Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir smashed the women-only world record by 45 seconds at the TCS London Marathon, winning the World Athletics Platinum Label road race in 2:16:16* on Sunday (21).
In what was widely regarded as one of the deepest and highest-quality women&rsquo;s fields ever assembled, the three-time world half marathon champion sprinted away from world record-holder Tigist Assefa, 2021 London winner Joyciline Jepkosgei and last year&rsquo;s runner-up Megertu Alemu &ndash; all of whom finished inside 2:17 &ndash; to notch up her third victory in a World Marathon Majors race.
Jepchirchir&rsquo;s compatriot Alexander Mutiso Munyao made it a Kenyan double, winning the men&rsquo;s race in 2:04:01 to defeat Ethiopian distance legend Kenenisa Bekele by 14 seconds.
No secret had been made of the fact that breaking Mary Keitany&rsquo;s women-only world record of 2:17:01 was the big target for the women&rsquo;s race. With that at the forefront of their minds, a lead pack comprising all the big contenders soon detached themselves from the rest of the field and blazed through the first 5km in 15:44 &ndash; comfortably inside 2:13 pace.
They maintained that tempo through 10km, covered in 31:26, and at this point they were 67 seconds ahead of Ethiopia&rsquo;s Tsige Haileslase, the closest challenger to the lead pack.
The front group &ndash; which included Assefa alongside past London winners Jepkosgei, Yalemzerf Yehualaw and Brigid Kosgei &ndash; got to 15km in 47:37. Soon after, Sheila Chepkirui &ndash; the runner-up in Berlin last year &ndash; started to drift off the pack.
Not long after passing the drinks station at the 20km point, 2019 world champion Ruth Chepngetich lost contact with the leaders. It meant that just seven women remained in the pack as they reached the half-way point in 1:07:04 &ndash; the second-fastest half-way split ever recorded in London, and putting them on schedule to smash the women-only world record by almost three minutes.
Kosgei was the next to drift back, and with the pacemakers having done their job, it left six women out in front: Jepchirchir, Assefa, training partner and Dubai marathon champion Tigist Ketema, 2022 London winner Yehualaw, 2021 London champion Jepkosgei, and 2023 London runner-up Megertu Alemu.
The sextet ran together through 25km (1:19:38) and 17 miles, but Ketema and Yehualaw were unable to hold on for much further and started to lose contact, leaving four women &ndash; Assefa, Jepchirchir, Jepkosgei and Alemu &ndash; to battle it out for the three podium places.
The difference between 25km and 30km, 16:18, was the slowest 5km section of the race. The lead quartet was either starting to feel the effects of their early efforts, or they were starting to bide their team for an anticipated surge in the closing stages.
With 1:44 on the clock, the four leading women managed to navigate their way around the two lead vehicles that had been forced to stop due to a wheelchair racer who was experiencing some technical difficulties.
Assefa and Jepchirchir both took turns testing the waters by making subtle surges to see how their opponents would respond, but their overall pace continued to drop and they reached 35km in 1:52:48, putting them on course for a 2:16 finish.
They passed 40km in 2:09:13, still running side by side. It was clear that no one else other than these four would be claiming places on the podium, but predicting a winner &ndash; and, indeed, the athlete who&rsquo;d miss out on the podium &ndash; was still impossible with less than two kilometres to go.
As the clock ticked to 2:15, with little more than a minute of running left, Alemu was finally dropped. Seconds later, Jepchirchir unleashed her trademark finish to leave behind Jepkosgei and Assefa.
The diminutive Kenyan charged through the finish line in 2:16:16, finishing seven seconds ahead of Assefa. Jepkosgei (2:16:24) and Alemu (2:16:34) followed soon after, making this the first marathon in which four women have finished inside 2:17.
Jepchirchir will now turn her attention to defending her Olympic title in Paris in less than four months&rsquo; time where she&rsquo;ll aim to become the first ever back-to-back women&rsquo;s marathon gold medallist in the history of the Games.
The men&rsquo;s race played out in similar fashion with a surprisingly large group remaining together into the second half before the final few contenders were left to battle it out in the closing stages.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6624fb7d6e4435d843122bdd.jpg" alt="Alexander Mutiso Munyao wins the London Marathon" />
Alexander Mutiso Munyao wins the London Marathon (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
The late Kelvin Kiptum&rsquo;s world (2:00:35) and course (2:01:25) records were not being targeted by the elite men, but a lead pack of 12 nevertheless set off as a respectable pace, going through 5km in 14:35 and 10km in 29:03.
They remained together through 15km (58:20) with the likes of Munyao, Bekele, 2022 world champion Tamirat Tola and 2021 Chicago winner Seifu Tura all in the lead pack.
They reached half way in 1:01:29 with 10 men still running together, more than 80 seconds ahead of Britain&rsquo;s Emile Cairess, who was running alone in 13th place. France&rsquo;s Hassan Chahdi soon drifted off the lead pack, and eight men were in the pack at the 30km point (1:27:20).
With 1:30 on the clock, big changes started to happen. The lead pack was down to five men: Munyao, Bekele, Tola, Ethiopia&rsquo;s Dawit Wolde and compatriot Milkesa Mengesha. &nbsp;Less than 10 minutes later, Tola and Wolde had dropped back, leaving Bekele, Munyao and Mengesha as the lead trio. Mengesha lasted five more minutes before he, too, succumbed to the pace, unable to stick with Munyao and the 41-year-old Bekele.
Just before the clock ticked over to 1:55, Munyao finally dropped multiple world and Olympic gold medallist Bekele, who was visibly struggling to match the Kenyan&rsquo;s pace.
Munyao maintained his lead to the finish, eventually winning in 2:04:01 to Bekele&rsquo;s 2:04:15, the fastest time ever by an athlete over the age of 40.
With several of the leading contenders dropping out in the closing stages, Cairess came through to take third place in 2:06:46 ahead of fellow Briton Mahamed Mahamed, who clocked 2:07:05, both setting huge PBs.
<h3>Leading results</h3>
Women 1 Peres Jepchirchir (KEN) 2:16:16 2 Tigist Assefa (ETH) 2:16:23 3 Joyciline Jepkosgei (KEN) 2:16:24 4 Megertu Alemu (ETH) 2:16:34 5 Brigid Kosgei (KEN) 2:19:02 6 Sheila Chepkirui (KEN) 2:19:31 7 Tigist Ketema (ETH) 2:23:21 8 Yalemzerf Yehualaw (ETH) 2:23:26 9 Ruth Chepngetich (KEN) 2:24:36 10 Tsige Haileslase (ETH) 2:25:03
Men 1 Alexander Mutiso Munyao (KEN) 2:04:01 2 Kenenisa Bekele (ETH) 2:04:15 3 Emile Cairess (GBR) 2:06:46 4 Mahamed Mahamed (GBR) 2:07:05 5 Hassan Chahdi (FRA) 2:07:30 6 Henok Tesfay (ERI) 2:09:22 7 Hendrik Pfeiffer (GER) 2:10:00 8 Kinde Atanaw (ETH) 2:10:03 9 Johannes Motschmann (GER) 2:10:39 10 Brian Schrader (USA) 2:10:50
*Subject to the usual ratification procedure

Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir smashed the women-only world record by 45 seconds

