Keely Hodgkinson holds off Femke Broeders-Bol to win the 800m on the Novuna London Athletics Meet, whereas Cierra Jackson produced a Diamond League report within the discus and Kanyinsola Ajayi upset Indirect Seville within the 100m.
Going into the Novuna London Athletics Meet on Saturday (July 18) the near-60,000 crowd had been optimistic they’d see at the least one world report.
Would Mondo Duplantis break his sixteenth world pole vault report? Might Keely Hodgkinson get near Jarmila Kratochvilova’s longstanding 800m mark? A number of days after breaking the world 1000m report, Emmanuel Wanyonyi had David Rudisha’s 800m report in his sights. Within the Emsley Carr Mile, Josh Kerr had boldly acknowledged his ambition to beat Hicham El Guerrouj’s 3:43.13 from 1999.
The lads’s pole vault report appeared the most certainly to go, however after Duplantis withdrew mid-competition with a thigh harm it was left to the middle-distance runners with Kerr, within the penultimate occasion of the day, clocking a scintillating 3:42.66 to deliver the mile report again to Britain.
You’ll be able to learn extra about Kerr’s historic run in our separate report right here. The flying Scotsman’s powerhouse efficiency was the primary speaking level each earlier than and after this assembly, too, however there was nonetheless loads of motion within the London Stadium with PBs aplenty, nationwide, assembly and Diamond League information.
Kerr apart, the ladies’s 800m was the headline act. Organisers positioned it on the finish of the programme and it was filled with the main Brits, plus half-lap newcomer Femke Broeders-Bol, though Georgia Hunter Bell and Phoebe Gill withdrew on the eve of the assembly.
The warmth was on Hodgkinson after a shaky few weeks that included defeats to Audrey Werro in Stockholm and Lilian Odira in Eugene, plus a nasty knee harm following a coaching fall. Hodgkinson ran confidently, although, stretching away from Broeders-Bol on the ultimate lap and holding the Dutch athlete off within the closing levels to win in 1:56.21 from Broeders-Bol’s 1:56.46 as Tsige Duguma, Sarah Billings, Jemma Reekie and Issy Boffey adopted.
“There are combined feelings,” stated Hodgkinson. “I’m going to take the positives as a result of it has been a tricky couple of weeks. Not every part all the time goes to plan, however I’m proud with how I’ve handled it. The one purpose I got here right here right now is as a result of I needed to race in entrance of a house crowd. I’m comfortable to get that out of the best way and concentrate on the Europeans subsequent.”
Now we look ahead to a giant conflict on the European Championships in Birmingham from August 10-16 with Werro again in motion after finishing a coaching block in Livigno, Italy, this month.
Not solely did the in-form Wanyonyi fall properly outdoors Rudisha’s world report of 1:40.91 however he completed solely fourth in a race gained by Brandon Miller of the US in an enormous PB of 1:42.19.
Mark English of Eire joined the 1:42 membership with a 1:42.97 PB in second place after his regular well-timed cost from behind. Max Burgin was third in 1:43.30 after going out a bit of too laborious, particularly as he missed coaching following his early season victory in Rabat as a result of an Achilles downside.
Wanyonyi clocked 1:43.31 after fading within the ultimate 150m, whereas Ben Pattison clocked a season’s better of 1:43.34 in fifth.
Burgin stated: “I wasn’t missing in health, I feel I used to be simply missing in sharpness. I had taken the month off with an achilles downside after Rabat, so I’ve had fairly a bit of motorbike work constructing as much as this one which was a bit unlucky. Hopefully by the point we get to the championships in a couple of weeks time, the sharpness will probably be there.”
One other shock got here within the males’s 100m when Kanyinsola Ajayi of Nigeria clocked 9.84 (-0.7) to beat world champion and the winner right here final 12 months, Indirect Seville of Jamaica.
The NCAA champion even gave Seville a stare-down as he crossed the end line. Romell Glave was the most effective of the Brits in third with a 9.97 PB as Zharnel Hughes and Jeremiah Azu completed seventh and eighth.
READ MORE: Josh Kerr storms to world mile report
Because the 100m was unfolding, Duplantis pulled out of the pole vault with a better of 5.95m. In his absence, Sam Kendricks of the US gained the competitors, additionally with 5.95m, as Kurtis Marshall was third and Emmanouil Karalis fourth – the entire males sharing the identical peak.
There was a giant shock within the girls’s discus, too. On a day when the World Athletics president Seb Coe was requested by the media about whether or not betting might quickly be launched into top-level conferences such because the upcoming World Athletics Final Championship (the reply is not any by the best way), you’d have gotten good odds on Cierra Jackson profitable on the London Diamond League.
But Jackson threw a Diamond League report of 71.72m within the ultimate spherical to enhance her PB by 4 metres from 67.82m.
The 2025 NCAA champion is from Arizona and her current type included ending fourth in Rabat, seventh in Xiamen, ninth in Stockholm and no-marking in Eugene.
What’s extra, she beat world No.1 Valarie Sion of the US and her throw was the most effective outdoors of the discus throwers’ paradise of Ramona since 1989.
Filled with emotion, she stated: “I texted my coach earlier than and he stated to get the gang clapping on the final throw. It all the time makes me so nervous to do the clap.
“There are different occasions happening so you do not know if they’re going to clap for you or not, however then the entire stadium did. That is my favorite little bit of monitor and subject.
“I used to be tremendous nervous going into that throw. I could not really feel my palms, my abdomen was hurting, I simply took a deep breath and threw and I watched it fly. My abdomen began hurting instantly, I’ve by no means felt that feeling earlier than. I used to be like oh my god, after which I noticed the mark and I couldn’t breathe.
