Kristjan Ceh and Malaika Mihambo led some fierce field performances at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Birmingham on Saturday (21), while some top track battles also set the tone for the season ahead.
Four meeting records fell and six world leads were set on a busy afternoon of action at the newly renovated Alexander Stadium, which will welcome fans again later this year for the Commonwealth Games.
All three Tokyo medallists were in action in the men&rsquo;s discus but it was Slovenia&rsquo;s Ceh who stole the spotlight this time. The 23-year-old had a breakthrough 2021, improving his PB to 70.35m and finishing fifth on his Olympic debut. But the European U23 champion started another chapter in his success story in Birmingham, launching the implement 71.27m to improve his best by almost a metre and move to 10th on the world all-time list.
That world-leading third-round throw broke the Diamond League record and Ceh's&nbsp;own Slovenian record to cap an impressive series that also featured marks of 69.33m, 69.10m, 66.77m, 65.28m and 63.11m. Four of his top throws would have been enough to win in a contest that saw Lithuania&rsquo;s 2017 world champion Andrius Gudzius secure the runner-up spot with 66.40m and Sweden&rsquo;s Olympic and world champion Daniel Stahl finish third with 65.97m.
"Well, that was totally unexpected," said Ceh. "To get a world lead, national record, meeting record and Diamond League record is amazing. To get a PB was my first goal of the season, so now I need to raise the bar of my goals."
Mihambo enjoyed a similarly dominant performance in the women&rsquo;s long jump, soaring a world-leading meeting record of 7.09m (0.0m/s) to start her season in style and finish top in a world-class field. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/62891d5c305a457f070b8ae2.jpg" alt="Malaika Mihambo in the long jump at the Wanda Diamond League in Birmingham" />
Malaika Mihambo in the long jump at the Wanda Diamond League in Birmingham (&copy; Diamond League AG)
</div>
Germany&rsquo;s Olympic, world and European champion spent the winter working on her speed and it seems to have paid off as she achieved her furthest leap since 2019 &ndash; the year she set her PB of 7.30m when winning world gold in Doha.
She will now look to build on that in a season where she has the chance to defend her world crown in Oregon in July and European title on home soil in Munich in August.
Mihambo&rsquo;s 7.09m came in the fourth round of the competition and she backed it up with a wind-assisted 7.06m (3.0m/s), plus jumps of 6.78m and 6.56m. Ukraine&rsquo;s world silver medallist Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk was back in long jump action after claiming triple jump silver at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade and then finishing second in that discipline at the Diamond League opener in Doha. She again secured the runner-up spot, jumping 6.66m (0.8m/s), while Britain&rsquo;s world indoor bronze medallist Lorraine Ugen was third with 6.65m (1.4m/s).
Valarie Allman was another Tokyo Olympic champion to finish on top in Birmingham, winning an exciting women&rsquo;s discus contest. After claiming her Olympic crown last year, the US thrower has picked up from where she left off in 2022 and continued her strong start to the season on Saturday.
The 27-year-old threw 71.46m in San Diego last month to add 30 centimetres to her own North American record and move to 15th on the world all-time list. She followed that with 69.46m a week later in California and in Birmingham she triumphed with her second-round throw of 67.85m.
Her unbeaten season looked like it may be under threat when Croatia&rsquo;s Sandra Perkovic responded strongly in the final round, but it wasn&rsquo;t quite enough to pip Allman. The multiple global gold medallist recorded 67.26m to comfortably secure the runner-up spot ahead of USA&rsquo;s Laulauga Tausaga with 60.80m.
Field event drama also featured in the women's pole vault, where a last-gasp clearance of 4.73m saw USA&rsquo;s Sandi Morris improve her own world lead by a centimetre. The two-time world indoor champion needed two attempts at 4.45m, 4.55m and 4.65m but triumphed when she soared clear at 4.73m at the last time of asking. Rio Olympic gold medallist Katerina Stefanidi of Greece and Slovenia's world indoor bronze medallist Tina Sutej both managed 4.65m on their first try but finished joint second when they were unable to make it over the eventual winning height.
The men's high jump ended in delight for&nbsp;Canada&rsquo;s Commonwealth bronze medallist Django Lovett, as he saw off the challenge of Italy&rsquo;s Olympic gold medallist Gianmarco Tamberi. Lovett cleared 2.28m on his first attempt, while Tamberi took second place on countback when he leapt 2.25m, the same height as Poland&rsquo;s Norbert Kobielski. 
<h2>Parchment prospers</h2>
Hansle Parchment has been encouraged by his coach to target the Commonwealth Games in August and should he follow that plan then he will return to the Alexander Stadium with some happy memories.
Going head-to-head with his Jamaican compatriot and fellow Olympic gold medallist Omar McLeod, the Tokyo champion ran a world lead of 13.09 (0.2m/s), with Rio Olympics winner McLeod second in 13.17. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/62891dbc293c18734b3085e1.jpg" alt="Omar McLeod battles with eventual winner Hansle Parchment in the 110m hurdles in Birmingham" />
Omar McLeod battles with eventual winner Hansle Parchment in the 110m hurdles in Birmingham (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
&ldquo;I am pleased with a world lead, but it is very early in the season so you can&rsquo;t read too much into it at the moment,&rdquo; said Parchment. &ldquo;It was a great turnout here, more than I expected, and there will be even more here at the Commonwealth Games with perhaps more Jamaicans making some noise and bringing their own vibes!&rdquo;
There was certainly lots of noise for the women&rsquo;s 100m, with home star Dina Asher-Smith taking to the track. Lining up as part of a strong field, the British record-holder delighted the fans with her win, but it was close. Running 11.11 (01.m/s) in her first 100m since September&rsquo;s Diamond League final in Zurich, she pipped Jamaica&rsquo;s Olympic 100m bronze medallist Shericka Jackson by 0.01.
Asher-Smith&rsquo;s British Tokyo Olympic bronze medal-winning 4x100m teammate Daryll Neita was third, just another 0.02 behind.
&ldquo;Being British, I wanted to come to Birmingham in this beautiful new stadium and put on a show,&rdquo; said Asher-Smith. &ldquo;There was a very strong field. I could have done a few things differently if I am being picky, but I'm very happy to win in this temperature and against this field.&rdquo; 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/62891de9293c18734b3085e4.jpg" alt="100m winner Dina Asher-Smith in Birmingham" />
100m winner Dina Asher-Smith in Birmingham (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
Asher-Smith and Neita returned to the track an hour and a half later to form part of Britain&rsquo;s meeting record-breaking 4x100m team. Combining with Beth Dobbin and Imani Lansiquot, they clocked a world lead of 42.29, while the men&rsquo;s relay was won by Canada in 38.31.
That Canadian 4x100m team featured Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake, Brendon Rodney and Andre De Grasse and it capped a busy but successful afternoon for Brown, who finished second in the B 100m before winning the A race and then the relay.
After his 10.23 in the B race, Brown ran 10.13 (-0.2m/s) to win an A race missing USA&rsquo;s 2016 world indoor 60m champion Trayvon Bromell and Britain&rsquo;s Zharnel Hughes through false starts. Jamaica&rsquo;s Yohan Blake was second in 10.18, Blake third in 10.20 and Olympic 200m champion De Grasse fourth in 10.24.
&ldquo;Originally I was just coming to do the relay and then it just so happened I asked to get in the 100m and they put me in the B race,&rdquo; said Brown. &ldquo;Then the A race opened up so I did all three and it paid off.&rdquo;
In a 400m hurdles clash featuring five of the Tokyo Olympic finalists it was USA&rsquo;s silver medallist Dalilah Muhammad who cruised to victory.
The world champion and former world record-holder opened her season in her specialist event with 53.88 in Des Moines at the end of April but this time it was all about getting the win. Edging ahead early on, the 32-year-old continued to move away from her rivals and crossed the finish line for victory in 54.54.
Ukraine&rsquo;s Olympic sixth placer Viktoriya Tkachuk secured second in 55.25, just ahead of her compatriot Anna Ryzhykova, the Olympic fifth-place finisher.
Like Asher-Smith in the women&rsquo;s 100m, local favourite Matthew Hudson-Smith was also hoping to put on a good show for the home fans. The European champion, who runs for the host club Birchfield Harriers, did just that by winning the 400m in 45.32 ahead of USA&rsquo;s Bryce Deadmon (45.51). 
<h2>Home wins for Hodgkinson and Muir, meeting record for Seyaum</h2>
All eyes were on Olympic silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson in the 800m as she returned to action for the first time since withdrawing from the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade through injury.
The British record-holder claimed a winning comeback, clocking 1:58.63 as she led from start to finish and won ahead of Renelle Lamote of France, competing for the first time since the Tokyo Games. Lamote also dipped under two minutes with 1:59.53, while Jamaica&rsquo;s Natoya Goule was third in 2:00.13.
Hodgkinson will next compete at Saturday's Diamond League meeting in Eugene, where she will go head-to-head with USA's Olympic champion Athing Mu.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/62891d7f305a457f070b8ae5.jpg" alt="Keely Hodgkinson on her way to 800m victory in Birmingham" />
Keely Hodgkinson on her way to 800m victory in Birmingham (&copy; Diamond League AG)
</div>
Laura Muir was also roared to a win on home soil in the women&rsquo;s 1500m, Britain&rsquo;s Olympic silver medallist clocking 4:02.81 to hold off the challenge of Australia&rsquo;s Jessica Hull.
Pacemaker Ellie Sanford led the field through 400m in 1:04.66 and 800m in 2:09.64, with Muir and Hull right behind her. Muir forged ahead as Sanford left the track, with Hull on her shoulder. But Muir kicked with 150m to go to secure victory as she returned to 1500m racing for the first time since the Prefontaine Classic last August.
Hull, also making her season debut in the 1500m, ran 4:03.42 to finish two seconds ahead of Kenya&rsquo;s Winny Chebet (4:05.56).
The meeting record fell in the women&rsquo;s 5000m, the 2016 world indoor 1500m silver medallist Dawit Seyaum leading an Ethiopian top three with her world-leading time of 14:47.55 ahead of Hawi Feysa (14:48.94) and Fantu Worku (14:49.64).
The field followed the pacemaker through the first kilometre mark in 2:56.85 and&nbsp;Worku led through 3000m in 9:02.90. She remained to the fore until the final lap when&nbsp;Seyaum kicked away to win in her first ever track 5000m.
Kenya&rsquo;s Abel Kipsang went into the men's 1500m as the world leader and he proved the best in Birmingham, too, running 3:35.15 to triumph ahead of Spain&rsquo;s Mohamed Katir (3:35.62) and Australia&rsquo;s Ollie Hoare (3:35.76). It continues&nbsp;Kipsang's unbeaten season, following his 3:31.01 win in Nairobi and victory in Doha.
It was Canada&rsquo;s Marco Arop who kicked to victory in the men&rsquo;s 800m, to defeat a field featuring two Tokyo Olympic medallists. The world finalist had followed the pack through 400m in 50.49 and then made a move with 200m to go, surging ahead to win in 1:45.41.
Benjamin Robert of France won the fierce battle for the runner-up spot, clocking 1:46.22 just ahead of USA&rsquo;s Bryce Hoppel (1:46.33), Britain&rsquo;s Jake Wightman (1:46.39), Poland&rsquo;s Olympic bronze medallist Patryk Dobek (1:46.63) and Kenya&rsquo;s Olympic silver medallist Ferguson Rotich (1:46.64).
Jess Whittington for World Athletics

