Few athletes have a better handle on the pleasure and the pain that the sport of athletics can generate than Bogdan Bondarenko.
The Ukrainian high jumper has experienced the good times. A stellar age group performer and 2008 world U20 champion, he later snared world and European senior titles and soared to a European record-equalling leap of 2.42m.
Yet in recent seasons the 1.97m tall jumper has suffered the torment of becoming entangled in a web of injury, illness and surgery &ndash; and watched his career alarmingly backpedal.
Missing the entire 2018 campaign, you would be forgiven for thinking that Bondarenko, now aged 29, was yesterday&rsquo;s man in a discipline that is perhaps more suited to youth than many others.
But earlier this month at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Rome, the storm clouds finally passed. Experiencing the same &ldquo;feelings&rdquo; as his halcyon days of 2013 and 2014, he claimed a heart-warming victory with a 2.31m clearance to clinch his first IAAF Diamond league victory since triumphing in the same Olympic Stadium some three years earlier. 
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 &ldquo;It was an incredible feeling to win and I rejoiced like a child,&rdquo; admits Bondarenko.
&ldquo;During that competition I felt like I was flying; not jumping but really flying like years ago. I struggle to think of when I was so happy. Rome reminded me of how much I enjoy competing. It was like three years of pent-up frustration spilt out of me. It was amazing.&rdquo;
<h3>Four-year medal streak</h3>
A winner of the 2013 world title in Moscow followed by the 2014 European crown in Zurich placed Bondarenko firmly at the pinnacle of global high jumping. Many predicted a future world record after his brilliant 2.42m clearance &ndash; in New York in 2014 &ndash; within three centimetres of Javier Sotomayor&rsquo;s long-standing mark.
However, his streak of medical misfortune was kick-started in 2015 when his foot became infected following a chemical burn and his fitness was badly affected following a lengthy period of antibiotic treatment.
Nonetheless, the season was far from a write-off as the man from Kharkiv still managed to clear a season&rsquo;s best of 2.37m and took home equal silver &ndash; behind Canada&rsquo;s Derek Drouin &ndash; at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing. 
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Bogdan Bondarenko in the high jump at the IAAF World Championships Beijing 2015</div>
&nbsp;
He bounced back for the 2016 campaign and was in the shape of his life following an impressive pre-Olympic training camp in Brazil. However, on the eve of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Bondarenko became ill after being diagnosed with a serious sinus infection. Doctors insisted on surgery, but the athlete &ndash; desperate not to miss a second Olympic appearance &ndash; chose a course of antibiotics.
With little recollection of the qualification &ndash; &ldquo;I just wanted to save as much strength as possible for my further jumps&rdquo; &ndash; he arrived for the final struggling with a fever and a headache. He entered the competition at 2.25m, not because of some tactical mind game but simply because he felt so weak. Miraculously he cleared 2.33m to take bronze with only his second jump of the entire competition.
&ldquo;The Olympic medal is the most valuable in my collection,&rdquo; he explains. &ldquo;It felt like a gold to me.&rdquo;
<h3>Injury set back</h3>
Later in 2016 he underwent a complicated teeth surgery, which was found to be the cause of the ongoing sinus issues, and he only returned to full training later that year.
That winter he struggled with back and ankle injuries but his most serious setback of his career occurred during a gym session at a training camp in South Africa in April 2017 when the patella in his knee moved.
Suffering from acute pain, Bondarenko could no longer carry out technical sessions or lift in the gym throughout the summer season.
Limited to just six competitions that year &ndash; including a far from shabby 2.32m effort in Paris &ndash; he nonetheless failed to shine at the IAAF World Championships London 2017, finishing a distant ninth with a modest best of 2.25m.
&ldquo;I was disappointed,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Even in the mixed zone I was already thinking of what treatment I required and at what point I&rsquo;ll be able to train properly again as training had become torture.&rdquo;
