On her first visit to Jamaica, Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith produced a scintillating run to win the women&rsquo;s 100m in 10.91 (1.1m/s) at the Jamaica Athletics Invitational Meet, a World Athletics Continental Tour Silver event, on Saturday (11).
Ta Lou-Smith, making her individual season debut, moved to third on this season&rsquo;s world list. She got a decent start and went into overdrive at the halfway stage before going on to claim a clear win.&nbsp;
&ldquo;To open my season with 10.91 is great,&rdquo; said Ta Lou-Smith. &ldquo;I was thrilled to see the crowd, and hearing the applause when my name was called was incredible.&rdquo;
Jamaica&rsquo;s Krystal Sloley, in a display of her vast improvement, clocked a personal best of 11.09 to secure the runner-up position ahead of compatriot Kemba Nelson (11.12).&nbsp;
Despite a faulty start and a subsequent false start, the men&rsquo;s 100m was a nail-biting encounter between world indoor 60m bronze medallist Ackeem Blake and Julian Forte, resulting in a photo finish. Both men clocked 10.02 (0.8m/s), with Forte being declared the winner after photo analysis. Brandon Hicklin, one of three men to have dipped under 10 seconds this season, finished third in 10.09.
In their first meeting since their epic showdown at the World Championships in Budapest, European 400m record-holder and world silver medallist Matthew Hudson-Smith took revenge on world champion Antonio Watson. The race was almost a repeat of the world final, with Hudson-Smith running a strong 350m and Watson cruising as if he was in energy-saving mode. Unlike last year, Hudson-Smith managed to maintain his lead and crossed the finish line in 44.69. Matthew Boling came in second in 44.98, while Watson finished in fourth place with 45.61.
A few minutes later, Dina Asher-Smith showed steely resolve to repel the challenge of the fast-finishing Jessika Gbai, 22.51 to 22.53, in an entertaining women&rsquo;s 200m.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Coming off the curve, Asher-Smith looked in command but began to tire as Gbai made up considerable ground in the final 50 metres. However, the finish line came at the right time for Asher-Smith, competing for the first time in Jamaica.
&ldquo;My execution was not good,&rdquo; Asher-Smith said with a wry smile. &ldquo;When I crossed the line, I said: &lsquo;I will be in trouble&rsquo;. My start could have been much better, and I could have cut the bend a little better. The intensity was good, and my finish could have been better, but it was all right. Nevertheless, I am in a good place, and there&rsquo;s plenty to work on.&rdquo;&nbsp; &nbsp;
In the men&rsquo;s 200m, Great Britain&rsquo;s Zharnel Hughes produced an energetic run to register his first sub-20-second mark this season. Hughes, who easily outpaced US duo Christian Coleman and Fred Kerley in the home straight, was satisfied with his effort of 19.96 (1.1m/s).
&ldquo;I think it was a good race,&rdquo; said Hughes. &ldquo;To run sub-20 so early in the season is a bonus for me. I&rsquo;ve never run this fast so early; last year, my 19-point came in July at the London Diamond League.&rdquo;
Kerley was second in 20.17, just ahead of Pablo Mateo of France in 20.20.
Tobi Amusan, the world record-holder in the women's 100m hurdles, was the fastest over the barriers, setting a world-leading time of 12.40 (0.9m/s). Danielle Williams, a two-time world champion, was ahead for most of the race but lost her rhythm over the final two hurdles and finished second with 12.46.
&ldquo;This is the healthiest I&rsquo;ve been. It&rsquo;s a pain-free season compared to other years,&rdquo; said Amusan. &ldquo;I told myself: &lsquo;I&rsquo;m not getting a DQ today&rsquo;. I&rsquo;m not the best of starters, but looking at how I executed today, it could have been better, but I am thankful for the win.&rdquo;
World bronze medallist Rushell Clayton held her nerves to fend off a stern challenge from Anna Cockrell in an enthralling 400m hurdles. Clayton won in a world-leading 53.72, with Cockrell 0.04 adrift.&nbsp;
Jamaica&rsquo;s Malik James-King caused a major upset in the men&rsquo;s 400m hurdles. Kyron McMaster, who won the silver medal at the Budapest World Championships, had taken a commanding lead in the first 300m, and it seemed like he would win comfortably. However, James-King had other plans and started to close in. By the ninth hurdle, James-King was level with McMaster before pulling away to win in a lifetime best of 48.39. McMaster finished second in 49.00, while Jaheel Hyde came third in 49.48.
The charismatic Jaydon Hibbert, the world U20 record-holder and 14th-best jumper of all time, cut the sand at 17.57m (-1.3m/s) in the second round to wrap up the men&rsquo;s triple jump contest.&nbsp;
Traves Smikle won the men&rsquo;s discus with a throw of 66.89m ahead of Fedrick Dacres' 65.94m.
Jamaica's Raymond Richards won the men&rsquo;s high jump by clearing 2.24m on his first attempt.&nbsp;
Noel Francis for World Athletics 
<h2>Orogot, Pryce and Morales Williams impress at SEC Championships</h2>
At the Southeastern Conference Championships in Gainesville, Florida, Tarsis Orogot improved his Ugandan record to 19.75 (1.0m/s) to win the 200m. The 21-year-old, who was fifth in the 100m in a PB of 10.06, finished clear in the longer event, winning ahead of Wanya McCoy of The Bahamas in a PB of 19.93.
The 100m was won by Nigeria&rsquo;s Godson Oghenebrume in 9.99 (0.6m/s).
In the women&rsquo;s 100m final, Jamaica&rsquo;s world U20 200m champion Brianna Lyston achieved the first wind-legal sub-11.00 performance of her career, clocking 10.91 (0.3m/s) to win ahead of USA&rsquo;s Kaila Jackson, also with a PB of 10.95.
Lyston was also fourth (22.37) in a 200m final won by USA&rsquo;s Mckenzie Long in 22.03 ahead of her compatriots JaMeesia Ford (22.11) and Thelma Davies (22.17).
In a fast 400m final, Arkansas&rsquo; Nickisha Pryce held off her teammates Kaylin Brown and Amber Anning as they all dipped under 50 seconds, Pryce winning in 49.32 from Brown&rsquo;s 49.47 and Anning&rsquo;s 49.51 &ndash; all PBs. A total of four women went sub-49.8, with Aaliyah Butler finishing fourth in a lifetime best of 49.79.
The men&rsquo;s 400m was won by Christopher Morales Williams as he ran a big PB of 44.05 to improve the Canadian record and set a world lead. Nigeria&rsquo;s 17-year-old Samuel Ogazi was second in 44.58
World U20 400m hurdles bronze medallist Michaela Rose improved her own meeting record to 1:58.89 to win the 800m.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7211526?eventId=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results</a>
Elsewhere in Florida, USA&rsquo;s Kendal Williams clocked a PB of 9.93 (2.0m/s) to match the fastest men&rsquo;s 100m time in the world so far this year, racing at the PURE Athletics Sprint Elite Meet in Clermont.&nbsp;
Tamara Clark completed a women&rsquo;s sprint double, winning the 100m in 10.98 (1.9m/s) and the 200m in 22.32 (1.3m/s). Josephus Lyles took the men&rsquo;s 200m in a wind-assisted 20.05 (2.6m/s).
France&rsquo;s 2022 world indoor 60m hurdles champion Cyrena Samba-Mayela stormed to a 100m hurdles win in a wind-assisted 12.44 (3.2m/s) after a wind-legal 12.52 (1.9m/s) to improve her national record in the heats.
Jacob Fincham Dukes soared a windy 8.30m (2.6m/s) to win the long jump.
<h2>Rose throws area record, Gill runs European U18 best</h2>
At the GVSU 10 Event Last Chance Meet in Allendale, Michigan, Samoa's Alex Rose improved the Oceanian discus record to 71.48m - adding more than a metre to his previous best. He now sits 11th on the world all-time list.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7204908?eventId=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results</a>
Over at the Belfast Irish Milers Meet, Great Britain&rsquo;s Phoebe Gill won the 800m in 1:57.86. With that performance, the 17-year-old set a European U18 best and moved to second on the world U18 all-time list behind China's Wang Yuan. It also put her joint second on this season's senior top list.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7204636?eventId=10229512" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results</a>
At the Throws U 2024 Series meeting in Fleetwood, Pennsylvania, world indoor champion Sarah Mitton improved her Canadian shot put record to a world-leading 20.68m, adding 35cm to her previous best.
The Sound Running Track Fest in Los Angeles saw double Olympic champion Sifan Hassan solo run her way to a 5000m win in 14:58.83 in her first race since finishing fourth in the Tokyo Marathon at the start of March.
Nikki Hiltz won the 800m from Emily Mackay - 2:00.46 to 2:00.85. Luis Grijalva achieved a 1500m and 5000m double, winning &lsquo;final 2&rsquo; of the shorter event in 3:38.20 and then returning to take the 5000m in 13:16.53.&nbsp;
In her first steeplechase in more than a year following injury, Valerie Constien won the 3000m steeplechase in 9:27.22.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7210748?eventId=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results</a>