Kristjan Ceh and Malaika Mihambo led some fierce field performances, while some top track battles also set the tone for the season ahead.

Ceh and Mihambo fabulous in the field in Birmingham

The World Athletics Heritage Plaque honouring Diane Leather Charles, who in 1954 became the first woman to run below five minutes for the mile, was presented today (21) at a ceremony during the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Birmingham.&nbsp;
The plaque was <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/news/press-releases/bannister-charles-honoured-heritage-mile-nigh" target="_blank" rel="noopener">awarded to Leather in the posthumous category of &lsquo;Legend&rsquo; at the World Athletics Heritage Mile Night in November 2019</a>.&nbsp;
The <a href="https://worldathletics.org/heritage/plaque" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Athletics Heritage Plaque</a> is a location-based recognition, awarded for 'an outstanding contribution to the worldwide history and development of the sport of track and field athletics and of out-of-stadia athletics disciplines such as cross country, mountain, road, trail and ultra-running, and race walking'.
Jack Buckner, 1986 European 5000m champion and the incoming CEO of UK Athletics, made the presentation of the plaque on behalf of World Athletics Heritage to Leather&rsquo;s eldest son Matthew Charles. They were joined by other members of the family for the presentation. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/7ff51b60-a4dc-478d-90e3-3d94f0c9fed9.png" alt="British middle-distance runner Diane Leather" />
British middle-distance runner Diane Leather (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
<h2> Sterling silver</h2>
The recently rebuilt Alexander Stadium in Perry Barr, where Leather&rsquo;s plaque will be placed on permanent public display, stands near the site of the Birchfield Harrier&rsquo;s greatest athletics feat.
On 29 May 1954, less than a month after Roger Bannister had clocked his famous 3:59.4 in Oxford, Leather recorded a largely unheralded 4:59.6 for the mile at the Alexander Sports Ground. She reduced that world mark down to 4:50.8 and then 4:45.0 in London the following year, a time that remained the fastest by a woman until 1962.&nbsp;
During a distinguished career, Leather won two 800m silver medals at the European Championships and captained the British women&rsquo;s team at the 1960 Rome Olympic Games.
That women&rsquo;s records for the mile were not officially ratified until 1967 speaks volumes for the era in which Leather, who retired in 1961 aged 27, ran. It was not until 1972 that the 1500m, which would have been Leather&rsquo;s preferred distance, became an Olympic event for women.&nbsp;
The running spikes that Leather wore when she broke five minutes for the mile, which were later dipped in sterling silver by her husband in her honour, were donated by her family to the World Athletics Heritage Collection in 2019. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6288aeeb333e6d7b92ee890b.jpg" alt="Diane Leather's silvered sub-five-minute mile spikes" />
Diane Leather's silvered sub-five-minute mile spikes (&copy; Museum of World Athletics)
</div>
Her shoes are on permanent exhibit in 3D in the online <a href="https://worldathletics.org/heritage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Museum of World Athletics (MOWA)</a>. The spikes can also currently be viewed by those visiting the reception area of World Athletics&rsquo; HQ in Monaco, and will be publicly exhibited for six months next year in Budapest, ahead of and throughout the World Athletics Championships (19-27 August 2023) in the Hungarian capital.
Chris Turner for World Athletics Heritage

In 1954 Leather became the first woman to run below five minutes for the mile.

