One week after a series of record-breaking contests in Shanghai, many of the same athletes will renew their rivalries when the Wanda Diamond League moves on to Xiamen on Saturday (23).
The men&rsquo;s 400m hurdles brings together three-time world champion and world record-holder Karsten Warholm and 2022 world champion Alison dos Santos, just seven days after the Brazilian held off the Norwegian to win the 300m hurdles in Shanghai.
That result continued Dos Santos&rsquo; recent edge in their head-to-head contests. Not only did he beat Warholm over the shorter distance in Shanghai, he has also finished ahead of him in their past two races over 400m hurdles.
They will be joined in Xiamen by world leader Trevor Bassitt, the 2022 world bronze medallist, two-time world bronze medallist Abderrahman Samba and two-time Diamond League Final winner Kyron McMaster.
There will also be a rematch in the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles, where Olympic champion Masai Russell returns after her meeting record and world-leading 12.25 in Shanghai.
Russell will again face a loaded field that includes world champion Ditaji Kambundji, three-time world indoor champion Devynne Charlton, world record-holder Tobi Amusan and two-time world champion Danielle Williams. Charlton finished second behind Russell in Shanghai, setting a national record of 12.38, while Amusan was third.
The women&rsquo;s 200m will also feature three global gold medallists from the Shanghai race, with two-time world champion Shericka Jackson taking on two-time Olympic 400m champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo and 2023 world 100m champion Sha&rsquo;Carri Richardson.
Jackson won in Shanghai in 22.07, her fastest time since the 2023 Diamond League Final, while Miller-Uibo was second in 22.26 and Richardson fourth in 22.42.
The men&rsquo;s 100m in Xiamen features the top eight finishers from Shanghai, including South Africa&rsquo;s Gift Leotlela, Kenya&rsquo;s Ferdinand Omanyala and USA&rsquo;s Kenny Bednarek. Leotlela won in Shanghai from lane one in 9.97, edging Omanyala and Bednarek, who both clocked 9.98, with just 0.04 separating the first five men.
The men&rsquo;s 110m hurdles field will also be familiar, as all nine athletes from Shanghai line up again. Jamal Britt, who came through late to win there in an equal PB of 13.07, faces world champion Cordell Tinch and Japanese record-holder Rachid Muratake.
<h2>Chemutai and Cherotich renew steeplechase rivalry</h2>
The women&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase produced one of the tightest finishes in Shanghai, and the top two will clash again in Xiamen.
Olympic champion Peruth Chemutai won in 8:51.47, just 0.01 ahead of world champion Faith Cherotich. They will be joined this time by Olympic champion Winfred Yavi, who makes her season debut.
The field also includes Tunisia&rsquo;s Marwa Bouzayani and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Kena Tufa, who both dipped inside nine minutes in Shanghai.
Surprise Shanghai 3000m winner Mohamed Abdilaahi steps up to the 5000m in Xiamen after his German record of 7:25.77 last weekend. He faces Sweden&rsquo;s world 10,000m bronze medallist Andreas Almgren, one of six men in the field with a PB faster than 12:50.
In the women&rsquo;s 1500m, Birke Haylom heads to Xiamen after her meeting record of 3:55.56 in Shanghai. The Ethiopian will face world silver medallist Dorcus Ewoi and the quintet of Australians who broke four minutes in Shanghai, including Abbey Caldwell and Jessica Hull.
In his first race since anchoring Botswana to 4x400m victory at the World Relays on home soil in Gaborone, Collen Kebinatshipi heads the men&rsquo;s 400m field in Xiamen. The world champion lines up against teammate and fellow world 4x400m champion Bayapo Ndori, world indoor champion Christopher Morales Williams of Canada, South Africa&rsquo;s Zakithi Nene and Olympic bronze medallist Muzala Samukonga.
<h2>Crouser returns to Diamond League action</h2>
World record-holder Ryan Crouser will make his first Diamond League appearance since September 2024 when he contests the men&rsquo;s shot put in Xiamen.
The multiple world and Olympic champion has not competed since winning his third world title in Tokyo last year. His most recent Diamond League appearance was also his last defeat, and the last time he failed to throw beyond 22 metres in a final was in April 2022.
Crouser takes on world leader Leonardo Fabbri, world silver medallist Uziel Munoz, world indoor champion Tom Walsh and Olympic bronze medallist Rajindra Campbell.
The men&rsquo;s long jump brings together world champion Mattia Furlani and Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou. Furlani jumped an outdoor world lead and PB of 8.43m to win in Shanghai, where Bozhidar Saraboyukov was second with 8.07m. Both men compete again in Xiamen, where they will be joined by 2019 world champion Tajay Gayle.
The women&rsquo;s discus features Valarie Sion, the world and Olympic champion, along with Jorinde van Klinken, 2023 world champion Laulauga Tausaga and 2022 world champion Feng Bin.
In the women&rsquo;s javelin, Diamond League champion Elina Tzengko faces Olympic champion Haruka Kitaguchi, European silver medallist Adriana Vilagos, world U20 record-holder Yan Ziyi and 2023 world silver medallist Flor Denis Ruiz Hurtado.

One week after a series of record-breaking contests in Shanghai, many of the same athletes will renew their rivalries when the Wanda Diamond League moves on to Xiamen

Shanghai rematches take centre stage in Xiamen

On the track, eight women will be crowned champions at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest in September, from the sprint queens in the 100m to the distance specialists over 5000m.&nbsp;
In the second instalment of a four-part series, we look at the track tussles looming at this season&rsquo;s athletics climax.
<h3>100m hurdles</h3>
Unpredictability. It&rsquo;s what makes sport so special and few events are harder to predict than the sprint hurdles. Ditaji Kambundji wasn&rsquo;t many people&rsquo;s pick to win the world title last September and, after clocking a massive personal best, her shocked face as she crossed the finish line suggested she hadn&rsquo;t expected it either.
The Swiss athlete&rsquo;s form was good indoors this year but, in an electric world indoor 60m hurdles final in March, she just missed out on a medal despite a season&rsquo;s best. There will also be no shortage of suitors aiming to upstage her in the 2026 outdoor season finale in Budapest.
If 2025 is anything to go by, the event should be rapid. Eight women ran 12.30 or faster last year and the athlete topping those times, Masai Russell, will be keen to translate her 12.17 into a podium place after missing out in Tokyo. The US athlete has started the season well by winning at the Diamond League meeting in Shanghai in 12.25.
So many have shone already this year with four athletes &ndash; Kambundji, Devynne Charlton, Pia Skrzyszowska and Nadine Visser &ndash; all separated by a mere hundredth of a second going into the 60m hurdles at the World Indoor Championships in Poland, and then there was Charlton&rsquo;s world record there in the final.
<h3>800m</h3>
Prior to this season, Keely Hodgkinson had never won a world title indoors or out. The British athlete righted that wrong in Poland in March and just days before that she broke a 24-year-old world short track record aptly set on the very day she was born.
It has been an impressive return after the disappointment of bronze in Tokyo when she would likely have been a shoo-in for gold had she not been hampered by a double hamstring tear, the second just after a trip to Buckingham Palace.
Kenya&rsquo;s surprise world champion Lilian Odira will once again be aiming to challenge her, while Hodgkinson&rsquo;s training partner Georgia Hunter Bell, the silver medallist in Tokyo, is yet to decide whether to focus on the 800m or 1500m this season.
<h3>400m</h3>
The big question was whether USA&rsquo;s Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, a world gold medallist in two different individual disciplines, would stick to the 400m or revert to the 400m hurdles. It turns out neither. Instead, come Budapest, she will be in the early stages of motherhood after announcing her pregnancy at the start of the year.
Even without her, this field is stacked with potential champions, including Olympic gold medallist Marileidy Paulino, who was second to McLaughlin-Levrone in Tokyo.
US athlete Aaliyah Butler will surely aim to be in contention, too, along with Salwa Eid Naser and Amber Anning, who forewent the World Indoors to focus on the outdoor season. Then there&rsquo;s Natalia Bukowiecka who hoped to win gold at the World Indoors in front of her home crowd in Poland but was denied by just eight hundredths of a second by break-out star Lurdes Gloria Manuel.

