Running News Daily

Kenya’s sprint king Ferdinand Omanyala is building something truly formidable. With a stunning sequence of performances—9.98, 9.96, and now 9.95 seconds—the African record holder is not just winning races; he’s sending a clear message to the global sprinting elite. This is no longer about isolated brilliance. This is consistency at the highest level, and it’s beginning to look dangerous.

Across three major meets—the Addis Ababa Grand Prix in Addis Ababa (9.98s), the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi (9.96s), and the Botswana Grand Prix in Gaborone (9.95s)—Omanyala has steadily sharpened his edge. Each race has been a step forward, a fraction faster, a statement louder. The progression isn’t accidental; it reflects precision training, growing confidence, and a sprinter peaking at just the right moment.

What makes this run particularly compelling is the ease with which Omanyala is dipping under the coveted 10-second barrier. In the world of sprinting, consistency at sub-10 is the ultimate currency of greatness. It separates contenders from champions. And right now, Omanyala is stacking performances like a man on a mission—calm, composed, and increasingly dominant.

Beyond the times, there’s a presence about him. Explosive out of the blocks, powerful through the drive phase, and composed at top speed, he looks every bit the complete sprinter. His latest 9.95 is not just a season highlight—it’s a warning shot. With each race, he’s tightening his grip on the title of Africa’s fastest man while positioning himself as a genuine global threat.

For Kenya, a nation long celebrated for distance running excellence, Omanyala represents a thrilling shift in narrative. He is rewriting expectations, proving that sprinting greatness can also rise from East Africa. And as the season gathers pace, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: if this trajectory holds, the world will soon have no choice but to reckon with him at the very top.

Sub-10 consistency isn’t just impressive—it’s ominous. And right now, Ferdinand Omanyala is trending exactly where he wants to be: faster, sharper, and closing in on something special.

Kenya’s sprint powerhouse Ferdinand Omanyala delivered a statement performance at the Addis Ababa Grand Prix 2026, storming to victory in the men’s 100m final with a brilliant 9.98 seconds.

On a lively track in the Ethiopian capital, Omanyala once again underlined his status as Africa’s fastest man, producing a race defined by explosive acceleration and controlled top-end speed. From the blocks, the Kenyan quickly separated himself from the field, leaving no doubt about the outcome long before the finish line.

Behind him, Christopher Borzor of the United States secured second place in 10.16, while Italy’s Ali Chituru Ali completed the podium in 10.26. The rest of the field followed closely, with Kenya’s Mark Otieno Odhiambo finishing fourth in 10.27 and Samuel Chege Waweru placing fifth in 10.33.

Omanyala’s sub-10 performance is particularly significant given the altitude conditions in Addis Ababa, which often demand both physical and tactical discipline. Rather than fading, he appeared composed and efficient through every phase of the race, a sign that his preparation is aligning perfectly ahead of a demanding international season.

For Kenyan sprinting, a discipline historically overshadowed by distance running, Omanyala continues to break boundaries and shift perceptions. Each dominant run reinforces his role as a trailblazer, inspiring a new generation of short-distance athletes across the country.

As the season gathers momentum, this victory sends a clear message to the global sprinting community: Omanyala is not just competing—he is setting the pace.

The men’s 3000m at the Madrid Indoor Tour delivered exactly what modern indoor racing promises: patience, positioning, and a decisive final lap where speed becomes the ultimate weapon. In a race featuring championship experience and rising global talent, South Africa’s Tshepo Tshite emerged victorious with a perfectly timed finishing surge, clocking 7:39.11 in one of the most competitive indoor races of the season.

Ethiopia’s Getnet Wale entered the race as the clear favorite. Known for his relentless strength and proven championship pedigree, Wale took responsibility early, setting a controlled tempo designed to gradually wear down the field. For much of the race, the pack remained tightly grouped, with no one willing to commit too early in what quickly became a tactical contest.

In today’s indoor 3000m, races are often decided not by who leads early, but by who executes best when it matters most. That moment came with just over one lap remaining.

Tshite, a former 800m and 1500m specialist, demonstrated both patience and confidence. With 400 meters to go, he made his move, accelerating decisively and forcing the field to respond. Uruguay’s Valentín Soca, one of the sport’s fastest-rising young talents, answered immediately, matching Tshite stride for stride as the two separated themselves from Wale and the rest of the pack.

The final straight became a test of speed, timing, and composure. Tshite held his form and crossed the line first in 7:39.11. Soca followed closely in 7:39.91, while Wale, who had carried the early pace, finished third in 7:39.98, underscoring how narrow the margins are at this level.

Tshite’s victory continues an exceptional stretch of racing. Just days earlier in Ostrava, he set a South African indoor record of 7:38.17, confirming his transition from middle-distance specialist to elite 3000m contender. His ability to combine endurance with world-class finishing speed makes him one of the most dangerous competitors on the indoor circuit.

Soca, only 23, continues to build his reputation as one of South America’s most promising distance runners. Already a continental record holder, he showed he belongs among the world’s best, demonstrating both tactical intelligence and finishing strength.

For Wale, the race reinforced both his consistency and the evolving nature of modern distance running. His strength and experience remain formidable, but indoor racing increasingly rewards athletes who can shift gears instantly in the closing stages.

Madrid’s 3000m was a clear reminder of how the event continues to evolve. Strength still matters—but speed, timing, and tactical precision now define success. On this night, Tshepo Tshite delivered all three, and his victory confirmed his arrival as one of the leading distance runners of 2026.

South African stars Tete Dijana and Gerda Steyn solidified their places among the world’s best ultra runners with commanding victories at the 2025 Comrades Marathon, held Sunday, June 8. Dijana, now a three-time champion, won the men’s race in 5:25:27, edging out defending champion Piet Wiersma by just five seconds in a thrilling repeat of last year’s finish.

Steyn claimed her fourth Comrades title, joining elite company as only the second woman to win the race more than three times. Her time of 5:51:18 put her nearly five minutes ahead of runner-up Alexandra Morozova.

Race Distance and Pace

• Distance: 89.98 kilometers (55.9 miles)

• Tete Dijana’s average pace:

• 3:37 per km

• 5:50 per mile

• Gerda Steyn’s average pace:

• 3:54 per km

• 6:17 per mile

Innovations and Historic Field

The 98th edition of the Comrades, run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban, featured a record Down Run field of 22,677 qualified entrants. For the first time in event history, organizers introduced a split start for safety and improved flow, with two groups starting 15 minutes apart.

The new finish line on Masabalala Yengwa Avenue, adjacent to Durban’s People’s Park, added a festive atmosphere with expanded hospitality and club support zones.

Elite Race Highlights

In the men’s race, Onalenna Khonkhobe led early before Dijana surged with 20km to go. Dutchman Piet Wiersma closed the gap late, but Dijana stayed strong to win in a near repeat of 2023.

“I came prepared and stuck to my race plan. When I saw Piet closing, I pushed and opened the gap,” said Dijana.

Nikolai Volkov finished third in 5:29:41, followed by Edward Mothibi and Joseph Manyedi. South Africans claimed six of the top 10 spots.

In the women’s race, Elizabeth Mukoloma led early, but once Steyn took over, the outcome was never in doubt. Despite a late surge from Morozova, Steyn pushed ahead to win by nearly five minutes.

“It’s always an honor to be part of this race. I ran conservatively early to run my best race today—and it paid off,” said Steyn.

Kenya’s Shelmith Muriuki, in her Comrades debut, finished third, while Olympic marathoner Irvette van Zyl impressed with a strong fourth-place debut.

Building Toward the 100th

Comrades General Manager Alain Dalais praised the success of this “dress rehearsal” for the 100th edition in 2027:

“We’re thrilled with how well the split start worked and with the positive feedback on the new finish zone. We’re on the right path.”

Dalais also celebrated personal milestones, including Louis Massyn’s 50th Comrades finish, making him the first runner to earn a Quintuple Green Number.

Top Finishers

Men’s Top 3:

1. Tete Dijana – 5:25:27

2. Piet Wiersma – 5:25:32

3. Nikolai Volkov – 5:29:41

Women’s Top 3:

1. Gerda Steyn – 5:51:18

2. Alexandra Morozova – 5:55:55

3. Shelmith Muriuki – 6:07:55

Carl Lewis protégé Louie Hinchliffe turns pro after stellar collegiate season and beating Noah Lyles in the Olympic 100m Round 1.

Carl Lewis prodigy Louie Hinchliffe has made the bold decision to leave behind his collegiate career at the University of Houston to pursue professional track and field following an impressive debut at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Hinchliffe's standout performances have not only caught the eye of the athletics world but have also marked a new chapter in his career inspired by none other than his coach and mentor Carl Lewis.

In Paris, Hinchliffe was a key component of Great Britain's bronze medal-winning 4x100m relay team. Despite not advancing to the finals in the 100m event, his times of 9.98s and 9.97s in the heats and semifinals respectively were enough to stir discussions about his future potential in the sport.

“What a season it's been. I've experienced the highest of highs in my first year at the University of Houston. I've become an NCAA champion, a National Champion, and an Olympic Semi-Finalist all whilst living out my dreams as a Cougar," Hinchliffe shared on his Instagram.

The young sprinter expressed profound gratitude toward his coaches and the staff at the University, signaling the end of his amateur phase with heartfelt thanks.

"With that being said, after speaking with my family, I have decided to forego the remainder of my collegiate eligibility and embark on a career as a professional athlete.”

Hinchliffe's time under Carl Lewis at Houston has been transformational and Lewis has previously noted Hinchliffe's rapid progress but maintained that the young athlete still had much to learn.

"He still has work to do. Obviously, he’s only been here nine months but I think he can definitely be one of the best that Britain’s ever had. He’s run 9.95, he can run faster," Lewis stated.

Under the guidance of Coach Lewis and Director of Track and Field, Will Blackburn, Hinchliffe has developed a foundation that seems poised to support a successful professional career.

“I would like to thank Coach Blackburn & Coach Lewis for your belief and support of me. I hope that someday I can give back as much as you both have given to me. I would like to thank the rest of the coaching staff, operational staff, sports medicine department, and our wonderful student managers,” he added in his statement.