Leather 'heralded at last' with Heritage Plaque in Birmingham 

The Wanda Diamond League series continues on Saturday (21) with <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/diamond-league/news/diamond-league-meeting-birmingham-2022-asher-smith-thomas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">eight reigning individual Olympic champions among the athletes set to compete</a> at the Diamond League Meeting in Birmingham.
British record-holder Dina Asher-Smith stars in a stacked women&rsquo;s 100m field, while top-class clashes abound in the field and elsewhere on the track during a busy afternoon of competition at Birmingham&rsquo;s newly renovated Alexander Stadium. The action begins at 13:21 local time (GMT +1) with the women's discus and the main programme kicks off at 14:00 with the women's 400m hurdles. Here&rsquo;s how you can follow the action in Birmingham.
&nbsp;
<h2>Where to watch</h2>
<a href="https://london.diamondleague.com/lists-results-london/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results, programme and entry lists</a> | <a href="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/document/6288100cb73d2b76eb1b6707.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">media information sheets</a>
The meeting will be streamed in a number of territories on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/diamondleague/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wanda Diamond League YouTube page</a> from 14:00 local time (GMT +1). The livestream will not be available in all territories. To find out where the meeting may be broadcast in your country, check the list below. If your country does not appear on the list, please check local listings. The list is subject to change, and some broadcasters may only show highlights coverage, while others will show the meeting live. Please check your local listings to find out more information. 
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; border-color: #333333; border-style: solid; width: 100%; height: 1311px;" border="1" cellpadding="3">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;">Territories</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">Broadcaster</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 156px;">
<td style="height: 156px;">Africa: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Cote d'Ivoire, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Reunion, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Seychelles, Socotra, South Africa, St. Helena and Ascension, Swaziland, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Zanzibar, Algeria, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Mayotte, Morocco, Saint Helena, Somalia, Togo, Tunisia, Western Sahara</td>
<td style="height: 156px;">Supersport (English) / Canal+ (French)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;">Argentina</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">TeleRed</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;">Australia</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">Fox Sports</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;">Baltics: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">TV3 (SIA)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;">Balkans:&nbsp;Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">Sportklub</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;">Belgium</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">VRT</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 44px;">
<td style="height: 44px;">Brazil</td>
<td style="height: 44px;">Globo / Newco - Band Sport</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;">Bulgaria</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">A1 - Sport Max</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 111px;">
<td style="height: 111px;">Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Caribbean Netherlands (Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba), Cayman Islands, Cuba, Cura&ccedil;ao, Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, Saint Barth&eacute;lemy, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Maarten, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, United States Virgin Islands</td>
<td style="height: 111px;">Flow Sports</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;">China</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">CCTV</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;">Czech Republic</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">Ceska Televize</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;">Denmark</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">NENT</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;">Finland</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">MTV</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;">France / Monaco</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">Sportall / AthleTV</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;">Germany</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">Sky Deutschland</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;">Greece / Cyprus</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">TAF / ERT</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;">India</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">Viacom 18</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;">Israel</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">Charlton</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;">Italy and the Vatican City</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">Sky / Rai</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;">Hungary</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">MTVA</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;">Macau</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">TDM</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 44px;">
<td style="height: 44px;">Mexico, Panama, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Dominican Republic</td>
<td style="height: 44px;">Sky Mexico</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 44px;">
<td style="height: 44px;">Netherlands</td>
<td style="height: 44px;">Ziggo Sports / NOS</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;">New Zealand</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">Spark</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;">Norway</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">NRK</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;">Poland</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">Polsat</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 44px;">
<td style="height: 44px;">Portugal</td>
<td style="height: 44px;">Sport TV Portugal</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;">Singapore</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">Starhub</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;">South Korea</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">KBS</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;">Slovakia</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">RTV</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;">Spain</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">Movistar</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 44px;">
<td style="height: 44px;">Sweden</td>
<td style="height: 44px;">C More-TV4 / SVT</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;">Switzerland</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">SRG</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;">Thailand</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">Cineplex / Mono</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;">Turkey</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">Ssport</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 44px;">
<td style="height: 44px;">United Kingdom, Guernsey, Northern Ireland, Channel Islands and Isle of Man- audio BBC Service overseas</td>
<td style="height: 44px;">BBC</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;">Ukraine</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">Sentana</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;">USA</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">NBC Sports</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px;">Vietnam</td>
<td style="height: 22px;">SCTV</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 76px;">
<td style="height: 76px;">
Bhutan, Bolivia, Chile, Cambodia, Indonesia, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Mongolia, Myanmar, North Korea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Romania, Sri Lanka, Uruguay, Venezuela
</td>
<td style="height: 76px;">Wanda Diamond League YouTube / Facebook</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;
<h2>Social media</h2>
- World Athletics: <a href="https://twitter.com/WorldAthletics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/WorldAthletics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/worldathletics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@worldathletics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TikTok</a> - Wanda Diamond League: <a href="https://twitter.com/diamond_league" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DiamondLeague/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/diamondleagueathletics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a> - Diamond League Meeting: <a href="https://london.diamondleague.com/home/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Website</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/Birmingham_DL" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a>&nbsp;| <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BritishAthletics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;" href="https://www.instagram.com/britishathletics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a>
&nbsp;

