2022 world indoor champion Woo Sanghyeok in the high jump. Reath, who has won nine of his 11 competitions this year, had a clean card up to and including 2.27m, which Woo needed three tries to clear. The Korean went no higher, but Reath went on to clear 2.30m on his second attempt before ending his series with three solid but unsuccessful tries at 2.33m.
China&rsquo;s Zhang Mingkun sailed out to a lifetime best of 8.13m in the final round of the men&rsquo;s long jump to displace 2016 world indoor champion Marquis Dendy as the leader. The US athlete finished second with 8.07m.
Elsewhere, New Zealand&rsquo;s Zoe Hobbs was a comfortable winner of the women&rsquo;s 100m in 11.17 (-0.3m/s). Hiroki Yanagita won a close men&rsquo;s final in 10.21 (-0.1m/s), although Hakim Sani Brown posted the fastest time of the day with his 10.07 clocking in the heats.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-continental-tour/calendar-results/7200559/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results</a>
Watch World Athletics Continental Tour Gold highlights on <a href="https://worldathletics.org/videos/playlist/world-athletics-continental-tour-gold-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Inside Track</a>

Seiko Golden Grand Prix

Australia’s Rose Davies continued her breakthrough by taking apart the 5000m meeting record at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix

Davies smashes 5000m meeting record in Tokyo

After bursting off the turn and widening the gap between herself and the field around her, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone once again demonstrated her range by cruising to 200m victory at the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, on Saturday (18).
Her plan for the season, however, revolves around focusing on just one event, one she calls &ldquo;what I&rsquo;m most comfortable with&rdquo; &ndash; the 400m hurdles.
While McLaughlin-Levrone dropped down in distance to test her speed in Los Angeles, her US compatriot Rai Benjamin raced his specialism and was rewarded with a world-leading 46.64 &ndash; the ninth-fastest performance of all time &ndash; on his 400m hurdles season opener.
<h2>McLaughlin-Levrone makes a statement</h2>
One year after producing the second-fastest 400m in US history (48.74), only to later withdraw from the World Championships because of a knee injury, McLaughlin-Levrone said she had not given much thought to attempting a 400m and 400m hurdles double at the Paris Olympics before ultimately deciding to focus solely on the hurdles, the event in which she most recently smashed the world record two years ago en route to the 2022 world title.
Doubling is "definitely a possibility in the future, but just wanting to come back after last season, stick to one event and try to do it the best I can,&rdquo; said McLaughlin-Levrone, the Tokyo Olympic gold medallist. &ldquo;Be healthy, which we are, and I&rsquo;m very happy about that and just keep it that way.&rdquo;
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After testing her speed over 200m in California, she may run some 400m races in the coming weeks to continue to do the same. McLaughlin-Levrone, who added that her knees &ldquo;feel great&rdquo;, had hoped to run sub-22 at UCLA's Drake Stadium. Despite registering the slowest reaction time in the nine-runner field, she achieved the Olympic standard while convincingly beating runner-up Abby Steiner (22.32), Brittany Brown (22.35), Rhasidat Adeleke (22.45), Jenna Prandini (22.61) and Olympic and world silver medallist Gabby Thomas (22.68).
Thomas also ran a 100m race earlier the same day.
&ldquo;Today was really tough because I just didn&rsquo;t feel like myself,&rdquo; Thomas said. &ldquo;I would have loved to have gotten more out of today and that&rsquo;s what&rsquo;s really frustrating because it doesn&rsquo;t reflect what I did in practice or did in training.&rdquo;
<h2>Change pays off for Benjamin</h2>
Rai Benjamin and his coach Joanna Hayes had &ldquo;changed a lot,&rdquo; he said, in his own training this year before running a world-leading 46.64 to win the 400m hurdles. The motivation behind the changes was keeping him healthier entering a major championship, which has not been the case the past two years, as he chases his first global gold medal at 400m hurdles. Benjamin owns the second-fastest all-time performance in the event and has claimed silver at the Tokyo Olympics and silver and bronze at the last two world championships while competing against Karsten Warholm and Alison Dos Santos, the trio that has pushed the event faster than ever in the past three years.
Those training changes heavily include technique, with Benjamin and Hayes honing his final 100m, as well as &ldquo;figuring out that we could get away with 13 (steps between hurdles) now at this time of year,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But championship season, I have to go 12s down the backstretch.&rdquo;
He left Saturday&rsquo;s race describing &ldquo;still a lot of things to fine-tune&rdquo; despite taking the world-leading time away from Dos Santos. What did running a time like that in May tell him about what could be possible in the Olympics?
&ldquo;Who knows, maybe 45, maybe 44, who knows? Sky&rsquo;s the limit.&rdquo; Benjamin said. &ldquo;Once I keep coming out and just running well, staying healthy, I think I&rsquo;m the fastest guy in the field, honestly.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Michael Norman, a longtime training partner of Benjamin, won the 400m in 44.53, beating Kirani James (44.85) and Vernon Norwood (44.86). Norman has rarely sprinted since the winter because of what he termed a &ldquo;quite a difficult January to May&rdquo; while dealing with injuries.&nbsp;
