Maybe you never noticed him before, but chances are you&rsquo;ve seen him &ndash; pitched in among the world&rsquo;s best marathoners, fighting against outrageous odds.&nbsp;
Ser-Od Bat-Ochir of Mongolia has never won a world or Olympic medal. He&rsquo;s never broken 2:08 for the marathon. He&rsquo;s never made the top 15 at a global championships.&nbsp;
But enough about what he&nbsp;hasn&rsquo;t&nbsp;done. Because what the 40-year-old&nbsp;has&nbsp;done is far more significant.&nbsp;
Since the 2003 World Athletics Championships, he&rsquo;s been ever-present at major championship marathons, 14 of them in total: Paris (63rd); Athens (74th); Helsinki (61st); Osaka (55th); Beijing (52nd); Berlin (29th); Daegu (19th); London (51st); Moscow (35th); Beijing (38th); Rio (91st); London (48th); Doha (54th) and Tokyo (DNF).&nbsp;
That last one &ndash; and those three dreaded letters &ndash; hurt like a stab wound, which is appropriate given what Bat-Ochir resorted to during the race (more on that later).
But what that disappointment in Sapporo &ndash; which he says sparked two months of depression &ndash; ultimately led to was a fresh resolve: to become the first athlete in history to contest six Olympic marathons if he can make it to Paris in 2024.&nbsp;
Bat-Ochir has run 74 marathons to date &ndash; he thinks &ndash; but he continues to epitomise the mantra made famous by former Boston Marathon champion Desiree Linden: keep showing up.&nbsp; 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/628b7a1c810ee419b954a0f0.jpg" alt="Ser-Od Bat-Ochir at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha" />
Ser-Od Bat-Ochir at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha (&copy; Getty Images)
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At the&nbsp;World Athletics Championships Oregon22, he will show up for his 10th straight World Championships marathon. No one in his event has come close to that record, while across the entire sport only two race walkers &ndash; Portugal&rsquo;s Joao Vieira (11) and Spain&rsquo;s Jesus Angel Garcia (13) &ndash; have surpassed it.&nbsp;
But in the marathon, this most attritional of events, how has Bat-Ochir not burnt out after a period of world-class racing &ndash; 20 years &ndash; that forces so many others to fade away?
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s two things,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;One: I love to run, it&rsquo;s a real source of enjoyment. When I run long, I am happiest. The other is having my wife there with me. She&rsquo;s been acting as a functional coach for 17 years. Having her watching me, having my back, makes it all worthwhile.&rdquo;
If Mongolia seems like a place that doesn&rsquo;t produce many world-class distance runners, well, there&rsquo;s a good reason. In winter, temperatures might rise to&nbsp;-15&deg;C/5&deg;F on a good day. At night, they can drop to -40&deg;C/-40&deg;F.
For Bat-Ochir, the only way to train for much of the year was by doing long, steady runs, with interval training impossible given the conditions. In those icy months, he&rsquo;d cover himself in four or five layers and head out on the freezing roads, arriving back to his car an hour or two later &ndash; the engine left running to ensure an immediate source of warmth.&nbsp; 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/628b7ae2ab0172d6004d188a.jpg" alt="Mongolia's Ser-Od Bat-Ochir carries his country's flag at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London" />
Mongolia's Ser-Od Bat-Ochir carries his country's flag at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London (&copy; Getty Images)
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He grew up in&nbsp;Govi-Altai&nbsp;&ndash; a region in the west of Mongolia that sits at about 2000m of altitude &ndash; and his family moved to the capital, Ulaanbaatar, when he was 12.&nbsp;
Bat-Ochir discovered running in elementary school, winning his first race at a sports day. &ldquo;Ever since then, it&rsquo;s what I wanted to do,&rdquo; he says.&nbsp;
He took the sport seriously from the age of 14, competing in middle-distance races on the track (which was a 400m oval with a hard, paved surface).&nbsp;
&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t very good but during the Sydney Olympics, I watched the marathon and I really liked running long,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;So I said I&rsquo;d target the marathon in the next Olympics.&rdquo;
He made his marathon debut in 2002. A year later, he lined up at the World Championships in Paris, clocking 2:26:39 to hack 10 minutes off the Mongolian record. Given where he came from, there was no real template for what he was doing, Bat-Ochir just figuring it out as he went along.
&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know how to train,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;When I started, there wasn&rsquo;t much history but once I ran some marathons I started thinking: &lsquo;How can I take the next step to move up?&rsquo;&rdquo;
He competed at his first Olympics in Athens in 2004, clocking 2:33:24 to finish 74th, but getting to a second Games in Beijing required a significant improvement.