Catch all the action from the Diamond League Meeting

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

Many of the world&rsquo;s best athletes &ndash; including eight reigning individual Olympic champions &ndash; will look to make a statement when rivalries renew at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Birmingham on Saturday (21).
British record-holder Dina Asher-Smith stars in a stacked women&rsquo;s 100m field, while top-class clashes abound in the field and elsewhere on the track during a busy afternoon of action at Birmingham&rsquo;s newly renovated Alexander Stadium, venue for Commonwealth Games athletics competition later this year.
After an injury-affected 2021, world 200m champion Asher-Smith is back on track and has the opportunity this year to target a defence of her global crown at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 in July as well as her European 100m, 200m and 4x100m titles in Munich and Commonwealth 4x100m gold in Birmingham in August.
Despite the setbacks, the 26-year-old still managed to form part of Britain's bronze medal-winning 4x100m team at the Olympics in Tokyo and secured top three finishes in both the 100m and 200m at the Diamond League final in Zurich.
She finished third in the 200m at the opening Diamond League meeting of the season in Doha and in Birmingham will race her first 100m since September&rsquo;s Diamond League final.
"Last year was full of emotional ups and downs, but I think I&rsquo;m a stronger athlete now because of it,&rdquo; said the 2019 Diamond League 100m champion.
&ldquo;I was in great shape early in the season and I was heartbroken not to be able to compete to my full potential in Tokyo, but I was also incredibly proud to come home with a relay medal and to finish my year so strongly. That&rsquo;s behind me now, and my focus is on the busy summer ahead. I&rsquo;m looking forward to returning to Birmingham for the first time since 2019 and to kickstart my season the best possible way &ndash; happy and with great home support."
It's set to be a thrilling return, too, as she takes on a top line-up on home soil.&nbsp;Leading the challenge are Olympic 200m bronze medallist Gabby Thomas, Olympic 100m bronze medallist Shericka Jackson, European indoor 60m champion Ajla Del Ponte, double NCAA champion Cambrea Sturgis and Olympic relay bronze medallist Daryll Neita.
It was Thomas who triumphed at the Diamond League season opener in Doha, running 21.98 to win ahead of Jamaica&rsquo;s Jackson and Asher-Smith. The US champion&rsquo;s 100m races so far this season have mostly all been hit by strong winds, from an 11.49 run into a -5.2m/s headwind in Bermuda to a wind-assisted 10.80 (3.2m/s) in Texas.
"I am looking to break 11 seconds," said Thomas, who ran her PB of exactly 11 seconds at last year's US Olympic Trials and has equalled that mark this season. "I would like to get a wind-legal 10-second 100m in at some point so hopefully, if the weather allows it, I think this is a perfect place to do it.
"There&rsquo;s really great competition here, the stadium looks beautiful, I know the energy is going to be amazing and I am feeling very fit and sharp. Coming off of my race in Doha, I think I am in a good headspace and position to do it."
Asked at the pre-event press conference if she feels in the best shape of her life, she replied: "Actually, yes. I am building off of Tokyo really well and right before Tokyo I had moved to a new coach and a new training group. That was the most fit I have ever been in my life and I am just building off of that, so I still feel really fit and my season is showing it.
"I am running times that I have never run at this point in the season before, so I am really excited."
Her compatriot Sturgis, meanwhile, is also in great form and has already run a PB this season, clocking 10.87 last month in North Carolina for a time that puts her third on this year&rsquo;s top list, while the versatile Jackson has run 11.00 into a -1.8m/s headwind this year.
Jamaica's Elaine Thompson-Herah had been due to join them in Birmingham but on Thursday the&nbsp;five-time Olympic gold medallist was announced as a withdrawal after she experienced some discomfort in training.
The world athlete of the year had a remarkable 2021, winning an Olympic 100m, 200m and 4x100m treble in Tokyo and becoming the second-fastest woman of all time in the two individual events by running 10.54 for 100m and 21.53 for 200m. Her compatriot&nbsp;Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the three-time Olympic and nine-time world gold medallist, also ran&nbsp;10.60 for 100m last year, while Thomas clocked&nbsp;21.61 for 200m.&nbsp;
Could Florence Griffith-Joyner's world records of 10.49 and 21.34 be under threat?
"We shouldn't put limits on ourselves," Asher-Smith replied at the pre-event press conference. "When you stop thinking about limits and you really focus on the processes, who knows what can be achieved? Everything seems impossible until it's done."
Could she break a world record?
"Who knows!" Asher-Smith said. "Crazier things have been done and nothing is impossible. I am just excited to put together some good races."
Like in the women's race in Birmingham, global champions also feature in the men&rsquo;s 100m field. As well as his 200m win in Tokyo, Canada&rsquo;s Andre De Grasse claimed 100m bronze and in the shorter event he this time takes on USA&rsquo;s 2016 world indoor 60m champion Trayvon Bromell, who has run 9.92 this season, plus his US compatriot Marvin Bracy, Jamaica&rsquo;s Yohan Blake and a British quartet of Adam Gemili, Zharnel Hughes, Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake and Reece Prescod. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/60edeb5da80166ac8dcd1a32.jpg" alt="Trayvon Bromell wins the 100m at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Gateshead" />
Trayvon Bromell wins the 100m at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Gateshead (&copy; Matt Quine)
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In the men&rsquo;s 400m, local favourite Matthew Hudson-Smith, who claimed the European title in 2018, lines up alongside USA&rsquo;s Vernon Norwood and Bryce Deadmon, plus Botswana&rsquo;s Isaac Makwala. 
<h2>Champion clashes in the field</h2>
Olympic champions will compete in the women&rsquo;s long jump and women&rsquo;s pole vault in Birmingham, but they won&rsquo;t have it all their own way as they have fellow reigning global gold medallists among their opposition.
Germany&rsquo;s Malaika Mihambo has won European, world and Olympic long jump titles over the past four years, achieving her 7.30m PB when getting gold in Doha in 2019. After running 17.28 for 150m earlier this month, she makes her season debut in her main event and will go head-to-head with Serbia&rsquo;s Ivana Vuleta, who jumped 7.06m to retain her world indoor title on home soil in Belgrade in March and also opens her outdoor season in Birmingham. Their current outdoor head-to-head record stands 9-6 in Vuleta&rsquo;s favour &ndash; last year Mihambo got the Olympic title but Vuleta finished on top in the Diamond League final. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/62472224d4502e9ce3e2fdb0.jpg" alt="Olympic and world long jump champion Malaika Mihambo" />
Olympic and world long jump champion Malaika Mihambo (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
Ukraine&rsquo;s world long jump silver medallist Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk, who claimed a triple jump medal of the same colour at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, also competes, as do Britain&rsquo;s world indoor bronze medallist Lorraine Ugen and Jazmin Sawyers, Sweden&rsquo;s Khaddi Sagnia, USA&rsquo;s world indoor pentathlon bronze medallist Kendell Williams and her fellow combined events athlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Britain&rsquo;s world heptathlon champion who hopes to defend both her global and Commonwealth titles this season.
The women&rsquo;s pole vault will pit the last two Olympic champions &ndash; USA&rsquo;s Tokyo winner Katie Nageotte and Rio gold medallist Katerina Stefanidi of Greece &ndash; against USA&rsquo;s two-time world indoor champion Sandi Morris.
Morris currently leads the season top list following her winning 4.72m outdoor debut in Ponce last week, while Nageotte competes for the first time since her runner-up finish at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade. They also take on British record-holder Holly Bradshaw, the Olympic bronze medallist in Tokyo, plus Slovenia's world indoor bronze medallist Tina Sutej.
Another full podium of global medallists clash in the men&rsquo;s discus. Sweden&rsquo;s Olympic and world champion Daniel Stahl again takes on his compatriot Simon Pettersson, the silver medallist in Tokyo, and bronze medallist Lukas Weisshaidinger of Austria, as well as British record-holder Lawrence Okoye.
An Olympic champion also highlights the field for the women&rsquo;s discus and her performance is highly anticipated given the way she has started the season. Throwing 71.46m in San Diego last month, Valarie Allman added 30 centimetres to her own North American record, that mark moving her to 15th on the world all-time list. A week later she threw 69.46m to win in California, with this Diamond League meeting her first contest since then. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/613a6fe48a5188153224e6bf.jpg" alt="Discus winner Valarie Allman at the Wanda Diamond League final in Zurich" />
Discus winner Valarie Allman at the Wanda Diamond League final in Zurich (&copy; AFP / Getty Images)
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Allman&rsquo;s competition in Birmingham includes Croatia&rsquo;s discus great Sandra Perkovic, Melina Robert-Michon of France and Britain&rsquo;s Jade Lally.
In the men&rsquo;s high jump, Italy&rsquo;s Gianmarco Tamberi &ndash; who shared Olympic gold with Qatar&rsquo;s Mutaz Barshim in Tokyo &ndash; will contest his second Diamond League of the season after a seventh-place finish in challenging conditions in Doha last week.
Tamberi also shared a medal at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, getting bronze alongside New Zealand&rsquo;s Hamish Kerr, and the two compete again in Birmingham. 
<h2>Distance duels and hurdles hype</h2>
A competitive field takes to the track for the women&rsquo;s 5000m. After breaking the world 5km record with a 14:19 run on the roads of Barcelona at the end of last year, Ethiopia&rsquo;s Ejgayehu Taye races that same distance on the track to make her season debut.
The Olympic fifth-place finisher, who ran her 14:14.09 PB in Hengelo last June, claimed 3000m bronze at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade &ndash; her most recent race.
She will face her compatriots Girmawit Gebrzihair, who ran a world-leading 14:49.97 to win in Nairobi earlier this month, Dawit Seyaum and Fantu Worku, plus Burundi&rsquo;s Doha Diamond League winner Francine Niyonsaba. Jess Judd joins them, fresh from securing her spot on the British team for the World Championships 10,000m in Oregon with her 31:22.24 winning run at the national 10,000m championships in Highgate last weekend.
Britain&rsquo;s Olympic silver medallist Laura Muir is sure to get strong support in the 1500m when she makes her season debut against the likes of Ethiopia&rsquo;s world leader Diribe Welteji, who clocked 4:01.50 in Nairobi, and two-time world indoor 1500m silver medallist Axumawit Embaye, plus Australia&rsquo;s Jessica Hull, Kenya&rsquo;s Winny Chebet and her British compatriot Jemma Reekie.
Similarly, in the women&rsquo;s 800m the spotlight will be on Olympic silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson, who broke the British record with her 1:55.88 run in Tokyo and races for the first time since being forced to withdraw from the World Indoor Championships through injury. She renews her rivalry with Jamaica&rsquo;s Natoya Goule, while Renelle Lamote of France competes for the first time since the Tokyo Games.
The men&rsquo;s 800m again pits Kenya&rsquo;s Olympic silver medallist Ferguson Rotich against Poland&rsquo;s bronze medallist Patryk Dobek. The challenge is strengthened by USA&rsquo;s Bryce Hoppel and Clayton Murphy, Kenya&rsquo;s Wycliffe Kinyamal, Australia&rsquo;s Peter Bol and Britain's Jake Wightman and Daniel Rowden.
In the men&rsquo;s 1500m, Ethiopia&rsquo;s two-time world indoor champion Samuel Tefera takes on Britain&rsquo;s Olympic bronze medallist Josh Kerr and Kenya&rsquo;s world leader with 3:31.01 Abel Kipsang, plus the Australian trio of Ollie Hoare, Stewart McSweyn and Matthew Ramsden. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6203c186c950b7d91622f32f.jpg" alt="Britain's Josh Kerr and Jake Wightman in the 1500m final at the Tokyo Olympics" />
Britain's Josh Kerr and Jake Wightman in the 1500m final at the Tokyo Olympics (&copy; Getty Images)
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The women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles brings together five of the finalists from Tokyo, led by silver medallist Dalilah Muhammad, USA&rsquo;s former world record-holder and 2016 Olympic champion.
She will reunite with Jamaica&rsquo;s Olympic fourth-place finisher Janieve Russell, Ukraine&rsquo;s Anna Ryzhykova and Viktoriya Tkachuk, and Panama&rsquo;s Gianna Woodruff. They will also be joined by Britain&rsquo;s Jessie Knight.
Another rivalry is renewed in the men&rsquo;s 110m hurdles, which features global gold medallists Hansle Parchment, Omar McLeod and Andrew Pozzi.
Parchment got gold in Tokyo while his Jamaican compatriot McLeod is the 2016 Olympic winner and Britain's Pozzi secured the 2018 world indoor 60m hurdles title, also in Birmingham.
"I am feeling good, I think I am in good form," said&nbsp;Parchment. "I still have a lot of work to do but I&rsquo;m looking forward to executing a really good race and hoping to get a lovely time on this beautiful track."
Like many athletes in Birmingham, his focus is on the World Championships in Oregon in July.
"After this one, we&rsquo;re going to shut it down and focus on the trials," he added, looking ahead to the Jamaican Championships where he will hope to book his place on the team for Oregon. "We have some really good guys in the hurdles so I have to make sure I am ready to give my best there."
Jess Whittington for World Athletics

Many of the world's best athletes will look to make a statement when rivalries renew at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Birmingham.