After a period of rehab in which he hoped exercises would fix the issue, he reluctantly opted for surgery in October of that year to fix the patella injury.
&ldquo;It was the hardest rehabilitation in my career,&rdquo; he explains of his post-surgery recovery. &ldquo;I did such a huge volume of work. Doctors and specialists said I&rsquo;d be back training in two months, but it didn&rsquo;t happen. The exercises didn&rsquo;t work, and six months after surgery I still felt the same pain.&rdquo; 
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Bogdan Bondarenko wins the high jump at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Rome</div>
&nbsp;
Bondarenko abandoned plans to compete during 2018 and doubts started to creep in.
&ldquo;I questioned myself many times, especially in the very hard moments,&rdquo; he laments. &ldquo;Certainly, I had many doubts whether I&rsquo;ll return and reach the same level as before. I thought about my future career including retirement.&rdquo;
During these tough times he lent on the support of his coach and father, Viktor, his wife, Iryna Pimenova, the Ukrainian triple jumper, with whom he has a daughter, Yana, born in January last year, and his manager Aivar Karotamm.
Encouraged to stick with the sport, he gorged on mountains of medical books and spent hours scanning the internet to find a solution. He carried out a range of exercises and over time has successfully managed the problem.
&ldquo;I think that I am now well prepared for a career after retirement as a specialist in knee recovery,&rdquo; he jokes.
<h3>Return to competition</h3>
After 21 months away from competition, he made his competitive return last month at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Shanghai. However, struggling with foot and back pain in the two weeks leading into the meet, he then lost focus and technical discipline on the day, placing 10th with a best of 2.19m.
&ldquo;We made a huge analysis of my competitions looking for mistakes and problems,&rdquo; he explains. &ldquo;We found them, but the question was &lsquo;how could I improve and correct my jump without jumping in training?&rsquo; Before Rome I brainstormed and come up with a new exercise using a rubber resistance band.&rdquo;
It proved inspired. Rather than use the band to strengthen the muscles and the tendons, he used it to help correct some technical mistakes by bending his body in the right position for the jumping motion.
Focusing on his technique, he compared his successful first-time effort of 2.22m with &ldquo;flying&rdquo;. The winning 2.31m height ensured his three-year IAAF Diamond League famine was over and the pressure valve released. 
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Bogdan Bondarenko, winner of the high jump at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Rabat</div>
&nbsp;
Just 10 days later in Rabat, Bondarenko notched up another IAAF Diamond League victory.
&ldquo;I am very happy with tonight,&rdquo; said Bondarenko, who won with first-time clearances at 2.22m and then 2.28m before making one attempt at 2.33m, two centimetres higher than his season&rsquo;s best.
&ldquo;I stopped because I had a little injury, but I am OK. I like competing here and I have won here several times. The main thing is that I had the win, another win, and I am in good shape.&rdquo;
Currently standing joint top of the world list &ndash; alongside four other men &ndash; his main goal for the rest of the campaign is to remain injury-free with the European Games in Minsk and the Tokyo Olympic qualification mark of 2.33m two other priorities.
But of course the main target is performing when it counts at the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 where he hopes to add to his 2013 gold and 2015 silver medals.
&ldquo;I want to perform in Doha in the appropriate manner and, for me, that means winning a medal,&rdquo; he adds. &ldquo;I think it will be difficult to win, not because I won&rsquo;t be ready, but because we are competing in (Mutaz) Barshim&rsquo;s home city. I&rsquo;m sure he&rsquo;ll be in the best shape ever but I&rsquo;d like to put up a strong fight.&rdquo;
He certainly believes his struggles of the past few seasons have forged him into a stronger athlete.
&ldquo;If you continue to believe and work hard, then nothing is impossible,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m now no longer afraid of anything.&rdquo;
Steve Landells for the IAAF