On her first visit to Jamaica, Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith produced a scintillating run to win the women’s 100m in 10.91 

Ta Lou-Smith among athletes to shine at Jamaica Athletics Invitational

There were comfortable wins for Brian Pintado and Kimberly Garcia at the Grande Pr&eacute;mio Internacional de Rio Maior on Saturday (11) &ndash; the latest Gold stop of the World Athletics Race Walking Tour.
In fact, the staggered start of the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s 20km saw both cross the finish line in the same minute.
Pintado, the defending champion, was away and gone long before 15km. It also brought a welcome return to racing following disqualification at the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Antalya 24. But Garcia had Mexico&rsquo;s Alejandra Ortega for company right up to the last one-kilometre circuit.
It was a warm 19C despite the early evening start, but was to get cooler. 2022 double world champion Garcia was hard to spot at the start, wearing long black socks, black kinaesthetic tape from knee to glute muscles and topped off with dark glasses.
She also modestly hung back at the 6pm start. In fact, the Peruvian was content to leave three others to take it on with home hope Vitoria Oliveira leading the charge.
Not that it was a particularly hard task. The opening kilometre was a pedestrian 4:43 and when Mexico&rsquo;s Valeria Ortuno and Erica Sena went through the line for the second lap in 9:10, it was clear things were warming up.
One lap later, and the first four were walking single file. Surprisingly, Garcia was six seconds behind Ortuno at the front, but that slight gap was coming down inch by inch.
The status quo was preserved at quarter distance reached in 22:49. Shortly after 4km, Garcia ominously drew alongside Oliveira with the other two a couple of seconds ahead.
Ortega was moving though the gears and soon changed the look of the leaders. She actually passed 10km first in 45:51 although Garcia, Oliveira and Sena were treading on her heels as Ortuno began to suffer. It remained the same through the next four laps, but at 15km Oliveira&rsquo;s brave bid for glory was done.
It was now a three-woman race between Garcia, Sena and Ortega, but not for long. By 17km, 39-year-old Sena felt the increased pace and was forced to give way.
With two circuits left, the Brazilian knew third would have to do, but up front the battle for first was still very much on &ndash; or so it seemed. There was very much a feeling the world&rsquo;s No.1 ranked race walker was biding her time after three big races in a little over a month.
And so it proved. Garcia did just enough to come home in 1:30:35 with Ortega five seconds back.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6640a53cde34a1844e02280e.jpg" alt="Kimberly Garcia wins in Rio Maior" />
Kimberly Garcia wins in Rio Maior (&copy; Organisers)
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The Mexican was a lowly 30th in Podebrady in April and ninth last week in Warsaw, but took second place here in a season&rsquo;s best of 1:30:40. Sena was a distant third in 1:31:17 while Hungary&rsquo;s Rita Recei just inched ahead of a tiring Oliveira for fourth.
In the men&rsquo;s race, five went through the first kilometre and a blanket would have covered cover the lot. Marc Tur, Jeferson Segura, Mazlum Demir, Pablo Rodriguez were slightly ahead of Pintado at a steady four minutes plus for each 1km lap, although that slowed to 12:12 when they went through 3km.
At 5km, Turkey&rsquo;s Demir was content to hang off the back by a second, but it was shoulder to shoulder for the other four leaders. The pace, rather than speeding up, was slowing ever so slightly that saw the five through a sixth lap in a comfortable 24:28.
That all changed at 8km. Segura from Mexico sensed his chance to make the podium, so he and Pintado went away leaving the other three in their wake. Out of the blue, Segura suddenly called it a day just before 10km but it was hammer down for the eventual winner.
Pintado reached halfway in 40:22 and quickly found 16 seconds on the three chasers that included Tur from Spain, Peru&rsquo;s Rodriguez and Demir. The Ecuadorean pushed on to double the gap by 14km although behind him chinks of evening light appeared between Rodriguez, Tur and Demir as they battled for the places.
Pintado hit his watch at 1:00:05 for 15km. Rodriguez was now 38 seconds back; Tur added another two to the deficit, and Demir was six seconds behind the Spaniard. That battle for second and third was done and dusted on lap 18 with Rodriguez forging an 11-second gap over Tur, and Demir losing time hand over fist.
Pintado went through the gears over the last two kilometres to come home in 1:19:57. It might have been a few seconds quicker had he not stopped to wrestle with an Ecuadoran flag he attempted to drape over his shoulders as he strolled through the line.
Rodriguez finished in 1:20:47, Tur in 1:21:09 and Demir a distant 1:22:11.
Paul Warburton for World Athletics
<h3>Leading results</h3>
Women 1 Kimberly Garcia (PER) 1:30:35 2 Alejandra Ortega (MEX) 1:30:40 3 Erica Sena (BRA) 1:31:17 4 Rita Recsei (HUN) 1:32:22 5 Vitoria Oliveira (POR) 1:32:32
Men 1 Brian Pintado (ECU) 1:19:57 2 Cesar Rodriguez (PER) 1:20:47 3 Marc Tur (ESP) 1:21:09 4 Mazlum Demir (TUR) 1:22:11 5 Bence Venyercsan (HUN) 1:24:11

There were comfortable wins for Brian Pintado and Kimberly Garcia at the Grande Prémio Internacional de Rio Maior 