Jepchirchir breaks women-only world marathon record in London

Kimberly Garcia strode imperiously to the 20km title at the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Antalya 24 on Sunday (21).
It was only March when the Peruvian double 2022 World Championships gold medallist stepped off the road in Dudince, barely 2km into World Athletics Race Walking Tour Gold event, but the 30-year-old bounced back in style with a win at Podebrady at the beginning of the month, and now here thanks to her 1:27:12 performance.
The middle of the race saw the temperature rise both figuratively and literally.
Garcia and her teammate Evelyn Inga ramped up the pace to walk as a duo for just under half the remainder.
It looked as if gold and silver was decided, but disaster struck for Inga when on the last lap of 10 she suffered a two-minute penalty following three red cards.
Such was her lead, there was still a moment of drama when released out of the zone as she chased third place only to finish a desperate four seconds behind Brazil&rsquo;s Erica Sena, enjoying a splendid renaissance at the age of 38.
In front of both and claiming second was defending champion Ma Zhenxia.
The Chinese athlete had walked solo since 10km, but was rewarded for her effort when Inga got stalled.
The improving Paula Torres from Ecuador stepped out of the shadow of her more illustrious teammate Glenda Morejon to claim fifth in 1:29:47, only 15 seconds outside her PB, and on hot day on a shade-less course they were the only race walkers under 1:30:00.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Early on, the field was stretched with a phalanx of leaders headed by Garcia going through the first kilometre in a modest 4:37.
By the end of the first 2km circuit, the group had been whittled down to a more realistic 14, including unknown Ethiopian Sintayehu Masire.
The trimmed bunch was no surprise considering the second kilometre was 14 seconds quicker than the first.&nbsp;
By another 2km lap, Garcia&rsquo;s pace had halved the group to seven including the defending champion, Morejon, Masire, Ji Haiying and Shi Yuxia from China, and Inga followed by another seven around 30 metres in arrears.
Just after 5km in 22:04, Garcia and Ma put the hammer down to distance themselves for a few seconds before Morejon and Inga got back on.
The last kilometre had been covered in 4:19, and as the pace like the weather got hotter, Morejon started to struggle.
The front three went even faster for a 4:18 lap to pass 8km in 35:00 exactly.
It was now a trio with the isolated Morejon and Shi also walking solo, with Torres giving chase to the Chinese.
Garcia swapped cooling towels for her neck approaching halfway as the clock showed 43:39.
Morejon notched 44:01 and was out of the medals, with Torres alongside Shi in 44:20.
Whatever is in those towels, the rest of the field could have done with one, because Peru to the power of two went through the gears to ease away from Ma, whose painful grimace was a giveaway.
The Chinese style was also becoming less smooth as she struggled to hold on to a 4:16 pace.&nbsp;
The 12km split was 52:15 for the leading pair, and although Ma was isolated, she was only nine seconds back and just about causing doubt to Garcia and Inga.
That doubt soon dissipated at three-quarter distance in 65:16; it was now 22 seconds back to third, and race done for gold and silver, or so it seemed.
Taking the next turn, Garcia decided now was the time to sort out top spot on the podium.&nbsp;
She put in yet another surge for a four-second advantage over the next kilometre.
In fact, with Torres now a lone fourth and Sena making ground and also walking without company, the first five places appeared settled.
However, fate dealt a cruel hand to Inga, and she was all but on a starting block as she raced out of the penalty zone to just miss out on a medal.
For all that, she too has had a good 2024 so far, winning in Podebrady when Garcia was a DNF.
Inga&rsquo;s game effort also produced a team silver medal to deny Peru first place by the slimmest of margins.
China triumphed with 15 points, the same as Peru, but only on count back.
Spain, packing well in eighth, ninth and 13th, claimed a distant third.
Paul Warburton&nbsp;for World Athletics 
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 75%; border-color: #222222; border-style: solid;" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #fd5249; text-align: center;" colspan="3">SENIOR WOMEN'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #e9c968; text-align: center;">🥇</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #e9c968;">Kimberly Garcia Leon (PER)</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #e9c968;">1:27:12</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #ced4d9; text-align: center;">🥈</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #ced4d9;">Ma Zhenxia (CHN)</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #ced4d9;">1:27:55</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #bd895e; text-align: center;">🥉</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #bd895e;">Erica Sena (BRA)</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #bd895e;">1:29:22</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; text-align: center;">4</td>
<td style="width: 60%;">Evelyn Inga (PER)</td>
<td style="width: 30%;">1:29:26</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; text-align: center;">5</td>
<td style="width: 60%;">Paula Milena Torres (ECU)</td>
<td style="width: 30%;">1:29:47</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; text-align: center;">6</td>
<td style="width: 60%;">Ji Haiying (CHN)</td>
<td style="width: 30%;">1:30:08</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; text-align: center;">7</td>
<td style="width: 60%;">Shi Yuxia (CHN)</td>
<td style="width: 30%;">1:30:21</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; text-align: center;">8</td>
<td style="width: 60%;">Lidia Sanchez-Puebla (ESP)</td>
<td style="width: 30%;">1:30:24 PB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; text-align: center;">9</td>
<td style="width: 60%;">Antia Chamosa (ESP)</td>
<td style="width: 30%;">1:30:32 PB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; text-align: center;">10</td>
<td style="width: 60%;">Mary Luz Andia (PER)</td>
<td style="width: 30%;">1:31:05</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #34495e; text-align: left;" colspan="3">&nbsp;&nbsp;<a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://worldathletics.org/en/competitions/world-athletics-race-walking-team-championshi/antalya-24/results/women/20-kilometres-race-walk/final/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 75%; border-color: #222222; border-style: solid;" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #fd5249; text-align: center;" colspan="3">SENIOR WOMEN'S TEAM RESULTS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #e9c968; text-align: center;">🥇</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #e9c968;">China</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #e9c968;">15</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #ced4d9; text-align: center;">🥈</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #ced4d9;">Peru</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #ced4d9;">15</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #bd895e; text-align: center;">🥉</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #bd895e;">Spain</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #bd895e;">31</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #34495e; text-align: left;" colspan="3">&nbsp;&nbsp;<a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-race-walking-team-championshi/antalya-24/results/women/20-kilometres-race-walk/final/team" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;

World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships

Kimberly Garcia strode imperiously to the 20km title at the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Antalya 24