“My mates had been hugging me and had been so excited. I used to be shocked, I nonetheless am shocked. I’m going to name my mum. It’s 5am at residence, so have gotten to attend till it’s a respectable time for her.”
Extra predictable was Karsten Warholm’s win within the 400m hurdles however the Norwegian didn’t stroll to a routine victory. As regular he pushed himself and clocked 46.61 – a world lead, assembly report and his sixth finest ever time.
Behind, Emil Agyekum created historical past as his 47.75 beat Harald Schmid’s long-time German report – a mark that has stood since 1982.
British champion Alastair Chalmers clocked 48.81 for sixth place from the within lane.
Warholm stated: “Competing in London brings again reminiscences of 2017 each single time. It sounds cliche, however this stadium brings very particular which means to me, it’s implausible to be right here.”
Henriette Jaeger improved her Norwegian report to 49.15 within the girls’s 400m as she completed runner-up to Marileidy Paulino’s 48.97. Such was the usual, Brits Yemi Mary John (50.24) and Charlotte Henrich (50.45 PB) completed seventh and eighth, though the ‘nationwide 400m’ earlier within the day additionally noticed some good performances with hurdles specialist Emily Newnham main the best way with a 50.32 victory forward of Lina Nielsen’s 50.61 – each of which had been PBs.
Ja’Kobe Tharp was a comparatively late signing as a result of him having fun with an awesome breakthrough season with a 12.75 world report on the NCAA Championships final month. He didn’t repeat that right here however nonetheless impressed with a gathering report of 12.89 (-0.3) for a transparent win.
Meet director Spencer Barden does a superb job pulling collectively the fields for this assembly and the ladies’s 200m was additionally stacked with high quality, main to a different assembly report.
This time Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia ran 21.66 (0.1) as she beat Gabby Thomas, the American working 21.81.
Shaunae Miller-Uibo completed quick for third in 22.24 as Dina Asher-Smith ran a robust bend and clocked 22.28 to carry off Amy Hunt, the world silver medallist working 22.30, with British champion Success Eduan sixth in 22.53.
One of many loudest roars of the day got here within the males’s 400m as Rai Benjamin clocked 44.05 to carry off British record-holder Matt Hudson-Smith (44.18) and Jacory Patterson (44.25).
Within the girls’s 3000m, Sonia O’Sullivan’s long-standing assembly report of 8:21.64 continues to outlive. The race was gained by Jess Hull in 8:24.69 from fellow Australia Rose Davies and Eire’s Sarah Healy with a PB of 8:25.63 as Britain’s Hannah Nuttall ran a PB in fourth with 8:26.48 – all of them ending forward of 5 respectable Ethiopian athletes.
Megan Keith made a daring try midway by the race to run away from the opposition however she blew up within the latter levels and was overtaken by fellow Scot Laura Muir on the final lap, with Muir clocking a battling 8:31.77.
Such was the standard, Innes FitzGerald completed solely seventeenth in a superb 8:35.42 – one 12 months after her 5000m European under-20 report breakthrough run on the identical assembly. Simply forward of FitzGerald, Eloise Walker ran a PB of 8:34.80.
Morgan Lake couldn’t repeat her good Diamond League win from 12 months in the past as she cleared just one.85m within the excessive soar right here. As a substitute, victory went to Nicola Olyslagers of Australia with 2.01m as she beat Yaroslava Mahuchikh of Ukraine on rely again.
Mailaka Mihambo of Germany was in nice type forward of the European Championships as she soared out to 7.05m to beat Claire Bryant of the US (6.94m) and Larissa Iapichino of Italy (6.82m) as Britain’s Lucy Hadaway and Jazmin Sawyers leapt 6.64m and 6.53m respectively.
One of the crucial dramatic moments of the day got here in one of many pre-Diamond League occasions – the ‘nationwide 800m’ for males – as Jack Higgins threw himself over the road in a determined and profitable try to carry off the quick ending Henry Jonas.
Not normally often called a entrance runner, Higgins discovered himself within the lead on the second lap and held on grimly to clock 1:45.15 for the win.
“I used to be simply making an attempt to carry it collectively coming into the final 100m,” he stated. “I might sense I used to be going backwards and I might really feel Henry Jonas was coming, so I needed to throw myself over the road. It was not probably the most swish crossing of the road. To take the win at such a tremendous occasion may be very particular.”
British groups confirmed good type in each 4x100m relays. Firstly Azu, Louie Hinchliffe, Hughes and Glave clocked 37.95 to beat Australia within the males’s race.
READ MORE: Josh Kerr storms to world mile report
Hinchliffe stated: “It’s necessary to get the win which we did and that is all that issues. It was good to be again with the complete crew; the chemistry was good. I’ve received Commonwealth Video games subsequent which I am actually prepared for.”
Asher-Smith, Hunt, Eduan and Imani-Lara Lansiquot teamed as much as win the ladies’s race in 42.06.
Various para-athletics races occupied the early a part of the programme with one of many highlights being the sight of Marcel Hug – the Swiss ‘silver bullet’ – profitable the lads’s T54 wheelchair 1500m in 2:59.24.
“I actually loved competing on this stadium once more in entrance of this crowd,” he stated, “it truly is wonderful.
„It’s a shorter distance than the marathon, however I prefer it. It was an excellent efficiency for me, not fairly the time I used to be aiming for, however to return again right here is all the time particular.”
Orla Comerford of Eire ran a PB to win the ladies’s 100m ambulant race in 11.79. Ben Sandilands was a runaway winner of the lads’s 1500m ambulant race in 3:49.26. Zac Shaw took the lads’s 100m ambulant race in 10.97.