One day after saying he hoped his shot put attempts would &ldquo;hit the wall&rdquo; in UCLA&rsquo;s intimate shot facility, Joe Kovacs won with 22.93m, the joint 16th farthest ever winning mark and just two centimetres off Leonardo Fabbri&rsquo;s world lead set in Savona.&nbsp;
<h2>Nakaayi runs world lead</h2>
Melissa Jefferson overcame a slower start to edge Morolake Akinosun, 11.27 to 11.28, to win the 100m, but the day&rsquo;s smallest margin of victory belonged to Halimah Nakaayi, who won the 800m in 1:57.56, only six-thousands of a second ahead of Tsige Duguma.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Of course I would like to be an Olympic champion,&rdquo; Nakaayi said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s my dream.&rdquo;
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In a 400m featuring world champion Marileidy Paulino and 800m specialist Mary Moraa, Paulino won in 50.27, ahead of Moraa&rsquo;s 50.56. Their showdown was initially expected to include Olympic and 2022 world 800m champion Athing Mu, but Mu did not ultimately compete.
Tonea Marshall won the 100m hurdles in 12.55, edging Alaysha Johnson by 0.02. Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn finished fourth after initially false-starting and running under protest.&nbsp;
In winning the 1500m in 3:34.73, Olli Hoare did not reach the Olympic standard of 3:33.50, which he called his top goal for the race, but said he was happy with his season&rsquo;s best performance nonetheless, as he prepares for next week&rsquo;s Bowerman Mile at the Prefontaine Classic.
&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t get on the pace, I expected more people to push forward for it and then the last lap felt very slow for me, which is a good sign, so I came through on the outside and just so I could win the race,&rdquo; Hoare said.&nbsp;
Hoare outkicked Reynold Kipkorir Cheruiyot by 0.1, with Matthew Centrowitz finishing third in 3:35.16. The 34-year-old 2016 Olympic gold medallist has called this season his last competing as a professional, and said announcing that decision had been helpful in his approach toward his final Olympic trials in June.
&ldquo;I love pressure, I&rsquo;ve been dealing with it my whole life having a two-time Olympian as a father,&rdquo; Centrowitz said. &ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t add pressure. If anything I&rsquo;m running a little more free, nothing to lose.&rdquo; He added that &ldquo;I&rsquo;m taking this season as seriously as any other year.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Using a 52.09 final lap, the fastest of any competitors, Bryce Hoppel won the 800m in 1:43.68, a season&rsquo;s best. Hoppel had already achieved the Olympic standard of 1:44.70, but the race pulled five men under it, including Isaiah Jewett (1:44.02), 2022 world 1500m champion Jake Wightman (1:44.10), who is also tuning up for next week&rsquo;s Prefontaine Classic, and Brandon Miller and Isaiah Harris.
If many events were claimed by favourites, it was not the case in the men&rsquo;s pole vault or 100m. Ernest John Obiena vaulted 5.80m to upset Simen Guttormsen (5.70m) and US athletes KC Lightfoot (5.70m), Chris Nilsen (5.70m), Jacob Wooten (5.60m) and Sam Kendricks (5.60m). In the sprint, Kyree King ran 10.11 to top Letsile Tebogo&rsquo;s 10.13, with Aaron Brown third in 10.23.
Thea LaFond won the women&rsquo;s triple jump at 14.37m, Anna Cockrell ran 53.75 to win the 400m hurdles and Diribe Welteji won the 1500m in a season&rsquo;s best of 3:55.23, leading four women under four minutes.&nbsp;
<h2>Barega top in 5000m</h2>
The two-day meeting began on Friday evening, when 12 men ran under the Olympic 5000m standard of 13:05 in a race won by Selemon Barega in 12:51.60. Barega closed the final 400m in 54.15, the fastest lap of anyone in the field, to edge his Ethiopian compatriot Berihu Aregawi, in 12:52.09. Barega and Aregawi had already achieved the standard before Friday, however. World record-holder Joshua Cheptegei had yet to, until he finished third in 12:52.38. He was among six who achieved the standard in the race, including Biniam Mehary, Cooper Teare, Stewart McSweyn, Cole Hocker and Morgan McDonald.
Only two months after winning the world indoor 3000m title, Elle St. Pierre ran a 63.2 bell lap to capture her own Olympic standard and win the 5000m in 14:34.12. The time is a personal best by 24 seconds.
Also on Friday, Sandi Morris needed only four jumps at three heights to win the women&rsquo;s pole vault at 4.70m, her highest clearance since February&rsquo;s US Indoor Championships. Valarie Allman easily claimed the women&rsquo;s discus title at 67.93m, nearly three metres farther than her competition, and Roje Stona comfortably won the men&rsquo;s discus at 66.93m.&nbsp;
In a hammer competition featuring five women already with the Olympic standard, Brooke Andersen won on her second throw of 77.32m, edging Denna Price. Mykhaylo Kokhan won the men&rsquo;s hammer at 80.33m. Ceili McCabe ran a Canadian record 9:20.58 to win the women&rsquo;s steeplechase, leading four women who reached the Olympic standard in the race.
Andrew Greif for World Athletics
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7206591?eventId=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results</a>
Watch World Athletics Continental Tour Gold highlights on&nbsp;<a href="https://worldathletics.org/videos/playlist/world-athletics-continental-tour-gold-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Inside Track</a>