Garcia gets gold, striding to 20km title in Antalya

A terrific last kilometre proved decisive for China&rsquo;s Yang Xizhen as she strode to victory in the U20 women's 10km at the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Antalya 24 on Sunday (21).
The race set off at a slower pace, with the first kilometre covered in 4:45 as athletes tried to get a feel for the course. The opening 2km loop was completed in 9:33, with the three Chinese athletes at the helm headed by Chen Meiling. She was closely followed by Duo Jiecuo and world U20 leader Yang, plus the three Spaniards: the European U20 champion Sofia Santacreu, Griselda Serret and Aldara Meilan.&nbsp;
It was the latter who took the lead just before the third kilometre, which was reached in 14:18 for another moderate 4:45 section. By then Spain led the team scoring ahead of China and Italy.
Meilan and Santacreu increased the pace in the fourth kilometre to clock 4:35, with the Chinese race walkers on their shoulders. By then, the leading group featured 19 athletes. The cadence heated up again in the fifth kilometre with a 4:27 split to reach halfway in 23:20, with the lead pack down to 10 athletes.&nbsp;
The relentless rhythm continued over the following kilometre and Duo surprisingly lost ground. Only six women remained at the front by the sixth kilometre checkpoint: the Spanish duo of Meilan and Santacreu, the Chinese pair of Chen and Yang, Serbia&rsquo;s Mina Stankovic and Italy&rsquo;s Giulia Gabriele. The Spanish champion Meilan led the race at the seventh kilometre &ndash; the quickest up to that point &ndash; following a 4:17 split, with her five chasers in close attendance.
By the bell, hit in 36:36, the leading group had whittled down to four athletes as first Gabriele and then Stankovic just couldn&rsquo;t keep with the frantic rhythm at the helm.&nbsp;
The final 2km loop became a thriller as Chen withdrew from the lead quartet before reaching the ninth kilometre and the race became a three-way battle between Yang and the two Spaniards. That trio clocked 40:56 with one kilometre remaining, while Chen travelled five seconds in arrears.&nbsp;
Yang made her decisive move some 700m from home when she unleashed a devastating kick to leave Meilan and Santacreu easily behind, cementing a solid lead in a matter of a few strides.&nbsp;
In the fight for second place, Meilan proved to be stronger than Santacreu, while Stankovic was disqualified with barely 150m remaining when she desperately tried to catch Santacreu in the fight for the final place on the podium. Gabriele overtook Chen in the closing stages to take fourth.
Yang&rsquo;s terrific closing kilometre was timed at 4:10 for a 45:06 winning performance. Meilan grabbed silver, six seconds in arrears, and Santacreu secured bronze in a lifetime best of 45:17.&nbsp;
The team title went to Spain for the first time, the gold medal having been taken by either Russia or China in the previous nine editions. They scored five points to China&rsquo;s six and Italy&rsquo;s 11. Meilan and Santacreu also won the first individual U20 women&rsquo;s medals for Spain in the history of the championships.
&ldquo;I felt comfortable over the last kilometre and managed to win,&rdquo; said Yang. &ldquo;This is a very important victory for me and a stepping stone for the World U20 Championships in Lima in August and hopefully some Olympics in the future.&rdquo;
As for Meilan, the 17-year-old said: &ldquo;We started slow into the race because this is our first World Race Walking Team Championships and we did not know how to manage it. Then I felt better and increased the speed. The team gold medal is even more valuable for us than the individual silver and bronze medals.&rdquo;
Santacreu said: &ldquo;We are really surprised having won the team title. Honestly, we thought China would be the winner, but this gold medal shows how high the standard in Spain is.&rdquo;
Emeterio Valiente for World Athletics 
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 75%; border-color: #222222; border-style: solid;" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #fd5249; text-align: center;" colspan="3">U20 WOMEN'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #e9c968; text-align: center;">🥇</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #e9c968;">Yang Xizhen (CHN)</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #e9c968;">45:06</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #ced4d9; text-align: center;">🥈</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #ced4d9;">Aldara Meilan (ESP)</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #ced4d9;">45:12</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #bd895e; text-align: center;">🥉</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #bd895e;">Sofia Santacreu (ESP)</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #bd895e;">45:17 PB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; text-align: center;">4</td>
<td style="width: 60%;">Giulia Gabriele (ITA)</td>
<td style="width: 30%;">45:26 PB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; text-align: center;">5</td>
<td style="width: 60%;">Chen Meiling (CHN)</td>
<td style="width: 30%;">45:35</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; text-align: center;">6</td>
<td style="width: 60%;">Griselda Serret (ESP)</td>
<td style="width: 30%;">46:12 PB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; text-align: center;">7</td>
<td style="width: 60%;">Serena Di Fabio (ITA)</td>
<td style="width: 30%;">46:12 PB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; text-align: center;">8</td>
<td style="width: 60%;">Alessia Cristina Pop (ROU)</td>
<td style="width: 30%;">46:16 PB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; text-align: center;">9</td>
<td style="width: 60%;">Michelle Canto (ITA)</td>
<td style="width: 30%;">46:27 PB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; text-align: center;">10</td>
<td style="width: 60%;">Ema Klimentova (CZE)</td>
<td style="width: 30%;">46:28 PB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #34495e; text-align: left;" colspan="3">&nbsp;&nbsp;<a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://worldathletics.org/en/competitions/world-athletics-race-walking-team-championshi/antalya-24/results/women/10-kilometres-race-walk/final/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 75%; border-color: #222222; border-style: solid;" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #fd5249; text-align: center;" colspan="3">U20 WOMEN'S TEAM RESULTS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #e9c968; text-align: center;">🥇</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #e9c968;">Spain</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #e9c968;">5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #ced4d9; text-align: center;">🥈</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #ced4d9;">China</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #ced4d9;">6</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #bd895e; text-align: center;">🥉</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #bd895e;">Italy</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #bd895e;">11</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #34495e; text-align: left;" colspan="3">&nbsp;&nbsp;<a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-race-walking-team-championshi/antalya-24/results/women/10-kilometres-race-walk/final/team" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;

A terrific last kilometre proved decisive for China’s Yang Xizhen as she strode to victory in the U20 women's 10km at the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Antalya 24 

Yang prevails over speedy Spaniards to win U20 women's 10km in Antalya

Australia&rsquo;s Isaac Beacroft became the first winner of the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Antalya 24 on Sunday (21), using superb closing speed to overpower his rivals in a thrilling finish to the U20 men's 10km.
Aged just 16, Beacroft crossed the finish line at the Antalya Expo Centre in an Oceanian U20 record of 39:56 to deny China a fifth consecutive individual win in this event while also becoming the youngest ever winner of an U20 title at these championships. After being passed by Beacroft in the final stretch, Shi Shengji held on for silver in 39:57, while his Chinese teammate Luo Jiawei claimed bronze in 40:03 and together they gained team gold.
Japan, led by Sotaro Osaka in fourth, secured team silver, while Australia bagged the bronze.
Racing on a cool and still morning after the previous day&rsquo;s storm, it was Germany&rsquo;s Frederick Weigel &ndash; the son of 1983 world champion Ronald Weigel &ndash; who initially took the race on, leading through the first kilometre in 4:06. He remained to the fore as the 3km mark was passed in 12:21, joined by China&rsquo;s Luo Jiawei and Spain&rsquo;s Daniel Monfort.
Weigel dropped back as the field &ndash; led by Luo and Li &ndash; started to string out. As they reached 4km in 16:27, a stride ahead of Shi, the first red cards of the competition had been handed out for a loss of contact &ndash; one for world U20 leader Li included.
Luo and Li continued to control the race they hit halfway in 20:29, but Beacroft &ndash; contesting just the second road race of his career &ndash; was right up there with them.
Li decided it was time to make a move and he picked up the pace, the field in a line behind him. A 4:02 kilometre made an impact and only Shi could go with him, but the move didn&rsquo;t come without danger and Li received a second red card.
Shi was a stride ahead as 7km was reached in 28:14, with Luo nine seconds behind his teammates, walking alongside Beacroft.
But Li&rsquo;s individual medal hopes came to an end a short while later, as he was shown his third red card and left the course to serve a one-minute penalty. Shi received his first red card and then passed the 8km mark in 32:07.
That put the 17-year-old 12 seconds ahead of his closest challengers, but Beacroft was clearly waiting for the right moment to strike. He fought with Luo in what looked to be a battle for silver, but the Australian wasn&rsquo;t done.&nbsp;
By 9km, Shi&rsquo;s lead was down to three seconds and Beacroft closed the gap, timing his finish to perfection as he picked up the pace and stormed past Shi to make sure that Australia's first ever individual men's U20 medal in this event was a gold one.
&ldquo;I'm just amazed, I can't believe it. I'm so happy with what I just did,&rdquo; said the winner. &ldquo;I always knew I had it in me that I could be up there, ready to go, but winning is another level. It's unreal.
&ldquo;I'm just hoping that I set up the platform for the rest of the Australian team to tear it up.&rdquo;
Behind the individual medallists, Osaka clocked a PB of 40:30 for his fourth-place finish, with his compatriot Taisei Yoshizako sixth in 40:39, also a PB, to secure the team silver.
Finishing between them was Italy&rsquo;s Giuseppe Disabato, who managed a PB of 40:32 for fifth, while Turkiye&rsquo;s Seyhmus Capat had the race of his life on home soil, setting a national U20 record of 40:42 to finish seventh.
Jess Whittington for World&nbsp;Athletics 
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 75%; border-color: #222222; border-style: solid;" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #fd5249; text-align: center;" colspan="3">U20 MEN'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #e9c968; text-align: center;">🥇</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #e9c968;">Isaac Beacroft (AUS)</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #e9c968;">39:56 AU20R</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #ced4d9; text-align: center;">🥈</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #ced4d9;">Shi Shengji (CHN)</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #ced4d9;">39:57</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #bd895e; text-align: center;">🥉</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #bd895e;">Luo Jiawei (CHN)</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #bd895e;">40:03</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; text-align: center;">4</td>
<td style="width: 60%;">Sotaro Osaka (JPN)</td>
<td style="width: 30%;">40:30 PB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; text-align: center;">5</td>
<td style="width: 60%;">Giuseppe Disabato (ITA)</td>
<td style="width: 30%;">40:32 PB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; text-align: center;">6</td>
<td style="width: 60%;">Taisei Yoshizako (JPN)</td>
<td style="width: 30%;">40:39 PB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; text-align: center;">7</td>
<td style="width: 60%;">Seyhmus Capat (TUR)</td>
<td style="width: 30%;">40:42 NU20R</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; text-align: center;">8</td>
<td style="width: 60%;">Daniel Monfort (ESP)</td>
<td style="width: 30%;">40:43 PB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; text-align: center;">9</td>
<td style="width: 60%;">Frederick Weigel (GER)</td>
<td style="width: 30%;">40:53 PB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; text-align: center;">10</td>
<td style="width: 60%;">Jesus Leonardo Ramirez (COL)</td>
<td style="width: 30%;">40:53 PB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #34495e; text-align: left;" colspan="3">&nbsp;&nbsp;<a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://worldathletics.org/en/competitions/world-athletics-race-walking-team-championshi/antalya-24/results/men/10-kilometres-race-walk/final/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 75%; border-color: #222222; border-style: solid;" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #fd5249; text-align: center;" colspan="3">U20 MEN'S TEAM RESULTS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #e9c968; text-align: center;">🥇</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #e9c968;">China</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #e9c968;">5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #ced4d9; text-align: center;">🥈</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #ced4d9;">Japan</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #ced4d9;">10</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #bd895e; text-align: center;">🥉</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #bd895e;">Australia</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #bd895e;">14</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #34495e; text-align: left;" colspan="3">&nbsp;&nbsp;<a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-race-walking-team-championshi/antalya-24/results/men/10-kilometres-race-walk/final/team" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;