&ldquo;The qualifying time was around 2:14 and everybody was telling me, &lsquo;Mongolians can&rsquo;t run marathons; you can&rsquo;t run that time.&rsquo; Paula Radcliffe ran 2:15 a few years before and everyone was telling me: &lsquo;You can&rsquo;t even run what the women are running. How are you going to run 2:14?&rsquo; But I kept working on it.&rsquo;&rdquo;
He ran 2:14:15 in 2008 to qualify for the Games, then lowered his national record to 2:12:35 in 2010 and 2:11:35 in 2011. At the Daegu World Championships in 2011, he produced his best ever finish at global level, 19th, and the following year he took the national record down to 2:11:05.&nbsp; 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/628b7c67ab0172d6004d1890.jpg" alt="Ser-Od Bat-Ochir in the 2012 Olympic Games marathon in London" />
Ser-Od Bat-Ochir in the 2012 Olympic Games marathon in London (&copy; Getty Images)
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Between 2009 and 2012, Bat-Ochir spent much of his time in the UK, where his wife&rsquo;s sister and her husband lived. Keen to find a training group, he reached out to Morpeth Harriers, where he earned the nickname &lsquo;Ziggy&rsquo; &ndash; an Anglicised, pop-culture take on his Mongolian nickname &ndash; which was coined by club secretary Mike Bateman.&nbsp;
In 2014 he moved to Japan, starting a new chapter by running professionally for the NTN Corporate Team. In December that year, he lowered the Mongolian record to 2:08:50 and in the years that followed he kept showing up at every major championship &ndash; no matter what came his way in preparation.
He had injury issues before the Rio Games in 2016, which worsened in 2018 and 2019, the problems stemming from the training he was doing at the insistence of his corporate team coach.&nbsp;
He qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics with a 2:09:26 clocking in Lake Biwa in February last year, and Bat-Ochir was in flying form ahead of the Games. His last training camp was in&nbsp;Chitose, Japan,&nbsp;but that was where things went downhill.&nbsp;
Bat-Ochir was staying in an old hotel with air conditioning that he couldn&rsquo;t control, its sporadic nature meaning the room temperature alternated between flaming and freezing throughout the night. He soon came down with an infection, which led to a fever that lasted three days.&nbsp;
&ldquo;When I recovered, I just didn&rsquo;t feel right,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;All my strength, all my power, was gone.&rdquo;
He had to try, though.&nbsp;
In the Olympic marathon in Sapporo Bat-Ochir set off strongly, but after 14km he felt his quads stiffen, which led him to seek an unusual, don&rsquo;t-try-this-at-home solution. &nbsp;
&ldquo;I was having trouble lifting my legs and so I took one of the safety pins off my bib and poked or stabbed my quad muscles with it two or three times on each leg,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;That actually served to loosen up the muscles and I was able to keep going.
&ldquo;But by the time I got to 30km I was completely dead and couldn&rsquo;t keep going at all. That was where my Olympics came to an end.&rdquo;
He went through a dark period in the months after, but it was his wife,&nbsp;Oyuntuya, who pulled him out of it.&nbsp;
&ldquo;She told me: &lsquo;You have to turn this around, to set the next goal. It&rsquo;s not over yet.&rsquo; I made the decision to go for the Paris Olympics, to renew everything and work towards it.&rdquo; 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/628b7c4dab0172d6004d188d.jpg" alt="Ser-Od Bat-Ochir competes at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing" />
Ser-Od Bat-Ochir competes at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing (&copy; Getty Images)
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With his NTN contract at an end, Bat-Ochir sought the help of his representative, Brett Larner, in finding a new sponsor. Larner knows the Japanese running scene as well as anyone, and he linked him up with a friend of a friend who ran a solar panel installation company,&nbsp;Shin Nihon Jusetsu Co., Ltd, which was expanding its sponsorship of athletes.&nbsp;
The company will now support him all the way to the Paris Olympics, giving Bat-Ochir &ndash; who has four children:&nbsp;Jambaldorj (19), Nomin-Od (12), Naran-Od (6) and Uran-Od (2)&nbsp;&ndash; the backing to keep chasing his dream.&nbsp;
He&rsquo;s currently logging 150-200km per week as he prepares for his next major championships, and his goal in Eugene is to surpass his 19th-place finish in Daegu.&nbsp;
Whenever his competitive days are done, Bat-Ochir plans to transition into coaching in the Japanese corporate system, but right now that day seems far away.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Even when I can&rsquo;t be competitive, I&rsquo;ll keep running as an amateur,&rdquo; he says.
And the reasons he&rsquo;ll run for then will be the same reasons he ran for in the beginning &ndash; when he was a child in western Mongolia, willing to set off on a road less travelled.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll run for my own enjoyment, health and peace of mind,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll keep doing whatever I can, as long as I can.&rdquo;
Cathal&nbsp;Dennehy for World Athletics