The sprinter's departure from collegiate sports marks the end of an era for the University of Houston, where he not only clinched the NCAA title but also led the team to significant successes.

His performances at the Big 12 Outdoor Track & Field Championship and UK Athletics Championship where he emerged as a national champion, have set high expectations for his professional endeavors.

African 100m record holder Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya has signed on to an initiative to personally plant one million trees in the 2023 track season. The Kenyan news outlet Nation reported that Omanyala, the 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallist in the 100m, discussed his tree-planting plans at a ceremony on Friday ahead of the Kip Keino Classic meet in Nairobi. 

Omanyala (whose 100m PB of 9.77 seconds is the fastest in African history) has been working on his tree-planting project since the start of 2023. He is working in tandem with Athletics Kenya, which has reportedly engaged in similar initiatives surrounding climate change and air quality. Jack Tuwei, Athletics Kenya’s president, told Nation that both climate change and air quality have negative effects on sport, which prompted the organization to act. 

Omanyala told the press that he hopes more athletes will support this campaign. “I’m aiming to plant one million trees this season, and my plea to the other athletes and anyone supporting sports is to join the campaign, because this is what we need as sports men and women,” he said.

He continued, saying, “by planting trees, the community is also set to benefit from clean air.” This is Omanyala’s main reason for setting out on his project of planting one million trees, adding that he wants to “fill every space available [in Kenya] with trees.” While he is only focused on working in Kenya, Omanyala acknowledged the global issues presented by climate change, saying it is “a worldwide concern.” 

A day after his tree-planting ceremony, Omanyala raced in front of a home crowd at the Kip Keino Classic. He beat Americans Kenny Bednarek and Marvin Bracy-Williams to the line, running a world-leading time of 9.84 seconds to take the win. Bednarek finished in second in 9.98 and Bracy-Williams crossed the line in 10.03. 

American high schooler Issam Asinga ran an incredible 9.83-second 100m race on Sunday, winning the race and beating 200m world champion and Olympic bronze medalist Noah Lyles in the process. The 18-year-old Asinga’s time is the fastest ever recorded by an American high school athlete under any conditions, although it was wind-aided at 2.6 meters per second (the limit for wind is 2.0 meters per second). Wind-legal or not, Asinga’s run was phenomenal, and he is certainly someone to follow in the coming years.

Sunday’s run was not Asinga’s first time storming into the record books. In March at the New Balance Nationals Indoor meet, he tied the American high school 60m record with a 6.59-second run, and broke the national high school 200m record in 20.48 seconds. His 100m result in Florida is undoubtedly his most impressive feat yet, as he took down Lyles to do it. 

The official American high school boys record stands at 10 seconds flat—a time Trentavis Friday ran in 2014. That is as close as any high schooler has come to breaking 10 seconds in legal conditions. Before Asinga’s run on Sunday, Matt Boling had the fastest all-conditions run in American high school history, posting a 9.98-second 100m back in 2019. That race saw winds of 4.2 meters per second.

Despite running in far slower winds than Boling felt during his race, Asinga obliterated that record, flying to the finish line. A wind conversion calculator shows that his result is equal to a 9.85 run in 2.0m/s wind and a 9.93 in still conditions. In either case, Asinga’s time would smash all previous American high school records. 

After the race, Lyles took to Twitter to congratulate the young sprinter. “Shout out to Issam Asinga,” he wrote. “I can definitely see us racing on the big stages if you keep improving and you can definitely get that HS record man!” There’s no word on when Asinga’s next race will come, but it will be an exciting one to watch as he chases a wind-legal result. 

Julien Alfred, Britton Wilson and Noah Lyles each started their seasons with winning doubles at the Tom Jones Memorial in Gainesville, Florida.

Commonwealth 100m silver medallist Alfred improved to a 21.91 (1.8m/s) Saint Lucian 200m record, while two-time world 200m champion Lyles ran 20.16 (-1.2m/s) on Friday (14). They also won their 100m races the following day, Alfred clocking a wind-assisted 10.72 (2.4m/s) and Lyles running 9.95 (1.6m/s) ahead of Joseph Fahnbulleh (9.98).

Alfred picked up from where she left off following an indoor season that included PBs of 6.94 for the 60m and 22.01 in the 200m set at the NCAA Indoor Championships for the best ever one-day indoor sprints double. That 6.94 places her joint second on the world indoor 60m all-time list.

After some relay performances to open her outdoor campaign, the 21-year-old improved her previous 200m PB of 22.46 set last May, taking it to 21.91 in her first individual race of the season.

Finishing second in that collegiate race was McKenzie Long in a PB of 22.31, while Alfred’s Texas teammate Rhasidat Adeleke improved her Irish record to 22.34 in third.

In another race, world finalist Melissa Jefferson ran 23.02 (1.8m/s) to win ahead of five-time Olympic gold medallist Elaine Thompson-Herah (23.23). Kiara Grant won the pro 100m race, clocking 10.99 (1.6m/s).

Also getting his outdoor season under way, Lyles ran 20.16 into a headwind (-1.2m/s) to dominate his 200m race. In one of the collegiate races, Alabama’s Tarsis Orogot ran a wind-assisted 19.60 (2.9m/s), while Terrence Jones went quickest in the collegiate 100m races, clocking 9.91 (1.0m/s) to match the Bahamian record.

Like Alfred, Wilson also threatened a world record at the NCAA Indoor Championships when she ran 49.48 to win the 400m. She achieved another fast time on Saturday (15), running a collegiate record of 49.51 to win her 400m race, the day after she claimed a 400m hurdles win in 53.23 when making her individual season debut. Anna Hall finished second in that hurdles race in 54.48 and Masai Russell was third in 55.39. Adeleke ran another Irish record to finish second behind Wilson in the 400m, clocking 49.90.

In the sprint hurdles, two-time world champion Grant Holloway won his 110m hurdles heat in 13.03 (1.1m/s) ahead of Rasheed Broadbell (13.12). Holloway then won the final in 13.05 (0.5m/s). After a wind-assisted 100m hurdles heat win of 12.55 (2.8m/s), 2019 world champion Nia Ali won the pro final in 12.53 (1.4m/s) ahead of world champion and world record-holder Tobi Amusan (12.59), who won her heat in 12.74 (1.1m/s). World indoor 60m hurdles silver medallist Devynne Charlton was third in the final in 12.64.

World indoor champion Jereem Richards got things off to a fast start as he won his first 400m race of the season in a PB of 44.68. Alonzo Russell also ran a PB of 44.73 for the runner-up spot.

Will Claye and Christian Taylor were separated by a single centimetre in the men's triple jump, respectively leaping 16.90m and 16.89m. Thea LaFond recorded 14.13m to win the women's contest.

At the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, California, on Saturday (15), Olympic and world silver medallist Rai Benjamin made his 400m hurdles season debut and clocked 47.74 for a dominant victory. 

Cravont Charleston won the elite men’s 100m race in a wind-assisted 9.87 (3.0m/s) ahead of Kyree King (9.98) and world 400m champion Michael Norman (10.02).

Juliette Whittaker topped the 1500m in 4:12.49 on Friday and the following day won the 800m in 2:01.79 ahead of her Stanford teammate Roisin Willis in 2:01.97.

Talie Bonds improved her PB to 12.65 (1.2m/s) to win the 100m hurdles.

At the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California, Nikki Hiltz pipped Michaela Rose in a close 800m race, 1:59.03 to 1:59.08, as both athletes dipped under two minutes for the first time on Friday (14). Claire Seymour (2:00.04), Elise Cranny (2:00.25) and Valery Tobias (2:00.31) also went sub-2:01.

On Saturday (15), Cooper Teare opened his season with a near 1500m PB of 3:34.96 ahead of Fouad Messaoudi (3:35.16).

Australian 15-year-old Gout Gout made a statement on the third day of the Australian Junior Athletics Championships in Brisbane on Saturday (15), clocking 20.87 (-0.1m/s) to win the 200m by almost half a second.

“It means a lot because I’ve been training so much for this. I was really nervous. The gun went, and I was good and I just kept pushing," he told Athletics Australia.

March 29 was quite a day for 19-year-old sprinter Bouwahjie Nkrumie of Kingston, Jamaica. Nkrumie stormed to a U20 national record time of 9.99 seconds (+0.3 m/s) at the Jamaica High School Boys and Girls Athletics Championships, becoming only the third runner in the world to break the 10-second barrier before turning 20.

Nkrumie, 19, nicknamed “Dr. Speed,” became the youngest Jamaican sprinter to break the barrier, which is an incredible feat considering the small Caribbean nation’s rich sprinting history (including Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell and Yohan Blake). The future of the 100m looks bright as Nkrumie joins American Trayvon Bromell and U20 world record holder, Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, in the U20 sub-10 club. 

Last year, Tebogo beat Nkrumie in the 100m final at the U20 World Athletics Championships in Cali, Colombia. Nkrumie ran his previous best of 10.02 seconds in the final, but was second to Tebogo, who won in a U20 world record of 9.91 seconds.

Nkrumie’s time of 9.99 was also a 2023 world lead for 100m, but it only lasted a few hours until Akani Simbine of South Africa ran a time of 9.98 seconds (+1.0 m/s) in the men’s 100m heats at the South African Championships.

The new Jamaican record holder is in his final year of high school at Kingston College, an all-male sports and academic-focused secondary school in Kingston. We will likely see Nkrumie take on the world’s best later this year at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August.

Yared Nuguse ran the second-fastest indoor mile in history as three national records fell or were equalled in a thrilling men’s Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games. Alicia Monson also set an area record in the 3000m, while Abby Steiner claimed a US record in the 300m at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in New York on Saturday (11).

In the infield, Ryan Crouser demonstrated his effective new shot put technique and Katie Moon returned to her winning ways in the pole vault before a roaring crowd that also cheered runners in competitions from U8 through high school and college.

As always, the men’s Wanamaker mile culminated the meeting, and Nuguse ran away with the race in a world-leading 3:47.38 to claim his second area record of the season to go along with the 3000m.