Australia’s Isaac Beacroft became the first winner of the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Antalya 24, using superb closing speed to overpower his rivals in a thrilling finish

Beacroft blazes to U20 men's 10km title in Antalya

It seems that rains usually come to bless a successful day, and it was the case at the Kip Keino Classic &ndash; a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting &ndash; in Nairobi on Saturday (20). A warm day turned into a cool afternoon, and it only began to rain in the last event of the evening.
World champion Ethan Katzberg provided the highlight in the men&rsquo;s hammer, throwing 84.38m &ndash; the farthest mark since 2008 &ndash; to move to ninth on the world all-time list.
All five of his valid throws surpassed the previous PB of 81.25m that he set to win the world title in Budapest last year. The Canadian 22-year-old opened with 81.25m, improved to 82.06m in the second round and then fouled the third. His fourth throw was 81.50m and then he launched the implement 84.38m on his fifth try before completing his series with 83.26m.
Mykhaylo Kokhan also threw beyond 80 metres, his best of 80.76m securing him second place ahead of Wojciech Nowicki (79.14m) and Pawel Fajdek (75.82m).
In the women&rsquo;s hammer throw, USA&rsquo;s world silver medallist Janee Kassanavoid won with her fifth-round 75.99m. She had gone into the contest as the athlete to watch, and on her second attempt she threw 74.22m to take the lead, moving Romania&rsquo;s Bianca Ghelber to second place with her first throw of 73.38m. Beatrice Nedberge Llano of Norway was third after a 70.77m throw.
There was also great excitement in the 800m events, where winning performances by world champion Mary Moraa and world silver medallist Emmanuel Wanyonyi delighted the home crowds.
There was dancing as usual after the women&rsquo;s 800m. Paced by her sister Sarah Moraa, Mary Moraa went through the first 400m in around 56 seconds. She held the inside lane on the second lap and controlled the race, surging away down the home straight to finish in a meeting record of 1:57.96, as the crowds remained on their feet. Vivian Chebet Kiprotich was second in 1:58.26 and Nelly Jepkosgei third in 1:58.93, both PBs.
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Also recording one of the many world-leading times of the day, Wanyonyi won a scintillating men&rsquo;s 800m. Timothy Cheruiyot and Abel Kipsang had dropped down to meet Wanyonyi at his specialist distance and the latter showed them dust. He ran 1:43.57 to win ahead of Aaron Cheminingwa, the recently crowned African Games champion, who ran a personal best of 1:44.10. Ferguson Rotich ran 1:44.90 to complete the podium.
There was a fierce battle in the men&rsquo;s 200m. USA&rsquo;s Courtney Lindsey led off the bend but Botswana&rsquo;s double world medallist Letsile Tebogo was determined to chase him down. He almost managed it but Lindsey had saved just enough to dip for the victory, winning in a world lead of 19.71 (-1.5m/s), a time matched by Tebogo.
It had just started raining as the 100m men were introduced to the expectant crowd. USA&rsquo;s Olympic silver medallist Kenny Bednarek won the shortest race of the day in 9.91 (2.2m/s) ahead of Emmanuel Matadi of Liberia (9.99) and Jeremiah Azu of Great Britain (10.00).&nbsp;
The Gambia&rsquo;s Gina Mariam Bass Bittaye won the women&rsquo;s 100m in 11.33 (-1.6m/s) ahead of Egypt&rsquo;s Bassant Hemida (11.51) and USA&rsquo;s Shannon Ray (11.53).
Botswana's Bayapo Ndori ran a world leading 44.10 to win the men&rsquo;s 400m. USA&rsquo;s Bryce Deadmon was second in 44.41 ahead of Botswana's Leungo Scotch in a personal best of 44.54. In fourth place, Kenya's Zablon Ekhal Ekwam was beside himself with an Olympic qualifying time and personal best of 44.69.
The men&rsquo;s javelin marked the beginning of the main programme. A first throw of 81.74m put Latvia&rsquo;s Gatis Cakss in the lead. Thomas Rohler&rsquo;s 80.62m from his second attempt placed him second and Timothy Herman moved into third place with his fifth throw of 79.94m.
Before the track events began, a minute of silence was observed for Kenya&rsquo;s Chief of the Defence Forces, General Francis Ogolla, who died on Thursday in a helicopter crash in the North Rift of Kenya.
The men&rsquo;s 10,000m followed. During an exciting final lap, Edwin Seko and Amos Lagat battled it out to the finish line, with Seko winning in 28:30.43 to Lagat&rsquo;s 28:30.91.
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Ethiopia&rsquo;s Marta Alemayo followed her world U20 cross country title win from last month with another victory, running 15:14.54 to win the 5000m. During the last two laps, the 16-year-old began to stretch the gap ahead of her compatriot Lemlem Nibret.
As Alemayo strode to the finish line, Kenya&rsquo;s Margaret Kipkemboi overtook Nibret to finish second - 15:19.76 to 15:20.99.&nbsp;
In the last lap of the men&rsquo;s 5000m, the duo of Kenya&rsquo;s Levy Kibet and Charles Rotich could not match Ethiopia&rsquo;s Abdisa Fayisa&rsquo;s strong finishing kick when the latter bolted away with about 200m to go. He won in a personal best of 13:34.77 as Kibet and Rotich followed in 13:38.39 and 13:39.16, respectively.
Kenya&rsquo;s world bronze medallist Abraham Kibiwot ran 8:20.54 at the high altitude to emerge victorious in the men&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase. With two laps go, Amos Serem &ndash; the 2021 world U20 champion &ndash; overtook Kibiwot but the eventual winner hung just behind him and responded with a strong finishing kick. Serem was second in 8:21.40.
Stella Rutto of Romania won the women&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase in 9:39.57, ahead of Kenya&rsquo;s Leah Jeruto in 9:39.94.
The men&rsquo;s 1500m was topped by Reynold Cheruiyot, who ran 3:31.96. Brian Komen, who had fought shoulder to shoulder with Cheruiyot for the last 300m, finished second in a personal best time of 3:32.29.
Mary Ekiru took the women&rsquo;s 1500m win in 4:06.26.
Amalie Iuel of Norway registered a world-leading time of 54.89 in the women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles after overtaking Paulien Couckuyt of Belgium at the last hurdle. USA&rsquo;s Bianca Stubler was third.
Kenya&rsquo;s Wiseman Were Mukhobe set a meeting record of 48.57 to comfortably win the men&rsquo;s 400m hurdles, a national event.
Michaela Hruba of Czechia jumped 1.90m to win the women&rsquo;s high jump, beating Maja Nilsson of Sweden, who succeeded at the same height on her third attempt and was runner-up on countback. Elena Vallortigara jumped 1.86m for third place.
Justin Lagat for World Athletics

World champion Ethan Katzberg threw 84.38m – the farthest mark since 2008 – to move to ninth on the world all-time list