Since the 2003 World Championships, Ser-Od Bat-Ochir has been ever-present at major championship marathons.

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

Polish middle-distance runner Marcin Lewandowski has announced his retirement from athletics.
The 34-year-old won 10 medals at world and continental level across a span of 12 years. His collection includes the 2010 European 800m title and the 2019 world 1500m bronze medal.
Lewandowski posted the news on his Instagram account earlier this week, explaining that a disrupted build-up to his outdoor season meant he was not in shape to challenge for medals at this year&rsquo;s major championships.
&ldquo;After my daughter's accident during her rhythmic gymnastics class [just before the World Indoors], I decided to stay at home until Midia was fully recovered,&rdquo; he wrote. &ldquo;Due to the fact I did not have the opportunity to train abroad, I was not able to prepare properly to defend my bronze medal from the World Championships and my silver from the European Championships and I am not interested in places outside the podium.
&ldquo;Was it a difficult decision? I didn't even think for a second because family is the priority. It was the same when I pulled out of the World Indoor Championships even though I was in great shape.
&ldquo;It was a beautiful 16 years of running &ndash; an amazing adventure that is now over. Something ends and something begins because in November I will become a dad again.&rdquo;
Lewandowski first made a name for himself as an 800m runner, placing fourth at the 2006 World U20 Championships and then winning the 2007 European U20 title. He reached the Olympic semifinals in his first year as a senior athlete in 2008, then made it to the World Championships final in 2009.
He landed European gold in 2010, following it with silver at the 2011 European Indoor Championships and fourth-place finishes at the 2011 and 2013 World Championships. After winning the 2015 European indoor 800m title, Lewandowski earned European silver in 2016 and went on to place sixth at the Olympic Games later that year, but then started to switch his focus to the 1500m.
His tactical prowess and strong finishing speed meant he was a formidable opponent at major championships. He won the 2017 European indoor title, then placed sixth in the 1500m at the 2017 World Championships later that year. In 2018 he won his first global medal when taking 1500m silver at the World Indoor Championships. He earned the same colour medal at the 2018 European Championships.
Lewandowski retained his European indoor 1500m title in 2019, then went on to earn his first and only outdoor global medal in 2019, placing third at the World Championships in Doha. His most recent podium finish was his 1500m silver at the 2021 European Indoor Championships.
Although best known as a championship performer, Lewandowski clocked several speedy performances throughout his career. He holds the Polish indoor and outdoor records for 1000m (2:14.30 / 2:17.67), 1500m (3:30.42 / 3:35.71) and the mile (3:49.11 / 3:56.41).