World Athletics Ultimate Championship

Eight women are set be crowned inaugural Ultimate champions on the track. Ahead of the event in Budapest, we pick out some of the key battles for gold.

Ultimate clashes: women’s track

A vast array of talent will descend on La Coru&ntilde;a for the Gran Premio Cantones de Marcha &ndash; the first Spain-based Gold meeting on this year&rsquo;s World Athletics Race Walking Tour &ndash; on Saturday (23).
The competition, held annually since 1987, again offers a star-studded field and includes all of the 20km podium finishers, men and women, from the 2025 World Championships.
Due to an urban development project in the area of the usual circuit, this year&rsquo;s edition will take place over a new one-kilometre circuit.
The women&rsquo;s race, which closes the competition programme, is worthy of a major championships and is led by Maria P&eacute;rez. The 30-year-old Spaniard hasn&rsquo;t competed since her superb performance at the 2025 World Championships, where she retained her 20km and 35km titles.
P&eacute;rez, who also won Olympic gold in the mixed marathon relay in 2024, triumphed over 20km in La Coru&ntilde;a last year. This time she will make her competitive debut over the half marathon distance in what will be her first race in eight months. World bronze medallist Nanako Fujii of Japan will also be contesting that distance for the first time.
Mexico&rsquo;s Alegna Gonz&aacute;lez, who finished in between P&eacute;rez and Fujii at last year&rsquo;s World Championships, is fresh from a solid 1:32:15 victory in Rio Maior last Saturday.
While P&eacute;rez&rsquo;s competitive shape is untested so far this year, the Peruvian duo of Kimberly Garc&iacute;a and Evelyn Inga have displayed great form. Garc&iacute;a, the double world champion in 2022, will be contesting her fourth half marathon of the year, having won at the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships in Brasilia last month and more recently in Podebrady, where she clocked 1:31:44.
Garc&iacute;a&rsquo;s one loss so far this year came in Dudince, where Inga took the spoils by a 28-second margin.
The strong Chinese contingent in La Coru&ntilde;a is led by 23-year-old Jiang Yunyan, who owns the fastest half marathon race walk performance on record so far with her 1:31:39 victory in Taicang earlier this year.
She will be joined by compatriots Yang Liujing, Ji Haiying and Guo Na &ndash; all of whom finished inside 1:33 in Taicang &ndash; plus Wu Quanming, who was runner-up in La Coru&ntilde;a in 2023 with a 20km PB of 1:26:48.
Watch out too for Italy&rsquo;s 2021 Olympic 20km champion Antonella Palmisano. The world 35km silver medallist made a promising half marathon debut in Podebrady earlier this month, finishing 37 seconds behind Garc&iacute;a.
World 35km bronze medallist Paula Milena Torres also cannot be discounted. The Ecuadorian triumphed over the full marathon distance at the World Race Walking Team Championships, finishing more than a minute ahead of her rivals.
Rising Italian Sofia Fiorini, who finished second to Torres in Brasilia, will also be in contention on Saturday. Spain&rsquo;s Ant&iacute;a Chamosa, who finished seventh at the 2021 Olympics, is another contender.
<h2>Bonfim takes on strong Japanese challenge</h2>
World 20km champion Caio Bonfim leads a mouth-watering line-up in the men&rsquo;s half marathon.
The 35-year-old Brazilian, who earned Olympic bronze in 2024, will be contesting the sixth half marathon of the year so far. He 2026 campaign has so far included a fifth-place finish at the Japanese Championships in Kobe in 1:21:44, a runner-up finish in Taicang, and a third-place finish at the World Race Walking Team Championships on home soil.
Bonfirm, who also earned 35km silver at the 2025 World Championships, will be chasing his fourth podium finish in La Coru&ntilde;a following his victory in 2023 and third spots in 2022 and 2024. He will face stiff opposition from two of the Japanese race walkers who beat him in Kobe: Kento Yoshikawa and Tomohiro Noda, both of whom finished inside 1:21.
The strong Japanese squad also includes world 35km bronze medallist Hayato Katsuki, who won the marathon at the World Race Walking Team Championships. The 35-year-old will be eager to bounce back from his performance last weekend in Rio Maior where he was disqualified in the closing stages when he was in contention for victory.
He&rsquo;ll be joined on the start line by the three men who followed him across the line in Brasilia: Ecuador&rsquo;s David Hurtado, Japan&rsquo;s Kazuya Iwai and Mexico&rsquo;s Cesar Herrera, the latter competing alongside his compatriots Ricardo Ortiz, Noel Chama and Jos&eacute; Luis Doctor.
World 20km silver medallist Wang Zhaozhao leads a strong Chinese contingent. The 26-year-old has not yet raced over the half marathon, but has a 1:17:30 PB for 20km. He will be joined by Qian Haifeng, the sixth-place finisher over 20km at the 2025 World Championships. Holder of a 1:17:58 PB for 20km, he will also making his half marathon debut on Saturday.
Shi Shengji, who beat Bonfim in Taicang with 1:22:33, the fastest half marathon time recorded so far by an U20 athlete, should also be a factor.
Olympic champion Brian Pintado is also due to compete on Saturday. The Ecuadorian is working his way back to top form, following hip surgery in April last year.
Home hopes will be carried by Spain&rsquo;s Diego Garc&iacute;a, Paul McGrath, &Aacute;lvaro L&oacute;pez and 2015 world 20km champion Miguel Angel L&oacute;pez.
Garc&iacute;a is an accomplished performer in La Coru&ntilde;a, having finished first in 2021, second in 2022 and third in 2023. The 30-year-old placed eighth at the World Championships last year, clocking 1:18:19, and earlier this year he won the Spanish half marathon title in 1:26:07 ahead of Alvaro L&oacute;pez (1:26:21). The duo, who train together in Madrid, both finished in the top 10 at the recent World Race Walking Team Championships.
McGrath, the world 20km bronze medallist, was fourth at the Spanish Championships and 20th in Brasilia.
Weather forecasters predict a pleasant windless afternoon with temperatures in the 21-23C range by the time of the competition.
Emeterio Valiente for World Athletics

A vast array of talent will descend on La Coruña for the Gran Premio Cantones de Marcha