Pace setter Erik Sowinski brought the runners through half way in 1:52.99 – just as he had been asked – with Nuguse and training mates Mario Garcia Romo and Olli Hoare in the lead group. But Nuguse turned on the jets and covered the final quarter of the race in 54.23, breaking the meeting record, facility record, and crushing Bernard Lagat’s 15-year-old US indoor record of 3:49.98.

“Running that race the way we did,” Nuguse said, “all three of us right there up for the first half of the race, I felt good knowing I had my closest guys having my back. And then that last part was give it everything I had and I was able to close with something crazy and get it.”

Great Britain’s Neil Gourley ran a PB of 3:49.46 to move to sixth on the world indoor all-time list, and Hoare equalled the Oceanian record with 3:50.83. New Zealand’s Sam Tanner ran a PB of 3:51.70, while Romo’s 3:51.79 was a Spanish record.

Yuguse has now eclipsed Hicham El Guerrouj on the all-time list; only Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha has run faster, clocking 3:47.01 in 2019.

“I’m always excited to see what else I can do next,” Nuguse said. “There was definitely a nice confidence boost. After that 3000m (where he broke the US record), I was feeling pretty confident already, but to do this in the event that I love the most and the one that I feel like I’m going for at the world championships, that makes me feel even better.”

Laura Muir won the women’s Wanamaker Mile in 4:20.15, followed by Josette Andrews in 4.20.88. Muir, the Olympic silver medallist, led for most of the race, then Andrews hit the front with two laps to go. But the Briton kicked again on the final lap and went on to win comfortably.

Sprint sensations

World record-holder Christian Coleman took a bow after winning the men’s 60m in a season’s best of 6.47. “I feel like this is what I do best and I came to put on a show,” he said.

Noah Lyles was charged with a false start and ran the race under protest, clocking 6.53, although the time would not count. Lyles, the US record-holder in the 200m outdoors, admitted a little bit of movement, but said his feet never left the pad. “I got a time that I’m very happy to see,” Lyles said. “Everybody knows I’m just here to play around. I’m not a 60-metre runner, but if I can take some heads, I’m going to do it.”

Jamaica’s Travis Williams was awarded second place with a PB of 6.59, followed by Josephus Lyles, Noah’s younger brother, also with a PB of 6.59. Williams edged Lyles by .003.

Aleia Hobbs set an Armory record of 7.04 to win her fourth straight competition, having clocked a world-leading 6.98 at the end of January. Teenager Tamari Davis was second in a PB of 7.08, followed by Marybeth Sant-Price in 7.11, Mikiah Brisco at 7.13 and 17-year-old Shawnti Jackson in 7.16.

“I don’t think my start was as good as it’s been, but I was patient,” Hobbs said.

In only her second 300m, Steiner broke the US record, clocking 35.54 to easily go under Quanera Hayes’ time of 35.71 from 2017. Steiner held off a spirited challenge from Brittany Brown, who ran 36.13.

“It’s definitely one of those races I think you learn a little bit about every time you run it,” said Steiner, who set the collegiate record in her first race.

Although this 300m is her last of the season, she still wants the world record of 35.45, shared by Shaunae Miller-Uibo and Irina Privalova. “I clean up my start a little bit,” Steiner said, “and I think it’s there.”

World indoor champion Jereem Richards of Trinidad & Tobago ran a season’s best of 45.84 to avenge the previous week’s loss to  Noah Williams, who clocked 46.20. In Boston, they were separated by only .004 as both ran 45.88.

Devynne Charlton won the women’s 60m hurdles in 7.91, while Tonea Marshall ran a season’s best of 7.94 and Sharika Nelvis clocked 7.96 to edge Olympic silver medallist Nia Ali in 7.97.

Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigsten had an Olympic title, but he had never won a World Championships gold medal.

After being upset in the 1500m by Jake Wightman only a few days ago at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, a world gold still eluded him.

If he wanted to end his drought, he was going to have to topple a star-studded field in the men’s 5000m that included the world record-holder, Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei, who had earned gold over 10,000m earlier in the championships.

But Ingebrigtsen did exactly that, winging up the pace in the final kilometre to win in 13:09.24. Kenya’s Jacob Krop took silver in 13:09.98, while Uganda’s Oscar Chelimo earned bronze in 13:10.20, a season’s best.

Ingebrigtsen spent almost half the race towards the back of the pack and didn't make his move until after the field had covered two kilometres, going from 10th place into fifth. He remained near the front over the next few laps, then he moved into first with 600 metres left.

From then on, he never relinquished the lead. Ingebrigtsen led 11 men through the bell, less than a second spread among them. As the pack strung out and the finalists started to unleash their finishing kick, Ingebrigtsen held off all of them and extended his lead as he neared the line.

The Norwegian could even afford to take a couple of last looks behind him, before flashing a ‘No.1’ gesture to the fans on the homestretch.

“It feels amazing to win this gold,” said Ingebrigtsen. “This is already my fifth attempt to become a world champion outdoors and my third World Championships. So finally, I became the world champion.”

Cheptegei led through the first three laps, but by the halfway mark, he had dropped to eighth. Leading the pack was Kenya’s Nicholas Kipkorir Kimeli and Daniel Simiu Ebenyo, who often took turns at the front early on. In pursuit were Guatemala’s Luis Grijalva, Ingebrigsten and USA’s Grant Fisher.

Through 4000m, just 0.75 separated the top 12. Krop had taken the lead, but the race remained conservative, with no one looking to push the pace, setting the stage for the raucous bell lap.

Ingebrigtsen and Krop passed through the bell first, holding their positions the rest of the way. However, Chelimo was still in ninth, and Fisher was in third, only 0.11 behind the top two. Chelimo remained in eighth until the final 200 metres, where he moved into fifth, still trailing Fisher and Canada’s Mohammed Ahmed.

As the three men came around the curve, with the bronze still up for grabs, Fisher hit the inside rail, causing the American to drop behind. Chelimo took advantage, as did Grijalva, and both men moved ahead. Chelimo’s kick was too strong for either Grijalva or Ahmed to handle, as he edged both men by less than 0.25.

Grijalva finished fourth, achieving the best finish for his country in any event at the World Championships.

“It feels amazing. I have always run a PB in the races,” said Grijalva. “I almost won a medal, the first for Central America.”

Krop said he knew the race would be tactical, but he was ready for it.

“They just made me push on the last lap and attack,” said Krop. “In the end, it looked like everybody wanted to get to the podium. I had my position and when I kicked, I wanted to maintain the spot, but Jakob had a strong kick too.”

For Chelimo, the bronze finish comes after a few disappointing outings recently.

“I had some difficult times in the past years, I was happy last year to qualify in Tokyo, but then I came last so I had to ask why,” said Chelimo. “But my coach told me that I am a champion. He said, ‘forget about the past, just continue racing’.”

Julia Flynn called it. 

“I knew it. I knew today was going to be a crazy race,” said Flynn, a recent graduate of Traverse City Central High in Michigan.

That it was. On a cloudy Wednesday afternoon at the University of Washington’s Husky Stadium in Seattle, Flynn was part of the fastest Brooks PR Invitational mile in meet history.

Defending champion Juliette Whittaker of Mount de Sales in Maryland led the charge with a final surge down the straightaway to win in 4 minutes, 36.23 seconds, lowering her own meet record of 4:38.65 from last year.

Six girls quickly followed, all crossing the finish line under 4:40 to make it the deepest girls mile race in U.S. prep history. The boys mile also didn’t disappoint to cap the meet by having junior Simeon Birnbaum of Rapid City Stevens High in South Dakota eclipse the 4-minute barrier and five athletes run sub-4:02 for the first time in a single high school race.

“I predicted Juliette was going to win, but I was like, ‘You know what? Regardless of the winner, we’re all going to get really big PRs,’” Flynn said. “That’s why it’s Brooks PR, it lives up to the name.”

With the girls and boys miles scheduled annually as the last races of the meet, fans at Husky Stadium lined the outskirts of the track down the straightaway, creating an intimate and electric environment for the 12 female runners all capable of winning the event.

“I knew it was going to be a fast race and I knew it was going to be competitive,” Whittaker said. “Just the fact that we came around with a lap to go and all of us were still in the race, was insane, it was really just a kick to the finish.”

With a slight separation from the pack, Whittaker and freshman Sadie Engelhardt of Ventura High in California – who set an age 15 world mile record April 9 by running 4:35.16 at the Arcadia Invitational – came sprinting down the last 100 meters.

Similar to how the New Balance Indoor National mile championship race played out March 13 between the two athletes, Whittaker had a little more left in her to pull ahead of Engelhardt for the victory. Whittaker prevailed by a 4:37.23 to 4:37.40 margin at The Armory in New York.

Engelhardt finished runner-up Wednesday in 4:36.50, while Flynn ran 4:37.73 to set a Michigan state record by eclipsing the 2013 standard of 4:40.48 produced by Hannah Meier of Grosse Pointe South.

Riley Stewart of Cherry Creek High was fourth in 4:38.21, lowering her own Colorado state record of 4:40.66 from last year, when she placed second behind Whittaker.

“I’m feeling amazing,” Stewart said. “I’ve been 4:40 three times now, so to finally get it (under 4:40) and to run with all these amazing girls, I have to say that was probably one of the best miles we’ve ever seen come through here, so just to be part of it is just amazing.”

Samantha McDonnell of Newbury Park High in California placed fifth in 4:38.44, Isabel Conde de Frankenberg of Cedar Park High was sixth in a Texas state record 4:38.55, and Mia Cochran from Moon Area in Pennsylvania secured seventh in 4:39.23. Conde de Frankenberg eclipsed the 2009 standard of 4:40.24 established by Chelsey Sveinsson of Greenhill High.

Every performance achieved from Engelhardt to Cochran was the fastest all-time mark by place in any high school girls mile competition.

Just missing going under 4:40 was Taylor Rohatinsky of Lone Peak High in Utah, clocking 4:41.83 to also produce the fastest eighth-place performance in any outdoor prep mile race.

Whittaker’s winning effort made her the No. 7 outdoor competitor in U.S. prep history, with three of the marks achieved this year, the other two coming from Dalia Frias of Mira Costa High in California (4:35.06) – who also ran the national high school outdoor 2-mile record 9:50.70 to open Wednesday’s meet – and Engelhardt’s victory at Arcadia.