Pintado and Garcia triumph in Rio Maior

Alison dos Santos and Kenny Bednarek produced the standout performances of the Seashore Group Doha Meeting as both men smashed meeting records in the Qatari leg of the Wanda Diamond League on Friday (10).
If Dos Santos was looking for a confidence-boosting performance at the start of an Olympic season, the Brazilian certainly delivered. He had set the previous meeting record of 47.24 here two years ago in a season when he went on to win the world title with a championship record of 46.29.
Towards the end of that year, however, he was struck with injury and spent most of the off season &ndash; and first half of 2023 &ndash; rehabbing his way back to competitive form. He went on to clock a season&rsquo;s best of 47.38 and finish fifth at the World Championships in Budapest, but it was clear he wasn&rsquo;t firing on all cylinders.
But tonight in the Qatari capital, the 23-year-old made a clear statement that he&rsquo;s back to his smooth-striding best.
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Drawn in lane five, Dos Santos took an early lead, helped by having the fast-starting CJ Allen to chase down in the lane outside him. As they came off the final bend and the stagger unwound, Dos Santos breezed past the US hurdler and went on to open up a significant lead down the home straight.
He crossed the line in 46.86, winning by more than one-and-a-half seconds from Allen (48.39). France&rsquo;s Wilfried Happio was further back in third (49.10).
It&rsquo;s Dos Santos&rsquo;s fastest ever season opener, and the fastest time ever recorded before the month of June.
"This is a very good way to start things&nbsp;&ndash; I'm very excited," said Dos Santos. "It's going to be a tough year, so to start in this fashion is very positive."
The winds that had been whipping around the stadium earlier in the evening dipped slightly just before the men&rsquo;s 200m got under way. USA&rsquo;s Courtney Lindsey got off to a strong start, but Bednarek caught his compatriot before the half-way stage and was really starting to motor.
Bednarek, the 2022 world silver medallist, pulled ahead of the rest of the field with each powerful stride down the home straight, and crossed the line a clear winner in a PB of 19.67, smashing Noah Lyles&rsquo; six-year-old meeting record by 0.15.
Lindsey was a distant second in 20.01 and Kyree King made it a US 1-2-3 by placing third in 20.21.
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&ldquo;I knew I was ready to run a world lead, I was just hoping that the wind would work with us,&rdquo; said Bednarek. &ldquo;Running fast this early in the season is a good sign. But times don&rsquo;t matter &ndash; my main goal this year is to win the Olympic title.&rdquo;
The wind was both a help and a hindrance in the men&rsquo;s long jump. World indoor bronze medallist Carey McLeod sailed out to a winning leap of 8.52m in round four &ndash; the longest jump of his career in any conditions &ndash; but the 5.2m/s tailwind meant it wouldn&rsquo;t count as a PB or meeting record.
Nevertheless, it gave the Jamaican a confidence-boosting victory over world and Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou, who ended the evening with a wind-legal season&rsquo;s best of 8.36m (1.9m/s) in the final round. Swiss decathlete Simon Ehammer was third with a wind-assisted 8.30m.
Slovenia&rsquo;s 2022 world champion Kristjan Ceh found the conditions to his liking in the men&rsquo;s discus. The 25-year-old, who was making his outdoor season debut, opened his campaign with 65.51m but trailed Australia&rsquo;s Matt Denny, who launched his discus out to 69.02m with his first throw.
Denny held the lead up until round four when Ceh unleashed a mammoth throw of 70.48m, just 41cm behind his own meeting record, to steal the victory.
<h2>Close finishes in javelin, sprints and steeplechase</h2>
The men&rsquo;s javelin has been the source of several enthralling contests in Doha in recent years, and tonight was no different.
World and Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra, the winner in Doha last year, was up against two-time world champion Anderson Peters, the Doha winner in 2022. But it was Diamond League champion Jakub Vadlejch &ndash; the runner-up in Doha for the past two years &ndash; who took an early lead, opening his series with 85.87m.
The Czech thrower improved to 86.93m in round two, then extended his lead with 88.38m in round three. Chopra moved into second place with an 86.24m effort in round three, putting him ahead of Peters (85.75m). But in the final round, the Indian sent his spear flying well beyond the 85-metre line. Seconds later his distance was confirmed: 88.36m, just two centimetres shy of Vadlejch&rsquo;s lead.
Peters also improved in the final round, the Grenadian throwing 86.62m to consolidate his third-place finish.
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The finishes were similarly close in both the women&rsquo;s 100m flat and hurdles.
European bronze medallist Ditaji Kambundji came from behind to win the 100m hurdles. The Swiss 21-year-old came off the final hurdle well to propel herself past USA&rsquo;s Tonea Marshall, winning in 12.49. In a race where 0.05 separated the top four finishers, Marshall was second in 12.51 and Poland&rsquo;s Pia Skrzyszowska was third in 12.53.
In the women&rsquo;s 100m flat, Britain&rsquo;s Darryl Neita edged ahead of USA&rsquo;s Tamari Davis to win by 0.01 in a season&rsquo;s best of 10.98. Celera Barnes was a close third in 11.02.
And in the final race of the night, Ethiopia&rsquo;s African Games champion Samuel Firewu was locked in a fierce sprint with world bronze medallist Abraham Kibiwott in the closing stages of the men&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase, eventually emerging with victory in a PB of 8:07.25 from the Kenyan&rsquo;s 8:07.38.
<h2>Good night for global gold medallists</h2>
It was a successful evening for several reigning world and Olympic champions across a range of disciplines.
World 800m champion Mary Moraa emerged victorious in the women&rsquo;s 800m. The Kenyan held off a strong challenge from world indoor silver medallist Jemma Reekie to win in a season&rsquo;s best of 1:57.91, finishing 0.51 ahead of the Briton. Benin&rsquo;s Noelie Yarigo was third in 1:58.70.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/663e676b0218953f040016be.jpg" alt="Mary Moraa wins the 800m at the Diamond League meeting in Doha" />
Mary Moraa wins the 800m at the Diamond League meeting in Doha (&copy; Getty Images)
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Moraa&rsquo;s compatriot Beatrice Chebet was similarly impressive in the women&rsquo;s 5000m. The high-quality field &ndash; which featured the likes of Ejgayehu Taye and her fellow Ethiopians Medina Eisa and Melknat Wudu &ndash; was paced through the first 2000m in 5:48, after which Taye took up the running.
The world 10,000m bronze medallist continued to lead through the closing stages, but Chebet unleashed a burst of speed with 200m to go and sprinted away to a clear victory in a world-leading 14:26.98 &ndash; a meeting record by virtue of the fact that the women&rsquo;s 5000m has previously never been held at this competition.
World indoor champion Freweyni Hailu looked to be on her way to a decisive victory in the women&rsquo;s 1500m as she built up a lead of about 20 metres with a lap to go. But the Ethiopian started to fade over the final 200m while Australia&rsquo;s Jess Hull and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Diribe Welteji battled it out behind.
Hull managed to make up some of the deficit, but Hailu had done just enough to hold on, winning in 4:00.42 from Hull&rsquo;s 4:00.84.
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Less than a week after he and his Bahamian teammates provided one of the highlights of the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24, Olympic champion Steven Gardiner was a comfortable winner of the men&rsquo;s 400m.
The 28-year-old, who won the world title in this city back in 2019, finished 0.31 ahead of Commonwealth champion Muzala Samukonga of Zambia.
Britain&rsquo;s Molly Caudery was another reigning global champion who was victorious in the Qatari capital tonight. The world indoor champion won the pole vault on countback from Australia&rsquo;s world champion Nina Kennedy, both women clearing a best of 4.73m.
Elsewhere, rising Kenyan Brian Komen got the better of his highly decorated compatriot Timothy Cheruiyot in the men&rsquo;s 1500m, winning in 3:32.43. The African Games champion finished 0.24 ahead of 2019 world champion Cheruiyot with Reynold Cheruiyot placing third in 3:32.96.
Serbian teenager Angelina Topic, the youngest in the field by five years, won the women&rsquo;s high jump with 1.94m, clearing all of her bars up to and including that height on her first attempt.

Alison dos Santos and Kenny Bednarek produced the standout performances of the Seashore Group Doha Meeting

Dos Santos and Bednarek take down meeting records in Doha

The World Athletics Heritage Plaque honouring Jesse Owens&rsquo; Day of Days at Ferry Field was unveiled by Owens&rsquo; granddaughter Marlene Dortch and Michigan&rsquo;s Athletic Director Warde Manuel on Thursday (9) the day before the University of Michigan hosts the latest version of the Big 10 Championships.
On 25 May 1935, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA, Owens set four world records &ndash; it was six records with their metric equivalents &ndash; in a 45-minute span; an afternoon of individual success which remains unsurpassed in the history of world sport let alone track and field athletics.
&ldquo;I came here to the track yesterday and I saw some young girls practicing and that just really spoke to me, because generations later, there are young people who are on this field who can see this and be inspired,&rdquo; said Dortch. &ldquo;That would mean the world to him, because what he really wanted to do was inspire young people and make it a better world.&rdquo;
&ldquo;This goes beyond the rivalry (between Michigan and Ohio State),&rdquo; added Manuel. &ldquo;That's what I want people to understand. This is about history. It's about what Jesse Owens did, not only in the Big 10 but for our country.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if you remember around the Olympics what was going on back then when he set these world records and then went to the Olympics &ndash; all the vitriol and everything that was going on in the world. He ran for America and so, there is no Ohio State-Michigan rivalry&hellip; This is about celebrating the great man that did a service for this country that will always forever be remembered.&rdquo;
Michigan head coach Kevin Sullivan said: &ldquo;The plaque is dedicated to his athletics achievements on this day in 1935. It&rsquo;s really bigger than that and I think that Jesse Owens the man was bigger than Jesse Owens the athlete.&rdquo;
Ohio State head coach Rosalind Joseph added: &ldquo;We appreciate World Athletics and the University of Michigan for honouring not only a great in our programme but a great in the sport of track and field.
&ldquo;We are appreciative that everyone here can recognise that this is someone who has left a legacy beyond the rivalry and really what it means to be able to promote our sport, promote what Jesse Owens has done for the sport of track and field and continue to live out that legacy.&rdquo;
The World Athletics Heritage Plaque is a location-based recognition, awarded for an outstanding contribution to the worldwide history and development of the sport of track and field athletics and of out-of-stadia athletics disciplines such as cross country, mountain, road, trail and ultra-running, and race walking.
<h2>&lsquo;The greatest individual athlete of all time&rsquo;</h2>
On 25 May 1935, the stands at Ferry Field on the University of Michigan&rsquo;s Ann Arbor campus thronged with fans. Most had come on that fair, clear day to see one man, Jesse Owens, compete for the Ohio State team at the Western Conference Championships, better known as the Big 10.
At the time, athletics got plenty of play in US newspapers, so many of the audience were familiar with the 21-year-old&rsquo;s credentials. Three times he had already tied the world record in the 100 yards at 9.4, but none of them met the requirements for official recognition. One of those dashes came while Owens &ndash; born in Alabama the son of a sharecropper and the grandson of a slave &ndash; competed as a schoolboy at Cleveland&rsquo;s East Tech High School.
The fans likely also knew that the weekend before, Owens had run 220-yards &ndash; contested on a straight track, as usual in the US in those days &ndash; in 20.7, missing by a tenth the accepted world record. They knew that over the winter he had broken the world indoor best in the long jump with his 7.85m, and that a few weeks before at the Drake Relays, his leap of 7.97m had missed Chuhei Nambu&rsquo;s 1931 world record by a mere centimetre.
If that weren&rsquo;t enough to pack the stands, the local newspaper in its preview of the meet called Owens &ldquo;the greatest individual athlete of all time&rdquo; and reported on head timer Phil Diamond&rsquo;s insistence on the use of a wind gauge, as he said all of the world records in Owens&rsquo; four scheduled events were &ldquo;in grave danger&rdquo;.
What they didn&rsquo;t know was that just five days before the competition, Owens had injured his back roughhousing with friends. Every effort gave him a jolt of pain.
In the qualifying rounds on Friday, Owens appeared comfortable leading the field with efforts of 9.7, 21.4 and 7.65m. In the 220-yard low hurdles, an event he said he barely practiced, he didn&rsquo;t even produce the fastest time.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/663de807542ee796c22433c4.jpg" alt="Jesse Owens in action in the long jump" />
Jesse Owens in action in the long jump (&copy; AFP / Getty Images)
</div>
On Saturday, temperatures approached 20C and the winds stayed calm. Owens dug his starting holes in the track with a trowel while some of his competitors used new starting blocks. The gun for the 100 yards fired at 15:15. Behind at the start, Owens quickly righted that and steamed across the line some five meters clear of his pursuers. His 9.4 came with a 1.55m/s wind, tying the record that was held by fellow US sprinter Frank Wycoff and South Africa&rsquo;s Danie Joubert.
Ten minutes later, at 15:25, Owens took his first and only effort in the long jump, inspired by a handkerchief someone had put at the world record distance. He achieved tremendous height on the leap and flew beyond the mark, landing at 8.13m; the wind a mere 1.5m/s. It was to be his longest-lived world record, lasting until Ralph Boston broke it in 1960.
A 20-minute rest brought him to the starting line of the 220 yards. With a 0.3m/s wind at his back, he again turned back a field of the toughest collegiate sprinters, his 20.3 effectively demolishing the old record of 20.6 that Roland Locke of the United States had set nine years earlier. Being 1.17m longer than the standard 200m distance, the race also counted as a 200m record.
<h2>&lsquo;I&rsquo;ll never have another day like this in my life&rsquo;</h2>
Owens then conferred with his coach, Larry Snyder, who could see the pain that Owens was in. He had decided he would pull him out of the hurdles, telling his prot&eacute;g&eacute; that he probably had no chance at a record. Owens, however, intuitively grasped the magic of the moment. He stepped closer to Snyder and said so no one else could hear: &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll never have another day like this in my life.&rdquo;
Snyder relented, and Owens stood at the starting line of the 220-yard low hurdles. He silenced the pain he felt and focused only on the finish. The breeze was just 0.45m/s. Again, he finished several metres ahead, his 22.6 slashing Norman Paul&rsquo;s world record by 0.4.
For all of his efforts, Owens had to watch the host school collect the winning team trophy, as Ohio State fell just short in the final points tally.
Yet his &lsquo;day of days&rsquo; set the stage for his remarkable four-gold medal performance at the Berlin Olympics the next summer, where the grandson of a slave showed the world the lie of the white supremacy at the heart of the Nazi regime.
Jeff Hollobaugh for World Athletics Heritage