World’s best race walkers gather in La Coruña

Today, 20 May, marks the centenary of the publication of The Latest Methods of Women&rsquo;s Track and Field Athletics. Little known today, it was nevertheless the first athletics book written by a global female athletics champion &ndash; and its author, Kinue Hitomi, was only 19 years old.
The year of its publication, 1926, was also the year Hitomi set her first world records, two years before women were allowed to compete in athletics at the Olympic Games for the first time.
A century later, the 234-page book remains far more than a historical curiosity. Here are three reasons why it still occupies a unique place in evolution of the sport. 
<h2>1. It features the first description of the use of starting blocks.</h2>
This centenary review of Hitomi&rsquo;s 1926 masterpiece rewrites athletics history, shifting the credit for the earliest technical depiction of starting blocks from George Bresnahan to the Japanese pioneer herself. Her detailed illustration predates Bresnahan&rsquo;s US patent for a &ldquo;foot support&rdquo; (filed April 29, 1927; patented February 5, 1929).
Although starting blocks were explicitly banned in 1935, the 1938 IAAF Congress authorised them with restrictions, ruling that they could be used &ldquo;not as a material aid to the runner but to protect the track and to expedite carrying out the programme&rdquo;; the subsequent rule book also reproduced Bresnahan&rsquo;s patent design, naming him as the inventor. Yet, starting blocks had debuted as early as February 1910 at the Irish-American indoor games in New York.
Created to replace outdoor foot holes on indoor wooden tracks, where sprinters suffered ankle injuries and frequent slips that led to unstable, aborted starts, their early use was only pictured in triple Olympic champion Archie Hahn&rsquo;s 1923 book &lsquo;How to Sprint&rsquo;, showing sprinter Jackson Scholz. Clearly drawing on Hahn&rsquo;s work, Hitomi&rsquo;s real breakthrough was to publish a detailed technical blueprint for her wooden blocks, an innovation that would later become an indispensable piece of equipment on athletics tracks around the world, establishing her as a true visionary of modern athletics.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a0d828d8219e732fb355d11.jpg" alt="An excerpt from Kinue Hitomi's book" />
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An excerpt from Kinue Hitomi's book
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<h2>2. It gave women&rsquo;s athletics a serious technical voice before the Olympic breakthrough</h2>
In the preface, Hitomi said the book was &ldquo;eight parts&rdquo; from her own experience and &ldquo;two parts&rdquo; from research in books, hoping with humility it might be of even slight use to a women&rsquo;s athletics world that she described as advancing &ldquo;with the force of a meteor.&rdquo; Yet, she did not shy away from criticising the patronising tendency to treat female athletes as weak or childlike, which often produced guidance ungrounded in scientific research or lived experience.
Rather than debating whether women should practice athletics, Hitomi assumed they deserved proper instruction, formal rules, sound technique, and serious study.
Its 1926 publication coincided with fierce and heated debates within the sport's world governing body over women's participation in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics. On 5 August 1926, the IAAF Congress in The Hague voted 12 to 5 in favour of their inclusion but restricted the debut programme to just five events (100m, 800m, 4x100m, high jump, and discus).
By contrast, Hitomi&rsquo;s book boldly covered the complete men&rsquo;s schedule. To compensate for the scarcity of female sports iconography, she used photos of male athletes to detail disciplines that would not reach the women's Olympic stage for decades, such as the triple jump (1996) and pole vault (2000).
Even as she bypassed institutional limits, Hitomi maintained a pragmatic outlook for daily training, noting: &ldquo;Of these, some are suitable for women&rsquo;s athletics and some are not generally practised. The method used in ordinary schools must be selected with attention to the strength and development of the students.&rdquo;
Ultimately, her work belongs to that critical pre-Olympic era when women&rsquo;s athletics was still being argued into existence, equipping the movement with an authoritative, unapologetic voice. 
<h2>3. It offers rare insights into the daily life of Olympic athletes</h2>
Perhaps the most revealing aspect of Hitomi&rsquo;s work is its meticulous focus on the athlete's everyday routine.
She documented fascinating four-week Olympic training schedules and meal plans from the 1924 Paris Olympic Village for elite Japanese athletes, featuring everything from miso soup and raw eggs to curry rice, sukiyaki, grilled fish, fruit, bread, coffee, and Western-style dishes.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a0d81e88219e732fb355d0e.jpg" alt="Kinue Hitomi competing in Paris in 1930" />
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Kinue Hitomi competing in Paris in 1930
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Although women&rsquo;s athletics was not yet part of the programme, these multi-week training and dietary logs focused on sprinter Sasago Tani (who would become Hitomi's coach) and triple jumper Mikio Oda (destined to become Japan&rsquo;s first Olympic champion in 1928). For sports historians, this is pure gold. It reminds us that the questions we consider cutting-edge today (nutrition, recovery, session management, and acclimation to global competition) were already being systematically dissected a century ago.
The terminology and high-performance environments have evolved beyond recognition, but the athlete's core challenge remains unchanged: how to train, recover, prepare, and perform.
Just three months after her book&rsquo;s publication, Hitomi proved her theories on the track. Travelling as Japan&rsquo;s sole representative to the 2nd Women&rsquo;s World Games in Gothenburg, she won both the long jump and standing long jump. Two years later, at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, where she was again Japan&rsquo;s only female athlete, she took a historic silver in the 800m, an event that was then dropped from the Olympic programme amid claims that it was too gruelling for women.
Hitomi was the inaugural world record holder in combined events (triathlon: 100m, high jump, javelin), ultimately setting six official world records and eight other world bests from the 100m to the 400m and across horizontal jumps. From 1928 onwards, she also dedicated herself to coaching her successors.
By merging world-class competition, prolific writing, and coaching, she entered 1930 determined to reform public perceptions of women&rsquo;s sports in Japan. However, raising funds for the 1930 Prague Women's World Games in the wake of the global economic crisis proved an exhausting ordeal. The intense competition schedule that followed left her physically and mentally depleted, leading to her tragic, premature death at the age of just 24.
A century later, her pioneering manual remains a testament to a visionary who helped run women&rsquo;s athletics into the modern era.
Pierre-Jean Vazel for World Athletics Heritage
<div><a href="https://tinyurl.com/visitMOWA" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6885f79e982e117f1338cb26.jpg" alt="MOWA banner" /></a></div>

The first athletics book written by a global female athletics champion

Three reasons Kinue Hitomi’s century-old women’s athletics book still matters

Two-time world 400m hurdles champion Femke Broeders-Bol will contest the first outdoor 800m of her career at the Golden Spike Ostrava &ndash; a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting &ndash; on 16 June.
After placing third in the 400m in Ostrava last year in 49.98, Broeders-Bol went on to retain her world 400m hurdles title in Tokyo. This year, the Dutch star has moved up to the 800m, clocking a PB of 1:59.07 indoors. Her race in Ostrava next month will mark her first outdoor race over her new distance.
World indoor 60m champion Jordan Anthony will take on US compatriot Ronnie Baker in the men&rsquo;s 100m. Anthony recently clocked a PB of 9.91 in Florida, then won the 200m at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in Tokyo. Baker, an Olympic finalist in 2021, has a PB of 9.83.
Other athletes announced for Ostrava include sprint star Noah Lyles, who takes on rising talent Gout Gout over 150m; 100m hurdlers Devynne Charlton and Nadine Visser; pole vaulters Emmanouil Karalis and Katie Moon; world and Olympic high jump gold medallist Gianmarco Tamberi; 1000m hopeful Josh Hoey and European silver medallist Mohammed Attaoui, plus javelin throwers Anderson Peters and Adriana Vilagos.