Few athletes have a better handle on the pleasure and the pain that the sport of athletics can generate than Bogdan Bondarenko.

Injuries finally behind him, Bondarenko unafraid of what the future holds

The world&rsquo;s finest high jumpers will return to the Oslo Bislett Games for a showdown at the fifth leg of the 2017 IAAF Diamond League on 15 June as the gold, silver and bronze medallists from the Rio 2016 Olympic Games are all confirmed to compete in the Norwegian capital.
World and Olympic champion Derek Drouin heads the list of competitors. The Canadian, who has a personal best of 2.40m, showed great composure when winning his global titles in Beijing and Rio. On both occasions Drouin was almost flawless by clearing the majority of heights on his first attempt.
Qatar&rsquo;s Mutaz Essa Barshim has jumped above 2.40m in nine competitions over the past four years. The Olympic silver medallist won the world indoor title in 2014 and went on to set a lifetime best of 2.43m later that year, putting him second on the world all-time list.
Bogdan Bondarenko is the other medallist from Rio who will return to Oslo. The Ukrainian won the world title in 2013, the Continental Cup and European title in 2014, then took world silver in 2015 before earning his bronze medal in Rio.
Meeting director Steinar Hoen holds the meeting record with a clearance of 2.35m from 23 years ago, but he fully expects that his name will no longer be in the record book after this year&rsquo;s Oslo Bislett Games.
While the Olympic medallists from Rio will be the dominant forces in the event, there are other competitors in the field with the proven ability of upsetting the more favoured athletes. Previous Bislett winner Zhang Guowei of China, British record-holder Robbie Grabarz and Olympic finalist Majd Eddin Ghazal of Syria are all more than capable of taking victory.
Organisers for the IAAF
2017 IAAF Diamond League calendar: 5 May &ndash; Doha, QAT 13 May &ndash; Shanghai, CHN 27 May &ndash; Eugene, USA 8 Jun &ndash; Rome, ITA 15 Jun &ndash; Oslo, NOR 18 Jun &ndash; Stockholm, SWE 1 Jul &ndash; Paris, FRA 6 Jul &ndash; Lausanne, SUI 9 Jul &ndash; London, GBR 16 Jul &ndash; Rabat, MAR 21 Jul &ndash; Monaco, MON 20 Aug &ndash; Birmingham, GBR 24 Aug &ndash; Zurich, SUI 1 Sep &ndash; Brussels, BEL

The world’s finest high jumpers will return to the Oslo Bislett Games for a showdown at the fifth leg of the 2017 IAAF Diamond League on 15 June as the gold, silver and bronze medallists from the Rio 2016 Olympic Games are all confirmed to compete in the Norwegian capital.