Katzberg throws 84.38m to highlight hammer in Nairobi

Athletes and dignitaries highlighted how history will be made at the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Antalya 24, on the eve of the competition taking place in Turkiye on Sunday (21 April).
The marathon race walk mixed relay makes its Olympic debut in Paris in August and WRW Antalya 24 is a qualifying event for the new discipline.
As well as the mixed relay, the programme in Antalya features senior 20km and U20 10km races, and there is star quality across the board.
&ldquo;This world-class competition has always been important to the race walking community, but this edition is particularly significant because of course it is an Olympic qualifying event, with the Paris Games just three months away,&rdquo; said World Athletics CEO Jon Ridgeon at the pre-event press conference held at the Dokumapark Modern Art Gallery in Antalya.
&ldquo;That significance is further heightened because we are making a bit of history tomorrow. For the first time ever in a major championship event, we have the marathon race walk mixed relay event that will be staged as a precursor to its introduction into the Olympic Games in Paris. I am really looking forward to seeing this new event live in action.
&ldquo;I am also delighted that pretty much all of the top international race walkers from around the world are here in Antalya for this weekend&rsquo;s action. Race walking is certainly an element of the sport where nobody hides from head-to-head competition. It will be a truly top-tier competition.&rdquo;
Turkish Athletic Federation President Fatih Cintimar reinforced the event&rsquo;s importance.
&ldquo;We are very honoured to have this competition in Turkiye. This is history for us, and history for race walking,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Seeing that 22 marathon race walk mixed relay teams will qualify for the Olympics is very important for us, too. Organising this big event with the Governor of Antalya, we are so honoured. Good luck to all the athletes competing tomorrow.&rdquo;
Governor Hulusi Sahin said: &ldquo;Both for Antalya and for Turkiye, this is a huge event. We are very honoured.
&ldquo;Today is rainy and windy but tomorrow we expect good weather with a beautiful atmosphere.&rdquo;
Polish race walking great Robert Korzeniowski was also in attendance as the World Athletics ambassador for the event.
Sharing his expectations for the competition, the four-time Olympic and three-time world gold medallist said: &ldquo;Twenty years after I stopped my high-performance career, I have a chance to see my dear athletics event in very good shape &ndash; progressing into a new formula of competition. I am very excited to see tomorrow&rsquo;s qualification for Paris.
&ldquo;We also have the 20km races and the U20 categories. Be focused on the Olympic qualification but also look at the future champions. This is the future of our discipline.&rdquo;
Among the current global champions in Antalya is Spain&rsquo;s Alvaro Martin and after his double world title win in the 20km and 35km in Budapest, Martin will contest the mixed relay on Sunday.
&ldquo;The main target is to qualify for the Paris Olympics. We have entered three strong teams and we&rsquo;ll be aiming for the two spots per country on offer,&rdquo; he said.
Sunday&rsquo;s competition will mark his second experience in the relay as Spain held a dress rehearsal on 10 March in Valencia where Martin and Laura Garcia-Caro clocked 2:57:04 &ndash; the second-quickest ever time only bettered by the Ecuadorian duo of Brian Pintado and Glenda Morejon.
&ldquo;I hope that opening experience means an advantage over the majority of the countries,&rdquo; Martin added. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll only race 20km tomorrow but in terms of effort, I think the mixed relay event is closer to the 35km than to the 20km because at the beginning of the second leg you already feel tiredness.&rdquo;
Australia&rsquo;s Jemima Montag was only headed by Spain&rsquo;s Maria Perez in the 20km event last year in Budapest and has since improved her lifetime best to 1:27:09. She too has opted for the mixed relay in Antalya where she will line up&nbsp;alongside Rhydian Cowley.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m really excited ahead of tomorrow&rsquo;s competition. Australia has entered a 20-athlete team in the different events, and we look forward to performing well here,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;As for Rhydian, we have been training partners for the last 16 years, so we know each other well. I think this added team element, it lifts your energy.&rdquo;
Morejon, who won the 35km at the last edition of the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships, said: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s an honour to be here. Alongside my coach, we have decided to focus solely on the 20km event to give a chance to my teammates for the mixed relay, but my plan is to double at the Paris Olympic Games where I&rsquo;ll be contesting the 20km and the relay.&rdquo;
Her compatriot Jefferson Perez, the 1996 Olympic 20km champion, is also in Antalya and asked about his presence at the event, she replied: &ldquo;He is a big inspiration for the team and it will be very motivating to have him cheering us on tomorrow.&rdquo;
Sweden&rsquo;s world 20km silver medallist Perseus Karlstrom will also compete in the individual 20km event on Sunday after taking 35km gold in Muscat two years ago.
&ldquo;Race walkers form a big family. We meet up several times every year and it&rsquo;s always great to see each other,&rdquo; he said. Asked about his favourites for the mixed relay, he replied: &ldquo;I think the Mexican team have a very solid technique, so they could have a surprise medal tomorrow. When it comes to the best technician, I would team up with Antonella Palmisano from Italy.&rdquo;
Palmisano will form part of one of the two Italian teams which will also feature Olympic champion Massimo Stano. Asked which event, the 20km or mixed relay, he considers tougher, Stano was adamant: &ldquo;The relay, for two reasons. First, it&rsquo;s a longer distance overall, and secondly, because it&rsquo;s not easy to know what you should do between the two relay legs.&rdquo;
For Salih Korkmaz, the event is a chance to race on home soil.
&ldquo;We are a very strong team,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I am pretty sure that we will be among those 22 teams (to qualify for Paris). I hope to have great results tomorrow."

Athletes and dignitaries highlighted how history will be made at the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Antalya 24, on the eve of the competition taking place in Turkiye on Sunday