World leads by Rai Benjamin and Halimah Nakaayi, while Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone makes a statement with 200m win

Benjamin and McLaughlin-Levrone impress in Los Angeles

Peru&rsquo;s Kimberly Garcia and Japan&rsquo;s Toshikazu Yamanishi proved strongest at the Gran Premio Cantones, a World Athletics Race Walking Tour Gold meeting, held on Saturday (18) in the Spanish coastal city.&nbsp;
While the 2022 double world champion Garcia became a commanding winner to retain her title, the two-time world 20km race walk champion Yamanishi prevailed over Spain&rsquo;s double world champion Alvaro Martin after a tough battle in a race of incredible depth. With six athletes clocking 1:18 or faster, it was arguably one of the quickest ever men&rsquo;s 20km contests.
<h2>Garcia in a class of her own</h2>
The women&rsquo;s contest opened at a slow rhythm, the first kilometre taking 4:35 with Mexico&rsquo;s Alegna Gonzalez making most of the pace while China&rsquo;s Ma Zhenxia and Brazil&rsquo;s Erica Sena race walked at her shoulder. The cadence heated up over the following circuits, averaging 4:25 thanks to Qieyang Shenjie of China&rsquo;s front tactics.
By the 5km checkpoint (22:13), 16 women remained in the leading pack with Qieyang at the helm closely followed by Garcia, Australia&rsquo;s world silver medallist Jemima Montag, Spain&rsquo;s Laura Garcia-Caro, Garcia and the former world record-holder Liu Hong. At that stage, Spain&rsquo;s double world champion Maria Perez remained as part of the leading group.
The first serious movement came just before the eighth kilometre &ndash; the fastest to that point (4:19) &ndash; when Garcia increased her pace, trying to leave her rivals behind. China&rsquo;s Yang Jiayu, Liu and Montag responded and didn&rsquo;t let the Peruvian get away. But Garcia kept on pushing hard &ndash; clocking 4:18 for the 10th kilometre to reach halfway in 43:58 &ndash; and finally her efforts paid off as only Yang and Ma could keep up. Six women formed part of a chasing group: Gonzalez, Liu and her Chinese compatriot Peng Li, Garcia-Caro, Perez and Brazil&rsquo;s Viviane Lyra, while Montag looked to have lost any chance of winning.
With the clock reading 51 minutes some 11.2km into the race, Yang&rsquo;s resistance came to an end and Garcia pulled away quite easily to gradually increase her advantage on the Chinese athlete. By 13km, Garcia &ndash; who averaged a frantic 4:14 for the previous three circuits &ndash; became a virtual winner as Yang race walked 14 seconds adrift, herself just a couple of seconds clear of the quintet comprising Garcia-Caro, Gonzalez, Ma, Liu and Lira. Even as her pace slowed over the following circuits, Garcia widened her lead to 18 seconds by the 15th kilometre, while Yang had been reeled in by the quintet. Meanwhile, a courageous Perez travelled a lonesome eighth, another eight seconds behind that group of six.
While Garcia continued her brisk 4:17/4:18 cadence, Ma lost touch with the chasing group before the 17th kilometre &ndash; the quintet some 23 seconds adrift of the Peruvian by then. Over the closing circuits, Garcia-Caro became the next casualty with Yang, Gonzalez, Liu and Lira fighting hard for the two remaining podium berths. It was the Mexican who proved to be the strongest as she unleashed a powerful attack some 1500m from home to open a sizeable margin on her rivals. At the bell she was 16 seconds behind Garcia, but 11 seconds ahead of Yang, Liu and Lira.
Garcia romped home unopposed in 1:26:41, just one second off her lifetime best set in La Coruna last year and some 17 seconds clear of a fast-finishing Gonzalez who bettered her career best by two seconds to improve on third place from last year. Liu completed a mouth-watering podium with a 1:27:11 performance, two seconds ahead of Lira who clocked a massive PB. The same goes for Garcia-Caro with a 1:27:19 career best for fifth. As for Perez, she showed fine form in her first 20km contest since the World Championships in Budapest, the 28-year-old clocking 1:27:40 for her fifth quickest ever time.