The World Athletics Heritage Plaque honouring Jesse Owens’ Day of Days at Ferry Field was unveiled by Owens’ granddaughter Marlene Dortch and Michigan’s Athletic Director Warde Manuel on Thursday (9)

‘This is about history’ – Owens’ granddaughter unveils Heritage Plaque to mark his day of days

Two-time world indoor champion Noor Vidts will be the marquee athlete at the International Meeting of Arona &ndash; the second Gold leg of the World Athletics Combined Events Tour &ndash; on the Canary Islands this weekend (11-12).
Vidts, who retained her world indoor title earlier this year in Glasgow, will start as the overwhelming favourite in the heptathlon. The 27-year-old Belgian has finished in the top six at the past three global championships, starting with the Olympic Games in 2021 where she finished fourth with a PB of 6571.
She came close to that at the 2022 World Championships in Oregon, placing fifth with 6559, and she followed that with a sixth-place finish at last year&rsquo;s World Championships in Budapest with 6450.
Vidts has competed in Arona on seven previous occasions. She won the U20 contest in 2014 and 2015 but is yet to win the main senior event.
Marijke Esselink of the Netherlands should be Vidts&rsquo; toughest challenger. The 24-year-old will be making her third appearance in Arona, having finished third in 2021 with a PB of 6087, which she improved to 6222 last year in G&ouml;tzis.
Ireland&rsquo;s Kate O&rsquo;Connor will also be in the mix for a podium place. The 2019 European U20 silver medallist, who holds the national record at 6297, finished second at the opening World Athletics Combined Events Tour Gold meeting in Brescia two weeks ago with 6104.
Watch out too for USA&rsquo;s Ashtin Zamzow-Mahler, who will be contesting her first heptathlon in almost two years. The 27-year-old finished 11th at the 2022 World Championships and has a 6291 PB from 2021. She&rsquo;ll be joined by compatriot Shaina Burns, a 6130-point heptathlete aiming to improve on her 14th-place finish in Brescia.
Ondrej Kopecky appears to be the pre-event favourite in the decathlon. The 25-year-old from the Czech Republic has a PB of 8310 from 2022, and more recently he finished ninth at the World Indoor Championships, having set an indoor PB of 6035 in the heptathlon in February.
A solid all-rounder, Kopecky excels in the vertical jumps and has PBs of 2.01m for the high jump and 5.20m in the pole vault.
Marcus Nilsson, winner in Arona in 2022 with a score of 8115, returns to the Canary Islands. The 32-year-old Swede enjoyed a fantastic campaign that year, placing fourth at the European Championships with a huge PB of 8327.
Because of injuries, Nilsson hasn&rsquo;t completed a decathlon since September 2022, but an indoor heptathlon score of 5706 earlier this year shows the 2010 world U20 bronze medallist is returning to good form.
Germany&rsquo;s 2017 world bronze medallist Kai Kazmirek, one of the most consistent decathletes over the past decade, will also be in Arona. The 33-year-old only completed one decathlon last year, scoring 8038, and will be contesting his first combined events competition of the year this weekend.
He will be joined by his fellow German Malik Diakite, who surpassed the 8000-point barrier last year with a PB of 8051.
Local hopes rest on defending champion Andreu Boix. The 21-year-old Spaniard produced a lifetime best of 7961 in Arona last year when he set PBs in six of the 10 disciplines.
Mild temperatures &ndash; with a high of 25C&nbsp;&ndash; are expected throughout a sunny weekend in Arona.
Emeterio Valiente for World Athletics

Two-time world indoor champion Noor Vidts will be the marquee athlete at the International Meeting of Arona

Vidts kicks off outdoor season in Arona

The Wanda Diamond League <a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/diamond-league/news/moraa-chebet-chopra-doha-diamond-league-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">continues on Friday (10) in Doha with the third meeting of the season</a>.
Global champions Neeraj Chopra, Mary Moraa, Steven Gardiner and Nina Kennedy are among the stars set to compete in the Qatari capital.
The action will start at 18:00 local time (GMT+3) with the women's pole vault and the main two-hour broadcast window will begin at 19:00 local time with the men's 400m.
<a href="https://doha.diamondleague.com/programme-results-doha/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results, programme and entry lists</a>
<h3>Livestream &ndash; What Gravity Challenge</h3>
Watch Mutaz Barshim&rsquo;s inaugural <a href="https://worldathletics.org/videos/playlist/latest-videos/663bebdc96679c9d873d036f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">What Gravity Challenge live on Inside Track</a>. Alkass Sports Channels will be providing coverage in Arabic.
<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 +8). The livestream will not 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 Friday in Doha with the third meeting of the season