Global stars ready to resume battle in Birmingham

The blue track of Savona&rsquo;s Fontanassa Sports Centre was the venue for Marcell Jacobs&rsquo; first 100m since his Olympic triumph in Tokyo last year. The Italian sprint star made a victorious return at the World Athletics Continental Tour Challenger meeting on Wednesday (18), winning the final in 10.04 (0.4m/s) after a wind-assisted 9.99 (2.3m/s) in the heats.
It was just shy of the 9.95 he ran on the same track last year when making his season debut, but was a solid return to action after an intestinal problem forced him to withdraw from the Continental Tour Gold meeting in Nairobi earlier this year.
&ldquo;I struggled a bit,&rdquo; said Jacobs, whose last race was his world indoor 60m victory in Belgrade in March. &ldquo;I wanted to run faster in the final than I did in the heat. I thought that I could run better technically, especially in the second half of the race. I need some more work in training, but it&rsquo;s just my first outdoor race of the season.
&ldquo;I have time to reach my best form for the World Championships,&rdquo; added Jacobs, who had originally been slated to contest the 200m in Savona. &ldquo;But my next race, at the Prefontaine Classic, could be more difficult than at the World Championships, as I&rsquo;ll face seven US sprinters.&rdquo;
Arthur Cisse from Ivory Coast finished second in 10.10, beating former European record-holder Jimmy Vicaut (10.12). Sri Lanka&rsquo;s Yupun Abeykoon took fourth place in 10.16 ahead of Italy&rsquo;s Chituru Ali, who improved his PB to 10.18.
Olympic 400m silver medallist Marileidy Paulino from Dominican Republic stepped down in distance to win the women&rsquo;s 200m in a national record of 22.59 (2.0m/s). Paulino, who beat Olympic champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo over 400m at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Doha last Friday, missed Dina Asher-Smith&rsquo;s meeting record by 0.03.
Paulino&rsquo;s compatriot Fiordaliza Cofil achieved another victory for Dominican Republic by winning the 400m in 51.36.
Britain&rsquo;s Olympic 4x100m bronze medallist Darryl Neita was fastest in the women&rsquo;s 100m heats with 11.12, but she skipped the final to focus on the 200m, where she finished to Paulino in an equal PB of 22.81. Italy&rsquo;s European U23 champion Dalia Khaddari was third in 22.83.
Two-time Italian 100m champion Zaynab Dosso won the women&rsquo;s 100m final in 11.21 after improving her PB to 11.19 in the heats, missing Manuela Levorato&rsquo;s national record by 0.05.
&ldquo;I am not completely happy with my performance,&rdquo; said Dosso. &ldquo;It was a good day at the office, but it is not the right time of the year for a super-fast time. It&rsquo;s the start of the season. My goal is to come close to breaking the 11 seconds barrier and reach my best form for the World Championships in Eugene and the European Championships in Munich.&rdquo;
World indoor finalist Nick Ponzio won the men&rsquo;s shot put with 21.12m. Ponzio competed for the third time in just five days after throwing 20.53m in Ponce and 21.73m in Rovereto last Sunday. Olympic fifth-place finisher Zane Weir made it an Italian 1-2 with a best throw of 21.05m.
Dominica&rsquo;s Thea Lafond, who finished fourth at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, continued her good form by winning the women&rsquo;s triple jump with 14.53m. Ana Lucia Jose Tima from Dominican Republic finished runner-up with 14.46m.
Elsewhere, Brazil&rsquo;s Rafael Pereira won the men&rsquo;s 110m hurdles in 13.36, missing the meeting record by 0.06, and double World University Games champion Ayomide Folorunso won the women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles in a meeting record of 55.29.
Diego Sampaolo for World Athletics

Olympic champion clocks wind-assisted 9.99 and wind-legal 10.04

Jacobs opens season with sub-10 run in Savona

The perfect reason to kick off the World Athletics Sustainability Blog

Sustainability blog #1: Ratingen gives the Athletics for a Better World Standard a spin

Women's world triple jump record 15.74m Yulimar Rojas (VEN) Belgrade 20 March 2022
Men's world 60m hurdles record 7.29 Grant Holloway (USA) Belgrade 20 March 2022
Men's world pole vault record 6.20m Mondo Duplantis (SWE) Belgrade 20 March 2022 6.19m Mondo Duplantis (SWE) Belgrade 7 March 2022
 World records set by Yulimar Rojas, Mondo Duplantis and Grant Holloway during the indoor season have been ratified.
Rojas&rsquo;s 15.74m triple jump, Duplantis&rsquo;s 6.20m pole vault and Holloway&rsquo;s 7.29 clocking in the 60m hurdles &ndash; all achieved on the same day, 20 March, at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade 22 &ndash; are all now officially in the record books, as is the 6.19m Duplantis cleared at the Belgrade Indoor Meeting earlier in March.
Duplantis&rsquo;s 6.20m vault and Rojas&rsquo;s 15.74m leap are outright world records as they are superior to the best ever outdoor performances achieved in those disciplines.
Rojas, competing on the morning of 20 March, opened her competition with a safe looking 15.19m in the first round and then fouled in the second. In the third she was beyond 15 metres again (15.04m) then she had another big jump in round four &ndash; landing at a mark that looked near her own world lead of 15.41m &ndash; but that was judged a foul.
The next was not. She jumped 15.36m to match the championship record set in 2004 and miss her own world indoor record by just seven centimetres.
She wasn&rsquo;t done, though. Taking to the runway one last time, she engaged the crowd and was roared to her fifth consecutive global gold medal, landing at 15.74m to win by exactly a metre. 
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SkuROrHlBlQ" width="100%" height="475" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
 Her winning leap not only smashed her own world indoor record of 15.43m, set in Madrid on 21 February 2020, it also surpassed her own outdoor world record of 15.67m, set on 1 August 2021 at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
&ldquo;Coming here, I knew it was the right time to achieve this and I took the chance,&rdquo; said the Olympic champion. "The 16-metre mark is my big goal. Every day, I am trying to add one more centimetre to get closer to it.
&ldquo;Now, I want to focus on the World Athletics Championships in Oregon,&rdquo; she added. &ldquo;I think there is a big chance of making a double, in the long jump and triple jump.&rdquo;
Later that day, the evening session started with a bang when world champion Holloway sped to a 7.29 victory in the semifinals of the men&rsquo;s 60m hurdles, equalling his own world record.
The US sprint hurdler won that race by almost a quarter of a second &ndash; an incredible margin for the semifinal stage of such a short distance in a global competition. His winning time matched the world indoor record he set in Madrid on 24 February 2021. 
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/X_kiMJqqpeg" width="100%" height="475" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
 He went on to win the final in 7.39, earning his first world indoor crown.
Less than an hour after Holloway won the 60m hurdles final, the championships reached a crescendo when Duplantis scaled 6.20m, adding a centimetre to the world record he set at the same venue just 13 days prior.
The Swedish vaulter breezed through his earlier heights, clearing 5.60m, 5.85m and 5.95m on his first attempts. Just two other men were left in the competition at that latter height: Olympic silver medallist Chris Nilsen and 2016 Olympic champion Thiago Braz. Nilsen was unsuccessful, while Braz got over it on his third try but went no higher.
Duplantis, meanwhile, cleared 6.05m &ndash; again on his first attempt &ndash; and then had the bar raised to 6.20m. After two misses, the Olympic champion was successful on his third and final try. 
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VgG4tLNPGoo" width="100%" height="475" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
 &ldquo;To break the world record two times in two weeks, I can't complain,&rdquo; said Duplantis, who vaulted 6.19m at the Belgrade Indoor Meeting on 7 March &ndash; a world record that improved on his previous mark of 6.18m set in Glasgow on 15 February 2020.
&ldquo;Sometimes there are just things that you can't explain, they're just feelings and it seems like when I'm in Belgrade I have this feeling that I'm going to go high and do something really special.&rdquo;
World Athletics

Rojas’s 15.74m, Duplantis’s 6.20m and Holloway’s 7.29 – all achieved in Belgrade – are all now officially in the record books