&ldquo;Winning here for the second time in a row is fantastic, as Cantones features the best possible line-up in the world and that&rsquo;s quite encouraging for me,&rdquo; said Garcia. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m building up for Paris and this win is a morale booster for me.&rdquo;
<h2>Yamanishi prevails</h2>
Unlike the women&rsquo;s competition, the men&rsquo;s kicked off at a brisk pace, the opening circuit being covered in 3:56 with the Chinese pair of Zhang Jun and Zhang Jiaxu plus Brazil&rsquo;s title defender Caio Bonfim and Spain&rsquo;s Alvaro Martin at the helm. Qian Haifeng took the lead in the fourth kilometre and hit 5km timed at 19:44, closely followed by his compatriots Zhang Yun and Cui Lihong, while Martin and his fellow Spaniard Miguel Angel Lopez were tucked behind alongside Australia&rsquo;s Declan Tingay. Japan&rsquo;s Tomohiro Noda and Ecuador&rsquo;s Brian Pintado also moved to the front over the following laps, the still large leading pack going through the 8km point in 31:40.&nbsp;
The halfway stage was reached in 39:33 after the fastest kilometre to that point (3:55), with 25 athletes still in the large heading group. Japan&rsquo;s Noda accelerated over the next circuit, clocking 3:54 with Qian and Martin in hot pursuit, but the first key movement came when the 29-year-old Spaniard picked up the pace to cover the 12th kilometre in a blistering 3:49. Despite that kind of rhythm, still 14 men remained in close attendance.&nbsp;
By the 15km checkpoint the clock read 58:57, averaging sub-3:56/km speed. Shortly afterwards, Pintado opened full gas to cover the 16th kilometre in 3:48 and that whittled the leading group down to seven as he was joined by Spain&rsquo;s Martin and two-time European medallist Diego Garcia, the Japanese duo of Yamanishi and the season&rsquo;s quickest performer Koki Ikeda, Bonfim and Zhang. Another 3:49 circuit led by the Ecuadorian proved to be too fast for Bonfim, who lost ground with two circuits left, while Garcia also began to falter. With some 1600m left, Yamanishi produced a devastating change of speed and only Martin could follow in his footsteps. The pair covered the penultimate lap in 3:43 to hit the bell two seconds clear of Pintado, with three on Ikeda, four over Zhang and with Bonfim travelling five seconds in arrears.
The closing circuit became a thrilling two-horse battle between the 28-year-old Yamanishi and the local hero Martin, while Pintado and Bonfim also fought hard midway through the last lap. Finally, the 2019 and 2022 world champion Yamanishi found another gear to get rid of Martin 200m before the finish line, which he crossed in 1:17:47 following a 3:36 final lap. The Spaniard came runner-up in 1:17:49, his second quickest ever performance, while a fast-finishing Bonfim got the better of Pintado, who managed a lifetime best of 1:17:54. Ikeda also ducked under the 1:18 barrier.
<h3>Leading results</h3>
Women 1 Kimberly Garcia (PER) 1:26:41 2 Alegna Gonzalez (MEX) 1:26:57 3 Liu Hong (CHN) 1:27:11 4 Viviane Lyra (BRA) 1:27:13 5 Laura Garcia-Caro (ESP) 1:27:19 6 Yang Jiayu (CHN) 1:27:27 7 Maria Perez (ESP) 1:27:43 8 Ma Zhenxia (CHN) 1:28:14 9 Shi Yuxia (CHN) 1:28:44 10 Pauline Stey (FRA) 1:29:07
Men 1 Toshikazu Yamanishi (JPN) 1:17:47 2 Alvaro Martin (ESP) 1:17:49 3 Caio Bonfim (BRA) 1:17:52 4 Brian Pintado (ECU) 1:17:54 5 Koki Ikeda (JPN) 1:17:59 6 Zhang Jun (CHN) 1:18:00 7 Diego Garcia (ESP) 1:18:19 8 Cesar Rodriguez (PER) 1:18:23 9 Ricardo Ortiz (MEX) 1:18:31 10 Miguel Angel Lopez (ESP) 1:18:33
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7202817?eventId=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results</a>