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

It&rsquo;s round two for Kimberly Garcia and Erica Sena at the Grande Pr&eacute;mio Internacional de Rio Maior on Saturday (11) &ndash; the next Gold stop on the World Athletics Race Walking Tour.
Last year in the Portuguese town north of Lisbon, double 2022 world champion Garcia had to settle for fourth behind world record holder Yang Jiayu and her Chinese teammates Qieyang Shijie and Yang Liujing. Sena finished sixth.
But there are no Chinese race walkers in this year&rsquo;s race, which will start at 6pm on Saturday, and in terms of 2024 times, no one else in this race is remotely close to the Peruvian and Brazilian.
Wind back the clock 12 months and Sena and Garcia enjoyed a battle royal in Warsaw at the Korzeniowski Race Walks before heading on to Rio Maior. Garcia won in Poland after coming from behind as Sena heaped on the pressure from halfway &ndash; and both have had great starts to 2024.
After a hiccup earlier this year in Dudince where she pulled out after just 2km, Garcia bounced back to win both the Podebrady leg of the series and the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Antalya 24. She won the latter in 1:27:12, just 32 seconds shy of her PB from June last year.
Sena was third in Antalya &ndash; her highest placing in a global race since the 2016 edition in Rome &ndash; in 1:29:22, just half a minute shy of her 2023 season&rsquo;s best. In fact, the past two years have been something of a renaissance for the race walker who celebrated her 39th birthday earlier in the week.
The card she may have up her sleeve is racing sparingly in contrast to Garcia&rsquo;s two big efforts in the past four weeks. On paper, it should be a hat-trick of wins for the Peruvian, but Sena is an experienced athlete and gave Garcia a fright in Warsaw last year.
Short of a minor disaster, places one and two are filled but there is plenty of competition for third on the podium.
Hungary&rsquo;s Rita Recsei is the next best ranked with 1:31:40 from the 28-year-old&rsquo;s national championships in March. Lucia Redondo recorded 1:33:03, a PB from only the Spaniard&rsquo;s second 20km race which was in Antalya, and at just 20, she is one for the future.
The men&rsquo;s race should produce a second South American battle.
Brian Pintado hopes to make it two in a row after his 2023 win in 1:19:05. However, the Ecuadorean&rsquo;s march to glory was halted in Antalya with a surprising disqualification. But he did record 1:19:44 for second in Podebrady to go with a 35km silver medal at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23, as well as a 1:18:26 PB at the shorter distance.
Peru&rsquo;s C&eacute;sar Rodriguez will be hoping to find chinks in Pintado&rsquo;s armour. The 26-year-old won in Podebrady in a breakthrough PB of 1:19:41, but slipped to 1:22:01 and 25th in Antalya &ndash; the result of a two-minute penalty on the final lap. It&rsquo;s possible both will tread a careful line and leave judges to scrutinise others.
A second Ecuadorean, Jordy Jiminez, will surely pounce on any caution. The 30-year-old has been knocking on the door of a first podium place in a major race &ndash; and this could be it. He improved his PB by more than a minute to 1:20:08 in Budapest and shaved off another four seconds in Antalya for sixth place.
Although 10 years separates them, Misgana Fekanska is in the same ball park as Jiminez. He is the first senior Ethiopian to make waves on the global race walk scene and a welcome addition at that. Kenya and Ethiopia are giants at distance running, but boast very few to make an impact in big race walking events.
Like his running brethren, Fekanska has the advantage of training at altitude. His national record of 1:20:51 in Antalya for a top-10 finish promises a bright future, especially as he&rsquo;s not even 20 until July.
Behind this quartet, comes Hungary&rsquo;s Bence Venyercsan, who clocked 1:21:42 at his national championships in March; Turkey&rsquo;s Mazlum Demir, who recorded 1:21:46 for 22nd in Antalya, and Spain&rsquo;s Marc Tur, the 2021 European Cup winner at 50km and fourth at the last Olympics at the same distance. His best this year is 1:21:14 from the Spanish Championships in February.
Probably the loudest cheers on the Rio Maior course will be for bib number 41. Jo&atilde;o Vieira is seven years older than his race number, but the Portuguese has picked up the venerable mantle of the great Spaniard, Jesus Angel Garcia, who walked his last major race at age 52 in 2021.
Vieira pocketed silver and bronze at two previous World Championships and recorded 1:22:27 for 11th in Podebrady, and should easily make the top 10.
Paul Warburton for World Athletics

World medallists Kimberly Garcia and Brian Pintado lead the way

Clash of leading South American race walkers in Rio Maior

The Doha Meeting welcomes many of the world&rsquo;s best athletes for the third Wanda Diamond League event of the year on Friday (10), with some stars opening their seasons and other continuing their campaigns after the first two events in Xiamen and Suzhou.
Kenya&rsquo;s world champion Mary Moraa won the Diamond League 800m title in 2022 and she will be seeking a strong start to her 2024 series as she competes at the Doha event for the first time.
After winning the African Games 400m title in March, Moraa made her 800m season debut at the Kip Keino Classic on home soil, winning in 1:57.96. Now she heads to Doha, where her competition includes Britain&rsquo;s world indoor silver medallist Jemma Reekie and bronze medallist Noelie Yarigo of Benin, as well as Uganda&rsquo;s Halimah Nakaayi, Ethiopia&rsquo;s Habitam Alemu and Jamaica&rsquo;s Natoya Goule-Toppin.
World indoor champion Freweyni Hailu is among those contesting the women&rsquo;s 1500m, lining up alongside her Ethiopian compatriots Hirut Meshesha and Diribe Welteji, the world 1500m silver medallist who set a world record when winning the world road mile title in October. They are joined by Kenya&rsquo;s Nelly Chepchirchir and Australia&rsquo;s Jessica Hull.
In the men&rsquo;s event, Kenya&rsquo;s Olympic silver medallist Timothy Cheruiyot races his first 1500m of the season against world bronze medallist Narve Gilje Nordas of Norway, two-time world indoor champion Samuel Tefera and world U20 champion Reynold Cheruiyot.
Two-time world 5000m medallist Beatrice Chebet, who won the world 5km title in October and then retained her world cross country crown in March, returns to track action for the first time since the Diamond League final in September. In that race, the 24-year-old clocked 14:05.92 &ndash; the third-fastest performance of all time &ndash; to finish second in a race won by Gudaf Tsegay in a world record 14:00.21.
She&rsquo;ll want to pick up from where she left off as she races Ethiopia&rsquo;s world U20 champion Medina Eisa and world 10,000m bronze medallist Ejgayehu Taye, plus Japan&rsquo;s Nozomi Tanaka and Kenya&rsquo;s Grace Loibach Nawowuna.
In the men&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase, Kenya&rsquo;s Olympic bronze medallist Benjamin Kigen takes on his compatriot Abraham Kibiwot, the world bronze medallist, and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Olympic and world fourth-place finisher Getnet Wale.
<h2>From Nassau to Doha</h2>
Some of the sprinters who competed at the World Athletics Relays in The Bahamas over the weekend have made the trip to Doha, with Olympic silver medallist Kenny Bednarek, Courtney Lindsey and Kyree King &ndash; who teamed up with treble world champion Noah Lyles to win the 4x100m in Nassau &ndash; clashing in the 200m.&nbsp;
Joseph Fahnbulleh ran a storming anchor leg to clinch Liberia an Olympic 4x100m place at the World Athletics Relays and he also races in Doha, along with Aaron Brown, who helped Canada to second place in Nassau.
Britain&rsquo;s Daryll Neita won the 200m in Suzhou and will be seeking a similarly strong performance as she makes her season debut in the 100m against Tamari Davis and Celera Barnes, who formed part of USA&rsquo;s championship record-breaking team at the World Athletics Relays, plus Jamaica&rsquo;s Olympic 4x100m gold medallist Natasha Morrison.
Olympic champion Steven Gardiner delighted the home crowd in Nassau as he helped the nation&rsquo;s mixed 4x400m team to qualify for the Olympics and he runs the 400m in Doha against Botswana&rsquo;s men&rsquo;s&nbsp;4x400m winners&nbsp;Bayapo Ndori and Leungo Scotch, Commonwealth Games champion Muzala Samukonga,&nbsp;who also raced in Nassau, plus USA&rsquo;s Vernon Norwood and Quincy Hall.
In the men&rsquo;s 400m hurdles, Brazil&rsquo;s 2022 world champion Alison dos Santos races over the barriers for the first time since the Diamond League final last year. His rivals include CJ Allen, Yasmani Copello and Wilfried Happio.
After competing in both Xiamen and Suzhou, Alaysha Johnson continues her campaign in the 100m hurdles against her compatriot Tonea Marshall and world indoor 60m hurdles bronze medallist Pia Skrzyszowska.
<h2>Chopra launches into season</h2>
India&rsquo;s world and Olympic javelin champion Neeraj Chopra is among those competing for the first time in 2024, as he launches himself towards what he hopes will be a successful title defence at the Olympic Games in Paris in August.
After winning his world title in Budapest, Chopra finished second to Jakub Vadlejch at the Diamond League final in Eugene and ended his season with victory at the Asian Games.
Now he and Czechia&rsquo;s Vadlejch &ndash; the Olympic silver medallist behind Chopra in Tokyo &ndash; clash again as Chopra looks to retain his Doha title and Vadlejch targets a successful start to his Diamond Trophy defence.
&ldquo;This year, my personal goal is to retain my Olympic title, but it would also mean a lot to me to break the 90-metre barrier,&rdquo; said Chopra, whose PB stands at 89.94m.
They will be joined by Grenada&rsquo;s two-time world champion Anderson Peters, who finished third behind Chopra and Vadlejch in Doha last year, plus 2015 world champion Julius Yego and world finalist Oliver Helander.
The women&rsquo;s pole vault features the indoor and outdoor world champions, as Australia&rsquo;s Nina Kennedy opens her Diamond League campaign against Britain&rsquo;s Molly Caudery, who competes for the first time since her world indoor triumph in Glasgow.
Four athletes with 2.00m-plus PBs clash in the women&rsquo;s high jump, as Australia&rsquo;s 2022 world champion Eleanor Patterson goes up against Ukraine&rsquo;s Yuliia Levchenko and Iryna Gerashchenko, and Kazakhstan&rsquo;s Nadezhda Dubovitskaya.
In the men&rsquo;s long jump, world and Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece makes his Doha Diamond League debut as part of a field also featuring Carey McLeod, Tajay Gayle and Simon Ehammer.
The non-Diamond League men&rsquo;s discus kicks off the field event action on Friday, with Matt Denny &ndash; who threw an Australian record of 69.35m to win the national title last month &ndash; facing Slovenia&rsquo;s 2022 world champion Kristjan Ceh, making his season debut.
Jess Whittington for World Athletics