Whittaker, along with Flynn, Stewart, 10th-place finisher Ava Parekh (4:52.09) of Latin School in Chicago and Roisin Willis from Stevens Point in Wisconsin – second place Wednesday in the 400 in 53.23 – are all part of Stanford’s 2022 recruiting class.

Despite having an unusual high school career due to the pandemic, Whittaker said the surge of quicker times and a more competitive environment may be due to the circumstances the pandemic created with more time for training.

“I feel like ever since COVID, honestly we have just surpassed any goals that we used to always set,” Whittaker said. “(Running) 4:40 used to be a barrier that like many people wanted to break, if so, maybe one, but the fact that seven girls (did) in the same race. I’m excited for years to come to keep watching. Sadie, obviously only being a freshman, and like other girls, I’m excited to see what times they are going to run.”

Here is the list of high school girls who have broken 4:40 before this race:

High School Girls Who Have Run Sub-4:40 Miles

Mary Cain — 4:28.25i (2013)

Alexa Efraimson — 4:32.15i (2014)

Katelyn Tuohy — 4:33.87 (2018)

Dalia Frias — 4:35.06 (2022)

Sadie Engelhardt — 4:35.16 (2022)

Polly Plumer — 4:35.24 (1982)

Katie Rainsberger — 4:36.61i (2016)

Kim Gallagher — 4:36.94 (1982)

Sarah Bowman — 4:36.95 (2005)

Arianna Lambie — 4:37.23 (2003)

Juliette Whittaker — 4:37.23i (2022)

Marlee Starliper — 4:37.76i (2020)

Christina Aragon —4:37.91 (2015)

Addy Wiley — 4:38.14 (2021)

Victoria Starcher — 4:38.19 (2020)

Caitlin Collier — 4:38.48 (2018)

Debbie Heald — 4:38.5i (1972)

Ryen Frazier — 4:38.59 (2015)

Taryn Parks — 4:39.05i (2019)

Wesley Frazier — 4:39.17 (2013)

Sarah Feeny — 4:39.23 (2014)

Danielle Toro — 4:39.25 (2007)

Mia Barnett — 4:39.41 (2021)

Katelynne Hart — 4:39.57 (2020)

Cami Chapus — 4:39.64 (2012)

Brie Felnagle — 4:39.71 (2005)

Dani Jones — 4:39.88 (2015)

Angel Piccirillo — 4:39.94 (2012)

Allison Cash — 4:39.98 (2013)

USA’s Michael Norman produced the standout performance at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Eugene on Saturday (28), the 24-year-old setting a Diamond League 400m record of 43.60 to beat Grenada's Kirani James (44.02) and Matthew Hudson-Smith, who broke the British record with 44.35. 

On a cool, blustery afternoon at Hayward Field, with many outbreaks of heavy rain, Norman was one of many athletes who defied the conditions to make it another memorable edition of the Prefontaine Classic.

“I had zero expectation of what I could run today,” said Norman, who revealed he and coach Quincy Watts had gone “back to the basics” during their winter training. “Hard work and consistency with diet and training,” he said. “My motto this year has been that if it’s comfortable, it’s too easy – on the weight room or the track. Based on how I felt, there are a few areas I can improve on.”

Looking to next month’s US Championships and the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 on the same track in July, Norman said: “I’m going to train like I want to do something special, and when the time comes, the time comes.”

Kenya's Faith Kipyegon was equally peerless when taking the women’s 1500m in commanding fashion, the Olympic champion tracking chief rival Gudaf Tsegay until the final turn, at which point she blew by and came home a clear winner in a world lead and meeting record of 3:52.59. Tsegay got second in 3:54.21 with Canada’s Gabriela Debues-Stafford third in 3:58.62. “The race today gave me great morale that everything I’m doing is correct towards the World Championships – that’s my biggest fish and I hope for the best, for the gold medal,” said Kipyegon, who is “going to think about” a world record attempt at 1500m later in the summer. “I was not expecting (to run 3:52) when I saw the rain this morning, but I felt comfortable. It was good.”

USA's Ryan Crouser produced by far the standout performance in the field events, the Olympic shot put champion looking utterly peerless when launching a world-leading 23.02m effort in the second round. That left him well clear of long-time rivals Joe Kovacs (22.49m) and Tom Walsh (21.96m).

What made it more impressive is that Crouser did not use his full technique, but threw off a “static” starting position, which prior to today had never produced a 23-metre effort. Crouser said he usually throws 40-60cm farther when utilising his full technique. 

“I thought 23 was possible but I thought I’d have to get into my full (technique) to do it,” said Crouser. “My best static ever was in the 22.90s. To throw a static PR, under a heavy load, without a taper, is a really good indicator of where I can be seven or eight weeks from now.” Berihu Aregawi turned in a superb solo performance to take the men’s 5000m in a meeting record and world lead of 12:50.05, coming home well clear of fellow Ethiopians Samuel Tefera (13:06.86) and Selemon Barega (13:07.30). Aregawi swept to the front in the third kilometre after the pacers stepped aside and the Ethiopian broke clear of the field, powering through to the final laps to a rapturous reception from the crowd, which historically loves displays of fearless distance running. 

In the men’s 400m hurdles, Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos achieved another dominant performance, clocking a world-leading 47.23 to come home a distant winner ahead of USA’s Khalifah Rosser and Quincy Hall, who both clocked personal bests of 48.10. 

“I’m happy with this, but I want more, I want to go faster,” said Dos Santos. “Me and (Rai) Benjamin never win against (Karsten) Warholm, and nobody wants to lose, but it’ll be hard for us to come up against him at the World Championships and win. He is the boss, the guy to beat, and for winning the final you need to run 45 (seconds) – everyone is so strong.”

Sprint queen Elaine Thompson-Herah once again asserted her supremacy with a comfortable win in the 100m, clocking 10.79 (0.7m/s) to beat Sha’Carri Richardson, who bounced back to form with a 10.92 clocking to edge Shericka Jackson, who was third in 10.92. Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith was fourth with 10.98. 

“I’m happy to cross the line healthy and with the win,” said Thompson-Herah, who explained prior to the event that she’d been managing a niggle in training. “It got me ready for my championship in Jamaica next month.”USA’s Trayvon Bromell laid down a big marker ahead of next month’s US Championships by defeating his chief rivals in the 100m, pulling clear to take a comfortable win in 9.93 (-0.2m/s). Fred Kerley was next best with 9.98, while Christian Coleman faded from first at halfway to third at the finish, clocking 10.04 just ahead of Noah Lyles (10.05). 

"I really just wanted to come out with the win as I knew the wind was iffy today," said Bromell. "There were some technical things I wanted to do better with but I just have to go back to the drawing board and try to fix it."

Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn came from behind to score an impressive win in the 100m hurdles, a non-Diamond League event, the Puerto Rican clocking 12.45 into a slight headwind (-0.7m/s) with Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan second in 12.58 and USA’s Tonea Marshall third in 12.66. 

“It was a little sloppy,” said Camacho-Quinn. “I hit my trail leg a couple of times and that slowed me up, but I’ll take it. I went 12.4 in these conditions.”

Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was a clear winner of the women’s 200m in 22.41 (0.8m/s), with USA’s Brittany Brown second in 22.74 and Anthonique Strachan of Bahamas third in 22.76. 

Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen re-asserted his supremacy in the Bowerman Mile, the Olympic champion breaking clear with a lap to run and coming home a comfortable winner in a world lead of 3:49.76, with Australia’s Ollie Hoare second in a PB of 3:50.65 and world champion Timothy Cheruiyot third in 3:50.77. 

“It was a great race – I’m where I’m supposed to be,” said Ingebrigtsen, who will “for sure” double over 1500m and 5000m at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22. Looking towards the European Championships in Munich, he said he’d “love to do 800m, 1500m, steeplechase, 5km, 10km and marathon, but I don’t think that’s possible with the schedule.”

He will next race over 800m before competing at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Oslo on 16 June.  Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson utilised her typical sit-and-kick tactics to great effect to take the women’s 800m, the Olympic silver medallist powering clear of race leader Natoya Goule entering the home straight and holding off the late surge of world indoor champion Ajee Wilson to win in a world lead of 1:57.72, with Wilson second in 1:58.06 and Raevyn Rogers third in 1:58.44. 

Olympic champion Athing Mu was a late withdrawal after contracting Covid-19, but Hodgkinson is looking forward to renewing their rivalry in July. 

“It would have been good if she was here, but she’s going to be there at the World Champs and I’m sure we’ll have a good duel then –  I look forward to racing her,” said Hodgkinson. “I felt really good, it was a bit windy out there but there was good competition, it was a good run. I can’t complain.”

Sweden’s Khaddi Sagnia unleashed a PB of 6.95m (1.0m/s) to take victory in the women’s long jump, with Nigeria’s Ese Brume second with 6.82m and USA’s Tara Davis third with 6.73m. 

Norah Jeruto, the Kenyan-born athlete who now represents Kazakhstan, produced an impressive display to win the women’s 3000m steeplechase in 8:57.97, a world lead. Bahrain’s Winfred Mutile Yavi was close behind in second, clocking a PB of 8:58.71, while Ethiopia’s Mekides Abebe was third in 9:03.26. In the men’s 1500m, a non-Diamond League event, New Zealand’s Samuel Tanner took victory in a PB of 3:34.37 in front of Britain’s Neil Gourley, who clocked a PB of 3:34.85.

Italy’s Martina Caironi set a world record of 14.02 in the T63 women’s 100m, while in the men’s T62 400m, Germany’s Johannes Floors took the win in 48.13.  

Meeting records are hard to come by in the Wanda Diamond League, given it’s the premier one-day meeting circuit in the world, but three such marks fell at the Memorial Van Damme in Brussels on Friday (3), thanks to Mondo Duplantis, Sifan Hassan and Michael Cherry.

When the men’s pole vault got underway, some 40 minutes before the first track event, the King Baudouin Stadium was still filling up. By the time the contest reached its climax three hours later, with all other disciplines having long finished, Duplantis commanded the attention of every single person inside the venue.

Though the world record once again evaded Duplantis tonight, the 28,000 spectators – the largest gathering for an athletics meeting since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic – were treated to a vaulting masterclass from a legend of the sport.