Ratified: world records for Rojas, Duplantis and Holloway

Al Oerter was already halfway towards becoming an Olympic track and field legend when he stepped into the discus circle for his fourth-round throw at the Coliseum Relays in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on the evening of 18 May 1962 &ndash; 60 years ago.
At 25, the native New Yorker had won the first two of his unprecedented four successive Olympic titles, both against the odds and the challenges of the current world record-holder. He had also survived a car crash that almost ended his life.
The colossus of the discus throw had yet, however, to etch his name into the world record books.
&nbsp;
<h2>A landmark</h2>
The global mark belonged to one of his rivals in the Coliseum Relays field. Jay Silvester had thrown 60.72m at the International Military Championships at the Heysel Stadion in Brussels the previous August.
In round two at the LA Coliseum, where John Anderson won home gold for the US at the 1932 Olympic Games, Oerter had come close with a throw of 60.54m. Then came a foul.
With his fourth effort, though, the sandy-haired 1.93m (6ft 4in) 134kg (295lb) bear of a man hurled his discus out to 61.10m.
&ldquo;I was at the LA Coliseum that night,&rdquo; veteran coach Jack Hayes posted on aloerterbacktoolympus.com in 2020. &ldquo;Some 58 years later, I still recall the excitement watching that throw land past the chalk line at 200ft.&rdquo;
In a country where the customary system of measurement historically favours feet and inches, Oerter&rsquo;s throw of 200ft 5.5 inches was hailed as a landmark track and field accomplishment.
&nbsp;
<h2>A world record ditched</h2>
The quest to breach the 200-foot discus barrier had been regarded in the United States as a field event version of the four-minute mile run.
It had been surpassed in competition twice before, but on both occasions in circumstances that rendered the marks invalid.
The first to do so was Richard &lsquo;Rink&rsquo; Babka, the US thrower who ended up second to Oerter at the 1962 Coliseum Relays with 59.05m. Competing in the Apple Valley Relays at Victorville, California in March 1958, Babka had a throw measured at 201ft 0in but his discus landed in a drainage ditch 5.9 inches below level of the throwing area, 5.5 inches beyond the legal sloping limit.
The official distance was adjusted by head judge Jim Reinhard to 198ft 10in. At 60.60m, that would have eclipsed US thrower Fortune Gordien&rsquo;s five-year-old world record mark of 59.28m but the fact that the circle was painted on to the concrete surface, though acceptable under NCAA rules at the time, was not permitted by the AAU or IAAF. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6284ca48290f720f3d4cdaae.jpg" alt="US discus thrower Al Oerter" />
US discus thrower Al Oerter (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
 Oerter himself threw 202ft 6in, 61.72m, at the Arkansas Relays in Fayetteville in April 1958, but the field sloped 2.5%, too steep for ratification.
Oerter&rsquo;s officially recognised record did not last long. On 4 June 1962, just 17 days after the Coliseum Relays, Vladimir Trusenyev of the Soviet Union eclipsed that 61.10m with 61.64m in Leningrad.
Less than a month later, on 1 July, Oerter reclaimed it with 62.45m at the USA v Poland meet at Stagg Field, Chicago. He then improved the world record to 62.62m at the Mt SAC Relaysin Walnut, California, in April 1964 but lost it in August that year, when his Czech rival Ludvik Danek threw 64.55m in Turnov.
Oerter never regained the global mark. Instead, he established himself as one of the all-time greats in the competitive arena, becoming the first track and field athlete to win four successive Olympic gold medals in a single event. Over time, the feat has only been matched over time by Carl Lewis in the long jump.
When Oerter died in 2007, aged 71, Hal Connolly, who won hammer gold as a US teammate at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, described him as: &ldquo;the greatest field event athlete of the 20th century. He was not just a great Olympian but Zeus himself.&rdquo;
In each of his Olympic triumphs, Oerter surpassed the Olympic record, beat the current world record holder, overcame injury and eclipsed the favourite for gold. He could have extended his run much farther had it not been for premature and temporary retirement, a US boycott and injury.
Still, he might never have stepped into a throwing circle at all.
&nbsp;
<h2>Swapping track for field</h2>
Born in the Astoria district of Queens in New York City, Alfred Adolph Oerter Jr grew up in New Hyde Park, Long Island. He started his athletics life as a sprinter but at 15 graduated to middle-distance running, when a stray discus landed in front of him on the track at Sewanhaka High School.
He casually threw it back farther than the school teammate who had thrown it and the school coach immediately insisted that he swapped the track for the field. He set a national schoolboy record, earned a scholarship to the University of Kansas, where he was a classmate of the basketball star Wilt Chamberlain. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/af72501f-8258-47cd-b796-9da6b6303a87.jpg" alt="Al Oerter (USA)" />
US discus thrower Al Oerter (&copy; Getty images)
</div>
 Just five years after first picking up a discus, Oerter found himself making the long-haul trip to Melbourne for the 1956 Olympic Games.
Inspired by watching the first-round throws of the two favourites, current record holder Gordien and 1948 champion Adolfo Consolini of Italy, and by the buzz generated by the 100,000 crowd in the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the 20-year-old rookie international unleashed an opening effort of 59.18m. He broke the Games record of 55.03m, set by compatriot Simeon Iness in Helsinki four years previously, and shattered the spirit of his rivals.
No one was more stunned than Oerter himself. &ldquo;I had a hard time even raising my arm after that,&rdquo; he said. He finished a clear winner and was so overwhelmed by his unexpected success that he almost fainted on the medal podium.
Gordien took the silver medal with 54.81m. At 34, he moved on to other challenges, becoming an escape artist and illusionist.
&nbsp;
<h2>Babka&rsquo;s friendship helps land Rome gold</h2>
In 1957 Oerter was lucky to escape death in a car crash. He recovered from his near-fatal injuries to make the US team for the 1960 Olympics in Rome.
Rink Babka, the joint world record-holder, started favourite in the Stadio Olimpico and led with an opening effort of 58.02m. The struggling Oerter couldn&rsquo;t get close but as he prepared for his fifth-round throw Babka advised him that he had been carrying his left arm too low as he spun.
Oerter duly adjusted and unleashed a 59.18m Olympic record and PB. The gracious Babka was unable to improve on his opening throw and had to settle for silver. &ldquo;He had the gold medal in his pocket but he was a friend and a great team mate,&rdquo; a grateful Oerter reflected.
The odds were stacked heavily against the pride of Long Island completing an Olympic hat-trick in Tokyo in 1964. He was already suffering from a chronic cervical disc injury which necessitated the use of a neck brace when he slipped on some wet concrete in throwing circle six days before the competition and tore cartilage on the right side of his ribcage. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/61e99498336fbd2101309baa.jpg" alt="USA's 1960 Olympic discus medallists Rink Babka, Al Oerter and Dick Cochran" />
USA's 1960 Olympic discus medallists Rink Babka, Al Oerter and Dick Cochran (&copy; AFP / Getty Images)
</div>
 There was internal bleeding and Oerter was in severe pain, which was exacerbated to the point of excruciating by the stretching motion involved in attempting to throw. The US team doctors told him to forget about the Olympics and rest for six weeks.
Oerter demurred. &ldquo;This is the Olympics: you die before you quit,&rdquo; he told them.
Ludvik Danek was the clear favourite. He had taken the world record out to 64.54m and was unbeaten in 45 competitions.
Oerter paced the discus area like a wounded animal, finally ripping the tape off his side to nail an Olympic record of 61.00m in round five. It moved him from third to first and earned him the gold ahead of Danek, who threw 60.52m.
In Mexico in 1968, Oerter&rsquo;s US teammate Jay Silvester, holder of the 68.40m world record, was favourite. He broke Oerter&rsquo;s Olympic record in qualifying but only finished fifth in the final. Oerter took his fourth Olympic gold with his fourth Olympic record, a lifetime best of 64.78m.
&nbsp;
<h2>69.40m PB at 43</h2>
After a handful of competitions in 1969, the quadruple Olympic champion slipped into retirement, resisting the temptation to go for gold number five in 1972.
Then, in the autumn of 1976, as his wife Cathy, a former international long jumper, related: &ldquo;Al was driving through New England and found an all-comers&rsquo; meet at a local high school. He hadn&rsquo;t thrown or lifted in almost eight years. He borrowed a discus and a pair of throwing shoes and walked on to the field unannounced.
&ldquo;For an entry fee of 50 cents, he won a 4 inch trophy that was as important to him as an Olympic gold medal. He said, &lsquo;To be out in the fresh air competing with people who chose to do exactly the same thing was thrilling!&rsquo;&rdquo;
Oerter&rsquo;s goal was to qualify for the Moscow Olympics in 1980. That was scuppered by the US boycott but trials were still held at Hayward Field and, aged 43, he finished fourth, despite injury. The Eugene track and field aficionados rose to their feet and gave him a standing ovation that lasted for 10 minutes.
In May that year Oerter threw a PB of 69.40m and finished 1980 ranked second on the world list. Injury thwarted his attempt to gain selection for the home Olympics in 1984, yet still the old general of the discus soldiered on, throwing 62.40m at the age of 50 and claiming a world masters&rsquo; title in Eugene.
&nbsp;
<h2>&lsquo;An interesting life&rsquo;</h2>
Throughout his athletics career, Oerter fitted in his training around his work as a computer executive for the Grumman aircraft company on Long Island. In later life, he became a motivational speaker and an abstract painter, founding the Art of the Olympians, a programme showcasing the artistic talents of Olympic and Paralympic competitors and the spirit of the Games.
Oerter suffered from high blood pressure all of his life and was told at the age of 61 that he needed a heart transplant. He declined, saying: &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had an interesting life and I&rsquo;m going out with what I have.&rdquo;
He died ten years later, in 2007 at Fort Myers, Florida.
&ldquo;All I ever wanted,&rdquo; he once reflected, &ldquo;was the feeling of the sun on my shoulders, a discus in my hand, a solid ring under me, turning with greater force than anyone has ever achieved, leaning into one more throw.&rdquo;
Simon Turnbull for World Athletics Heritage

Al Oerter was already halfway towards becoming an Olympic legend when he set a world record of 61.10m on 18 May 1962