The Doha Meeting welcomes many of the world’s best athletes for the third Wanda Diamond League event of the year on Friday

Moraa, Chebet and Chopra among stars descending on Doha

World Athletics Member Federations, athletics clubs and people across the globe have kicked off celebrations for Kids&rsquo; Athletics Day on Tuesday (7 May)&nbsp;with the World Mile Challenge.
Kids&rsquo; Athletics Day is the cornerstone of <a href="https://worldathletics.org/kids-athletics" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://worldathletics.org/kids-athletics">World Athletics&rsquo; Kids&rsquo; Athletics programme</a> &ndash; a free and exciting programme that uses the power of athletics to inspire children and young people, wherever they are, to be more active, develop their skills and confidence, and to connect with sport. We believe that every child is born to move, play and explore no matter where they are in the world or their individual circumstance.
An exciting twist has been added to the 2024 Kids' Athletics Day theme &ndash; the World Mile Challenge. In honour of the 70th anniversary of Roger Bannister breaking the four-minute mile on 6 May 1954, this year's focus is on running, jogging, or walking a mile. World Athletics and its Member Federations aim to engage 500,000 kids globally to 'Run the World' one mile at a time. To encourage participants to &lsquo;go the extra mile&rsquo;, there will be a global &lsquo;total miles run&rsquo; calculator clocking the miles registered in real time between 1 and 19 May so that all participants can track their collective progress.
Already there is a tight race between Germany and Bhutan on the leaderboard, available via the <a href="https://worldmilechallenge.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://worldmilechallenge.com/">World Mile Challenge web app</a> which acts as a central hub for the campaign across the world, allowing athletics federations, clubs, schools, and individuals to register their miles.
As part of a bigger celebration event held by Oxford University Athletics Club &amp; The British Milers Club in Oxford, England, on 6 May 2024, a one-mile road run was held for the general public to celebrate Bannister's achievement.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/663a4f90007a23b29d808d6a.jpg" alt="The Bannister Miles" />
The Bannister Miles (&copy; Bannister Miles 2024)
</div>
The event featured specific Kids&rsquo; Athletics Day waves, where entries were given to local children in support and celebration of Kids&rsquo; Athletics Day 2024. Primary schools in the Oxford area were also given the Kids&rsquo; Athletics Day/World Mile Challenge toolkit so that they can activate their own version of the World Mile Challenge and celebrate in their own school communities.
Kids&rsquo; Athletics Day and the start of China Kids&rsquo; Athletics Month is scheduled to take place on 11-12 May at the Kids&rsquo; Athletics Event Centre in Daxing District, Beijing. Their World Mile Challenge activation is anticipated to be a highlight of the event, which will have participation from more than 600 children from some 50 schools.
&ldquo;This will be a fantastic opportunity for young athletes to showcase their skills and for all participants to enjoy an environment of friendly competition and cultural exchange,&rdquo; said the Chinese Athletics Association.
A total of 11 Kids&rsquo; Athletics events will be held over Kids&rsquo; Athletics Month in addition to the Beijing event and will reach an estimated 10,000 children. Furthermore, the Chinese Athletics Association is coordinating with stars from the Chinese national athletics team to be there to inspire and encourage the children, providing them with a unique chance to meet and learn from top athletes.
<h2>Legacy project</h2>
In addition to the World Mile Challenge, many Member Federations are getting involved with Kids&rsquo; Athletics Day via their own initiatives. The Bahamas hosted the World Athletics Relays at the weekend (4-5 May) and launched a Legacy Development Project during the competition. More than 200 children and young people took part in relay activities during the event&rsquo;s pre-show. Carl Lewis, World Athletics ambassador for the event, put the kids through their paces in warm up and gave them words of encouragement.
This Kids&rsquo; Athletics activity signifies the start of the legacy project funded through Olympic Solidarity and supported by BAAA (Bahamas Association of Athletics Federations), Bahamas National Olympic Committee and World Athletics.
The initiative aims to leave a legacy by leveraging the excitement generated through the hosting of a global athletics event, with a focus on captivating the younger generation's interest in athletics. Using the established network within The Bahamas, incorporating schools and clubs, the objective is to increase participation opportunities across The Bahamas, including in the sister islands, creating greater engagement with athletics. This collaboration between the World Athletics Kids&rsquo; Athletics programme and the BAAA&rsquo;s grassroots athletics programme is designed to provide positive and quality experiences for children throughout the country. Teacher and coach training will be rolled out in the coming months to increase knowledge, understanding and capability to deliver quality experience in athletics to children across The Bahamas.
In India, where athletics is on a rapid rise, the Indian Athletics Federation launched an Instagram campaign counting down one month to go to 7 May that showcased various kids&rsquo; athletics activities every day. They are hosting events across all five regions of India and it is anticipated that between 10,000 and 15,000 young people will participate in Kids&rsquo; Athletics Day and World Mile Challenge activities. Kids&rsquo; Athletics Day marks a commitment by the Indian Athletics Federation to increase participation in athletics for those under 14.
In Africa, Kenya was the first country to kick start Kids&rsquo; Athletics Day celebrations, with the launch of the Kids&rsquo; Athletics Refugee Project.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/663a4eb0007a23b29d808d67.jpeg" alt="Kids' Athletics Refugee Project" />
Kids' Athletics Refugee Project
</div>
A Kids&rsquo; Athletics workshop was held last week at the Kakuma Refugee camp in Kenya. This is part of a larger athletics and education programme implemented by AHEEN (African Higher Education in Emergencies Network), with the aim of keeping young people in refugee communities in school and education.
As part of the workshop, the teachers delivered a Kids&rsquo; Athletics Day event to 125 young people from five schools. This was held at the Kalobeyei Sport Complex within the refugee settlement.
On social media, World Athletics will be sharing photos of people, events and organisations across the world who have joined us to celebrate Kids&rsquo; Athletics Day. We invite everyone taking part in the day&rsquo;s events, whether through a club or organisation, at school, or at home, to share images from their own celebrations using the hashtag #KidsAthleticsDay #WorldMileChallenge
Our goal is to provide children and young people with positive experiences in athletics and to give them the confidence to be active for life. We want to reach as many children as we can across the globe to encourage them to move and play in athletics. The <a href="https://worldmilechallenge.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://worldmilechallenge.com/">World Mile Challenge</a> is open from 1-19 May. There&rsquo;s still time to get involved. How many miles can we collectively run together?