History in the making at WRW Antalya 24

The 2024 Wanda Diamond League season kicked off in Xiamen just as the 2023 campaign concluded in Eugene: with Mondo Duplantis taking the men&rsquo;s pole vault world record to new heights.
In the Diamond League Final in Oregon last September, the peerless Swede soared to 6.23m, his seventh world record. In Xiamen on Saturday (20), during his first trip to China, the 24-year-old Olympic, world outdoor and world indoor champion surprised even himself as he shot cleanly over 6.24m* at the first attempt at the start of an outdoor season in which he still has more than three months to build towards the pinnacle of the Paris Olympics.
Asked whether he had an eighth world record in mind, Duplantis replied: &ldquo;Kinda not really.&rdquo; But then came the rider that the disappointment of not having ventured beyond 6.05m in the indoor season &ndash; the height with which he retained the world indoor title in Glasgow last month &ndash; had left him going into the great outdoors with something of a personal point to prove.
&ldquo;The indoor season was sloppier than I would have liked, so I had some fire in me today,&rdquo; Duplantis confessed. &ldquo;I really wanted to show what I could do.&rdquo;
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He did that &ndash; adding Xiamen to the expanding map on which he has made his global mark, after Torun, Glasgow, Belgrade (twice), Eugene (twice) and Clermont-Ferrand.
After first-time successes at 5.62m, 5.82m and 6.00m, Duplantis had the bar raised straight to 6.24m, 7cm higher than his maiden world record height in Torun four years ago.
&ldquo;The conditions were good and there was a great energy from the crowd,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The six metre jump felt really smooth and I was thinking 6.24m was in reach.
&ldquo;I just thought I&rsquo;d put in my best jump, and it happened. I think there are still higher heights in me.&rdquo;
Just once before has he opened his outdoor season with a six metre clearance &ndash; a 6.02m success at the Doha Diamond League meeting in 2022.&nbsp;
His winning margin in Xiamen was 42cm, USA&rsquo;s two-time world champion Sam Kendricks taking second place with 5.82m and China&rsquo;s Huang Bokai finishing third with 5.72m.
On the track, Gudaf Tsegay also picked up where she left off at the end of the last outdoor season. Or thereabouts.&nbsp;
The Ethiopian who landed the world 10,000m title in Budapest last August could not quite reach the world record high she produced in the Diamond League Final 5000m, but she underlined the range of her talent with the third fastest outdoor 1500m of all time.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6623e8d86a47ee8f50283379.jpg" alt="Gudaf Tsegay celebrates her 1500m run in Xiamen" />
Gudaf Tsegay celebrates her 1500m run in Xiamen (&copy; Matthew Quine / Diamond League AG)
</div>
Still smarting from her loss to Elle St Pierre of the US in the 3000m final at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Tsegay looked like a woman with a point to prove as she pulled clear of her 18-year-old training partner Birke Haylom with 300m remaining, powering home in 3:50.30.
That elevated the world indoor 1500m record-holder from ninth to third on the world all-time outdoor list, a 2.79 improvement on her previous best. Only her Kenyan rival Faith Kipyegon (3:49.11) and her compatriot Genzebe Dibaba (3:49.11) have gone quicker. &ldquo;That was a big surprise for me in my first outdoor race of the season,&rdquo; Tsegay confessed.
Behind Tsegay&rsquo;s PB, world lead and meeting record, eight other women ducked under four minutes. The plucky Haylom lowered her lifetime best from 3:54.93 to 3:53.22 &ndash; a clear second ahead of fellow Ethiopians Worknesh Mesele (3:57.61) and 2023 world silver medallist Diribe Welteji (3:57.62).
Then came Ethiopia&rsquo;s world indoor 1500m champion Frewenyi Hailu, fifth in 3:58.18 &ndash; followed by four new members of the sub-four club: Australia&rsquo;s Georgia Griffith (3:59.04), Ethiopians Habitam Alemu (3:59.06) and Saron Berhe (3:59.21) and Sarah Billings (3:59.59), also of Australia.
At the third time of asking, Lamecha Girma not only managed to complete a 5000m race but did so inside 13 minutes.&nbsp;
On his most recent attempt, at the 2023 Diamond League meeting in Zurich, the 3000m steeplechase world record-holder dropped out with two laps to go. This time he saved his strength for the last two laps, tracking fellow Ethiopian Addisu Yihune when the 2022 world U20 champion hit the front with 650m to go before pulling clear over the final 300m.
Girma finished a clear winner in 12:58.96, with Kenya&rsquo;s 2022 Diamond League champion Nicholas Kipkorir coming through for second in 12:59.78 and Birhanu Balew of Bahrain snatching third in 13:00.47.
World record-holder Beatrice Chepkoech produced a dominant performance in the women&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase, powering to victory in 8:55.40, the 11th fastest time in history.&nbsp;
Faith Cherotich, the Kenyan teammate who took world bronze behind Chepkoech&rsquo;s silver in Budapest last August, finished second in 9:05.49, with Uganda&rsquo;s Olympic champion Peruth Chemutai third in 9:12.99.
Australian teenager Torrie Lewis lined up with the slowest lifetime best in the women&rsquo;s 200m, 22.94, but produced the shock of the night to claim a maiden Diamond League victory and a clutch of notable scalps.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6623ea956a47ee8f5028337c.jpg" alt="Torrie Lewis wins the 200m in Xiamen" />
Torrie Lewis wins the 200m in Xiamen (&copy; Matthew Quine / Diamond League AG)
</div>
Drawn out in lane nine, the 19-year-old stole through to win in 22.96 (-0.4m/s) while Sha&rsquo;Carri Richardson, the world 100m champion and 200m bronze medallist, dug deep to claim second place in 22.99 ahead of fellow US sprinters Tamara Clark (23.02) and Anavia Battle (23.02).&nbsp;
&ldquo;I honestly didn&rsquo;t notice I&rsquo;d won until I saw the replay,&rdquo; said Lewis.
Canada&rsquo;s Marco Arop had to dig deep and show his world champion pedigree to get the better of Kenya&rsquo;s Wyclife Kinyamal in a ding-dong home straight battle in the men&rsquo;s 800m. Arop&rsquo;s reward was a world lead of 1:43.61, with Kinyamal 0.05 down in second place and Botswana&rsquo;s Tshepiso Masalela third in 1:43.88, a PB.
There was also a world lead in the men&rsquo;s 110m hurdles, 2023 world bronze medallist Daniel Roberts taking the victory in 13.11 (-0.3) ahead of US compatriot Cordell Tinch (13.16) and Japan&rsquo;s Shunsuke Izumiya (13.17). Jamaica&rsquo;s Olympic champion Hansle Parchment finished down in sixth in 13.33.
Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico finished strongly to edge the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles in 12.45 (0.2), overhauling world indoor 60m hurdles champion and world record-holder Devynne Charlton of The Bahamas by 0.01.
The 2022 world indoor champion Cyrena Samba-Mayela clocked a French record 12.55 in third, with the most recent two world outdoor champions Danielle Williams of Jamaica (12.56) and Nigeria&rsquo;s Tobi Amusan (12.58) fourth and fifth respectively.
The opening race on the track, the women&rsquo;s 400m, replicated the one-two from last year&rsquo;s world final in Budapest, Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic (50.08) proving too strong for Poland&rsquo;s Natalia Kaczmarek (50.29).
In the final track race, the men&rsquo;s 100m, world indoor 60m champion Christian Coleman overhauled Fred Kerley, the 2022 world champion at 100m, clocking 10.13 (-0.6) ahead of his compatriot&rsquo;s 10.17. World indoor bronze medallist Ackeem Blake finished third in 10.20.
Olympic champion Mutaz Barshim showed signs of rust in the men&rsquo;s high jump. Understandably so, given the fact that the 32-year-old Qatari was taking part in his first competition since taking a six-month break with back and hip problems.
The three-time world champion nailed first-time clearances at 2.15m, 2.20m and 2.24m but then needed all three tries to make it over 2.27m. He tried once at 2.29m and twice at 2.31m, without success.
World indoor silver medallist Shelby McEwen needed just one try to make it over 2.27m. That first-time clearance was sufficient to earn the US jumper the victory ahead of Barshim on countback, with New Zealand&rsquo;s world indoor champion Hamish Kerr in third with 2.24m.
Portugal&rsquo;s Olympic triple jump champion Pedro Pichardo emerged from his injury-enforced break in winning style, a 17.51m meeting record securing victory ahead of world champion Hugues Fabrice Zango of Burkina Faso (17.12m). Su Wen won the Chinese battle for third place, jumping 16.82, with Fang Yaoqing fourth (16.73m) and Olympic silver medallist Zhu Yaming fifth (16.55m).
China&rsquo;s Gong Lijiao emerged a popular winner from the women&rsquo;s shot put. The Olympic champion and two-time world champion&rsquo;s best effort of 19.72m came in round two.
World champion Chase Jackson of USA was her closest pursuer with 19.62m until Maddison-Lee Wesche edged into second with the final throw of the competition, a 19.63m PB on the day her place in the New Zealand Olympic team was confirmed. Canada&rsquo;s world indoor champion Sarah Mitton had to settle for fourth place with 19.35m
Olympic champion Valarie Allman of the US took the women&rsquo;s discus with a meeting record 69.80m. Cuba&rsquo;s Yaime Perez had to settle for second with 68.33m &ndash; a week after the monster 73.09m effort in Oklahoma that eclipsed Allman&rsquo;s North American record. Feng Bin of China, the 2022 world champion, finished third with 67.07m.
There was just the one throw beyond 60m in the non-Diamond League women&rsquo;s javelin, Dai Qianqian providing a home victory with a fourth round throw of 61.25m. Latvia&rsquo;s Lina Muze-Sirma took second with 58.91m, ahead of Colombia&rsquo;s 2023 world silver medallist Flor Ruiz Hurtado, third with 58.50m.
Simon Turnbull for World Athletics
*Subject to the usual ratification procedure

Mondo Duplantis got the 2024 Wanda Diamond League season off to a stunning start in Xiamen on Saturday (20), elevating his world pole vault record to a new high of 6.24m

Duplantis breaks world pole vault record with 6.24m in Xiamen

Brannon Kidder, Brandon Miller, Isaiah Harris and Henry Wynne teamed up to set a distance medley relay world record of 9:14.58* at the Oregon Relays in Eugene, USA, on Friday (19).
The distance medley relay comprises legs of 1200m, 400m, 800m and 1600m. Kidder got things started with his 1200m leg of 2:49.60 before Miller ran 46.60 for 400m.&nbsp;
Harris then clocked 1:45.75 for 800m before Wynne brought the baton home after running 3:52.64 for the final 1600m leg.
Their combined time of 9:14.58 improves on the previous world record of 9:15.50 set by USA&rsquo;s Kyle Merber, Brycen Spratling, Brandon Johnson and Ben Blankenship at the 2015 World Athletics Relays in The Bahamas.
The next edition of the World Athletics Relays returns to Nassau on 4-5 May.
*Subject to the usual ratification procedure

Brannon Kidder, Brandon Miller, Isaiah Harris and Henry Wynne teamed up to set a distance medley relay world record of 9:14.58* at the Oregon Relays in Eugene