High flyers return to Oslo – IAAF Diamond League

The traditional pre-meeting press conference at the IAAF Diamond League final in Brussels brought together the two highest profile protagonists in the men&rsquo;s high jump and women&rsquo;s 100m on Thursday (8).
Mutaz Essa Barshim has fond memories of the Belgian capital as it was here, two years ago, that he cleared 2.43m to move up to second on the high jump world all-time list.
&ldquo;In 2014, it was like living my dream. My coach wasn&rsquo;t surprised, he said, two or three jumps before, &lsquo;you can jump 2.43 and, if there are good conditions, you can get the world record.&rsquo;
&ldquo;When I jumped 2.43, he was like &lsquo;see I told you!&rsquo; It was an amazing feeling. I couldn&rsquo;t sleep that night; it was a moment of greatness. I have to say the stadium that night was amazing. Everyone was cheering and there was a great atmosphere.
&ldquo;The conditions were there for the world record, and I think I could have jumped the world record that night, if I hadn&rsquo;t been so happy with my jump at 2.43. Once you&rsquo;ve done something like that, a wave of satisfaction flows over you, and I was feeling like &lsquo;I&rsquo;m done&rsquo;.
&ldquo;Since then I have had a lot of problems, my body isn&rsquo;t so strong and I&rsquo;ve had problems with my knee, my ankle and my back. I have had to reduce my training, I have had to cut everything down just to recover, I&rsquo;ve been jumping off four steps and I am still jumping off four.
&ldquo;At least now I am now a more experienced high jumper from two years ago, I&rsquo;m more mature, more educated and I know more about what to do at what time.
<h3>Barshim getting back to top form</h3>
&ldquo;But I think I just need time to feel again like I did in Brussels two years ago."
Barshim has now jumped 2.40m nine times &ndash; only world record-holder Javier Sotomayor has jumped that high more often than the Qatari &ndash; and he feels number 10 could be on its way on Friday.
&ldquo;2.40 at the first attempt could win the Diamond Race," he added. "It&rsquo;s very close with four men in contention, but I think that&rsquo;s a height that could do it.&rdquo;
In contrast to the ebullient Barshim, his great rival Bogdan Bondarenko cut a more sanguine figure when he presented himself at the press conference.
&ldquo;As some people know, one week before Rio I started to suffer sinus problems and I started to take antibiotics. In Rio, I felt bad, it was a long competition and by 2.38 I was starting to feel very tired and dizzy in the head.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m getting a lot of pain,&rdquo; he added, pointing to just below his left eye. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s especially bad when I fly and the changes in the air pressure make it very painful. I might have surgery at the end of the season and this is definitely my last competition of the year.
&ldquo;I went to Lausanne but then I realised that there were still four men in contention for the Diamond Race so I stopped my antibiotics and I&rsquo;ve come here.
&ldquo;The only good thing is that I&rsquo;ve lost weight, I&rsquo;ve lost two or three kilos and I&rsquo;m now down to 76kg,&rdquo; he added with a modicum of gallows humour, not that Bondarenko had much spare flesh on him anyway.
<h3>Thompson targeting Fraser-Pryce's meeting record</h3>
Elaine Thompson ran in Brussels last year when she finished third over the 200m, and &ndash; unlike Barshim and Bondarenko during their epic 2104 seasons &ndash; is just getting used to being the star of the show rather than in the chorus line after her feat of winning the 100m and 200m double in Rio.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to be the champion but I&rsquo;m staying focused," she said. "There is now a pressure that wasn&rsquo;t there before, I haven&rsquo;t been back to Jamaica since the Olympics and just came to my European base in Italy. We felt that the journeys would be too long and we still had some races to do.
&ldquo;It wouldn&rsquo;t have been a distraction going back to Jamaica and I think there are going to be some things planned when I get there so I&rsquo;m looking forward to celebrating with family and friends."
On Friday night, she has the target of Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce&rsquo;s 100m meeting record of 10.72, set in 2013.
If she beats it, it will be with mixed feelings. &ldquo;She&rsquo;s my soul mother, she taught me so much,&rdquo; said Thompson, thinking about the Jamaican sprint icon whom she beat to gold over the shorter distance in Rio. &ldquo;However, I&rsquo;m looking for a fast time, it&rsquo;s my last 100 of the season (and Thompson is unbeaten over 11 races at the distance in 2016) but I&rsquo;m still healthy and in good shape."
Her main rival, Dafne Schippers, has about 1500 orange-clad supporters travelling over the border from the Netherlands hoping to cheer on their idol to what might be considered an upset win in the wake of the Rio results.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s going to be fun and that&rsquo;s what also made the Europeans in Amsterdam so special,&rdquo; said Schippers, looking back to the continental event in July, where she won the 100m in front of a home audience.
Naturally, a lot of the questions in Brussels focused on her combined events past, not least because the Olympic heptathlon title was won by the Belgian heroine Nafissatou Thiam.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m now very happy with being in the sprint world, because it&rsquo;s not easy," she said. "In the heptathlon, it&rsquo;s a very small, easy world; all the girls are very relaxed and we talked about things. In the sprints, I get on with the European girls but it&rsquo;s a much bigger world and, after last year, there is more pressure, but I think I can handle it.
&ldquo;I know Nafi, we&rsquo;ve competed together and she&rsquo;s very special. She had a perfect heptathlon in Rio, five personal bests, and I know to have a perfect heptathlon is not easy. She had seven very good events, some good heptathletes never do that in their whole life, and she did it when she&rsquo;s so very young.
&ldquo;In Rio, I watched almost every minute of the heptathlon," added Schippers. "I still love watching the heptathlon, but I never wished to be out there, that&rsquo;s something in the past. My world is sprinting now.&rdquo;
Phil Minshull for the IAAF &nbsp;&nbsp;

The traditional pre-meeting press conference at the IAAF Diamond League final in Brussels brought together the two highest profile protagonists from the men’s high jump and women’s 100m on Thursday (8).