Two-time world 400m hurdles champion Femke Broeders-Bol will contest the first outdoor 800m of her career at the Golden Spike Ostrava

Broeders-Bol returns to Ostrava for outdoor 800m debut

In the scorching heat at Kakuma Refugee Camp, an aeroplane arrives at least once a month to deliver food and other supplies. For years, a young Solomon Ayela Okeny watched them descend from the sky before disappearing into the horizon, hoping that one day he would board one.
On 9 May, Okeny&rsquo;s dream came true, and he went one step better: he boarded a plane to compete in a major championship.
&ldquo;I was very nervous when the flight attendants explained what we needed to do in case of an emergency,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But the whole experience of moving in this &lsquo;thing that just floats in the sky&rsquo; was worth it. I didn't sleep even for a second during the entire journey.&rdquo;
Like the rest of his World Athletics Athlete Refugee Team (ART) teammates, Okeny arrived in Accra, Ghana, with a lot of enthusiasm for the African Championships. He was the first on the track, clocking a PB of 52.40 in the 400m.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a0b45c77861188bb8b280f3.jpg" alt="Solomon Ayela Okeny at the African Championships" />
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Solomon Ayela Okeny at the African Championships (&copy; Martin Moses)
Okeny was joined by Abdifatah Aden Hassan (men&rsquo;s 1500m), Kun Waar Liem (men&rsquo;s 200m), Perina Lokure Nakang (women&rsquo;s 800m) and Lokoro Dario (men&rsquo;s 5000m), and&nbsp;the group remained closely knit throughout their stay in Accra.
Hassan shaved more than five seconds from his 1500m PB, running 3:57.05. The achievement was even more remarkable considering he had fallen ill a day before his race. He later admitted that it might have been pre-race jitters of competing outside Kenya for the first time, but a quick chat with his coach, Janeth Jepkosgei, set him up for the impressive feat.
For Liem, the Ghana trip was enjoyable and eye-opening. The 200m runner revealed that he felt motivated by watching the continent&rsquo;s top sprinters, such as Zimbabwe&rsquo;s Tapiwanashe Makarawu, training and competing up close.
&ldquo;I have met some of the athletes I used to watch online and follow on social media,&rdquo; said Liem, who ran 22.84 in the 200m heats. &ldquo;These guys are very fast. They have encouraged me and shared some tips on how I can better my craft. I felt challenged and motivated because when you compete against fast athletes, you want to do better. They have given me something to focus on.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a0b434b217effba84a72eea.jpg" alt="Abdifatah Aden Hassan at the African Championships" />
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Abdifatah Aden Hassan at the African Championships (&copy; Monirul Bhuiyan)
After appearances at two World Athletics Championships and the Paris Olympics, Nakang competed in her fourth major championship. She ran 2:10.02 in the 800m in the sweltering heat in Accra.
&ldquo;I believe I can run faster,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;The competition was tough, but I know what I need to work on to achieve my goals in the upcoming competitions and in life.&rdquo;
Nakang, whose role model is Faith Kipyegon, remains committed to building a career like that of the four-time world 1500m champion.
&ldquo;I usually look up to Faith, and I want to make something out of my career as she has,&rdquo; Nakang added. &ldquo;I want to run so that I can go back home (South Sudan) and change my country.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a0b45f97861188bb8b280f6.jpg" alt="Abdifatah Aden Hassan, Perina Lokure Nakang and Lokoro Dario during training in Accra" />
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Abdifatah Aden Hassan, Perina Lokure Nakang and Lokoro Dario during training in Accra (&copy; Martin Moses)
Like Nakang, this wasn't Dario's first trip outside Kenya, but the 5000m runner remains positively challenged by what he sees every time in a major championship. Taking a step up from the 3000m he ran at the World Athletics U20 Championships Lima 24, the 20-year-old clocked 15:10.56 in Accra.
&ldquo;I am still adjusting to the 5000m,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I maintained pace with the leading pack for 10 or so laps but I now need to work on getting better in future races. I have met different athletes from different African countries and we have shared experiences.&rdquo;
Away from the track, the team was hosted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Ghana where they met with UNHCR Head of National Office Tetteh Padi.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a0b42faa94267554f691995.jpg" alt="Members of the Athlete Refugee Team with Jackson Tuwei and Tetteh Padi in Accra" />
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Members of the Athlete Refugee Team with Jackson Tuwei and Tetteh Padi in Accra (&copy; UNHCR)
The team was later accompanied by UNHCR staff on a tour of Accra where they visited the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park and Independence Square, and savoured Ghanaian food at a famous local restaurant courtesy of World Athletics.
For athletes who escaped war and grew up in refugee camps, the story of Ghana&rsquo;s founding father and the man who fought for Africa&rsquo;s liberation and dignity added some weight.
&ldquo;I used to hear and read about these things in social studies in school, but I have now seen them in real life. Nkrumah&rsquo;s story is very inspirational, and the trip was very enjoyable,&rdquo; said Hassan.
Padi also took time off on Saturday to watch Liem and Hassan compete.
As they leave Ghana, there is an overwhelming sense of gratitude, happiness and pride, but without contentment. Grateful that they got to see the world and compete in a major championship but acknowledging that there is still a long way to go.
Accra was part of the journey, not the destination.
Martin Moses for World Athletics
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Five members of the World Athletics Athlete Refugee Team reflect on their experience at the African Championships

Athlete Refugee Team members gain valuable experience in Accra

The African Championships in Accra concluded on Sunday (17) and one of the biggest upsets of the final day came in the men&rsquo;s 4x400m, where Zimbabwe overcame the wet conditions to storm to their first-ever title in the event.
The team of Dennis Hove, Leeford Zuze, Gerren Muwishi and Thandazani Ndlovu&nbsp;clocked 3:01.11 to beat Kenya (3:01.34), while Morocco claimed a surprise bronze (3:01.35). World champions Botswana had to settle for fourth in 3:02.38.
The win follows Zimbabwe's performance at the World Athletics Relays in Gaborone earlier this month, where they made the men's 4x400m final and qualified for the World Athletics Championships Beijing 27.
In the women&rsquo;s 4x400m, Nigeria matched their dominance in the 4x100m by claiming a fourth consecutive African title. Veteran Patience Okon-George anchored the youthful quartet to victory in 3:29.30, finishing ahead of Ethiopia (3:33.43) and Kenya (3:33.79), with the latter narrowly denying hosts Ghana a podium finish.
Kenya&rsquo;s 2015 world champion Julius Yego further cemented his legacy in the javelin, claiming his sixth African title &ndash; and fourth in succession. The Rio 2016 Olympic silver medallist equalled his season&rsquo;s best of 79.87m in the second round, which proved enough for gold. Ethiopia&rsquo;s Otag Ubang claimed a surprise silver with a national record of 77.60m, while South Africa&rsquo;s Douw Smit took bronze with 76.00m.
World indoor bronze medallist and defending champion Saly Sarr of Senegal once again proved her class in the triple jump. Her second-round leap of 14.79m secured gold, while Mauritius&rsquo; Liliane Potiron and South Africa&rsquo;s Zinzi Xulu completed the podium.
Ivory Coast continued their impressive outing in the 200m, beginning with Maboundou Kon&eacute;, who upgraded her silver medal from Douala in 2024 to gold in Accra. She stopped the clock at 23.58 in a tightly contested race, edging Nigeria&rsquo;s Rosemary Chukwuma and Liberia&rsquo;s Symone Darius, who both clocked 23.59 for silver and bronze, respectively.
In the men&rsquo;s race, Cheickna Traore followed in Kon&eacute;&rsquo;s footsteps, powering to victory in 20.31. Botswana&rsquo;s Selepe Phaezel claimed silver in 20.42, while South Africa&rsquo;s Mihlali Xhotyeni completed the podium in 20.56.
The 1500m races saw South Africa upset their East African rivals to secure historic gold medals in both the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s events. In the women&rsquo;s race, South African champion Karabo More rose above the heavy downpour to claim victory in 4:15.4, narrowly ahead of Kenya&rsquo;s Vivian Chebet Kiprotich (4:15.5). Morocco&rsquo;s Souad El Haddad took bronze in 4:16.0.
World indoor finalist Luan Munnik led a South African 1-2 in the men&rsquo;s race, defeating defending champion Brian Komen of Kenya. Munnik crossed the line in 3:42.19 ahead of world finalist Tshepo Tshite, who took silver in 3:42.31. Komen settled for bronze in 3:43.19.
Eritrea&rsquo;s Dawit Seare produced a stunning late charge to capture gold in the men&rsquo;s 5000m, overtaking Ethiopia&rsquo;s Mubin Haji on the home straight to win in 13:16.92. Haji claimed silver in 13:18.33, while Kenya&rsquo;s Laban Kiptoo Kosgei secured bronze in 13:18.71.
South Africa&rsquo;s Rogail Joseph successfully defended her women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles title, clocking a season&rsquo;s best of 54.73. Ivory Coast&rsquo;s national record-holder Dinedye Denis finished second in 55.15, while Cameroon&rsquo;s Linda Amelle Angounou repeated her bronze medal finish from Douala with 56.23.
Kenya dominated the women&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase as Diana Chepkemoi and Mercy Chepngeno broke away from the field early and never looked back, securing gold and silver in 9:29.18 and 9:30.46, respectively. Ethiopia&rsquo;s Almaz Bude (9:33.45) and Wosane Asefa (9:41.75) followed in third and fourth places.
In the men&rsquo;s high jump, Algeria&rsquo;s 18-year-old Younes Ayachi emerged victorious after being the last man standing at 2.18m before clearing 2.22m. South Africa&rsquo;s 17-year-old Mateo Le Roux took silver with 2.16m, while Kenya&rsquo;s Kiprop Asbel Kemboi, the 2024 silver medallist, settled for bronze with 2.13m.
Yemi Galadima for World Athletics
&nbsp;