Celebrating Olympic legend Oerter’s first discus world record, 60 years on

After his 19.49 200m in Baton Rouge in April, Erriyon Knighton will look to make a similar statement in the 100m when he goes head-to-head with Noah Lyles at the New York Grand Prix on 12 June.
The event, which takes place as part of the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold series for the first time, will see a number of global medallists in action at the Icahn Stadium.
As well as world 200m champion Lyles, the list includes Tokyo Olympic medallists Grant Holloway, Gabby Thomas, Kenny Bednarek and Raven Saunders, plus the previously announced Dalilah Muhammad and Rai Benjamin.
USA&rsquo;s 18-year-old Knighton finished fourth in the 200m at the Tokyo Games and since then has continued to impress. His 19.49 in Baton Rouge improved his own world U20 record and moved him to fourth on the world all-time list, 0.01 ahead of his compatriot Lyles&rsquo; best time from 2019.
They also have a competitive 100m head-to-head record. The pair have met over the distance twice this year, with Knighton narrowly edging Lyles on both occasions. Both clocked 10.39 into a -5.6m/s headwind in Bermuda, with Knighton getting the nod for the runner-up spot, and then the teenager won in Gainesville, a 10.04 PB to 10.05.
Bednarek, meanwhile, claimed Olympic 200m silver ahead of Lyles and Knighton in Tokyo, running a PB of 19.68, and capped his 2021 season with victory at the Diamond League final in Zurich. He leads the line-up for the half-lap event in New York.
Holloway headlines the 110m hurdles as he continues to work towards a defence of his world title on home soil at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 in July. The Olympic silver medallist, who sits second on the world all-time list with his 12.81 PB from the US Olympic Trials in Eugene last year, equalled his own world 60m hurdles record in Belgrade in March and went on to win the world title.
Another US Trials champion confirmed to compete in New York is Thomas. She won her national title over 200m last year in 21.61, making her the third-fastest woman in history over the distance. The 25-year-old went on to win Olympic bronze in the 200m and silver as anchor of the USA&rsquo;s 4x100m team.
Leading the women&rsquo;s shot put field is Saunders, who secured silver at the Tokyo Olympics and threw her 19.96m PB last year in Eugene.

After his 19.49 200m in Baton Rouge in April, Erriyon Knighton will look to make a similar statement in the 100m when he races Noah Lyles at the New York Grand Prix.

Knighton and Lyles in New York 100m head-to-head

Fresh from his 93.07m throw in Doha, Anderson Peters will renew his javelin rivalry with Johannes Vetter, Jakub Vadlejch, Vitezslav Vesely and Keshorn Walcott when the Golden Spike Ostrava returns on 31 May.
The women&rsquo;s javelin field for the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting also features star quality, with world record-holder Barbora Spotakova going up against Poland's Olympic silver medallist Maria Andrejczyk and Czech Republic's European silver medallist Nikola Ogrodnikova.
Back in the city where he won his world title in 2019, Peters launched himself to fifth on the world all-time list on Friday, breaking the North &amp; Central American and Caribbean record to win a thrilling battle.
He will be hoping to put on a similar show in Ostrava, where he again takes on Czech Republic&rsquo;s Olympic silver medallist Vadlejch - the runner-up in Doha with a 90.88m PB. They will be joined by the previously announced 2017 world champion Vetter of Germany and Czech Republic&rsquo;s Olympic bronze medallist Vesely, plus Trinidad and Tobago&rsquo;s 2012 Olympic champion Walcott.
Vetter won in Ostrava last year with 94.20m, missing the meeting record set by world record-holder Jan Zelezny in 1996 by just 44 centimetres.
Home star Spotakova, who threw her world record of 72.28m in 2008, set the women&rsquo;s meeting record of 67.78m in 2012 and is relishing her Ostrava return.
"There will be very strong domestic and foreign competitors. I do not want to be left behind,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I'm looking forward to receiving great support from the audience.&rdquo;
Global medallists will also star in the sprints and steeplechase, with Jamaica&rsquo;s Yohan Blake going up against his Canadian namesake Jerome Blake in the 100m. Yohan won the 2011 world 100m title, while Jerome formed part of Canada&rsquo;s silver medal-winning 4x100m team at the Olympics in Tokyo.
Ethiopia&rsquo;s Lamecha Girma also secured silver in Tokyo, finishing second behind Soufiane El Bakkali in the 3000m steeplechase. He was also second in Doha during his season opener on Friday and will look to go one better in Ostrava. 
<h2>Nowicki and Fajdek to go head-to-head in Chorzow</h2>
Poland&rsquo;s Tokyo Olympic hammer medallists Wojciech Nowicki and Pawel Fajdek will resume battle in front of home fans when the ORLEN Janusz Kusocinski Memorial takes place as a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting for the first time on 5 June.
&ldquo;I feel a sense of pride when I am able to compete in the national athletics stadium in Chorzow,&rdquo; said Olympic champion Nowicki, who started his season with a 81.43m win in Nairobi.
&ldquo;Recently I have been able to throw really far there and I intend to continue the trend. I had a very strong season opener and we are working hard together with Joanna Fiodorow to improve further.&rdquo;
Fajdek is also looking forward to another top head-to-head.
&ldquo;I cannot wait to compete in the Silesian Stadium,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The atmosphere in the &lsquo;Witches' Cauldron&rsquo; is always terrific and our duels with Wojciech Nowicki electrify the great Silesian audience. It will be no different this time.&rdquo;
Another event pitting Olympic medallists against each other is the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles, with Tokyo winner Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico taking on bronze medallist Megan Tapper of Jamaica.
Joining Nowicki and Fajdek in hoping to delight the home crowd will be hammer star Anita Wlodarczyk and Olympic mixed 4x400m champions Justyna Swiety-Ersetic and Natalia Kaczmarek.

Fresh from his 93.07m throw in Doha, Anderson Peters will renew his javelin rivalry with Johannes Vetter, Jakub Vadlejch, Vitezslav Vesely and Keshorn Walcott.