Brussels press conference highlights – IAAF Diamond League

There were 37,727 spectators in Rome&rsquo;s Olympic Stadium for the IAAF Diamond League meeting on Thursday (2), and the vast majority of them saved their loudest cheers for local hero high jumper Gianmarco Tamberi, who put almost as much effort into rousing them to greater decibels as he did into a compelling competition which was eventually won by Ukraine&rsquo;s 2013 world champion Bohdan Bondarenko.
The cheers for Italian high jumper Marco Fassinotti were considerable as he was introduced to the crowd, but the noise level did not compare to that which greeted his compatriot Tamberi, the world indoor champion, who milked and encouraged the applause with upward gestures of his arms.
The cheers grew louder as the dashing local hero cleared the relatively modest heights of 2.20m and 2.24m with his first attempts.
At this point it all looked so easy that he appeared to be putting more effort into his rousing of the spectators.
He looked in trouble at 2.27m, but made a clearance with his third and final attempt. The decibel level rose with his arms as he walked from the landing area; the Olympic Stadium welcomed the extension of the drama into at least another act.
Having spent the past couple of months in heavy training, Tamberi was not expecting to reach massive heights on the night, especially as he was using a shortened run-up, so he was genuinely thrilled to clear 2.30m at the second attempt, to the now-expected bedlam.
This was as far as the 24-year-old could go, however, and he finished third behind the man he beat to world indoor gold, Great Britain&rsquo;s Robbie Grabarz, who earned second place on countback, while victory went to the European record-holder Bondarenko, who was the only man to clear 2.33m before bring the bar down three times at 2.37m.
&ldquo;It seems like I had forgotten how to jump high, but today I started to feel the technique for the first time,&rdquo; said Bondarenko, ominously.
Mutaz Essa Barshim, second on the world all-time list with his 2.43m from 2014, is making a consciously gentle start to what will be a long and critical season. Although he feels it will work for him eventually, he makes no secret of the fact that he is not loving it right now.
Barshim managed just 2.27m in sixth place, albeit a season&rsquo;s best, but one place below Fassinotti on the same height.
<h3>Olympic champions fighting for fitness</h3>
The field events featured three reigning Olympic champions seeking to regain full fitness ahead of their title defences in Rio this summer: Czech javelin thrower Barbara Spotakova, shot putter Valerie Adams of New Zealand and German discus thrower Robert Harting.
For the 31-year-old Harting, who completed a hat-trick of world titles in 2013, this was the start of his season proper after missing all of last year through injury. It proved a salutary marker as he had to settle for third place with 63.96m, nearly seven metres short of his personal best, in a competition won by Poland&rsquo;s world bronze medallist Robert Urbanek with a second-round effort of 65.00m.
Asked about his comeback, Harting&rsquo;s response was characteristically strong: &ldquo;A the moment I am angry about my last attempt. It had everything, just the angle was wrong. I do not feel fresh, my knee problems still persist, but the chest muscle is OK now. I need time and I need liveliness.&rdquo;
Urbanek&rsquo;s compatriot and world champion Piotr Malachowski had a night to forget and finished down in sixth, his lowest placing in any competition for almost three years, with 63.23m.
Adams, who underwent shoulder and elbow surgery last year, didn&rsquo;t look much more impressed than Harting with her efforts on the night but they were enough to earn her victory through a season&rsquo;s best of 19.69m, with Anita Marton of Hungary second with 18.98m.
&ldquo;This competition was good, I will take the win,&rdquo; said Adams. &ldquo;I guess this year I am more motivated than ever, 2016 is Olympic year. Last year was really tough for me. I am really good today.&rdquo;
Like Harting, Spotakova has more work to do to regain her former pre-eminence, having emerged from injury. She could only manage 59.82m, which earned her sixth place in a low-key competition won by South Africa&rsquo;s Sunette Viljoen with 61.95m, three centimetres ahead of Latvia&rsquo;s Madara Palameika.
Mike Rowbottom for the IAAF

There were 37,727 spectators in Rome’s Olympic Stadium for the IAAF Diamond League meeting on Thursday (2), and the vast majority of them saved their loudest cheers for local hero high jumper Gianmarco Tamberi, who put almost as much effort into rousing them to greater decibels as he did into a compelling competition which was eventually won by Ukraine’s 2013 world champion Bogdan Bondarenko.