One of the biggest upsets of the final day came in the men’s 4x400m, where Zimbabwe overcame the wet conditions to storm to their first-ever title in the event

Zimbabwe win 4x400m, Yego claims sixth javelin title on final day of African Championships

Global gold medallists Noah Lyles, Jordan Anthony and Rai Benjamin were among the winners as the Seiko Golden Grand Prix &ndash; the third World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting of the season &ndash; returned to Tokyo&rsquo;s National Stadium on Sunday (17).
And meeting records fell in the 3000m and women&rsquo;s 400m as athletes made their marks early in the season.
USA&rsquo;s Olympic and multiple world champion Lyles contested his first 100m races of the year, back in the stadium where he claimed world 200m and 4x100m titles in September.
He opened with 10.05 into a 1.1 m/s headwind and improved to 9.95 (0.6m/s) in the final to win the last race on the programme. His 18-year-old compatriot Tate Taylor was second in 10.04 and another 18-year-old, Great Britain's Jake Odey-Jordan, was third in 10.09.
"I&rsquo;m happy with the race, I&rsquo;m happy with the time," said Lyles. "It&rsquo;s a great way to start the season.
"It wasn't my fastest, but it was definitely in my top five fastest season openers, so I'd say it was very worth the journey and I'm excited that I got to have it in a fun place like Tokyo."
His compatriots Anthony and Benjamin also secured sprint wins &ndash; world indoor 60m champion Anthony taking the 200m in 20.05 into a 1.3m/s headwind and world 400m hurdles champion Benjamin winning the 400m flat in 44.69.
Courtney Lindsey got the stronger start in the 200m, but Anthony judged his race well and a powerful finish clinched him a clear win. Lindsey was second in 20.28. The 400m was closer and four athletes were in contention as they reached the home straight. But Benjamin &ndash; in his first race since the World Championships &ndash; looked relaxed, running alongside a battling Muzala Samukonga. The hurdles specialist won by 0.14 ahead of Zambia&rsquo;s Olympic bronze medallist (44.83).
"I think I could have done better execution wise, but it's the first one," said Benjamin. "So, I feel happy to come out with the win and get a good one in front of a good crowd."
Great Britain&rsquo;s world and Olympic relay medallist Yemi Mary John impressed in her first outdoor 400m of the year, becoming a member of the sub-50.00 club as she improved her PB from 50.50 to 49.85 &ndash; a meeting record. USA&rsquo;s Bailey Lear was second in 50.42.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a096af26540bac82c3edc6d.jpg" alt="Yemi Mary John runs a 400m meeting record at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix" />
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Yemi Mary John runs a 400m meeting record at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix (&copy; World Athletics <img style="width: 16px; vertical-align: middle; display: inline;" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,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" alt="photographer icon" /> Kenichiro Ogane)
"It was always going to be a fast race because I know the Tokyo track is so incredible," said John, who opened her outdoor season two weeks ago at the World Relays in Gaborone. "The Olympics were here and I was fortunate to race here last year at the World Championships. I was hoping for a fast race and just great energy, a great atmosphere."
The meeting record also fell in the women&rsquo;s 3000m as Kenya&rsquo;s Japan-based Janet Jepkoech picked up the pace during the final kilometre to win in a PB of 8:39.24.
Nagiya Mori, Ryuto Igawa and Yu Shibata delighted home fans as they all dipped under the Japanese record and meeting record in the&nbsp;men&rsquo;s 3000m. Mori led the way as he clocked 7:38.98 to beat Suguru Osako&rsquo;s national record of 7:40.09 set in 2014, closely followed by Igawa in 7:39.36 and Shibata in 7:39.51.
There was more home success in the men&rsquo;s 110m hurdles as Tatsuki Abe won in 13.26 (-0.2m/s) ahead of USA&rsquo;s Connor Schulman (13.33). US indoor champion Alia Armstrong won the 100m hurdles in 12.75 (-0.9m/s), narrowly holding off Japanese champion Yumi Tanaka (12.81).
Racing on the track where the world record was set during the Tokyo Olympics, T&uuml;rkiye&rsquo;s 2022 world U20 champion İsmail Nezir ran a PB of 48.25 to win the 400m hurdles. Japan&rsquo;s Kaito Tsutsue was second in 48.65.
Two-time NACAC Championships medallist Rhema Otabor of The Bahamas denied Japanese champion Momone Ueda a home win in the javelin. Otabor soared into the lead with 61.57m in the fifth round and her rivals couldn&rsquo;t respond, Ueda securing second place with 61.40m and Colombia&rsquo;s 2023 world silver medallist Flor Denis Ruiz Hurtado placing third on 60.98m. Japan&rsquo;s Olympic champion Haruka Kitaguchi was fifth in her first competition since last year&rsquo;s World Championships, recording a best of 60.36m.
Czechia&rsquo;s multiple world and Olympic medallist Jakub Vadlejch opened his season with a 85.24m men's javelin win &ndash; his farthest throw since the Paris Olympics.
Japan&rsquo;s Yuki Hashioka leapt 8.22m (1.9m/s) to win the long jump, while his compatriot Sou Shibuya won the high jump on countback with a first-time PB clearance of 2.24m.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-continental-tour/calendar-results/7233064/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results</a>
&nbsp;
</div>
</div>

Global gold medallists Noah Lyles, Jordan Anthony and Rai Benjamin were among the winners as the Seiko Golden Grand Prix returned to Tokyo’s National Stadium