Peru’s Kimberly Garcia and Japan’s Toshikazu Yamanishi proved strongest at the Gran Premio Cantones

Garcia and Yamanishi triumph in La Coruna

Olympic champion Damian Warner extended his historic Hypo Meeting winning tally by taking his eighth decathlon victory, while Olympic silver medallist Anouk Vetter regained her heptathlon title at the World Athletics Combined Events Challenge Gold meeting in G&ouml;tzis on Sunday (19).
Warner put together a remarkably consistent series to win the decathlon with 8678 having overtaken early leader Simon Ehammer after the seventh discipline, the discus. Vetter also came from behind, her almighty 57.91m throw in the javelin propelling her into the lead with just one discipline to go.
Warner, contesting his first combined events competition since taking world silver in Budapest last year, ran 10.20 to lead the first event, the 100m. Olympic bronze medallist Ashley Moloney equalled his lifetime best with 10.34, a time matched by Ehammer who took 0.08 off his previous best. Ken Mullings clocked 10.45 and Lindon Victor ran 10.48, also PBs for both men.
World indoor heptathlon champion Ehammer launched himself into the lead after the next event. The 2022 world long jump bronze medallist from Switzerland leapt a best of 8.25m, which put him 81 points ahead of Warner, who jumped 7.80m, while Moloney managed 7.75m and Commonwealth champion Victor a PB of 7.73m.
Ehammer and Warner held on to those positions for the rest of the day, as they respectively threw 14.08m and 14.55m in the shot put, both cleared 2.03m in the high jump and then clocked 48.22 and 47.46 in the 400m. Those marks gave Ehammer a slender 16-point lead over Warner at the end of the first day.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6648e8de233fcf847f7518e3.jpg" alt="Decathlon leader Simon Ehammer in G&ouml;tzis" />
Decathlon leader Simon Ehammer in G&ouml;tzis (&copy; AFP / Getty Images)
</div>
Moloney was third at the half-way stage, having thrown 14.11m in the shot, jumped 2.00m in the high jump and clocked 47.59 in the 400m.
Lithuania&rsquo;s Edgaras Benkunskas had the best mark in the shot put &ndash; a 15.91m PB &ndash; and Roosen went quickest in the 400m, running a lifetime best of 46.64. In the high jump, Mullings of The Bahamas joined Ehammer and Warner in clearing the best height of the day, 2.03m, which Tim Nowak and Niels Pittomvils also managed.
At the start of day two, Warner closed the gap on Ehammer to just two points as the Canadian clocked 13.45 in the 110m hurdles. It was just 0.09 shy of his own meeting record, but Ehammer was close behind with 13.55. Mullings was also comfortably inside 14 seconds, his 13.72 clocking moving him up to third overall.
Warner went into the lead thanks to his 46.41m effort in the discus, nine metres farther than Ehammer&rsquo;s best effort of 37.36m. Victor jumped up to third place after producing the best mark of the day, 52.34m.
Ehammer made up some of the deficit in the pole vault, where he cleared a best of 5.00m, 20cm higher than Warner. Behind the leading duo, just 33 points separated Moloney (4.90m), Victor (4.60m), Johannes Erm (5.10m) and Mullings (4.80m).
A 57.53m effort in the javelin kept Warner in contention for victory, and it meant he headed into the 1500m with a 223-point lead. Ehammer dropped to fourth after throwing just 48.57m, while Victor (59.10m) and Moloney (57.41m) moved into second and third respectively.
Given his leading margin in the overall stakes, Warner didn&rsquo;t need to push too hard in the 1500m. He completed the event in 4:36.94, giving him a winning score of 8678.
With Ehammer not starting in the 1500m, the battle for podium places was made slightly easier. Sven Roosen, who pushed the pace in the 1500m and finished in 4:20.77, was rewarded with the runner-up spot in a PB and Olympic qualifying mark of 8517. Erm took third place with 8462, 95 points ahead of Moloney, whose tally of 8367 was his best since taking Olympic bronze in 2021. Victor was one point behind in fifth with 8366, and Germany&rsquo;s Tim Nowak set a PB of 8282 in sixth.