The Olympic champion opened at 5.50m, skipped 5.65m and then got over 5.75m and 5.85m on his first tries. Four other men were left in the competition at this point, but only two of them got over 5.85m; Olympic silver medallist Christopher Nilsen did it on his first try, while US compatriot KC Lightfoot scraped over on his third attempt.

The US duo couldn’t quite manage 5.91m tonight, though, but Duplantis once again went clear at the first time of asking to confirm his victory. The 21-year-old Swede then raised the bar to 6.05m in a bid to add some height to his own 6.00m meeting record from last year. He brought the bar down with his first two tries, but got over it on his third attempt.

The bar was then raised to the would-be world record height of 6.19m. Following a short wait while the technical officials ensured all was set for a record attempt, Duplantis took to the runway but wasn’t particularly close to clearing the bar on his first attempt. His second try was significantly closer, and his third attempt was also decent, but a world record wasn’t to be tonight.

Nevertheless, Duplantis wasn’t disappointed with his winning height of 6.05m. Only he, Sergey Bubka and two-time world champion Sam Kendricks have ever vaulted higher outdoors.

"I was really close to the world record," said Duplantis. "Everything was perfect, it was just up to me. I haven't had such an amazing atmosphere during a competition in a really long time."

Almost a month has passed since Sifan Hassan’s final race at the Olympic Games, where she won two gold medals and one bronze. Having raced just once during that time, the Dutch distance star arrived in Brussels well rested and ready to take on the mile.

She was the only athlete capable of sticking with the pacemakers as they led through the first 400m in 1:02.03. By the time the second pacemaker reached the 800m point in 2:04.97, with Hassan still in close attendance, the rest of the field was about 30 metres adrift.

With a lap to go, it was clear from the wavelight technology that an improvement on Hassan’s 4:12.33 world record was not on the cards in Brussels, though it never really seemed as though that was her ambition for the race anyway. By this stage, her lead had grown to 50 metres and she kicked for the final lap, going on to win by more than six seconds.

Her winning time of 4:14.74, the fifth-fastest performance in history, smashed Faith Kipyegon’s meeting record by two seconds. Ethiopia’s Axumawit Embaye was second in 4:21.08, closely followed by Australia’s Linden Hall, who broke her own Oceanian record with 4:21.38.

“Since the start of the pandemic, we haven’t had such a big crowd and I’m so happy to see them,” said Hassan. “We haven’t experienced it for nearly two years; it makes you feel special. It’s amazing, I really love it.”

In Tokyo last month, Michael Cherry was beaten to the 400m bronze medal by just 0.02 as Kirani James pipped the US sprinter at the line. Today’s race in Brussels was the first clash between the pair since the Olympic final, and Cherry ran like a man with a point to prove.

He went out hard, as did James, and by half way the duo had started to open up a clear gap on the likes of Isaac Makwala and Liemarvin Bonevacia.

James almost drew level with Cherry on the final bend, but Cherry had another gear left and forged ahead down the home straight, crossing the line in a lifetime best of 44.03 to take 0.03 off Michael Johnson’s meeting record from 1998.

James finished second in 44.51 with Makwala taking third place in 44.83.

The meeting record may have remained intact in the women’s high jump, but it proved to be one of the most enthralling contests of the night.

Olympic champion Mariya Lasitskene breezed through the first few heights and hadn’t recorded any failures up to and including 1.98m. World silver medallist Yaroslava Mahuchikh, who needed three attempts to clear 1.95m, also got over 1.98m on her first try, while Olympic silver medallist Nicola McDermott needed two jumps to clear it.

But McDermott was then the first to go clear at 2.00m, getting over on her first try, then Lasitskene did likewise. Mahuchikh succeeded on her second attempt at 2.00m, but then nailed 2.02m on her first attempt, taking the lead at a critical point of the competition.

Lasitskene missed once and then passed to 2.04m, while McDermott had two misses at 2.02m before registering a third failure at 2.04m. Neither of the trio managed to get over 2.04m, leaving Mahuchikh as the winner. It was just the second time in Diamond League history that three women have cleared 2.00m in the same competition.

With Lasitskene having won in Lausanne and McDermott winning in Paris, Mahuchikh’s triumph in Brussels means all three Olympic medallists have achieved Diamond League wins since the Tokyo Games.

Kerley makes Diamond League history

Olympic 100m silver medallist Fred Kerley won the short sprint, becoming the first man to win over 100m, 200m and 400m in the Wanda Diamond League.

World leader Trayvon Bromell blasted into an early lead and held his form well, but Kerley rallied and held off the additional challenge from Michael Norman in lane seven, dipping well on the line to take the victory in 9.94.

Bromell held on to take second place in 9.97, just 0.01 ahead of Michael Norman (9.98), completing a US sweep of the top three places.

Christine Mboma, also an Olympic silver medallist, won the women’s 200m. The Namibian teenager came through strongly in the closing stages to edge in front of Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson and world champion Dina Asher-Smith.

Mboma stopped the clock at 21.84 while Jackson took second place in 21.95. Asher-Smith recorded a season’s best of 22.04 in third, and US 100m champion Sha’Carri Richardson was a few strides adrift in fourth place (22.45).

Burundi’s Francine Niyonsaba produced a similarly well-timed finish to win the 5000m.

Once the last of the pacemakers dropped out at 2000m, Niyonsaba took up the running at the front of the pack with two-time world champion Hellen Obiri close behind. The Kenyan led for a brief stint too, passing through 3000m in a swift 8:42.57.

Niyonsaba, who finished fifth over 10,000m at the Tokyo Olympics, led again for most of the final kilometre, but Obiri kicked into the lead when the bell sounded for the final lap. She appeared to be on her way to victory, but Ethiopia’s Ejgayehu Taye came back strongly and briefly led with about 90 metres to go, then a rejuvenated Niyonsaba came back to take the lead in the closing stages, crossing the line in a national record of 14:25.34.

Taye took second place in 14:25.63 with Obiri claiming third in 14:26.23. World silver medallist Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi set a PB of 14:27.12 in fourth as the top seven women finished inside 14:32 – unprecedented depth for a 5000m race.

Goule, Rotich and McSweyn take middle distances

Exactly one month since her eighth-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics, Jamaica’s Natoya Goule rebounded with a satisfying win over 800m, beating several women who finished ahead of her at the Games.

With the pacemaker passing through the first lap in 56.99, the field was still relatively tightly bunched with 300 metres to go. Goule held the lead, but Olympic silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson moved on to the Jamaican’s shoulder on the final bend and looked poised to strike.

Goule had saved something for the finish, though, and she held off the challenge from the British teenager, winning in 1:58.09. Hodgkinson was second in 1:58.16 from compatriot Jemma Reekie (1:58.77).

Stewart McSweyn led an Australian 1-2 in the men’s 1500m. The Oceanian record-holder overtook a fading Mohamed Katir on the home straight to win in 3:33.20 with compatriot Oliver Hoare taking second place (3:33.79). Poland’s Michal Rozmys was third in 3:33.96.

Olympic silver medallist Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich was a comfortable winner of the non-scoring men’s 800m, crossing the line in 1:43.81 to win by more than a second from Belgium’s Eliott Crestan (1:45.24).

Hurdles victories for Dos Santos and Visser

Racing for the first time since taking Olympic bronze and moving to third on the world all-time list, Brazil’s Alison dos Santos won the men’s 400m hurdles with his trademark strong finish.

Kyron McMaster of the British Virgin Islands led for most of the race, making up the stagger on Dos Santos, drawn one lane outside him, by the half-way point. Dos Santos stuck with McMaster around the final bend and drew level with Jamaica’s Jaheel Hyde. McMaster hit the penultimate hurdle, throwing off his rhythm slightly as he went into the final barrier. Dos Santos, meanwhile, came off the 10th hurdle much better and went on to win in 48.23.

McMaster finished second in 48.31 and Yasmani Copello took third place in 48.45.

The closest finish of the day came in the women’s 100m hurdles, in which Nadine Visser won by just eight thousandths of a second from Tobi Amusan, both timed at 12.69 (0.7m/s). Olympic bronze medallist Megan Tapper was third in 12.77.

Elsewhere, Steffin McCarter saved his best for last to win the men’s long jump. His sixth-round leap of 7.99m was not only the best in the ‘final three’ contest; it was also the top mark of the entire competition. Ruswahl Samaai was second thanks to his last-round leap of 7.89m, having jumped 7.95m earlier in the competition.

Italy’s Lamont Marcell Jacobs, a former long jumper appearing in his first Olympics, stunned the field on Sunday (1) to claim the first men’s 100m gold medal of the post-Usain Bolt era.

Overlooked as a serious medal contender, the 26-year-old Jacobs clocked a European record of 9.80 to win Italy’s first ever Olympic 100m gold and claim the unofficial title of the world’s fastest man.

The Italian pulled in front after 60 meters and glanced to his right as he crossed the line in front of the USA's Fred Kerley, who took silver in a personal best 9.84, and Canada’s Andre De Grasse, who earned his second consecutive bronze in a PB of 9.89.

Three other runners also ran sub-10 seconds in the final: South Africa’s Akani Simbine finished fourth in 9.93, the USA's Ronnie Baker was fifth in 9.95 and China’s Su Bingtian was sixth in 9.98.

The pre-Olympic favorite, US champion and world-leader Trayvon Bromell, failed to qualify for the final.

In a race with no obvious favourites, Jacobs was still a major surprise.

The bald-headed, barrel-chested Italian did not come completely out of nowhere. He is the European indoor 60m champion and broke the Italian 100m record in May with a time of 9.95. But he chose the right time and place to announce himself on the world’s biggest stage.

“It’s a dream, it’s fantastic,” Jacobs said. “Maybe tomorrow I can imagine what people are saying, but today it is incredible.”

It was the first time since 2004 that gold in the marque event was won by someone other than Bolt, the Jamaican great who swept three consecutive 100m titles in Beijing, London and Rio de Janeiro, as well as three straight 200m crowns.

Few would have predicted that the man to succeed Bolt on the top podium would be Jacobs, who became the first European to win the 100m at the Olympics since Britain’s Linford Christie in Barcelona in 1992.