The 34-year-old won 10 medals at world and continental level across a span of 12 years

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

USA&rsquo;s Janee Kassanavoid moved up to sixth on the world all-time list after winning the hammer with 78.00m at the USATF Throws Fest &ndash; a World Athletics Continental Tour Silver meeting &ndash; in Tucson on Saturday (21).
The 27-year-old led from the outset, but was pushed all the way by US compatriot Brooke Anderson. Kassanavoid opened with 74.88m, then improved to a PB of 77.17 in round two. Anderson started with a foul, but threw 75.25m in the second round. Kassanavoid, keeping composed under pressure, then sent her hammer out to 78.00m in the third round. Andersen followed it with 77.75m just minutes later.
Neither athlete improved in the final three rounds, though Kassanavoid produced a 75.01m effort in round five. Andersen&rsquo;s 77.75m is the best ever mark for a runner-up place in a women&rsquo;s hammer competition.
As well as moving to sixth on the world all-time list, Kassanavoid climbs to third on the US all-time list behind world champion DeAnna Price (80.31m) and Andersen (79.02m). It also means the USA could potentially send three 78-metre throwers to the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 &ndash; depth that no other country has so far been able to manage in this event.
The men&rsquo;s hammer in Tucson was similarly competitive with US champion Rudy Winkler winning with 78.51m from Mexico&rsquo;s Diego del Real (78.26m) and USA&rsquo;s Daniel Haugh (77.94m).
In a close women&rsquo;s shot put competition, world silver medallist Danniel Thomas-Dodd threw 19.53m in round four to move from third place to first, overtaking Canada&rsquo;s Sarah Mitton (19.47m) and US champion Jessica Ramsey (19.38m).
Elsewhere in Tucson, 2017 world champion Tom Walsh won the men&rsquo;s shot put with 21.60m, Sam Mattis took the men&rsquo;s discus with 68.69m, and Olympic silver medallist Chris Nilsen topped the pole vault with 5.80m.
<h2>Seville sizzles 9.86</h2>
It takes a lot to steal the headlines from Jamaica&rsquo;s triple Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah on home soil, but Oblique Seville&rsquo;s 9.86 run in the men&rsquo;s 100m at the Jubilee Series in Kingston outshone his compatriot&rsquo;s sprint double.
Seville, who earlier this month set a 100m PB of 10.00, ran a controlled-looking 10.40 into a -3.1m/s headwind in his heat. The wind had settled to a far kinder 0.2m/s wind for the final and Seville made the most of it, charging away from his rivals to win in 9.86. Conroy Jones was a distant second in 10.14.
Seville now moves to equal 24th on the world all-time list &ndash; tied with the likes of Carl Lewis, Frank Fredericks and Ato Boldon &ndash; and sixth on the Jamaican all-time list.
Thompson-Herah, who had withdrawn from the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Birmingham as a precaution, made a last-minute decision to compete and showed no sign of injury niggles when winning the 100m in 10.94 into a -1.8m/s headwind. She followed it with a comfortable 22.55 (-0.7m/s) win in the 200m.
Elsewhere in the Jamaican capital, Candice McLeod won the 400m in 50.58 and Rasheed Broadbell took the men&rsquo;s 110m hurdles in 13.36 (0.4m/s).
<h2>Obiri runs 30:15 in Manchester</h2>
Kenya's two-time world 5000m champion Hellen Obiri won the Great Manchester Run 10km in 30:15 on Sunday (22), while Britain's Eilish McColgan broke&nbsp;Paula Radcliffe's long-standing European record with&nbsp;30:19.
Obiri improved her PB by 29 seconds with the mark, which is faster than the ratified women-only world record of 30:29 set by Morocco&rsquo;s Asmae Leghzaoui in 2002. However, there is a women-only world 10km record of 30:01 achieved by the late Agnes Tirop last September that is pending ratification.
McColgan's&nbsp;30:19 for second place in Manchester takes two seconds off the ratified outright women's European record, which was a world record when Radcliffe set it in 2003.
Kenya's world marathon champion Ruth Chepngetich finished third in a PB of 30:29.
New Zealand's Jake Robertson won the men's race in 28:06 ahead of Australia's Jack Rayner (28:16) and Spain's Antonio Abadia (28:22).

Oblique Seville runs 9.86 in Kingston

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

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)
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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)
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&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)
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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)
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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)
</div>
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)
</div>
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)
</div>
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

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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.

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