Lyles helps to light up Tokyo with 100m win at Seiko Golden Grand Prix

Ivory Coast stormed to a historic gold in the men&rsquo;s 4x100m relay as the intensity at the African Championships in Accra reached new heights&nbsp;on Friday and Saturday (15-16). More medals were decided and several standout performances lit up the University of Ghana Stadium ahead of the final day of competition on Sunday (17).
The Ivory Coast quartet set a national record of 38.52 to claim their first-ever African title in the event. Nigeria secured silver in 38.70, while hosts Ghana delighted the home crowd with bronze in 38.74.
Nigeria maintained their dominance in the women&rsquo;s 4x100m, clinching a fourth consecutive African title in 42.94. Liberia, anchored brilliantly by Thelma Davies, upgraded from bronze in Douala to silver this time with 43.03, while Ghana once again claimed bronze in 44.85.
Ethiopia asserted their strength in the race walks, beginning with the men&rsquo;s 20km event where Misgana Wakuma led from the front to win in 1:18:47, ahead of Kenya&rsquo;s Stephen Ndangiri Kihu (1:20:01) and Wakuma &lsquo;s Ethiopian compatriot Yasin Abduselam Abdulwahab (1:21:07).
The Ethiopian dominance continued in the women&rsquo;s race, as Wubalem Shugut Fonkamo edged Kenya&rsquo;s Silvia Jerono Kemboi in a closely contested finish, 1:33:31 to 1:33:44. Algeria&rsquo;s Souad Azzi took bronze in 1:34:28.
Kenya&rsquo;s Diana Wanza delivered a commanding performance in the women&rsquo;s 10,000m, clocking 31:33.26 to finish more than 10 seconds ahead of Rwanda&rsquo;s Florence Niyonkuru (31:43.73), while Ethiopia&rsquo;s Asefu Abrha Kiros claimed bronze in 31:45.91.
One of the biggest upsets of the championships came in the 110m hurdles, where Niger&rsquo;s national record-holder Saguirou Badamassi stunned defending champion Louis Fran&ccedil;ois Mendy of Senegal to claim victory in 13.73, earning Niger their first medal of the championships. Mendy settled for silver in 13.81, while Egypt&rsquo;s Youssef Badawy Sayed took bronze in 13.82, narrowly edging Botswana&rsquo;s Kemorena Tisang.
Attention then shifted to the sprints, the 200m heats and semifinals setting the stage for what promises to be a thrilling final day.
Botswana&rsquo;s Selepe Prince Phaezel emerged as the fastest men&rsquo;s qualifier, winning his semifinal in 20.45 ahead of Senegal&rsquo;s Mouhamed Ba (20.81) and Gabon&rsquo;s Guy Maganga Gorra (20.84). Ivory Coast&rsquo;s 2024 NCAA champion Cheickna Traore impressed with 20.47 to win his semifinal ahead of South Africa&rsquo;s Mihlali Xhotyeni (20.72) and Nigeria&rsquo;s Chidi Okezie (20.97).
Home favourite Joseph Paul Amoah booked his place in Sunday&rsquo;s final by winning the opening semifinal in 20.79, with Botswana&rsquo;s Kevin Lobatlamang also progressing automatically in 20.83.
In the women&rsquo;s 200m, Nigeria&rsquo;s Rosemary Chukwuma responded strongly after missing out in the 100m, cruising to victory in her semifinal and posting the fastest overall qualifying time of 23.24. She finished ahead of The Gambia&rsquo;s Isatou Sey (24.15) and Nigeria&rsquo;s Aishatu Jaffar (24.19).
Ivory Coast&rsquo;s Maboundou Kon&eacute; was close behind, clocking 23.26 in her semifinal. Egypt&rsquo;s Maram Mahmoud Ahmed (23.61), Zambia&rsquo;s Niddy Minglishi (23.74) and South Africa&rsquo;s Joviale Mbisha (23.98) also advanced. The Gambia&rsquo;s Nyimasata Jawneh (23.58) and Liberia&rsquo;s Symone Darius (23.67) completed the list of automatic qualifiers.
Benin&rsquo;s world finalist Odile Ahouanwanou won her third consecutive heptathlon title, earning her nation&rsquo;s first medal of the championships with a total of 5309. South Africa&rsquo;s Enya Pooler (5255) and Cameroon&rsquo;s Adele Mafogang (5227) completed the podium.
South Africa continued to impress in the field events, with Colette Uys upgrading from bronze in Douala to gold in the shot put thanks to her best throw of 17.63m. Cameroon&rsquo;s Carine Mekam Ndo (16.71m) and Kenya&rsquo;s Belinda Adhiambo (16.39m) finished second and third, respectively.
Egypt celebrated a 1-2 finish in the men&rsquo;s hammer throw. Mostafa Elgamel claimed gold with 72.58m, while his teammate Ahmed Tarek Ismail took silver with 68.27m. South Africa&rsquo;s Tshepang Makhethe earned bronze with 67.27m.
Senegal&rsquo;s Amath Faye produced late drama in the men&rsquo;s triple jump, overcoming three fouls before landing a massive PB of 17.00m on his final attempt to secure gold. Mauritius&rsquo; Adel Cupidon took silver with 16.61m, just one centimetre ahead of Benin&rsquo;s Yoan Michel Sourou.
South Africa dominated the pole vault events. Valco Van Wyk won the men&rsquo;s title as the only athlete to surpass 5.00m, clearing 5.40m, while Ansume de Beer claimed the women&rsquo;s crown with 4.30m.
Egypt added another gold in the women&rsquo;s javelin through 18-year-old Aseel Osama Abdel Hamid, whose second-round throw of 60.97m proved unbeatable. Cape Verde&rsquo;s Arianne Duarte Morais claimed silver with 56.43m, while South Africa&rsquo;s Jana van Schalkwyk took bronze with 54.36m.
In the women&rsquo;s high jump, South Africa&rsquo;s Kristi Snyman soared to gold with a clearance of 1.84m, while Ghana&rsquo;s Esther Obenewaa delighted the home fans with silver after clearing 1.81m.
With the 200m and several other marquee events still to come, the stage is set for a dramatic conclusion to the championships in Accra.
Yemi Galadima for World Athletics
&nbsp;

Ivory Coast stormed to a historic gold in the men’s 4x100m relay as the intensity at the African Championships in Accra reached new heights

