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≡ LONDON DIAMOND LEAGUE ≡
The Olympic Stadium track at Saturday’s Novuna London Athletics Meet was wet most of the time, with rain early, but receding during the main part of the afternoon meet, with mild, 69 F temperatures. This was the 11th stage of the 2025 Wanda Diamond League, with the usual massive crowd in London of about 60,000, which produced three world-leading marks:
● Women/200 m: 21.71, Julien Alfred (LCA)
● Women/Mile: 4:11.88, Gudaf Tsegay (ETH)
● Women/4×100 m: 41.69, Great Britain
The sun came out for the women’s 200 m, the next-to-last event of the day, and Olympic 100 m champ (and 200 silver winner) Julien Alfred (LCA) was out hard from lane seven. She had the lead into the straight and extended to win in a world-leading 21.71, a lifetime best and now equal-ninth all-time! She ran into a 0.6 m/s headwind (!) and is now more than 2/10ths ahead of the rest of the world.
Britain’s Amy Hunt was second in the middle of the straight, but was passed by 2019 World Champion Dina Asher-Smith in the final 5 m, 22.25 to 22.31, a lifetime best for Hunt.
Two-time World Indoor champion Gudaf Tsegay (ETH) took off from the start of the women’s mile, with teammate Birke Haylom and both were way ahead of the pacesetter. By 1,000 m, Australia’s Paris 1,500 m silver winner Jess Hull passed Haylom and ran up on Tsegay, but Tsegay ran away over the final 150 m and ran hard to the finish to win in the no. 2 time ever in 4:11.88! Hull was second in 4:13.68, now no. 5 all-time, then Sarah Healy (IRL: 4:16.26) and Sinclaire Johnson of the U.S. with an American Record 4:16.32! She eclipsed Nikki Hiltz’s 4:16.35 from 2023.
Tsegay’s 400 m splits were 59.23, 2:03.45 (63.52), 3:07.98 (64.53), then 63.80 for the final 409 m.
The women’s 4×100 m was an impressive win for Great Britain – with help from the crowd – with Daryll Neita on anchor in a world-leading 41.69. Jamaica, running a good team, but not their best, was a clear second in 42.50.
Two of the featured races came at the end of the program in the men’s 100 and 1,500 m:
● The men’s 100 m had the crowd silent for the start, but Jamaica’s Oblique Seville was off like a shot and no one was close. He won in 9.86 (wind: -0.6 m/s), second-best to his 9.83 earlier this season. Olympic champ Noah Lyles – in his 100 m season opener, a day after turning 28 – ran past everyone else in the final 20 m to get second in 10.00, followed by Zharnel Hughes (10.02) and Ackeem Blake (JAM: 10.08).
● The sun was out for the final event, the men’s 1,500 m, with British stars George Mills and Josh Kerr leading 18-year-old Kenyan wunderkind Phanuel Koech a close third with two laps to go. The order was the same at the bell, on a hot pace, with Kerr surging past Mills with 300 to go, followed by Koech, who passed Mills on the inside!
Koech had the lead into the final turn, with Kerr chasing into the home straight, while Mills and Cam Myers (AUS) falling on the turn. Koech was simply too strong and won in 3:28.82, to 3:29.37 for Kerr for a seasonal best and no. 6 on the world for 2025. The carnage behind the top two hurt the rest of the field, with Isaac Nader (POR) third in 3:31.55.
The rain and cooler temps earlier in the meet held the marks down, but the competition was fierce:
American relay gold medalist Vernon Norwood was leading Olympic silver winner Matthew Hudson-Smith(GBR) coming into the home straight of the men’s 400 m, but out of nowhere came Charles Dobson (GBR), who raced past everyone and won easily in a lifetime best 44.14, no. 6 in the world for 2025! Hudson-Smith was second in 44.27, then world leader Zakithi Nene (RSA) in 44.29 and Norwood in 44.34, a seasonal best.
The men’s 800 m saw Olympic champ Emmanuel Wanyonyi (KEN) following the pacer at the bell at 49.21, with Britain’s Max Burgin right behind. But 2023 Worlds winner Marco Arop (CAN) powered into the lead by the 600 m mark and into the home straight, with Spain’s Mohamed Attaoui closest. But Wanyonyi had another gear, and passed Arop on the inside (!) in the final 50 m and won in 1:42.00, with Arop at 1:42.22. Attaoui was passed by Burgin (1:42.36) and American Bryce Hoppel (1:42.71) and finished fifth in 1:43.01. Comebacking Donavan Brazier of the U.S., the 2019 World Champion, was sixth in a season’s best of 1:43.08.