Even his race rivals didn’t see Jacobs as much of a threat.

“I really didn’t know anything about him,” Kerley said.

De Grasse added: “I didn't expect that. I thought my main competition would have been the Americans, but definitely he came to play. He executed. He did his thing so congrats to him."

Jacobs is the first Italian to win a sprint event since Pietro Mennea took gold in the men’s 200m in 1980. And his time? The fastest in the men’s 100m by an athlete not from the US or Jamaica.

Jacobs’ victory capped a golden night for Italy, coming minutes after another Italian, Gianmarco Tamberi, shared gold in the men’s high jump with Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim. The two Italians embraced and celebrated together on the track.

“Being here together is something spectacular," Jacobs said. “I believe in him and I believed in myself.”

Jacobs’ story may not be known by the general public: He was born in El Paso, Texas, to an American father and Italian mother. He moved to Italy with his mother when he was one-year-old. Jacobs started out as a long jumper but, after a series of injuries, he changed to the sprints.

Signs that something special was about to happen in the final came earlier during the semifinals, which produced some stunning results, including a record-breaking heat in which three men ran under 9.85.

Su blazed to victory in the third heat in an Asian record 9.83 to become the first Chinese sprinter to reach an Olympic 100m final. Baker finished second with a personal best 9.83 and Jacobs was third in a European record 9.84. For good measure, Simbine clocked 9.90 to finish fourth in that heat.

Only twice previously had three men gone inside 9.85 in the same 100m race – the Olympic final in 2012 and the 2009 World Championships final in 2009.

Kerley (9.96) and Britain’s Zharnel Hughes (9.98) won the other two semifinals. Hughes was disqualified from the final after a false start.

Bromell missed out after finishing third in his heat in 10 seconds flat. He got off to a quick start and took the early lead but never found a second gear and was passed in the final metres by Nigeria’s Enoch Adegoke and Hughes.

There were signs that Bromell was not in medal-winning form a day earlier when he finished only fourth in his first-round heat in 10.05.

It was a stunning fall for Bromell, who had made a remarkable comeback to the top of the sport after tearing his achilles during the 4x100m relay at the 2016 Rio Games and being carried off the track in a wheelchair.

After two years out of the sport, Bromell worked his way back and established himself as the world’s top 100m sprinter. He clocked a world-leading 9.77 in June, the seventh-fastest time in history, then sealed his spot in Tokyo by winning the 100m at the US Olympic Trials in 9.80.

But since then he has not been his dominant self. Bromell’s 14-race winning streak was snapped when he finished fifth in Monaco in June in 10.01, his first race in Europe since 2016. He bounced back four days later with a victory in Gateshead, England, in 9.98 but still looked far from his best.

“I want to say thank you to everyone who's been with me on this journey,” Bromell said on Twitter on Sunday after failing to reach the Olympic final. “Lord knows how much I wanted to be in that final. BUT I walk away with a smile because I know I showed many that after four years out, you can still fight and make dreams come true.”

The day also marked the end of the Olympic career of Jamaica’s 31-year-old Yohan Blake, the 2011 world 100m champion who won silver at the 2012 Olympics and is a two-time Olympic relay gold medallist. Blake finished sixth in his semi-final in 10.14.

“Definitely my last Olympics,” Blake said. “You know track is not easy. I won't be ungrateful. I've gained a lot. I'm still the second fastest man in history, no one can take that away from me.”

It’s all about keeping the faith.

Going into tonight’s 1500m at the EBS Herculis meeting in Monaco, world champion Sifan Hassan announced that she had asked for a pace of 61-second laps, which would add up to a second or so under the current world record of 3:50.07.

The Dutchwoman has set world records twice previously in Monaco, most recently over the mile two years ago, and she was feeling confident after rediscovering her love for the metric mile with a victory over Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Florence last month.

Hassan even floated the idea of adding the 1500m back into her Olympic schedule, having previously declared that she would attempt the 5000m-10,000m double.

She locked in behind the pacemaker from the beginning, her ambition obvious. Only Kipyegon and Ethiopia’s Freweyni Hailu dared to follow and the race was down to three when they reached the bell.

Hassan then turned the screws, but Kipyegon clung to her like a limpet down the back straight as the Dutchwoman stretched out her legs for the run home.

In the past three years races have inevitably gone Hassan’s way in this situation, her unmatched mix of speed and endurance proving irresistible. But not this time.

As they entered the final straight Kipyegon kicked hard, dashing past her rival and sprinting down the straight to win in 3:51.07, a Kenyan record and the fourth fastest time in history. In the last 90 metres she put two-and-a-half seconds into Hassan, who finished in 3:53.60, with Hailu third in a personal best of 3:56.28.

Despite her recent losses to Hassan, Kipyegon said she remained confident that her day would come.

“I knew Sifan was going for a fast race and my goal was to run a fast race here and I thank God that was,” she said. “I am really looking forward to Tokyo and I know it will be a very hard competition but I hope to go there and defend my title.”

Kipyegon gave birth to her first child in 2018, returning in 2019 to finish second to Hassan at the World Championships in Doha, but has now found an even richer vein of form than that which carried her to the Olympic title in 2016 and the world title in 2017. “I came back after giving birth and I feel like a role model for the young mothers out there and the young athletes,” she said. “I hope to show them that when you go for maternity leave, this does not mean the end of your career. You can come back strong and win races.”

Fellow Kenyan Timothy Cheruiyot was also a man on a mission tonight.

With his Olympic dreams hanging in the balance, the world 1500m champion dashed to the fastest time in the world for six years.

An out-of-sorts Cheruiyot was a shock fourth at the Kenyan Olympic trials last month, putting him in grave danger of missing selection. The situation has been complicated by the fact that second-placed Kamar Etiang has not completed the requisite number of anti-doping tests to qualify for the Olympic Games so his eligibility is in question.

That has left Cheruiyot in limbo just weeks before the Tokyo Games, but he thrust aside all that uncertainty to race with clear intent in Monaco.

In the fastest race of the year, he led at the bell and fought off all challenges, setting a personal best of 3:28.28 as four men dipped under 3:30.

Spanish surprise packet Mohamed Katir took almost five seconds from his personal best to finish second (3:28.76 national record) ahead of European champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen (3:29.25) and Australia’s Stewart McSweyn, who set an Oceanian record of 3:29.51 in fourth.

Cheruiyot revealed afterwards that a hamstring injury and the death of a relative on the day of the Kenyan trial had affected his performance there but he still hoped to be selected for the Olympics.

“Hopefully that will be the deciding performance to make the team for Tokyo,” he said.

Amos and Muir impress over two laps

On a night of high-quality middle distance running, Botswana’s Olympic medallist Nijel Amos roared back to top form, recording the fastest time of the year to down a field full of Olympic contenders.

With his arms flailing, Amos used his awkward but effective running style to propel himself past Kenya’s Emmanuel Kori (1:43.04) and Canada’s Marco Arop (1:43.26).

Britain’s Laura Muir also had the last laugh in a world-class 800m field, looming late to take the win in a big personal best of 1:56.73. Muir had never cracked 1:58 previously for the distance, but had the strength to haul in her training partner Jemma Reekie (1:56.96) and USA’s Kate Grace (1:57.20) in the final metres as all three women set personal best times.

Muir has decided to focus her energy on the 1500m in Tokyo but that will be no easy task as Kipyegon demonstrated.

Both 3000m steeplechase races were suffused with drama and unpredictability at the Stade Louis II.

The men’s race descended into confusion when an official rang the bell a lap too early, but world silver medallist Lamecha Girma still managed to run a world-leading time of 8:07.75 to take the win from Abraham Kibiwot, just 0.06 behind.

In the women’s race, 2015 world champion Hyvin Kiyeng made a break from the pack after two kilometres but misjudged the remaining laps and kicked too early. After crossing the line and hearing the bell for the actual final lap, the Kenyan tried to muster some energy to run another circuit. USA’s 2017 world champion Emma Coburn positioned herself to challenge Kiyeng as they approached the water jump, but Coburn stumbled at the hurdle and fell into the water losing all momentum, leaving Kiyeng to take the victory in 9:03.82, with world record-holder Beatrice Chepkoech second in 9:04.94 and Winfred Yavi third (9:05.45). Coburn regathered herself to cross the line in fourth place in 9:09.02.

Baker blasts to 100m victory

There was unpredictability too in the men’s 100m where the form book was upended as the ever-reliable Ronnie Baker claimed victory in 9.91, from African record-holder Akani Simbini (9.98) and Italian Marcell Jacobs (9.99).

World leader Trayvon Bromell, regarded by many as the man most likely to win the Olympic 100m crown in Tokyo next month, lacked his usual zip and could only finish fifth in 10.01.

World 100m champion Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce used her early speed to take the lead on the bend in the women’s 200m, but could not hold off the Olympic 400m champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo in the straight.

Miller-Uibo, who has chosen to focus on the 200m for Tokyo, won in 22.23 from Marie-Josee Ta Lou (22.25) with Fraser-Pryce third (22.48).

New world 400m hurdles record-holder Karsten Warholm returned to the competition track for the first time since his heroics in his hometown Oslo last week, eager to challenge his new “personal best” of 46.70.

He made a typically aggressive start, making up the stagger by the second hurdle, but ultimately he could not match the pace he set last week, crossing the finish line in a meeting record of 47.08, still the fourth fastest time of his career and faster than all but five other men in history.

He was pleased to maintain such a consistently high level of performance. “This was a good race so I’m satisfied,” he said.

Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos continued to build his Olympic medal credentials with a strong second place in 47.51, just outside his personal best of 47.34, also set in Oslo.

In the field, US pole vaulter Katie Nageotte carried her fine form to Europe to clear 4.90m and claim an impressive victory over world champion Anzhelika Sidorova and Olympic champion Katerina Stefanidi, who both cleared 4.80m.

A tight high jump competition was decided by a jump-off after both neutral athlete Mikhail Akimenko and Canadian Django Lovett were tied with best clearances of 2.29m. Akimenko then claimed the victory by leaping 2.32m in the decider.