Relay breakthroughs and surprise performances at African Championships in Accra

There were excellent wins for Alegna Gonzalez and Perseus Karlstrom at the Grande Pr&eacute;mio Internacional de Rio Maior em Marcha &ndash; a World Athletics Race Walking Tour Gold meeting &ndash; in Rio Maior, Portugal, on Saturday (16).
One was expected; the other came as a surprise. Karlstrom was a tired 12th place in Podebrady just seven days ago. Here, the 2023 world silver medallist improved his second place from 2025, while at the same time taking the prestigious scalp of Hayato Katsuki.
The Japanese, who claimed world 35km bronze in Tokyo and won the marathon at the World Race Walking Team Championships in Bras&iacute;lia last month, sits eighth on the world all-time list, and clearly brimming confidence, Katsuki made a bid for home at 16km.
It looked as if the race was done, but somehow Karlstrom dug deep to slowly get back in touch and then pass Katsuki. The Japanese desperately attempted to regain the lead only to fall foul of the DQ board and sit out a time penalty with barely a lap to go.
Arms aloft, Karlstrom strode through the finish line in 1:25:27, with time to spare on eventual second-place finisher Matheus Correa from Brazil (1:27:06).
Correa recovered from a tough time mid race to come through and pass Mexico&rsquo;s Noel Chama, third in 1:28:16, and one-time leader Jordy Arrobo from Mexico. Eduardo Camarate from Portugal was fourth, 1:31:52 and compatriot Tiago Ramos fifth (1:34:50).
Early on, six athletes went through the first lap in 4:31. But that group soon fell apart with Karlstrom, Katsuki and Arrobo putting daylight between themselves and Chama and Correa.
However, the latter two dragged themselves back into contention six laps later. By 12km, the effort to rejoin the leaders appeared to have taken its toll on Correa, but he too was able to show strength and determination.
Katsuki passed Arrobo, with only Karlstrom able to stay in contention &ndash; albeit 10 metres back. That gap became 20 metres very quickly and timed at four seconds completing 16 laps. That was when Karlstom showed the grit that has made him so popular on the race walk circuit for more than 15 years as a senior athlete.
&ldquo;This was an incredible and very emotional win,&rdquo; Karlstrom posted on Instagram after the race. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m so proud and so happy my body is starting to respond again. Hopefully I&rsquo;ve had my bad period this season now it will be up and up.&rdquo;
In contrast to the men&rsquo;s half marathon, the women&rsquo;s race was done and dusted by 6km. Even so, Gonzalez went solo to record a tremendous 1:32:15 &ndash; the fourth-fastest time recorded to date for the new race walk distance.
The world 20km silver medallist from Mexico looked in control throughout, enhanced by a smooth, quick economical style that has already brought her success on the global stage.
Teammate Karla Serrano had the race of her life to claim second place, setting a PB of 1:35:22, exactly five minutes better than her previous mark.
Antigoni Ntrismpioti made up the podium in 1:36:33. The Greek, who won double gold at the 2022 European Championships and 35km bronze at the 2023 World Championships, celebrated her 42nd birthday in March but stuck to her task even after Gonzalez and Serrano moved ahead.
By lap 10, reached in 44:25, Gonzalez could see her two closest followers going down one side of the course, while she sped down the other.
The race for second place also took a turn in Serrano&rsquo;s favour after 12 laps. Feeling confident, she slowly stretched the elastic back to Ntrismpioti until it snapped just past an hour into the race.
At one stage, there was also the unusual sight of Gonzalez lapping Viviane Lyra. The Brazilian, with multiple South American championship wins and seventh place in the Olympic marathon relay in 2024, was clearly having a bad day.
Not so the winner, who enjoyed a splendid isolation. As it turned out, Mexico boasted four of the first five: Valeria Ortuno was fourth in 1:38:14 and Valeria Flores fifth in 1:40:27.
Paul Warburton for World Athletics

There were excellent wins for Alegna Gonzalez and Perseus Karlstrom at the Grande Prémio Internacional de Rio Maior em Marcha

Karlstrom and Gonzalez victorious in Rio Maior

Jessica Schilder produced the best shot put mark in the world for 14 years, throwing a Diamond League record of 21.09m at the season-opening Wanda Diamond League meeting in Shanghai on Saturday (16).
The world champion&rsquo;s huge fifth-round effort improved her own Dutch record by 40cm, broke Valerie Adams&rsquo; Diamond League record from 2012, and moved Schilder to 29th on the world all-time list. It also made her the newest member of the 21-metre club since 2009.
Before the fifth round, no one in the field had gone beyond 20 metres. But the competition then burst into life as Schilder launched her record-breaking throw, while world indoor champion Chase Jackson reached 20.46m and two-time world indoor champion Sarah Mitton threw 20.42m. All three surpassed 20 metres again in the final round, but the positions remained unchanged.
Schilder&rsquo;s previous PB of 20.69m had been set at the 2025 European Indoor Championships and equalled earlier this year indoors, while her previous outdoor best was the 20.47m she threw in Xiamen last year. Shanghai was her first competition since finishing fourth at the World Indoor Championships in March.
&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t comprehend it,&rdquo; said Schilder. &ldquo;It is such a huge thing, it is crazy. My first outdoor competition is a big deal for me; it is always something I find quite hard. During my first throws, my coach and I were not happy, so we tried a few different things and eventually it worked.&rdquo;
<h2>Meeting records fall on the track and in the field</h2>
Mohamed Abdilaahi led a race of historic depth in the men&rsquo;s 3000m, smashing the German record by five seconds to win in a meeting record of 7:25.77.
After being paced through 2000m in 5:00.4, Abdilaahi took up the running and opened up a gap on the rest of the field. Kenya&rsquo;s Reynold Cheruiyot and Sweden&rsquo;s Andreas Almgren closed on the German down the home straight, but couldn&rsquo;t catch him in time.
The previous German record had stood since 1998, but Abdilaahi &ndash; who already holds national records at 5000m and 10,000m &ndash; took it into new territory as he held off Cheruiyot, who clocked a PB of 7:26.11, and Almgren, who set a national record of 7:26.48.
Fourteen men dipped inside 7:30 &ndash; comfortably the greatest depth ever achieved in a single 3000m race. The previous record was seven men under 7:30 in one race. Before Shanghai, there had been 99 sub-7:30 outdoor performances in history; this one race added 14 more.
Eduardo Herrera set a Mexican record of 7:27.63, while Bahrain&rsquo;s Birhanu Balew clocked an Asian record of 7:29.60 and Uruguay&rsquo;s Santiago Catrofe set a South American record of 7:29.72.
Mondo Duplantis also delivered a meeting record, clearing 6.12m at the first time of asking in the men&rsquo;s pole vault, adding a centimetre to the mark he set last year. The Swedish superstar then attempted a would-be world record height of 6.32m but was unsuccessful.
Australia&rsquo;s Kurtis Marschall was second with 5.80m. Greece&rsquo;s Emmanouil Karalis achieved some great height with his attempts at 5.90m but brought the bar down each time.
Olympic champion Masai Russell produced another meeting record and world lead in the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles, coming through to defeat a high-quality field in 12.25 (0.4m/s). World indoor champion Devynne Charlton was second in a Bahamian record of 12.38, with world record-holder Tobi Amusan third in 12.41. World champion Ditaji Kambundji was fifth in 12.82, while two-time world champion Danielle Williams did not finish.
In the men&rsquo;s discus, Kristjan Ceh broke a meeting record that had stood since 2010, the first year of the Diamond League. The Slovenian threw 70.31m in round two to improve the previous mark of 69.69m, then backed it up with 70.25m in round three before going farther still with 70.58m in the fourth round. Matthew Denny was second with 67.54m.
Uganda&rsquo;s 2021 Olympic champion Peruth Chemutai edged a thrilling women&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase, winning in 8:51.47 as world champion Faith Cherotich finished just 0.01 behind in 8:51.48.
Behind them, Tunisia&rsquo;s Marwa Bouzayani set a national record of 8:58.09 and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Kena Tufa improved her PB by more than 30 seconds to 8:59.66. Bouzayani and Tufa became the 16th and 17th women to break nine minutes, while the race marked just the third time four women have bettered 9:00 in the same steeplechase.
Birke Haylom led an Ethiopian one-two in the women&rsquo;s 1500m, winning in 3:55.56 to break the meeting record set by Faith Kipyegon 10 years ago. Olympic 800m silver medallist Tsige Duguma was second in 3:55.71 in just her second ever 1500m race &ndash; and her first outdoors &ndash; while Australia&rsquo;s Abbey Caldwell finished strongly to take third in a PB of 3:56.12. Eleven women, five of them from Australia, finished inside four minutes.
Mark English timed his finish to perfection to win a tightly packed men&rsquo;s 800m in 1:43.85, the second-fastest time of his career, breaking the meeting record that had stood since 2018. Botswana&rsquo;s Kethobogile Haingura was second in 1:43.89, and the top six were separated by just a third of a second.
<h2>Furlani, Dos Santos and Kipyegon set world leads</h2>
World champion Mattia Furlani added to the strong early-season standard in the men&rsquo;s long jump, producing an outdoor world lead and PB of 8.43m in the second round. The Italian won comfortably from Bozhidar Saraboyukov, who jumped 8.07m.
There was another world lead in the men&rsquo;s 300m hurdles, where 2022 world champion Alison dos Santos held off a fast-finishing Karsten Warholm to win in 33.01. That makes the Brazilian the second-fastest man in history at the distance, behind Warholm&rsquo;s world best of 32.67. Warholm was close behind in 33.05.
Faith Kipyegon, contesting her first track race of the year, won the women&rsquo;s 5000m in a world-leading 14:24.14, edging a race in which Ethiopian athletes filled the next seven places. Likina Amebaw was second in a PB of 14:24.21 and Senayet Getachew third in 14:24.71.
Jackson, Pryce, Britt and Leotlela among other winners
Two-time world champion Shericka Jackson came within 0.01 of the meeting record in the women&rsquo;s 200m, winning in 22.07 &ndash; her fastest time since the 2023 Diamond League Final. Shaunae Miller-Uibo was second in 22.26, her fastest since the semifinals of the 2021 Olympic Games, while Sha&rsquo;Carri Richardson finished fourth in 22.42.
Jackson&rsquo;s Jamaican compatriot Nickisha Pryce won a close women&rsquo;s 400m in 49.75, just ahead of USA&rsquo;s Aaliyah Butler, who clocked 49.78.
In the men&rsquo;s 110m hurdles, USA&rsquo;s Jamal Britt came through strongly at the end to win in an equal PB of 13.07, with world champion Cordell Tinch second in 13.10.
South Africa&rsquo;s Gift Leotlela took the men&rsquo;s 100m from lane one, winning in 9.97 as he held off Ferdinand Omanyala and Kenny Bednarek, who both clocked 9.98. Just 0.04 separated the first five men. Elsewhere, Monae&rsquo; Nichols won the women&rsquo;s long jump with 6.89m.
Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics

Jessica Schilder produced the best shot put mark in the world for 14 years, throwing a Diamond League record of 21.09m in Shanghai

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The opening three days of the African Championships in Accra have delivered historic breakthroughs and thrilling finishes across multiple disciplines.
The championships, running from 12-17 May at the University of Ghana Stadium, have already produced unforgettable moments, such as Cameroonian duo Emmanuel Eseme and Herv&eacute;rge Kole Etame winning the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s 100m titles respectively.
After finishing fifth and then second at the previous two editions, Eseme finally struck gold on his third attempt, crossing the line in 10.26. The race for silver and bronze was incredibly close, with South Africa&rsquo;s Bradley Nkoana and Nigeria&rsquo;s Chidera Ezeakor both clocking 10.32, with Nkoana awarded silver and Ezeakor bronze.
Moments earlier, Etame edged Nigeria&rsquo;s Rosemary Chukwuma in another dramatic finish, with both athletes recording identical times of 11.49. Liberia&rsquo;s Thelma Davies took bronze in 11.51 &ndash; her nation&rsquo;s first individual medal of the championships.
The men&rsquo;s 400m delivered one of the standout races of the championships. Dennis Hove &ndash; one of three Zimbabweans in the final &ndash; went out hard and had Morocco&rsquo;s Yassine Zerhoume on his heels. However, Lee Eppie &ndash; who ran the opening leg for the triumphant Botswana team at the recent World Relays &ndash; changed gears halfway into the race and crossed the line first in 44.66 as Hove followed in 44.92, while fellow Zimbabwean Zuze Leeford came from behind to beat Zarhoume to the bronze medal in 45.03.
Ethiopia&rsquo;s Ajayba Aliy Ahmed lived up to her billing in the women&rsquo;s 400m. After being the fastest qualifier, she came from behind in the final to surge past Egypt&rsquo;s Hemida Bassant who was in the lead going into the home straight. Ahmed clocked 51.54 for gold. Botswana&rsquo;s Obakeng Kamberuka (51.79) and Ghana&rsquo;s Florence Agyemang (51.87) also overtook Hemida (52.00) to complete the podium.
Ethiopian duo Abebe Lemecha Abdi and Mersimo Kasahun Bekele controlled the first lap of the men&rsquo;s 800m, but Moroccan Imad Bouchajda took over in the second lap and appeared to have things under control. However, Kenya&rsquo;s Kimtai Kelvin Loti overtook him close to the finishing line and stopped the clock in 1:45.47, with Bouchajda settling for silver with 1:45.62. Buoyed by the home crowd, Ghanaian record-holder Alex Amankwa took bronze in 1:46.18.
In the women&rsquo;s 800m, Ethiopia&rsquo;s Mesgana Zemedkun proved too strong for Botswana&rsquo;s national record-holder Oratile Nowe, and raced to gold in 1:59.02 to the latter&rsquo;s 1:59.09. Niger&rsquo;s Samira Awali Boubakar set a national record of 1:59.63 to claim bronze.
Ten years after his first podium finish at the African Championships, South Africa&rsquo;s 2017 world champion Luvo Manyonga secured his first continental gold medal. The African record holder won with his opening leap of 8.15m, beating Senegalese pair Lys Mendy (8.07m) and Amath Faye (8.00m).
Rwanda celebrated one of the most emotional moments of the championships as Emeline Imanizabayo claimed her country&rsquo;s first-ever gold medal at the African Championships. She won the women&rsquo;s 5000m in 15:46.62 to finish ahead of Djibouti&rsquo;s Samiya Hassan, who finished in 15:47.05 for silver, an upgrade from her bronze medal from Douala two years ago. Ethiopia&rsquo;s Ziyn Ayelegn placed third.
Kenya also made history in the men&rsquo;s 10,000m, with Kelvin Chesang ending the nation&rsquo;s 14-year wait for gold in the event, crossing in 28:30.44. Ethiopia&rsquo;s Hagos Eyob Gared took silver in 28:30.57, while Kenyan champion Silas Senchura added bronze (28:32.66).
Ethiopia responded in the men&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase, where Gemechu Godana ran a commanding race to win gold in 8:38.37, beating Salah Eddine Ben Yazide of Morocco to the title. Samuel Firew Fiche completed the podium in 8:41.67.
World record-holder Tobi Amusan reclaimed her title in the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles &ndash; her third at the African Championships &ndash; leading a Nigerian podium sweep in 12.83 ahead of Ashley Miller (13.24) and Adaobi Tabugbo (13.26).
In the men&rsquo;s 400m hurdles, Botswana&rsquo;s Kemorena Tisang took gold in 48.66 ahead of teammate Victor Ntweng (49.21). South Africa&rsquo;s Wenich Van Resburg was third in 49.35.
Nigeria dominated the mixed 4x400m as the quartet of Ezekiel Asuquo, Toheebat Jimoh, Victor Sampson and Patience Okon-George stopped the clock at 3:16.41, holding off Botswana (3:17.88) and Kenya (3:17.94).
Elsewhere, Nikiema N&eacute;mata led a memorable 1-2 finish for Burkina Faso in the women&rsquo;s long jump, jumping a lifetime best of 6.76m to edge compatriot Marthe Koala by just one centimetre. Nora Atim Monie won the women&rsquo;s discus &ndash; a first for Cameroon &ndash; with 57.00m.
Yemi Galadima for World Athletics

The opening three days of the African Championships in Accra have delivered historic breakthroughs and thrilling finishes

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