<h2>Vetter gets the better of Kalin</h2>
Vetter, as is so often the case, got off to a steady start before making her way up the leaderboard on day two to claim victory.
USA&rsquo;s Michelle Atherley held the early lead after storming to a PB and meeting record of 12.71 in the opening discipline, the 100m hurdles. Beatrice Juskeviciute also had the race of her life, setting a Lithuanian record of 12.87 in the same race to sit in second place ahead of Switzerland&rsquo;s Annik Kalin, who ran 12.97 to dip under 13 seconds for the first time.
Atherley maintained her lead by clearing the highest bar of the day in the high jump &ndash; 1.80m, just 1cm off her PB. That height was also managed by Switzerland&rsquo;s Mathilde Rey &ndash; a PB by a centimetre.
Vetter had a more modest start, clocking 13.64 in the 100m hurdles and clearing 1.74m in the high jump, but she topped the shot put with a best of 15.37m. USA&rsquo;s Annie Kunz also excelled, throwing 15.14m, but Atherley&rsquo;s PB of 13.67m was enough to keep her in the top spot.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/664a17b90f09c6aec84eece1.jpg" alt="Anouk Vetter at the Hypo Meeting in Gotzis" />
Anouk Vetter at the Hypo Meeting in Gotzis (&copy; AFP / Getty Images)
</div>
Germany&rsquo;s Sophie Weissenberg, who failed to finish the 100m hurdles, continued for a few more disciplines and clocked the fastest 200m performance of the day, running 23.39. Atherley (23.53) and Juskeviciute (23.58) were close behind, while Vetter (23.73) and Kalin (23.72) were closely matched.
By the end of the first day, Atherley had a 118-point lead over Vetter. Britain&rsquo;s Abigail Pawlett was third and Kalin was fourth.
Those positions all changed after the first discipline of day two as Kalin sailed out to a 6.70m leap in the long jump, giving her a six-point lead over Atherley (6.18m). Vetter jumped a season&rsquo;s best of 6.47m to stay in contention for victory.
As soon as Vetter opened her account in the javelin, throwing 56.05m, it was clear the Dutch all-rounder had given herself a great shot at victory. She consolidated that with 57.91m in round three, giving her a 201-point lead over Kalin, who threw 45.93m. Atherley managed just one valid attempt, 38.03m, but was still in a podium place with one of her strongest events to come.
Atherley dominated the 800m and clocked a season&rsquo;s best of 2:08.55, giving her an overall score of 6465, a personal best, but ultimately it wasn&rsquo;t enough to catch Vetter and Kalin in the overall contest.
Vetter came through the line in 2:21.37, giving her a winning tally of 6642 &ndash; the fourth-best mark of her career &ndash; while Kalin clocked 2:16.63 to end with a season&rsquo;s best of 6506. Behind the podium finishers, Emma Oosterwegel of the Netherlands placed fourth (6337) and Germany&rsquo;s Vanessa Grimm was fifth (6307).
<h3>Leading results</h3>
Women&rsquo;s heptathlon 1 Anouk Vetter (NED) 6642 2 Annik Kalin (SUI) 6506 3 Michelle Atherley (USA) 6465 4 Emma Oosterwegel (NED) 6337 5 Vanessa Grimm (GER) 6307 6 Tori West (AUS) 6245 7 Annie Kunz (USA) 6209 8 Verena Mayr (AUT) 6196
Men&rsquo;s decathlon 1 Damian Warner (CAN) 8678 2 Sven Roosen (NED) 8517 3 Johannes Erm (EST) 8462 4 Ashley Moloney (AUS) 8367 5 Lindon Victor (GRN) 8366 6 Tim Nowak (GER) 8282 7 Felix Wolter (GER) 8190 8 Ken Mullings (BAH) 8176
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7199540?eventId=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a>

Damian Warner extended his historic Hypo Meeting winning tally by taking his eighth decathlon victory, while Anouk Vetter regained her heptathlon title 