World triple jump champion Yulimar Rojas had a tough night at the office, fouling four of her six jumps, including two that looked like they would have challenged the world record (15.50m). She led after five rounds with a best leap of 15.12m but could not find the board in the all-important sixth round under the Final 3 format being trialled in the Diamond League this year.

Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts took the win with 14.29m after she was the only one of the top three to register a legal jump in the final.

The men’s long jump also finished with an anti-climax after Miltiadis Tentoglou was the only one to hit the board in the final round (8.24m).

The women’s javelin was the only throwing event on the programme and saw a return to the winner’s circle for the veteran world record-holder Barbora Spotakova, who threw a season’s best of 63.08m in the sudden-death final round, the farthest mark ever achieved by a 40-year-old thrower.

Ultrarunner Michael Versteeg of Prescott, Ariz., won the inaugural Cocodona 250-miler on Thursday morning, crossing the finish line in Flagstaff after 72 hours of racing. Versteeg finished ahead of Flagstaff local Peter Mortimer, who is still in the final miles of his run toward second place. Maggie Guterl is currently the top woman in the race, and at the time of writing, she completed 228 miles (366K) of what event organizers describe as a “250ish-mile footrace,” which works out to a total of about 400K. Guterl sits in seventh overall

Versteeg’s win

This is the inaugural running of the Cocodona 250, which was organized by the team at Aravaipa Running. The race started in Black Canyon City, about an hour north of Phoenix. From there, runners travelled north, passing through multiple towns (including Versteeg’s hometown of Prescott) before eventually making it to Flagstaff, 1,500m higher above sea level than where the race started. In total, the race features close to 13,000m of elevation gain, which is like running the height of one and a half Mount Everests.

The uphill battle, the heat of the desert and the sheer distance of the race didn’t stop Versteeg, who was at the front of the race throughout the 400K journey. This isn’t Versteeg’s first time stamping his name in the history books, as he won Aravaipa Running’s inaugural Whiskey Man Series in 2016 as well. On top of that, he has recorded many other ultramarathon race wins.

The chasers

Among the chase group (which is the rest of the Cocodona field, as Versteeg is the only finisher so far) is Guterl, who is in seventh place and currently being paced to the finish by fellow American ultrarunning star Courtney Dauwalter. Guterl and Dauwalter know each other well, and earlier this year, they both competed at the Barkley Marathons (although, like everyone else at this year’s race, they registered DNFs).

Like Dauwalter, Guterl is well known in the world of ultrarunning, and she has several big race wins to her name, including Big’s Backyard Ultra in 2019. Now, Guterl is looking to add another win to her resume, and with a 16K lead on the second-place woman Jessi Morton-Langehaug, the Cocodona crown is hers to lose.

Also racing this week was Gene Dykes, a 73-year-old runner from Pennsylvania who owns multiple age group records, including the American 100-mile and 24-hour bests (21:06:07 and 179.98K). Unfortunately, Dykes didn’t make it to the finish line, and he (along with close to 60 other runners, so far) recorded a DNF.

The race is ongoing, and despite the many DNFs, there are still dozens of other runners on the course making their way to the finish. To track live results of the Cocodona 250, click here.

ASICS has organized a free virtual mile race that will run from now until May 31, but there’s a catch: everyone participating has to run in jeans. The ASICS Blue Jeans Mile was inspired by American middle-distance runner Johnny Gregorek, who set a world record when he ran a mile in 4:06.25 while wearing jeans in a 2020 fundraiser for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in the U.S.

This year, the event is open to anyone who wants to race, and while it’s free to enter, participants are encouraged to donate to mental health initiatives, including Canada’s Center for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

Gregorek is one of the fastest milers in the U.S. right now, and he owns the American indoor mile record of 3:49.98, a time he set in 2019. He decided to trade his split shorts for blue jeans in 2020 to honour his late brother, Patrick, who passed away in 2019 at the age of 21 after struggles with mental illness. Gregorek set out to break the blue jean mile world record, which at the time stood at 4:11.80, and raise money (he set his fundraising goal at $2,500) for NAMI. He ended up smashing the record and his fundraising goal, as he ran 4:06.25 and raised more than $37,000.

This year, the event’s fundraising efforts have already eclipsed Gregorek’s total from 2020 thanks to a $40,625 donation from ASICS to NAMI.

ASICS donated that exact sum to represent world record result that Gregorek, an ASICS-sponsored runner, ran last year. The virtual race opened on May 1, and so far, thousands of dollars have been raised on top of the donation from ASICS, with a little over $6,500 tallied for NAMI by American participants and close to $3,000 for CAMH by Canadian runners. 

Alongside Gregorek’s world record is the women’s mark of 4:58.84, which American Heather Wilson (who owns a regular mile PB of 4:29.39) set in 2017. If you think you can challenge either of these records, register for the run, toss on a pair of jeans and give it a shot. Even if you don’t think you have what it takes to become the new world record holder, it’ll be fun to run all-out in a pair of jeans. You might get some funny looks, but it’ll be worth it. 

Most of Japan’s finest athletes will be out in force for the Seiko Golden Grand Prix, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, in Tokyo, on Sunday (23).

The meeting, to be staged at Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium, was initially intended as a late spring preview for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, but those plans were halted in their tracks with the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Postponed at first from its original date, it’s now being held as a national event without spectators to align with restrictions on public gatherings. Nonetheless, it will still provide a strong competitive opportunity for Japanese athletes on the track that will host the Games next year.

World U20 3000m champion Nozomi Tanaka will be the focus of attention after her 8:41.35 performance in Fukagawa last month to break the national 3000m record. She will contest the 1500m on Sunday where she’s already improved to 4:08.68 this season, not too far from the national record of 4:07.86.

The men’s 100m features five of the fastest 11 Japanese men of all time. Asian champion Yoshihide Kiryu, the first Japanese athlete to break the 10-second barrier, has a 9.98 career best as does Yuki Koike, who clocked his at the Diamond League meeting in London Last year.

They'll be joined by Ryota Yamagata, who has clocked 10.00, and Shuhei Tada, who led off Japan's bronze-winning quartet at the past two World Championships. Kiryu and Koike (heats) were also on the 4x100m relay squad in Doha.

Aska Cambridge, a 4x100m relay Olympic silver medallist in Rio four years ago, will also be in the field.

The men’s 200m features Olympic 4x100m silver medallist Shota Iizuka and world 4x100m bronze medallist Kirara Shiraishi.

Sprint hurdlers Shunya Takayama and Asuka Terada will also be in action. Takayama twice equalled the Japanese 110m hurdles record of 13.36 last year before breaking it outright with 13.30 and then reducing it further to 13.25. Terada set two national records last year in the 100m hurdles, first with 13.00 and then with 12.97 two weeks later.

On the infield, the men’s long jump is building to be a competitive event, with Koki Fujihara, who broke the Japanese U20 record last year with 8.12m, taking on national record-holder Shoutarou Shiroyama and 2018 world U20 champion Yuki Hashioka.

Naoto Tobe, the World Indoor Tour winner in the high jump in 2019, heads the field in his event. Tobe, who improved to 2.35m indoors in 2019, will take on Takashi Eto, a 2.30m jumper. Daichi Sawano, Seito Yamamoto and Masaki Ejima, all 5.71m men last season, will compete in the pole vault.

National record-holder Haruka Kitaguchi leads the javelin throw field, joined by three other Japanese women who’ve thrown beyond 60 metres: 2018 national champion Marina Saito, 2011 Asian bronze medallist Yuka Sato and two-time Asian bronze medallist Risa Miyashita.

The men’s javelin is of a similar high standard with four 80-metre throwers entered: Asian bronze medallist Ryohei Arai, 2012 Olympic finalist Genki Dean, Takuto Kominami and Yuta Sakiyama.

Organisers will also provide some of Japan's finest high school athletes an opportunity to compete against their nation's best athletes on the Olympic Stadium track through a ‘Dream Lane’ set aside in nine men’s and nine women’s events.

The decision to include high school athletes came after the Interscholastic Sport Games, the annual national high school championships in 30 sports, were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. A selection committee, which included 2000 Olympic marathon champion Naoko Takahashi, 2008 Olympic 4x100m relay silver medallist Shinji Takahira and High Performance Committee Track & Field Director Kazuhiko Yamazaki, selected 28 athletes. Some of the athletes include Kosuke Kawata, who has a 10.39 best in the 100m and Haruto Ishizuka, a 3:44.62 1500m runner.

Rheinhardt Harrison's kick is no secret.

Over the past few seasons in Florida and beyond, the Nease (FL) High School student-athlete has built a strong tradition on finishing hard across a variety of distances.

But on Saturday night in Nashville, Tennessee, the 16-year-old athlete took that strength to a new level, accomplishing an incredible milestone as he scored a new sophomore class record in the full mile with an official time of 4:01.34 at the Music City Distance Carnival at Lipscomb Academy.

Harrison's full performance, which saw a 57.35 second last lap, surpassed Edward Cheserek's former mark of 4:03.29, which was last accomplished in 2011. The mark also landed a new 16-year-old age group record, passing Nathan Green's mark of 4:06.20, which the current Borah High School senior accomplished in 2019.

As this track meet was held on the back end of the 2020 track and field season, Harrison's mark still goes down as a sophomore class record, even though he's within days of beginning his junior high school season.

The performance was in part derived from the field around Harrison, as five men broke four minutes in the mile, including winner Kieren Tuntivate, a Harvard graduate who set a new Thailand national record with a time of 3:57.87.

Harrison was in eighth after the first lap before making his way down to sixth overall, netting a new Florida state record. The time is a current US No. 2 effort.

Of note, particularly, is Harrison's progression from his last race in June, when the Floridian ran 4:09.79 for the full mile at the Desert Dream Last Hurrah Invitational.

But perhaps training has begun to fully kick into gear under Tom Schwartz, the coach of the Tinman Elite professional group in Boulder, Colorado. Schwartz has long coached talented young distance runners, though in recent weeks he's formed a junior group, the Tinman Junior Elite, of which Harrison is a part of.

The Nease athlete was one of a handful of athletes under that junior training group competing on Saturday.

She came agonizingly close.