Tamberi's supporters raise the roof but Bondarenko hits the heights in Rome – IAAF Diamond League

Freshly crowned world indoor high jump champion Gianmarco Tamberi will take on an outstanding field that includes former global champions Bogdan Bondarenko and Mutaz Essa Barshim at the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea, the fifth stop of the 2016 IAAF Diamond League series, set for Rome's Olympic stadium on Thursday (2 June).
As the Italian record-holder, Tamberi figures prominently in what is expected to be one of the evening's most anticipated clashes. But the 23-year-old, who leaped 2.37m outdoors last year and 2.38m indoors this year, faces a daunting task in defending his home turf, coming up against Barshim and Bondarenko, respectively the second and equal-third highest jumpers in history.
Barshim, Qatar's Asian record-holder at 2.43m, set Rome's meeting record in 2014 when he topped 2.41m, one of five occasions in which he cleared the event's magical 2.40m barrier that season alone. Still just 24, Barshim is also the Olympic bronze medallist, 2013 world silver medallist, 2014 world indoor champion and a two-time Diamond Race winner.
Bondarenko has cleared 2.40m seven times in his career, topped by his 2.42m Ukrainian record in 2014. He won the world title in 2013, the European crown in 2014, and struck world silver last year in Beijing. Bondarenko lifted the Diamond Trophy in 2013, and he is currently second in the 2016 Diamond Race standings after his victory in Rabat eight days ago.
But the Stadio Olimpico spotlight will shine most brightly on Tamberi, who last year rose to the event's upper echelon after improving to 2.37m and then reaching the World Championships final in Beijing where he finished eighth.
This year he was unbeaten in five competitions indoors, a season capped by his world indoor title in Portland and a 2.38m leap, the highest in the world indoors this year.
Rome will be his second 2016 outdoor appearance where he'll look to improve markedly on his 2.25m leap at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Rabat earleir this month, where he finished sixth.&nbsp;
The Stadio Olimpico, host to the 1960 Olympic Games, is no stranger to the high jumping elite and top-notch competition. At the 1987 IAAF World Championships, Patrick Sjoberg, Igor Paklin and Gennady Avdeyenko all cleared 2.38m, at the time the best mass-quality high jump competition ever, while Stefka Kostadinova set a world record in the women's event.
Organisers and Bob Ramsak for the IAAF
2016 IAAF Diamond League calendar 6 May &ndash; Doha, QAT 14 May &ndash; Shanghai, CHN 22 May &ndash; Rabat, MAR 28 May &ndash; Eugene, USA 2 Jun &ndash; Rome, ITA 5 Jun &ndash; Birmingham, GBR 9 Jun &ndash; Oslo, NOR 16 Jun &ndash; Stockholm, SWE 15 Jul &ndash; Monaco, MON 22-23 Jul &ndash; London, GBR 25 Aug &ndash; Lausanne, SUI 27 Aug &ndash; Paris, FRA 1 Sep &ndash; Zurich, SUI 9 Sep &ndash; Brussels, BEL

Freshly crowned world indoor high jump champion Gianmarco Tamberi will take on an outstanding field that includes former global champions Bogdan Bondarenko and Mutaz Barshim at the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea, the fifth stop of the 2016 IAAF Diamond League series, set for Rome's Olympic stadium on Thursday (2 June).

Tamberi, Barshim and Bondarenko to headline Rome high jump clash – IAAF Diamond League