Warner wins for eighth time in Götzis, Vetter scores world-leading 6642

The Wanda Diamond League <a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/diamond-league/news/meeting-international-mohammed-vi-marrakesh-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">continues on Sunday (19) in Marrakech with the fourth meeting of the season</a>.
World record-holders, Olympic gold medallists and world champions will collide at the Meeting International Mohammed VI d&rsquo;Athl&eacute;tisme.
The action will start at 18:00 local time (GMT+1) with the women's high jump and the main two-hour broadcast window will begin at 19:00 local time with the women's 400m hurdles.
<a href="https://rabat.diamondleague.com/programme-resultats-rabat/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results, programme and entry lists</a>&nbsp;| <a href="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/document/66491004f20e89bd05b72914.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">media information sheets and athlete biographies</a>
<h3>Where to watch</h3>
The meeting will be streamed in a number of territories on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@diamondleague/streams" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Wanda Diamond League YouTube page</a> from 19:00 local time (GMT+1). The live stream will not be available in all territories.
To find out the broadcast rights holder in your country, check the list below. If your country does not appear on the list, please check local listings. The list is&nbsp;subject to change, and some broadcasters may only show highlights coverage, while others will show the meeting live.&nbsp;Please check your local listings to find out more information.&nbsp;
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border-color: #333333; border-style: solid;" border="1" width="90%" cellpadding="2">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Territories</td>
<td>Broadcaster/ rights holder</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Africa (English language):&nbsp;Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, C&ocirc;te d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, S&atilde;o Tom&eacute; and Pr&iacute;ncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Swaziland</td>
<td>Supersport (English)&nbsp;</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Africa (French language):&nbsp;Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Gabon, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, Togo, Tunisia, S&atilde;o Tom&eacute; and Pr&iacute;ncipe, Mayotte</td>
<td>New World TV</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Argentina</td>
<td>TeleRed, TyC Sports</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Azerbaijan</td>
<td>Saran Group, CBC Sport</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Baltics: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland</td>
<td>SIA All Media, Viasat Baltics, TV3 Sport</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Balkans:&nbsp;Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia</td>
<td>United Media - Sportklub</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Belarus</td>
<td>Saran Group</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Belgium</td>
<td>VRT</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Brazil</td>
<td>COB,&nbsp;TVN Sports, Globo Sport Brazil, Newco - BandSports</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Bulgaria</td>
<td>Mobitel, A1 - Sport Max</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Canada</td>
<td>CBC</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Caucasus/Central Asia:&nbsp;Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.</td>
<td>Saran</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, The Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Netherlands Antilles, Puerto Rico, Saint Barth&eacute;lemy, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Bonaire, Bermuda, Cura&ccedil;ao, Sint Maarten</td>
<td>Flow Sports, CWC</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Central America:&nbsp;Mexico, Panama, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname</td>
<td>Sky Mexico</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>China</td>
<td>CCTV</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Chinese Taipei</td>
<td>Elta</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Czech Republic</td>
<td>Ceska Televize</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Denmark</td>
<td>TV3 Sport, Viasat Sport A/S Account</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Finland</td>
<td>MTV Katsomo</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Germany</td>
<td>Sky Deutschland</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Greece&nbsp;</td>
<td>TAF/ERT</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Hong Kong</td>
<td>PCCW</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Hungary</td>
<td>ASC1, MTVA</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>India</td>
<td>Viacom 18</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Israel</td>
<td>Charlton - Sport 1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Italy&nbsp;</td>
<td>Sky Italy / Rai</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Malaysia</td>
<td>Measat, Astro</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Mongolia</td>
<td>SPS Mongolia</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Morocco</td>
<td>SNRT</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Netherlands</td>
<td>Liberty Global Content, Ziggo Sports, NOS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>New Zealand</td>
<td>TVNZ</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Norway</td>
<td>NRK</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Philippines</td>
<td>TAP DMV</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Poland</td>
<td>Polsat</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Portugal</td>
<td>Sport TV Portugal</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Qatar</td>
<td>ALKASS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Slovakia</td>
<td>RTVS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Singapore</td>
<td>Singtel, Starhub</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>South America: Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela</td>
<td>Panam Sports</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>South Korea</td>
<td>KBS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Spain</td>
<td>Telefonica</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Sweden</td>
<td>TV4, SVT</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Switzerland</td>
<td>SRG</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Thailand</td>
<td>Cineplex, JKN</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Turkey</td>
<td>Saran Group, Ssport</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>United Kingdom</td>
<td>BBC</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Ukraine</td>
<td>Setanta</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>USA</td>
<td>NBC Sports</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Australia, Bhutan, Cambodia, France, Iceland, Indonesia, Japan, Monaco, Myanmar (Burma), Romania, South Korea, Sri Lanka</td>
<td>Wanda Diamond League YouTube / Facebook</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h2>Social media</h2>
- World Athletics: <a href="https://twitter.com/WorldAthletics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">X</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/WorldAthletics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/worldathletics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@worldathletics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TikTok</a> - Wanda Diamond League: <a href="https://twitter.com/diamond_league" target="_blank" rel="noopener">X</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/DiamondLeague/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/diamondleagueathletics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a>
&nbsp;