Javelin stars assemble in Ostrava

It was at an early age that a young sprinter from the parish of Saint&nbsp;Catherine in Jamaica garnered attention from around the world thanks to her eye-catching performances.
Meet Brianna Lyston, who has had her fair share of setbacks since her breakthrough season but is hoping to stamp her mark at the World Athletics U20 Championships Cali 22 in August.
Her confidence is the result of some remarkable success this season, winning all but one of her races. Two of those performances earned her&nbsp;PBs of 11.14 (0.7m/s) in the 100m and 22.53 (-2.2m/s) in the 200m.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not sure of how fast I can go,&rdquo; says Lyston, who prefers the 200m. &ldquo;But, I think for the World U20 Championships, I&rsquo;d like to go sub-23 seconds again.&rdquo;&nbsp; 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6283dc6627554b556b05f2d3.jpg" alt="Brianna Lyston celebrates breaking the Champs 200m record" />
Brianna Lyston celebrates breaking the Champs 200m record (&copy; Athelstan Bellamy)
</div>
Lyston&rsquo;s rise to prominence started in 2017, two months out from her 13th&nbsp;birthday, at the ISSA/Grace Kennedy Boys and Girls Championships (Champs). There the fiercely competitive sprinter established a world U13 best and was a member of the championship record-breaking 4x100m team. Five years later, those records remain untouched.
When Lyston ran a wind-assisted 23.46 (+2.2m/s) in the semifinals to signal her arrival, many spectators shifted in their seats, while others stood up. Two days later, she stormed to a 23.72 (-0.6m/s) championship record in the final to complete a magnificent Champs sprint double. She had no idea how the achievement would suddenly affect her life. After all, it was the fastest any 12-year-old had darted around the half-lap event in athletics history. It created an unexpected euphoria.
In an instant, she became an overnight sensation. Not even the legendary Usain Bolt, with&nbsp;whom comparisons surfaced, drew&nbsp;so much attention at that age. Ultimately, it was too much for Lyston, who was not accustomed to celebrity status.
An emotionally drained Lyston went into a shell.&nbsp;&ldquo;I was very young and it had me shaken up,&rdquo; she says with a tinge of sadness.
The following year at Champs, Lyston lost to rising stars Tia Clayton and Serena Cole in the class three 100m final and was fourth in the 200m final.
In 2019, the talented Clayton twins (Tina and Tia), who were once in Lyston&rsquo;s shadow, were now occupying the front row and they finished 1-2 in both the 100m and 200m, with Lyston third on both occasions. While acknowledging the quality of the twins, Lyston reveals that she was unhealthy during those two seasons.
&ldquo;After my first year in high school, I picked up a few injuries,&nbsp;such as&nbsp;hamstrings&nbsp;and quad,&rdquo; Lyston explains. &ldquo;I overcame the quad injuries, but the hamstring injuries persisted into class two. I always competed but not at my best. It was devastating because I was not getting better or performing how I wanted to.&rdquo;
The cancellation of Champs, and by extension the track and field season in 2020, provided many athletes with more free time than usual. It was during this period of inactivity when nothing interesting was on Netflix that Lyston reflected on her past as well as planned her future. She and&nbsp;her two confidantes decided it was time for a new&nbsp;environment.
&ldquo;During the pandemic, I was sitting down and thinking about how I&rsquo;m going to advance myself and decided I should switch schools and see if things would work out better for me,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;I spoke to my mom and my best friend and we agreed on Hydel High as the best option. It is a school that I admired over the years.&rdquo;
However, the decision came with consequences. She had to sit out a year based on the Jamaican high school transfer eligibility rule, which states that athletes below 12th grade who have switched schools during the year must miss the next edition of Champs. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6283dc0f27554b556b05f2d0.jpg" alt="Brianna Lyston in the heats at the CARIFTA Games" />
Brianna Lyston in the heats at the CARIFTA Games (&copy; Athelstan Bellamy)
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She spent&nbsp;the time away preparing&nbsp;for the World U20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya.
&ldquo;I was still battling injuries, but I was far better than I was before,&rdquo; declares Lyston, who was relishing the opportunity to compete in Africa, a continent she had read and heard so many stories about.
While she embraced the Kenyan culture, the weather conditions were a different matter. &ldquo;The people made you feel at home, the food was good, but I never expected Kenya to be that cold. So, it was hard to adapt to the weather, we had to do extra stuff to get our bodies warm for the competition.&rdquo;
Lyston loves competing against the best and the Nairobi championships offered her that opportunity. &ldquo;It was my first U20&nbsp;championships&nbsp;and it was amazing,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;The competition was good as you met some talented athletes like Christine Mboma, Beatrice Masilingi and Favour Ofili, and it was a really good experience competing with them.&rdquo;
Lyston ran a PB of 23.18 in her 200m heat, which she equalled in the semifinals when finishing second behind Olympic silver medallist Mboma, who set a championship record.&nbsp;
In a fast final, she crossed the finish line fourth behind Mboma, Masilingi and Ofili, but a lane violation resulted in her disqualification. It was a learning moment and in the ensuing months, Lyston went about correcting that error and reinventing herself.
&ldquo;Seeing the mishap that happened at World U20s, I went back to training and worked on fixing how I ran the curve,&rdquo; she says.&nbsp;&ldquo;Also, I have been thoroughly going through my warm-ups and eating&nbsp;better, especially&nbsp;a lot of protein and drinking milk after workouts,&nbsp;and I have improved&nbsp;massively in the gym.&rdquo;
There is proof&nbsp;of those adjustments this season with a few fast times in her pet event. First, she clocked 22.66 at the CARIFTA Trials in March, followed by her stunning lifetime best of 22.53 into a 2.2m/s headwind at Champs, competing for her new school. The time erased Simone Facey&rsquo;s 18-year-old championship record of 22.71.&nbsp;
&ldquo;It was my most memorable performance to date,&rdquo; says Lyston, who was returning after a two-year hiatus.
&ldquo;I went into Champs injury free and went for the record,&rdquo; adds the 17-year-old, who now owns the girls&rsquo; 200m records for classes one and four.
Her association with record-breaking performances reached its peak at the 49th&nbsp;CARIFTA Games on 18 April. The dream quartet of Cole, Tina Clayton, Lyston and Tia Clayton &ndash; in that running order &ndash; triggered unrestrained celebrations inside Jamaica&rsquo;s national stadium when they broke the women&rsquo;s world U20 4x100m record with a 42.58 run. It improved on the previous record of 42.94 also set by a Jamaican quartet last year at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi.
&ldquo;It was an overwhelming feeling that we could do it for our country,&rdquo; says Lyston. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/625ec31934477281fb4db2bb.jpeg" alt="Tina Clayton, Serena Cole, Brianna Lyston and Tia Clayton celebrate their world U20 4x100m record at the Carifta Games" />
Tina Clayton, Serena Cole, Brianna Lyston and Tia Clayton celebrate their world U20 4x100m record at the Carifta Games
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Nowadays, Lyston is more mature and prepared for interviews and press conferences. However, her biggest challenge is resisting the urge to read what detractors are saying on social media. She draws inspiration from her role model in managing high pressure situations while&nbsp;remaining&nbsp;true to herself and her supporters.
&ldquo;From a tender age, I&rsquo;ve always looked up to Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce,&rdquo; says Lyston. &ldquo;I love her personality and how she conducts herself. She knows how to mix it up, she&rsquo;s outgoing and has a lot of vibes off the track but once she&rsquo;s in the zone, she&rsquo;s switched on.&rdquo; &nbsp;&nbsp;
In anticipation of&nbsp;the World&nbsp;U20 Championships in Colombia, Lyston expresses optimism.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve learned a lot from the Nairobi championships,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been working on a few things and been progressing really well.
&ldquo;I am banking on my speed endurance, which is my strongest asset, and hoping to put everything together and deliver in Cali.&rdquo;
Noel Francis for World Athletics

World Athletics U20 Championships

It was at an early age that a young sprinter from the parish of Saint Catherine in Jamaica garnered attention from around the world thanks to her eye-catching performances.

Jamaican sprinter Lyston ready to cap her comeback in Cali

Czech Republic&rsquo;s Zuzana Hejnova, the two-time world 400m hurdles champion and Olympic bronze medallist, has confirmed her retirement from competitive athletics.
The 35-year-old, who has announced that she is expecting a baby, is to bid an official farewell to her successful career at the Ostrava Golden Spike &ndash; a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting &ndash; on 31 May.
&ldquo;I wanted to say goodbye in front of Czech spectators,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I have had a great career and from the bottom of my heart&nbsp;I thank&nbsp;everyone who supported me. I'm looking forward to a new role now.&rdquo;
World U18 gold in 2003 was the first of the global titles claimed by Hejnova, the then 16-year-old clocking 57.54 to win the 400m hurdles in Sherbrooke, Canada. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/628381235b57bac3508cdee6.jpg" alt="Zuzana Hejnova celebrates her win at the 2003 World U18 Championships" />
Zuzana Hejnova celebrates her win at the 2003 World U18 Championships (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
She broke the Czech U20 record for the first time at the World U20 Championships in Grosseto the following year, her 57.44 securing silver, and lowered it again in 2005, eventually taking it to 55.89 when winning the 2005 European U20 title in Kaunas.
Hejnova then broke the Czech senior record the following year and improved it every season from 2006 to 2011. During that period she claimed 400m hurdles bronze at the 2007 European U23 Championships, made her Olympic debut with a seventh-place finish in Beijing in 2008 and secured silver as part of the Czech 4x400m team at the 2010 World Indoor Championships.
Hejnova became an Olympic medallist two years later, winning bronze at the 2012 Games in London, and that was to prove just the start.
During an unbeaten 2013 season in her specialist event, Hejnova won the first of her two world 400m hurdles titles and she did it with the performance of her life &ndash; clocking a still-standing Czech record of 52.83 to get gold in Moscow. She won the overall Diamond League title &ndash; a feat she repeated in 2015 &ndash; and was named athlete of the year by European Athletics and the Czech Athletics Federation. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/864004a9-f240-48cd-a84a-068bf5fc8031.jpg" alt="Zuzana Hejnova in the women's 400m hurdles at the World Championships Moscow 2013" />
Zuzana Hejnova in the women's 400m hurdles at the World Championships Moscow 2013 (&copy; Getty Images)
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She retained her world title in Beijing in 2015 &ndash; becoming the only athlete to win back-to-back world gold medals in the women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles &ndash; and also achieved top-five finishes in London in 2017 and Doha in 2019. Hejnova then became a three-time Olympian in 2016, finishing fourth in the 400m hurdles in Rio, and claimed European indoor 400m silver in Belgrade the following year.
Despite injury struggles, she returned to reach the final of the World Championships in 2019 and then ran her last race at the Ostrava Golden Spike in September 2020. There she contested the 300m hurdles, an event in which she set the world best of 38.16 in 2013.
World Athletics

The Olympic medallist is to bid an official farewell to her successful career at the Ostrava Golden Spike.

Warholm starts season in Rabat, Eugene names fierce 100m field

Vetter and Peters to go head-to-head in Hengelo

Mongolia's marathon stalwart Bat-Ochir remains in it for the long run

Two-time global medallist and four-time continental champion Lewandowski retires

Kassanavoid climbs to No.6 all time with 78.00m hammer throw