US quartet breaks distance medley relay world record in Eugene

On an ordinary Thursday afternoon, the Shangwen school in Xiamen, which has been operating for less than two years, experienced a scene more bustling than its opening day.
When four Diamond League athletes &ndash; Sam Kendricks, Chris Nilsen, Devynne Charlton and Fred Kerley &ndash; walked out of the hall during a visit ahead of Saturday's Wanda Diamond League Xiamen, the thunderous cheers sounded like they could belong at an Olympic award ceremony. Students thronged the corridors, aisles and windows, just to catch a glimpse of the sports stars, or search for a chance to get an autograph.
During the opening remarks echoing through the hall, an unexpected act occurred. The two pole vaulters, Kendricks and Nilsen, subtly exchanged notes beneath the desk just like two naughty boys. The instigator of this secret communication? A young student sat in the back row. On the note was an English question: "How do you control your attitude when you lose the games?"
Kendricks, the first to receive the note, wrote down words in a beautiful cursive flow. "A long journey is a good one if you have something to&nbsp;treasure&nbsp;every day. If winning is the only goal, it will be a short journey."
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6622dc8cef584282179bb04b.jpg" alt="Sam Kendricks writes a note during a school visit in Xiamen" />
Sam Kendricks writes a note during a school visit in Xiamen (&copy; Hu Xingyu/Xinhua/Media Development Programme)
</div>
Nilsen then added: "The best way to control your emotions is to know about it! Make everything you do, good or bad, a step towards implement."
The pair&rsquo;s presence during the outdoor interactive session also quickly drew the most significant crowd. Initially, they each put their skills on display. But for Kendricks and Nilsen, this wasn't enough.
"More students, more!" they called out. Like a wave, they engaged several rows of students in their warm-ups, quickly filling half the playground. With an unspoken agreement, they led everyone in a series of jumping exercises and stretches. They even showcased their prowess in handstand walking, eliciting cheers from the audience.
When a girl from the club learned that Kendricks and Nilsen were pole vaulters, her first thought was fear of height and injury.
In response to this, Nilsen showed great encouragement. He didn't start learning pole vault in the beginning. From football to pole vault, athletics has launched him to new heights.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6622dcccef584282179bb04e.jpg" alt="Fred Kerley, Sam Kendricks, Chris Nilsen and Devynne Charlton during a school visit in Xiamen" />
Fred Kerley, Sam Kendricks, Chris Nilsen and Devynne Charlton during a school visit in Xiamen (&copy; Hu Xingyu/Xinhua/Media Development Programme)
</div>
Nilsen compared pole vaulting to driving a car, noting that both progressively increase in speed. In a car, we accelerate from 0 to 10 to 20 to 30km per hour. Similarly, in pole vaulting, we progress from one metre, to two metres, to three metres, and so on. "It's a marathon, not a sprint," he said.
After a brief interaction, the athletes were urged to end their schedule. Kendricks and Nilsen also left the campus amid the crowd. Meanwhile, a group of girls from the high jump team lingered, discussing at the edge of the field.
"I will definitely try pole vaulting in the future, and jump as high as they do," said one with excitement.
Tian Xinlu of the Media Development Programme for World Athletics

On an ordinary Thursday afternoon, the Shangwen school in Xiamen, which has been operating for less than two years, experienced a scene more bustling than its opening day

Diamond League athletes inspire new heights during Xiamen school visit

With three of the top four fastest women in history taking on several other road racing stars, the TCS London Marathon &ndash; a World Athletics Platinum Label road race &ndash; could see something very special on Sunday (21).
Tigist Assefa leads the women-only world record assault as she forms part of a stacked field featuring the likes of Brigid Kosgei, Ruth Chepngetich, Peres Jepchirchir, Joyciline Jepkosgei and Yalemzerf Yehualaw.
Assefa smashed the world record with 2:11:53 in Berlin last year, taking more than two minutes off Kosgei&rsquo;s previous record set in Chicago in 2019.
Now they clash for the first time, as they take to the roads of London as part of a star-studded line-up of athletes aiming to improve the women-only world record of 2:17:01 set by Mary Keitany in the British capital back in 2017.
As well as her world record time, Ethiopia&rsquo;s Assefa ran 2:15:37 to win in Berlin in 2022, while Kenya&rsquo;s Kosgei is the Olympic silver medallist who has five major marathon wins to her name. Her 2:14:04 achieved in Chicago remains the third-fastest women&rsquo;s performance in history, behind Assefa&rsquo;s world record and the 2:13:44 clocked by Sifan Hassan last year.
While Hassan is not defending her London Marathon title, the field does include Kenya&rsquo;s 2019 world champion Chepngetich, who sits fourth on the world all-time list with 2:14:18 from Chicago in 2022.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve trained very well, just as I did for Berlin. We&rsquo;ll see how well on Sunday but I&rsquo;m sure I can beat the record, as I&rsquo;m sure many of my competitors can too,&rdquo; Assefa said at the pre-event press conference.
&ldquo;I am very happy to be in London for the first time and very excited. I feel ready for the race.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Others who could also challenge the record include Olympic champion Jepchirchir, 2022 London Marathon champion Yehualaw and 2021 London Marathon winner Jepkosgei, who are among the nine women in the field with PBs faster than 2:17:30.
That list also includes Dubai Marathon winner Tigist Ketema, 2023 London Marathon runner-up Megertu Alemu and Sheila Chepkirui, who was second in last year&rsquo;s Berlin Marathon.
&ldquo;I had to miss the New York City Marathon last year because of injury,&rdquo; said Jepchirchir. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m in good health now but the field here is so strong. I think the world record is definitely on. After that, may the best one win.&rdquo;
Female pacemakers will be tasked with keeping the leading women on track for the women-only world record in London, where the elite women will run a separate race to the elite men and masses.
In the men&rsquo;s race, the challenge will be led by Ethiopia&rsquo;s 2022 world marathon champion Tamirat Tola and his compatriot Kenenisa Bekele, the multiple world and Olympic gold medallist on the track.
Both will be targeting a London Marathon title that has so far eluded them, with Tola finishing third in the British capital last year and Bekele&rsquo;s best of his five attempts being the second place he secured in 2017.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very happy to be back here again. It&rsquo;s been a long career for me. I&rsquo;ve been running since 1999, almost 25 years, so it&rsquo;s really not a short time in any sport,&rdquo; said Bekele, a two-time Berlin Marathon champion and the third fastest marathon runner of all time thanks to the 2:01:41 he ran in Germany in 2019.
Only world record-holder Kelvin Kiptum and Eliud Kipchoge have ever run faster than Bekele. In February, Kiptum &ndash; the reigning London Marathon champion &ndash; died alongside his coach in a road traffic accident and on Sunday there will be a tribute to Kiptum before the elite men&rsquo;s race.
&ldquo;Of course, he is greatly missed,&rdquo; said Bekele. &ldquo;Even in his short time in the sport he set such an amazing history. And of course he has the course record here. We all remember him. He&rsquo;s in all our hearts.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Bekele and Tola are two of the three fastest entries for this year&rsquo;s race, with New York Marathon winner Tola&rsquo;s best of 2:03:39 having been clocked in Amsterdam in 2021. Kenya&rsquo;s Alexander Mutiso Munyao, plus Ethiopia&rsquo;s Dawit Wolde and Kinde Atanaw, also have PBs under 2:04.
Munyao was second in the Valencia Marathon in a PB of 2:03:11 in December, while Wolde ran 2:03:48 to finish third in that race. Atanaw is the 2019 Valencia winner, who ran 2:03:51 to claim that win.
Others looking to make a statement will be world bronze medallist Leul Gebresilase, who finished second in London in 2022, plus 2021 Chicago Marathon winner Seifu Tura and Daniel Mateiko, who won the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in 58:45 in February.
Emile Cairess and Callum Hawkins lead the list of British entrants. Their compatriot Marc Scott, the 2022 world indoor 3000m bronze medallist, makes his marathon debut.
<h3>Leading entries</h3>
Women Tigist Assefa (ETH) 2:11:53 Brigid Kosgei (KEN) 2:14:04 Ruth Chepngetich (KEN) 2:14:18 Tigist Ketema (ETH) 2:16:07 Megertu Alemu (ETH) 2:17:09 Peres Jepchirchir (KEN) 2:17:16 Joyciline Jepkosgei (KEN) 2:17:23 Yalemzerf Yehualaw (ETH) 2:17:23 Sheila Chepkirui (KEN) 2:17:29 Tsige Haileslase (ETH) 2:22:10 Susanna Sullivan (USA) 2:24:27 Manon Trapp (FRA) 2:25:48 Becky Briggs (GBR) 2:29:04 Alice Wright (GBR) 2:29:08
Men Kenenisa Bekele (ETH) 2:01:41 Alexander Mutiso Munyao (KEN) 2:03:11 Tamirat Tola (ETH) 2:03:39 Dawit Wolde (ETH) 2:03:48 Kinde Atanaw (ETH) 2:03:51 Leul Gebresilase (ETH) 2:04:02 Seifu Tura (ETH) 2:04:29 Daniel Do Nascimento (BRA) 2:04:51 Addisu Gobena (ETH) 2:05:01 Milkesa Mengesha (ETH) 2:05:29 Henok Tesfay (ERI) 2:07:12 Hendrick Pfeiffer (GER) 2:07:14 Emile Cairess (GBR) 2:08:07 Callum Hawkins (GBR) 2:08:14 Hassan Chahdi (FRA) 2:08:19 Mahamed Mahamed (GBR) 2:08:40 Brian Shrader (USA) 2:09:46 Stephen Scullion&nbsp; (IRL) 2:09:49 Weynay Ghebresilasie (GBR) 2:09:50 Daniel Mateiko (KEN) no time Marc Scott (GBR) debut