World Athletics Member Federations, athletics clubs and people across the globe have kicked off celebrations for Kids’ Athletics Day on Tuesday (7 May) with the World Mile Challenge

World Mile Challenge kick starts Kids' Athletics Day

The one-mile distance has captured the sporting imagination. Miracle Mile, Mile of the Century, Dream Mile, Golden Mile&hellip; this imperial distance has transcended cultures and has cast a spell of magic which only the marathon can challenge.
But why the mile, especially when it has never been an Olympic or World Championship event on the track?
On Thursday 21 November 2019, the World Athletics Heritage Mile Night was staged in Monaco. Eleven world mile record-breakers (outdoors and indoors) attended: Ron Delany, Michel Jazy, Jim Ryun, Filbert Bayi, Paola Pigni-Cacchi, John Walker, Eamonn Coghlan, Sebastian Coe, Steve Cram, Noureddine Morceli, and Hicham El Guerrouj.
These magic milers, two of whom &ndash; Jazy and Cacchi &ndash; have since sadly passed away, were joined by 1968 and 1984 Olympic 1500m champions Kipchoge Keino and Gabriella Dorio, and 1987 world 1500m champion Abdi Bile.
<h2>What makes the mile special?</h2>
Ron Delany (IRL) &ndash; 1956 Olympic 1500m champion; multiple world indoor mile records: &ldquo;The fellowship and comradeship of the mile. All of us milers over the generations have enjoyed the benefits of the mileage (fame) which we have got out of running the mile.&rdquo;
Jim Ryun (USA) &ndash; 1500m and two world mile records: &ldquo;The mile has given us all the opportunity to live our dream. Never did it occur to me as a young man that my future would be running or that it would be the mile.&rdquo;
Michel Jazy (FRA) &ndash; world mile record: &ldquo;All milers are part of a historic brotherhood. That&rsquo;s what makes the mile so special.&rdquo;
Kip Keino (KEN) &ndash; 1968 Olympic 1500m champion: &ldquo;I wanted to be a good miler. My inspiration was Roger Bannister. I started with the 800m and tried the steeplechase, 5000m and 10,000m but for me the 1500m and mile were special.&rdquo;
Paolo Cacchi (ITA) &ndash; world 1500m and mile records: &ldquo;The mile is like the marathon, a mystery in athletics. It is something which takes you in your heart and when you run a mile you think you are something different. The mile is the past, the present and the future. The athletics mile is for every time.&rdquo;
John Walker (NZL) &ndash; 1976 Olympic 1500m champion; world mile record: &ldquo;The mile is the biggest event in running. It is revered in New Zealand as we have had Lovelock, Snell and myself. So when I ran the world record the first below 3:50, it made huge headlines.&rdquo;
Filbert Bayi (TAN) &ndash; world 1500m and mile records: &ldquo;I was a national hero when I returned home (after breaking the world mile record). There was a red carpet at the airport which is usually only reserved for the president of the country but on that day it was rolled out for me.&rdquo;
Gabriella Dorio (ITA) &ndash; 1984 Olympic 1500m champion: &ldquo;The mile is the most classical race in athletics, a most loved and beautiful event and it stays in my heart.&rdquo;
Steve Cram (GBR) &ndash; 1983 world 1500m champion; world 1500m and mile records: &ldquo;It is all about Roger (Bannister). Before Roger there was obviously interest. The mile is easy to understand. It is four laps and it takes four minutes, or it did until he (Roger) broke that barrier. That&rsquo;s a great attention span for fans.&rdquo;
&ldquo;The impact of what Roger did when communications around the world were just developing had a resonance&hellip; and it was that iconic moment that has allowed the mile to live and breathe and stay relevant.&rdquo;
Abdi Bile (SOM) &ndash; 1987 world 1500m champion: &ldquo;People do not understand the difference that those 100 metres makes between running the 1500m and the mile. That&rsquo;s the reason why the mile lasts, why the world record remains important. It&rsquo;s difficult to run.&rdquo;
Eamonn Coghlan (IRL) &ndash; multiple world indoor mile records: &ldquo;Why the mile? Four minutes. 60 seconds a lap. For me it was 11 laps while I was chasing my indoor world record.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Roger Bannister breaking four minutes&hellip; that was something we saw at the cinema on the Path&eacute; News. That was ingrained in your mind when you grew up as a teenager.&rdquo;
Sebastian Coe (GBR) &ndash; 1980 and 1984 Olympic 1500m champion; world 1500m and three mile records: &ldquo;Everybody has hit the right point and have talked about Sir Roger. One of my mile marks was of course John (Walker) because in the year in which he went under 3:50 that became as big a target, as big an achievement.&rdquo;
&ldquo;For me Walker was Herculean. When I watched him win (Montreal Olympic 1500m) I thought if that was to be me in four years&rsquo; time, I had a lot of ground to make up before I would be capable of even lacing his shoes. We must not forget the contribution that John made in reinforcing the importance of the mile.&rdquo;
Noureddine Morceli &ndash; 1996 Olympic and three-time world 1500m champion; world mile and two 1500m records: &ldquo;As a youngster I followed the history, Bannister, the Dream Mile, and I started to get very interested in the mile. I wanted to be part of its history, to break the world record. If you want to be one of the great runners, you must be part of this mile history. It was one the big moments for me to break the mile record.&rdquo;
Hicham El Guerrouj &ndash; 2004 Olympic 1500m and four-time world 1500m champion; world 1500m and mile records: &ldquo;When I started running, it was a dream for me to become one of the greatest athletes in the world. As I learned more and more about the sport, I began to understand that it was important that I ran fast in the mile. I began watching mile races back to the 1930s. I understood it was not easy to run fast in the mile. The last 100 metres of the mile is like climbing Mount Everest.&rdquo;
Chris Turner for World Athletics Heritage

The one-mile distance has captured the sporting imagination

Why the mile? ‘It is like the marathon, a mystery in athletics’

In the latest episode of the <a href="https://worldathletics.org/videos/playlist/latest-videos/66392fb65d270cc25bf8356c" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://worldathletics.org/videos/playlist/latest-videos/66392fb65d270cc25bf8356c">World Athletics Inside Track Podcast</a>, released today (6 May), Olympic 200m champion Andre De Grasse and leading content creators Daniel LaBelle and Charles Brockman III join hosts Sanya Richards-Ross and Kelly Sotherton to recap the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24.
After some behind-the-scenes interviews with athletes in the warm up area as they prepared for the second day of competition on Sunday, Sotherton shared her standout moment from day two in Nassau.
&ldquo;My highlight was The Bahamas, up against Jamaica in the mixed relay in the repechage, and the crowd was crazy,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;That just set the scene for the whole evening.&rdquo;
De Grasse was among the athletes in action and he helped Canada to second place in the men&rsquo;s 4x100m final.
With Canada&rsquo;s Olympic relay place now secured, he is also hoping to run the 100m and 200m in Paris.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the plan. I want to run both and get back on the podium in the 100m and 200m,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been training really hard, and I&rsquo;m looking forward to it. Every day is a new challenge, as you step on the track you find different motivations every single day. I&rsquo;m excited to defend my title in the 200m and try to contend for a 100m title as well.&rdquo;
LaBelle is a titan of content creation, boasting a huge audience of 70 million across YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.
Among the events to catch his eye in Nassau was the mixed 4x400m.
&ldquo;The mixed relays are fascinating to me,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I really enjoyed watching that and the different strategy that goes along with it. Back when I used to run in high school and college, they didn&rsquo;t have that, so that&rsquo;s been really fun for me to watch, especially live.&rdquo;
After sharing insight into his content career, he was asked for his ideas on how to make athletics more creative.
&ldquo;It would be so cool if at the start of each meet they had a fun, silly race but with serious competitors where they are all wearing mascot costumes,&rdquo; he replied. &ldquo;Who wouldn&rsquo;t want to watch that?&rdquo;
Brockman is a former collegiate athlete turned influencer who&rsquo;s famous for his comedy skits and impersonations. In The Bahamas, he was the official behind-the-scenes reporter for the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/worldathletics" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.instagram.com/worldathletics">World Athletics Instagram</a> page.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s very full circle that I can be here, not running, when years ago I thought I would be running in these Olympic Games or at the World Championships,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s really humbling and exciting, so I always would love to give back to the sport and be that newer face that can bridge comedy and track.&rdquo;
This is the third in a series of World Athletics Inside Track Podcast episodes from Nassau, all available via the usual podcast platforms &ndash; including on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/inside-track-the-official-podcast-of-world-athletics/id1733061742" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/inside-track-the-official-podcast-of-world-athletics/id1733061742">Apple Podcasts</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6OGo4XNfgZ3GSiXes6OO8u?si=c976714bf56b4d18" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6OGo4XNfgZ3GSiXes6OO8u?si=c976714bf56b4d18">Spotify</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;the <a href="https://podcast.sport-social.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://podcast.sport-social.co.uk/">Sport Social Podcast Network</a> &ndash; while fans can also watch the show on the <a href="https://worldathletics.org/videos" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://worldathletics.org/videos">World Athletics website</a>.
With an evolving presenter line-up, the podcast will return later in the year, as an all-star cast will provide a preview to the events at the Olympic Games in Paris.
Find it all on <a href="https://worldathletics.org/inside-track" data-cke-saved-href="https://worldathletics.org/inside-track">Inside Track</a>.