Bogdan Bondarenko won the 2013 world high jump title and took silver at the 2015 edition in Beijing, his latest honour from a long list of accolades that includes the 2014 European crown and the 2008 world junior title.
Bondarenko, the 2013 Diamond Trophy winner in the event, competes next at the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea in Rome on Thursday, the fifth stop of the 2016 IAAF Diamond League. Here the 26-year-old Ukrainian star offers his verdict on our first impressions questions.
<h3>First sport</h3>
I don&rsquo;t know whether it is a sport or not, but dancing. I was eight or nine years old when I took up Ukrainian folk dancing. I competed in this for two or three years. It might have helped my footwork for athletics, although I am not too sure.
<h3>First athletics competition</h3>
The first competition I ever recall was a mini-decathlon at school, which included the long jump, shot put and 600m. I was aged about 12 at the time and I remember this competition because my spikes fell off about 200m into the 600m and I remember wondering what should I do next. I think I might have won a medal, but I don&rsquo;t remember for sure.
<h3>First athletics competition outside of Ukraine</h3>
It was at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Lignano, Italy in 2005. It was a fantastic experience for me as I enjoyed eating pasta, pizza and ice cream. It was my first visit to Italy and it was great to compete in a new competition against new competitors. It was fantastic. I remember I jumped a PB of 2.12m and won the silver medal behind an Italian jumper.
<h3>First coach</h3>
My father, Viktor, and current coach, was my first coach. I have always understood him and he has always understood me. Many sportsmen cannot be coached by their parents, but for me he has been very good.
<h3>First media interview</h3>
I think it came at the 2006 World Junior Championships in Beijing (Bondarenko took bronze with a PB of 2.26m). It came after the competition, I don&rsquo;t really remember too many details but I was aged only 16 at the time and I didn&rsquo;t know what to say during the interview.
<h3>First disappointment</h3>
Injuries are always the biggest disappointment and I remember in 2009 it was not easy. I had nine competitions during the outdoor season but my best jump was only 2.15m. I had an injury on my take-off foot and I felt constant pain even two or three days after each competition. The injury is a problem I&rsquo;d struggled with for a long time. At the end of the season, I had an operation on the foot.&nbsp;&nbsp;
<h3>First fashion disaster</h3>
I think it is when you have to wear a uniform when you first go to school. Before then you are outside playing football in sportswear and/or long pants. Then when you go to school and you have to wear a school jacket and collar, it is not so good.
<h3>First car</h3>
The first car I had was a big car called a Volga. It is not an easy car to drive. The steering wheel is very stiff, it can hurt the arms and chest and it is hard to park. I was aged 19 and it was the car in which I learned how to drive.&nbsp;
<h3>First pet</h3>
My grandmother used to have a dog called Rex. He was a mixed dog of no particular breed &ndash; a dog from the streets. I was close to that dog and I used to take him for walks and play with him for about five or six years.&nbsp;
<h3>First thing you learned to cook</h3>
I think I learned to cook French soup with the other sportsmen on a training camp when I was aged about 14 or 15. I can&rsquo;t remember which part of it was French, maybe the cheese, but it contained cheese, potato and sausage. Today, I am not a great cook.
<h3>First CD/download</h3>
My first download was the soundtrack from the Russian gangster movie Brother. This was a very popular film in Ukraine.
Steve Landells for the IAAF

Bogdan Bondarenko won the 2013 world high jump title and took silver at the 2015 edition in Beijing, his latest honour from a long list of accolades that includes the 2014 European crown and the 2008 world junior title.