With three of the top four fastest women in history taking on several other stars of road racing, the TCS London Marathon could see something very special on Sunday

Assefa, Kosgei and Chepngetich lead top-class clash in London

The Wanda Diamond League returns this weekend, with the first meeting of the season taking place in Xiamen, China, on Saturday (20).
World record-holders, Olympic gold medallists and world champions are among the athletes who will get their outdoor campaigns under way.
The action will start at 5:35pm local time (GMT+8) with the men's high jump and the main two-hour broadcast window will begin at 7:00pm local time with the women's 400m.
<a href="https://xiamen.diamondleague.com/program-results/program-2024/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results, programme and entry lists</a> | <a href="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/document/662296fc1512fe15a7eea9f9.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">media information sheets and athlete biographies</a> 
<div class="bodytext">
<h2>Where to watch</h2>
The meeting will be streamed in a number of territories on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@diamondleague/streams" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Wanda Diamond League YouTube page</a> from 7:00pm local time (GMT+8).
The livestream will&nbsp;NOT&nbsp;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 subject to change, and some broadcasters may only show highlights coverage, while others will show the meeting live. 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): 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): 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: 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, 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: 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: 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</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</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, 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;
</div>

The Wanda Diamond League returns this weekend, with the first meeting of the season taking place in Xiamen on Saturday

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

The 2024 Wanda Diamond League is set to get off to a flying start in Xiamen on Saturday (20) as a host of world record-holders, Olympic gold medallists and world champions get their outdoor campaigns under way.
Gudaf Tsegay hopes to pick up where she left off last season. The Ethiopian was the stand-out performer at the Wanda Diamond League Final in Eugene last year, smashing the world 5000m record.
The versatile distance runner, who won the world 10,000m title last year, will compete at the lower end of her range in Xiamen by lining up for the 1500m &ndash; the distance at which she holds the world indoor record. Her motivation will be high, too, as she suffered a rare defeat in her last outing, placing second over 3000m at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow.
The toughest opposition in Xiamen&nbsp;is expected to come from her compatriots, three of whom are also global gold medallists: world road mile champion Diribe Welteji, world indoor champion Freweyni Hailu, and world U20 champion Birke Haylom.
Like Tsegay, Devynne Charlton is also looking to maintain her winning momentum against three global champions.
The Bahamian sprint hurdler was the star of the indoor season, twice breaking the world indoor 60m hurdles record, culminating with her victory at the World Indoor Championships.
Saturday&rsquo;s race will be her first outdoor competition of 2024, and she&rsquo;ll be up against world record-holder Tobi Amusan of Nigeria, two-time world champion Danielle Williams of Jamaica, and Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico.
Mondo Duplantis, who also set a world record to win at the Diamond League Final last year, is another athlete who&rsquo;ll be making his outdoor season debut. The Swedish pole vaulter enjoyed an undefeated indoor campaign, but his victory at the World Indoor Championships did not come easily.
USA&rsquo;s two-time world champion Sam Kendricks, who led for much of the world indoor final, will be in attendance in Xiamen, so too will Chris Nilsen, the Olympic silver medallist.
<h2>Richardson goes long</h2>
World 100m champion Sha&rsquo;Carri Richardson gets her 2024 campaign going this weekend. The US sprinter will line up for the 200m, the event at which she claimed bronze at the World Championships last year, clocking a PB of 21.92.
Compatriot Tamara Clark, who has an identical PB and has already ran 22.21 this season, is also in the field, alongside fellow sub-22-second performer Anavia Battle and European champion Mujinga Kambundji.
World champion Marileidy Paulino will be reunited with the two women with whom she shared the 400m podium at last year&rsquo;s World Championships. The sprinter from the Dominican Republic will take on Poland&rsquo;s Natalia Kaczmarek and Sada Williams of Barbados, the world silver and bronze medallists respectively, as well as USA&rsquo;s Britton Wilson.
Jamaica&rsquo;s Hansle Parchment will be looking for a promising season opener in the 110m hurdles as he prepares to defend his Olympic title later this season. US duo Cordell Tinch and Daniel Roberts could provide his toughest challenge.
World indoor champion Christian Coleman and 2022 world champion Fred Kerley will clash in a men&rsquo;s 100m contest that also includes world indoor bronze medallist Ackeem Blake.
<h2>Quality distance contests</h2>
World 800m champion Marco Arop had a short but sweet indoor campaign, setting a Canadian indoor record of 1:45.50 in his specialist distance and a North American indoor 1000m record of 2:14.74.
This weekend&rsquo;s competition will be his first outdoor race over two laps of the track this season, and he&rsquo;ll be taking on a field that includes 2018 Commonwealth champion Wyclife Kinyamal, African Games silver medallist Alex Kipngetich and world indoor silver medallist Andreas Kramer.
In a high-quality women&rsquo;s steeplechase, world record-holder Beatrice Chepkoech lines up alongside Commonwealth champion Jackline Chepkoech and world bronze medallist Faith Cherotich, both of whom are part of the sub-nine-minute club. Olympic champion Peruth Chemutai of Uganda adds further strength to the field.
World indoor 3000m record-holder Lamecha Girma will be hoping it&rsquo;ll be third time lucky as he lines up for the 5000m, having failed to finish in his only two previous outings over the distance.
The steeplechase specialist from Ethiopia faces a field that includes world road 5km bronze medallist Nicholas Kipkorir, African Games 10,000m champion Nibret Melak, two-time world 5000m champion Muktar Edris and 2022 world bronze medallist Oscar Chelimo.
<h2>Global champions clash on the field</h2>
Yaime Perez caught the attention of the throwing world last weekend when she launched her discus out to a North American record of 73.09m, the longest throw in the world since 1989.
All eyes will be on the Cuban on Saturday as she takes on a field that includes four women who have won global titles: world champion Laulaga Tausaga, 2022 world champion Feng Bin of China, Olympic champion Valarie Allman and multiple world and Olympic champion Sandra Elkasevic (nee Perkovic).
There&rsquo;s another high quality throws clash as the three reigning global champions in the women&rsquo;s shot put go head to head. Olympic champion Gong Lijiao of China will clash with world champion Chase Jackson of the USA and world indoor champion Sarah Mitton of Canada. Four other women in the field with PBs beyond 20 metres &ndash; Maggie Ewen, Yemisi Ogunleye, Jessica Schilder and Song Jiayuan &ndash; will also be in contention.
In the men&rsquo;s triple jump, world champion Hugues Fabrice Zango takes on arch rival Pedro Pichardo, the Olympic champion. China&rsquo;s Zhu Yaming and Spain&rsquo;s Jordan Alejandro Diaz Fortun could also be in the mix.
And last but not least, Olympic champion Mutaz Barshim faces world indoor champion Hamish Kerr in the men&rsquo;s high jump.
Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics

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