But few would argue the Moses Brown (RI) School freshman, who is just 15 years old, didn't continue to impress, lowering her personal record under 2:03 as she finished fifth overall in a professional field in a time of 2:02.97.

Biding her time over the first lap, the Rhode Islander ran 60-flat before following in a rather remarkable 62-second quarter, hitting her last 200m in 31 seconds.

While Gorriaran didn't surpass the rather outrageous freshman and 15-year-old age group records, she once again lowered her US No. 1 and re-set her own Rhode Island state record in the process.

Kipyego posts a sub-1:50: Finding himself in Heat 2 of the men's 800m, Darius Kipyego was on a mission.

But while the St. Raphael Academy (RI) junior didn't break 1:48, he did claim another sub-1:50 performance, netting a time of 1:49.98, which secured his second performance under that barrier this season.

Kipyego is now one of just two athletes -- John Lester being the other -- to have run under 1:50 twice over the 2020 season. Kipyego, however, accomplished that feat in two legitimate races, while Lester secured his second performance in a time trial.

Judson Greer goes sub-14:30 in The 5K: Melissa's Judson Greer was aiming for a special performance in the 5K on Saturday.

And the Texan certainly accomplished that feat, posting a US No. 3 time of 14:28.70 in a men's professional field.

Only Nico Young -- who ran 13:50.55 in June, which was the No. 4 fastest performance in high school history -- and Matthew Farrell (14:25.23) ran faster in 2020. Greer's performance will go down as No. 44 all-time for the distance and the No. 1 junior performance of the year.

Greer, like Harrison, is coached by Tom Schwartz of Tinman Elite. Jack Scherer, a high school junior from Oshkosh North in Wisconsin, went 14:45.88.

Defending champion and world championship medalist Konstanze Klosterhalfen of Germany, former NCAA champion Elinor Purrier, Canadian record-holder Gabriela DeBues-Stafford, and Pan American Games champion Nikki Hiltz of the United States will lead the NYRR Wanamaker Mile women’s field at the 113th NYRR Millrose Games on Saturday, February 8 at The Armory’s New Balance Track and Field Center.

The signature event at the NYRR Millrose Games has taken place every year on the women’s side since 1976 and will be broadcast live nationally on NBC for the fourth consecutive year from 4:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. ET, in addition to streamed live online on NBC Sports Gold.

“This year’s women’s NYRR Wanamaker Mile will feature some of the sport’s biggest rising international stars, including Konstanze, Elinor, Gabriela, and Nikki, who will headline a world-class field,” said NYRR Millrose Games Meet Director Ray Flynn. “We are excited to fill The Armory and cheer on these tremendous athletes.”

Klosterhalfen led the NYRR Wanamaker Mile from wire-to-wire last year, winning the race in 4:19.98 and breaking a 31-year-old German national record in the process. She went on to win a bronze medal over 5000 meters at the IAAF World Championships in Doha in October. The 22-year-old, who competed at the Rio 2016 Olympics, is the indoor German national record holder over one mile, 1500 meters, 3000 meters, and 5000 meters.

“I'm happy to be back in here to race the NYRR Wanamaker Mile again,” said Klosterhalfen. “Last year was my first time in New York and the atmosphere was great. I hope it'll be a good start into my 2020 season.”

Purrier was the runner-up at the 2019 New Balance Fifth Avenue Mile and represented the U.S. at the 2019 world championships, qualifying for the final in the 5000 meters. She was an 11-time All-American at the University of New Hampshire, where she won the 2018 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in the women’s mile.

“The first time I ever ran in the NYRR Wanamaker Mile was when I was in college and it has been a special race to me ever since,” Purrier said. “It was the first time I had the chance to compete on such a big stage and against some of the world's best runners. It was one of the best opportunities I was given as a young emerging runner and certainly was a building block that helped establish my career. Now, as I represent New Balance, and return to the start line I feel very excited for this opportunity once again. Being invited to the NYRR Wanamaker Mile is a great privilege as it is one of the most pristine, competitive, and fun indoor races.”

DeBues-Stafford is the Canadian record-holder in the 1500 meters, mile, and 5000 meters, and finished sixth last year in the 1500 meters at the World Athletics Championships, smashing her own national record in the process. She represented her country at the Rio 2016 Olympics and the last two World Athletics Indoor Championships, and has won four consecutive national 1500-meter titles.

Hiltz represented the U.S. at the world championships last year after winning gold over 1500 meters at the Pan American Games. She also secured victories at the BAA Mile, Adidas Boost Games Mile, and the USATF Road Mile Championships. In her last trip to New York, she finished fourth at the 2019 New Balance Fifth Avenue Mile.

Gene Dykes, aka the #Ultrageezer, is a modest fellow, not given to trumpeting his achievements (especially after discovering that his takedown of Ed Whitlock’s M70 marathon world record at Jacksonville in December 2018 would not be ratified due to the race not being a USATF-sanctioned event).

This could be why we only just learned that last month at the Dawn 2 Dusk 2 Dawn 24-hour ultramarathon in Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania (not far from where he lives), in the pouring rain, Dykes quietly broke the M70 100-mile and 24-hour track records.

Dykes ran 100 miles in 21:06:07 and 111.79 miles (179.98K) over 24 hours. Records are ratified by the American Ultrarunning Association, though Dykes’ latest records have not been updated on the site. The previous records were both held by Edson Sower, 72, of Arizona, at 22:01:34 and 172.80K.

However, if you take a look, you’ll see that Dykes already holds the US age-group records in the 50K, 50-mile, 12-hour, and 100K categories. He set those last year at the same race.

“I am starting a 24-hour race,” Dykes posted on Facebook beforehand. “By 7:03, I will have seen the entire course!”

“I really have mixed feelings about fixed-time races,” Dykes goes on, “but the main feeling is, ‘I should really have my head examined!’ …The main reason I occasionally do them… is that I like to get out of my comfort zone now and then, but this race was WAY out of my comfort zone!”

As so often happens at long races, the weather changed drastically over the course of the day, and never conformed to what was forecast. “The forecast was promising–cloudy during the day with a high in the upper 60’s and showers at night–but what we got was something altogether different. Brilliant sunshine all day, and, not being prepared for that, I got some nasty sunburn on my calves.

At night it was cold, rainy, and windy–not the light rain I expected. Fortunately, I brought along a down jacket, which I wore under my raincoat, and heavy wool gloves.”

Yomif Kejelcha from Ethiopia broke the world indoor mile record when he clocked three minutes 47.01 seconds during an invitational meet in Boston on Sunday.

The 21-year-old smashed the 22-year-old record of 3:48.45 set by Morocco's Hicham El Guerrouj in 1997.

Kejelcha had come within one hundredth of a second of the record when he clocked 3:48.46 at the Millrose Games in New York last month.

The twice world indoor 3,000 meters champion was also targeting the indoor 1,500m record but narrowly missed it with a 3:31.25.

This makes Kejelcha, who is coached by Alberto Salazar, the third-fastest in the 1500m behind compatriot Samuel Tefera's February world record of 3:31.04 and El Guerrouj's 3:31.18

Eariler in the week Oregon live reported, “As promised, Nike Oregon Project coach Alberto Salazar has declared the NOP’s Yomif Kejelcha will be running for a world indoor record in the 1,500 meters -- and, possibly, the mile -- in the Bruce Lehane Invitational Mile Sunday at Boston University.

Salazar said making a world-record assault public puts pressure on the runner making the attempt, but also causes the runner to focus. And, he thinks, world-record attempts create the kind of publicity and attention the sport needs.

"If we’re going for a record in Boston, people are going to know," Salazar said then. “If we say we’re going for it, we’ll go for it.”

He told DyeStat’s Doug Binder on Wednesday that Kejeclha is fit and ready.

“He likes the 1,500 (meters), but I think the mile is more prestigious,” Salazar told Binder. “He’s going for the 1,500 record, and afterwards just hopes to maintain so he can get the mile as well.”

This is how the race in Boston unfolded as described by the IAAF. 

Kejelcha followed three different pacemakers for the opening laps and passed through 809m in 1:52. Worried the pace wasn't quick enough, he moved past the final pacemaker about two minutes into the race and was then out in front alone.

He was inside 2:51 with two laps remaining and kept up his swift pace for the last 400 metres. The clock had already ticked over to 3:31 by the time he passed the 1500m checkpoint, but he – and the eager fans – would have to wait until after the race to find out his official split. His immediate concern was reaching the finish line of the mile.

Kejelcha dug in deep and crossed the line in 3:47.01, taking 1.44 seconds off the previous world indoor record set by Hicham El Guerrouj in 1997. Moments later, his 1500m split was confirmed at 3:31.25, making him the third-fastest indoor performer in history behind Tefera and El Guerrouj.

Kejelcha's mile time is also an outright Ethiopian record, bettering the outdoor mark of 3:48.60 set by Aman Wote.

America's Johnny Gregorek (second photo)  finished second in 3:49.98, moving to sixth on the world indoor all-time list, just 0.09 shy of Bernard Lagat's North American indoor record.  This is the seventh best time by an American Indoor or outdoors according to LetsRun.  

The 112th Millrose Game’s featured event was the NYRR Men’s Wanamaker Mile.  Yomif Kejelcha fell 0.008 seconds short of the indoor mile record, winning the Wanamaker Mile in 3 minutes, 48.46 seconds. 

Yomif was ready to run the first sub 3:48 indoor mile and he almost did it.  He ran even pace with his slowest 200m being 29.21 before running his final one in 28.33.  He was all alone the last few laps breaking the tape in 3:48.46.

The world Record is 3:48.45.  Kenya’s Edward Cheserek placed a distant second clocking 3:53:29 just ahead of USA’s Clayton Murphy 3:53:30.  Both Yomif and Clayton are part of the NIKE Oregon Project.  

But this was not the only outstanding performance of the afternoon.  Germany’s Konstanze Klosterhalfen ran an outstanding 4:19.98 in the women’s Wanamaker mile.  USA’s Colleen Quigley placed second in 4:22.86.

Donavan Brazier wanted Johnny’s Gray’s indoor 800 American record of 1:45.00 set March 8, 1992.  He got it today as he clocked 1:44.41.  

There was over six hours of exciting races with many PR’s and meet records.