World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24

Olympic 200m champion Andre De Grasse and leading content creators Daniel LaBelle and Charles Brockman III join hosts Sanya Richards-Ross and Kelly Sotherton to recap the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24

Special guests star on Inside Track Podcast for WRE Bahamas 24 recap

The 70th anniversary of Sir Roger Bannister&rsquo;s sub-four-minute mile has been celebrated in Oxford across the bank holiday weekend of 4-6 May.
A three-day pop-up Museum of World Athletics (MOWA) 1500m &amp; Mile Heritage Display at Oxford University Athletics Club&rsquo;s (OUAC) track at Iffley Road culminates today (6) with the OUAC&rsquo;s Bannister Miles, a day of road and track mile races.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/heritage/plaque/list" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Two World Athletics Heritage Plaques</a>, one honouring <a href="https://worldathletics.org/heritage/plaque/list/roger-bannister" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bannister</a> and the other the <a href="https://worldathletics.org/heritage/plaque/list/oxford-university-athletics-club" target="_blank" rel="noopener">OUAC</a>, which was founded in 1860, are being unveiled at Iffley Road. Celebrations conclude with a formal dinner at Exeter College in the evening.
<div style="padding: 56.25% 0 0 0; position: relative;"><iframe style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;" title="Seb - 70th Anniversary of Bannister&rsquo;s Sub-4" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/932931123?badge=0&amp;autopause=0&amp;player_id=0&amp;app_id=58479" frameborder="0" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
<h2>First four minutes</h2>
In pursuit of the ultimate race against the unforgiving hand of the clock, time seemed to stand still for Roger Bannister as he attacked the Everest of athletic achievements, the sub-four-minute mile, late on the afternoon of 6 May 1954.
It was on the final lap of the mile race in the Oxford University v Amateur Athletic Association match at the Iffley Road track in Oxford when the 25-year-old medical student overtook the second of his pacemakers, Chris Chataway, and prepared to enter unchartered territory.
&ldquo;I had a moment of mixed joy and anguish, when my mind took over,&rdquo; the future Sir Roger wrote in his book First Four Minutes, reflecting on his push towards the historic 3:59.4 clocking.
&ldquo;My mind seemed almost detached from my body. It raced well ahead of my body and drew my body compellingly forward. I felt like the moment of a lifetime had come.
&ldquo;The world seemed to stand still, or did not exist. The only reality was the next 200 yards of track under my feet. The tape meant finality, extinction perhaps.
&ldquo;I felt at that moment that it was my chance to do one thing supremely well. I drove on, impelled by a combination of fear and pride. The air I breathed filled me with the spirit of the track where I had run my first race.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/d1bb7d27-872b-4eb7-9285-160da7834dc5.jpg" alt="Roger Bannister breaks the four minute mile barrier - 6 May 1954 - 3:59.4" />
Roger Bannister breaks the four minute mile barrier (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
<h2>You haven&rsquo;t got the strength</h2>
It had been at Iffley Road in 1946 that the callow 17-year-old Roger Gilbert Bannister, a first-year medical student at Exeter College, Oxford, first set foot on a running track.
After several laps of what was then a 330-yard circuit, on which it had become conventional to run in a clockwise direction, the rookie was approached by the groundsman, who told him how Jack Lovelock used to train there in his time as an Oxford medical student. The New Zealander set a world mile record of 4:07.6 in Brooklyn in 1933 and won the 1936 Olympic 1500m title in a world record 3:47.8.
&ldquo;But I&rsquo;m afraid you&rsquo;ll never be any good,&rdquo; the groundsman told the crestfallen young Bannister. &ldquo;You just haven&rsquo;t got the strength or the build for it.&rdquo;
Two weeks later, resplendent in his school team rowing kit, he ran his first track race, also at Iffley Road. He finished second in the mile at the Freshman&rsquo;s Sports, clocking a modest 4:53.
<h2>Helsinki disappointment &ndash; inspired by Landy</h2>
Much had happened in the eight years between then and the fateful mile at Iffley Road in May of 1954.
As President of the Oxford University Athletics Club, Bannister pushed through the rebuilding of the track to standard 440-yard specification (and with a change of running direction to the conventional anti-clockwise).
He had also undergone the excruciating experience of being publicly dubbed &ldquo;a failure&rdquo; for finishing fourth in the 1952 Olympic 1500m final in Helsinki. Having chosen to keep his form under wraps in training while racing only in under-distance events that summer, he had been undermined by the last-minute introduction of semifinals, requiring three 1500m races on consecutive days.
The day before that shattering schedule announcement, Bannister ran a three-quarter mile time trial in 2:59.9, which he rated as &ldquo;equal to, if not better, than a four-minute mile.&rdquo;
By 1954, he had started to train in company for the first time &ndash; on his weekday lunchbreaks from St Mary&rsquo;s Hospital in London &ndash; and at weekends with his good friends and fellow Olympians Chris Brasher and Chris Chataway, under the direction of Brasher&rsquo;s Austrian coach Franz Stampfl.
Inspired by news of John Landy closing in on the four-minute barrier with a succession of sub-4:03 runs in Australia, Bannister began to embrace interval training, starting off by running a series of 10 reps of 400m, with a recovery of two minutes, in an average of 66 seconds - until he got down to 58 seconds.
<h2>&ldquo;Relax!&rdquo;</h2>
By May 1954, it was clear he was ready for a serious assault in the annual Oxford University v AAA match but when the day arrived he was racked by doubts, mainly due to the strength of a gale force wind he encountered when he finished his morning shift at St Mary&rsquo;s and made the train trip up to Oxford.
Only when he saw the flag on top of a nearby church stop fluttering wildly did his thoughts of postponement give way to the task of chasing a place in posterity with the pacemaking help of his two new training partners.
<div><a href="https://worldathletics.org/kids-athletics/news/world-mile-challenge-kids-athletics-day-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6638e3dd422bb48b4a290438.jpg" alt="Roger Bannister comic" /></a>
(&copy; Christel Saneh)
</div>
&ldquo;Brasher went into the lead and I slipped in effortlessly behind him, feeling tremendously full of running,&rdquo; Bannister recounted in First Four Minutes. &ldquo;I shouted &lsquo;Faster!&rsquo; but Brasher kept his head and did not change his pace. I went on worrying until I heard the first lap time, 57.5.
&ldquo;At one and a half laps I was still worrying about the pace. A voice shouting &lsquo;Relax!&rsquo; penetrated me above the noise of the crowd. I learned afterwards it was Stampfl&rsquo;s. Unconsciously I obeyed.
&ldquo;I barely noticed the half mile, passed in 1:58, nor when, round the next bend, Chataway went into the lead. At three quarters of a mile the effort was still barely perceptible; the time was 3:00.7, and by now the crowd were roaring.
&ldquo;Chataway led round the next bend and then I pounced past him at the beginning of the back straight, 300 yards from the finish.&rdquo;
Then came that moment when Bannister reached his higher plane - travelling through a suspension in time towards his home-straight destiny.
&ldquo;Those last few seconds seemed never ending,&rdquo; he wrote. &ldquo;The faint line of the finishing tape stood ahead as a haven of peace, after the struggle. I leapt at the tape like a man taking his last spring to save himself from the chasm that threatens to engulf him.
&ldquo;My effort was over and I collapsed almost unconscious. I felt like an exploded flashlight. I knew that I had done it before I even heard the time.&rdquo;
The official announcement was made by another close friend of Bannister, Norris McWhirter. &ldquo;Result of event eight: one mile,&rdquo; began the statistician who was to go on to found The Guinness Book of Records with his twin brother, Ross. &ldquo;First, RG Bannister of Exeter and Merton Colleges, in a time which, subject to ratification, is a new track record, British native record, British all-comers&rsquo; record, European record and world record. Three minutes&hellip;&rdquo;
<h2>&ldquo;I felt free from the burden of athletic ambition&rdquo;</h2>
&ldquo;The rest was lost in the roar of excitement,&rdquo; Bannister continued. &ldquo;I grabbed Brasher and Chataway, and together we scampered round the track in a burst of spontaneous joy. We had done it &ndash; the three of us!
&ldquo;We shared a place where no man had yet ventured, secure for all time, however fast men might run miles in future. I felt suddenly and gloriously free from the burden of athletic ambition that I had been carrying for years.&rdquo;
At 25, Bannister had conquered the ultimate peak of sporting endeavour, a year after the successful British conquest of Mount Everest. His time, 3:59.4, was an advancement of some nine yards on the nine-year-old world record of 4:01.4 held by the Swede Gunder Hagg.
Bannister&rsquo;s figures only survived as a world record for 46 days, yet his barrier-breaking feat has endured for seven decades now as the most momentous achievement in the long, distinguished history of track and field.
Simon Turnbull for World Athletics Heritage

The 70th anniversary of Sir Roger Bannister’s sub-four-minute mile has been celebrated in Oxford across the bank holiday weekend of 4-6 May

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