The Wanda Diamond League continues on Sunday in Marrakech with the fourth meeting of the season

How to watch and follow the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Marrakech

The three women who stood on the javelin podium at last year&rsquo;s World Championships will take to the runway at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix &ndash; a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting &ndash; in Tokyo on Sunday (19).
The highly popular world champion Haruka Kitaguchi will have the support of the entire stadium in the Japanese capital as she takes on a field that includes Flor Denis Ruiz of Colombia and Mackenzie Little of Australia.
Kitaguchi has won both of her competitions so far this year, throwing a season&rsquo;s best of 62.97m at the Diamond League meeting in Suzhou where Little and Ruiz finished second and third respectively.
Since then, however, Ruiz won gold at the Ibero-American Championships with a world-leading South American record of 66.70m, so the 33-year-old will head to the Japanese capital full of confidence.
China&rsquo;s Dai Qianqian, winner at the Diamond League meeting in Xiamen, and New Zealand&rsquo;s Tori Peeters add further depth to the field.
Three other winners of global titles feature in the men&rsquo;s jumps.
China&rsquo;s 2022 world champion Wang Jianan takes on 2016 world indoor champion Marquis Dendy in the men&rsquo;s long jump. Dendy recently got the better of Wang by just one centimetre in Suzhou, so another close competition can be expected in Tokyo.
But in-form Australian champion Chris Mitrevski is unbeaten so far this year and is fresh from an 8.32m PB at the Australian Championships and an 8.24m victory in Osaka.&nbsp; Yuki Hashioka carries Japanese hopes in this event, having jumped a best of 8.28m this year, while Asian champion Lin Yu-Tang of Chinese Taipei is also one to watch.
Korea&rsquo;s Woo Sanghyeok, the 2022 world indoor champion, highlights the men&rsquo;s high jump field. So far this year, the 28-year-old has jumped 2.33m indoors and then took bronze at the World Indoor Championships. Last weekend in Doha, he cleared a season&rsquo;s best of 2.31m.
Australia&rsquo;s Brandon Starc, USA&rsquo;s world indoor finalist Vernon Turner, and Japan&rsquo;s Asian Games bronze medallist Tomohiro Shinno are also in the line-up.
Elsewhere in the field events, Japan&rsquo;s Ryohei Arai and Genki Dean take on Latvian duo Rolands Strobinders, Patriks Gailums in the men&rsquo;s javelin.
<h2>Highly competitive hurdles</h2>
Japanese record-holder Rachid Muratake faces compatriot and Asian champion Shunya Takayama in the men&rsquo;s 110m hurdles, but Senegal&rsquo;s Louis Francois Mendy and USA&rsquo;s Eric Edwards will be trying their best to prevent a victory for the host nation.
Kenya&rsquo;s Wiseman Mukhobe will have the same aim in the men&rsquo;s 400m hurdles as he takes on World University Games sprint hurdles champion Ken Toyoda, two-time national champion Kazuki Kurokawa, and Kaito Tsutue, the fastest Japanese athlete this year. Just 0.11 separates the PBs of all four men.
Oceanian record-holder Zoe Hobbs lines up as the fastest woman in the 100m, but many eyes will be on rising Australian talent Torrie Lewis, who upstaged a quality field to win the 200m in Xiamen last month.
Liberia&rsquo;s Emmanuel Matadi and Japan&rsquo;s Hakim Sani Brown lead the entries for the men&rsquo;s 100m. Canada&rsquo;s Brendon Rodney should also feature, in both this event and the 200m, where he takes on Cuban record-holder Reynier Mena.
Japanese record-holder Kentaro Sato and namesake (but no relation) Fuga Sato jumped to first and third respectively on the Japanese all-time 400m list last year. They recently teamed up to secure Japan&rsquo;s Olympic qualification in the 4x400m at the World Relays in Nassau, but this Sunday&rsquo;s race will be their first individual 400s of the season.
The focus of the endurance events will likely be fall on the women&rsquo;s 1500m. Multiple Japanese record-holder Nozomi Tanaka takes on Australian duo Georgia Griffith and Sarah Billings, both of whom set sub-four-minute PBs in Xiamen last month.
In the women&rsquo;s 5000m, Kenya&rsquo;s in-form Margaret Akidor takes on Australia&rsquo;s Rose Davies.

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