In the men’s 4×100 m, run to help teams qualify for the World Championships, Jamaica – anchored by world 100 m leader Kishane Thompson – won in 37.80, followed by Great Britain, with Hughes on anchor at 38.08.
The Paris medal winners were all back in the men’s long jump, with silver medalist Wayne Pinnock (JAM) reaching a seasonal best 8.20 m (26-11) in the third round to take the lead from Olympic champ (and world leader) Miltiadis Tentoglou (GRE: 8.19 m/26-10 1/2), and it stayed that way. Carey McLeod (JAM) was third at 8.10 m (26-7).
World-record setter Mykolas Alekna (LTU) blasted a fabulous 71.70 m (233-7) throw in round three of the men’s discus to take the air out of the event – and get a Diamond League record – and won easily. Slovenia’s Kristjian Ceh, the 2022 World Champion, had been the leader at 68.37 m (224-3) from the second round, and he finished second, moving out to 68.83 m (225-10) in round six. Lawrence Okoye (GBR: 67.24 m/220-7) got third.
Britain’s Jemma Reekie led the women’s 800 m down the final backstraight with the crowd roaring, ahead of 2019 World Champion Halimah Naakayi (UGA) and Paris 2024 bronze medalist Georgia Hunter Bell. Naakayi moved hard to take the lead in the final straight, but it was Hunter Bell storming to the lead and ran away to win in 1:56.74, now no.2 in the world for 2025! American Addy Wiley passed Naakayi for second in 1:57.43 to 1:57.62. Reekie faded to sixth in 1:58.76.
Ethiopians were first through seventh by 3,000 m in the women’s 5,000 m, with a total of 10 in the front pack. The top 10 were still grouped together with 600 m to go, then Medina Eisa, Fantaye Belayneh and Fotyen Tesfay took off after the bell and were 1-2-3 with 200 m to go. Into the straight, Belayneh moved ahead and looked like the winner, but Eisa surged with 60 m to go and ran away to win in 14:30.57, with Belayneh at 14:30.90. Australia’s Rose Davies rolled past Tesfay to get a national record in third at 14:31.45, then Tesfay at 14:32.55.
World leader Femke Bol (NED) was a dominant winner in the women’s 400 m hurdles, taking charge by the fifth hurdle and stormed home in 52.10, with Olympic fourth-placer Jasmine Jones (USA) getting a season best of 53.18 in second, and Andrenette Knight (JAM: 53.79) third.
The conditions hindered the women’s high jump, with only four to clear 1.93 m (6-4) and only Britain’s three-time Olympian Morgan Lake was over 1.96 m (6-5). Australia’s Eleanor Patterson, Christina Honsel (GER) and Olympic champ Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR) were 2-3-4 at 1.93.
In the women’s vault, four were able – in the wet conditions – to clear 4.73 m (15-6 1/4), with Paris Olympian Olivia McTaggart (NZL) leading with her second-try clearance, followed by Tokyo Olympic co-champ Katie Moon of the U.S., Angelica Moser (SUI) and Emily Grove of the U.S. No one could clear 4.84 m (15-10 1/2), so it ended in that order!
World no. 2 Larissa Iapichino (ITA) got out to 6.89 m (22-7 1/4) in the fourth round to lead the women’s long jump, but Tokyo Olympic champ Malaika Mihambo (GER) popped into the lead at 6.93 m (22-9) in the fifth round. Iapichino had a good response in round six, getting to 6.92 m (22-8 1/2), but came up just short. Hilary Kpatcha (FRA) was third at 6.86 m (22-6 1/4) in round five; World Indoor champ Claire Bryant of the U.S. was the first-round leader at 6.78 m (22-3), but ended up fourth at that distance. American Monae Nichols was fifth at 6.74 m (22-1 1/2).
The Diamond League is now in hiatus for almost a month, for a national championships break, before returning on 16 August in Chorzow (POL) for the Skolimowska Memorial. The U.S. nationals are in Eugene next week.
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