First impressions – Bogdan Bondarenko

Bogdan Bondarenko, the 2013 world champion in the high jump, and world pole vault champion Shawn Barber have joined the fields for Lausanne&rsquo;s Athletissima meeting on 25 August, the 11th stop of the 2016 IAAF Diamond League series.
In both 2013 and 2014, the men&rsquo;s high jump was one of the most exciting events of the competition.
The main entertainer of those extraordinary shows was Bondarenko, who has already won at the IAAF Diamond League meetings in Shanghai and Rabat this season.
Three years ago, the Ukrainian became the first jumper to clear 2.40m at Pontaise stadium when he topped 2.41m, a record which still stands, and 12 months later he won again with 2.40m on countback over fellow Ukrainian Andriy Protsenko, one of just three occasions when two men have cleared 2.40m or higher in the same competition.
&ldquo;I love being in Lausanne because I always perform well there,&rdquo; said Bondarenko, who also lifted the Diamond Trophy in 2013 and took the European title the following year.
&ldquo;One of the reasons is certainly the fact that the spectators are so close. I love the atmosphere in this stadium, it is very motivating," he added
At&nbsp;the opposite end of the stadium, Renaud Lavillenie will have his work cut out for him as he targets a fourth Lausanne victory in the pole vault.
The world record holder will face Barber, who pulled off one of the bigger surprises at last year&rsquo;s IAAF World Championships Beijing 2015 where he won with 5.90m.
The 21-year-old Canadian has already gone higher this year, topping 6.00m indoors and 5.91m outdoors, and is considered as a serious rival of the French jumper. It will be the Barber&rsquo;s first appearance in Lausanne.
Greece's Konstadinos Filippidis, winner of the 2013 edition and whose personal best is 5.91m, will also be a serious contender.
It's clear an entertaining aerial show will be on display once again in Lausanne.
Organisers for the IAAF
&nbsp;2016 IAAF Diamond League calendar 6 May &ndash; Doha, QAT 14 May &ndash; Shanghai, CHN 22 May &ndash; Rabat, MAR 28 May &ndash; Eugene, USA 2 Jun &ndash; Rome, ITA 5 Jun &ndash; Birmingham, GBR 9 Jun &ndash; Oslo, NOR 16 Jun &ndash; Stockholm, SWE 15 Jul &ndash; Monaco, MON 22-23 Jul &ndash; London, GBR 25 Aug &ndash; Lausanne, SUI 27 Aug &ndash; Paris, FRA 1 Sep &ndash; Zurich, SUI 9 Sep &ndash; Brussels, BEL

Bogdan Bondarenko, the 2013 world champion in the high jump, and world pole vault champion Shawn Barber have joined the fields for Lausanne’s Athletissima meeting set for 25 August, the 11th stop of the 2016 IAAF Diamond League series.

Bondarenko and Barber join Lausanne line-up – IAAF Diamond League

Last June, Almaz Ayana clocked an African all-comers' 3000m record of 8:22.22 in Rabat and her recent win over the same distance in Doha in a world-leading 8:23.11 prompts the question, how fast can she run over 5000m at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in the Moroccan city on Sunday (22)?
The Meeting International Mohammed VI D'Athletisme de Rabat 2016 organisers clearly believe very fast, and have staged her event as the finale to the first IAAF Diamond League meeting in Africa.
Consequently, it would be fitting if an African distance runner brought the curtain down in suitably spectacular fashion.
Of course, improving on the world record of 14:11.15, held by her compatriot Tirunesh Dibaba since 2008, will be a tall order for Ayana but Elana Meyer&rsquo;s African all-comers&rsquo; record of 14:44.15, which has stood since 1992, seems like an attainable target.
Ayana herself has a 5000m personal best of 14:14.32, set at last year&rsquo;s IAAF Diamond League meeting in Shanghai, which ranks her third on the world all-time list, behind Dibaba and her fellow Ethiopian Meseret Defar.
She has seemed imperious in her recent races, including when winning the world 5000m title last year, but among Ayana&rsquo;s rivals will be yet another outstanding Ethiopian, Senbere Teferi, who took the silver medal behind her in the Chinese capital last August.
Ukraine&rsquo;s 2013 world high jump champion Bogdan Bondarenko also has fond memories from last year&rsquo;s Rabat meeting, in its previous incarnation as an IAAF World Challenge competition before its recent promotion to the top tier of global one-day meetings, when he cleared 2.36m.
A similar clearance on Sunday would give him an excellent chance of taking the 10 points for first place in the Diamond Race but he faces Italy&rsquo;s world indoor champion Gianmarco Tamberi, who will be having his first outing since winning in Portland 10 weeks ago.
Also in the field will be USA&rsquo;s Erik Kynard, who won the first high jump contest in this year&rsquo;s IAAF Diamond League, in Doha.
<h3>Ibarguen and Rojas duel again</h3>
With all due respect to Kynard, the high jump in Doha never quite reached the heights expected but one jumping event exceeded all expectations there, the women&rsquo;s triple jump. The two main protagonists from that contest, Colombia&rsquo;s Caterine Ibarguen and Venezuela&rsquo;s Yulimar Rojas, will be reunited again.
Ibarguen has a winning streak of 32 competitions to her name but the two-time world champion was pushed all the way in Doha by her South American rival and victory required a world-leading performance of 15.04m.
Like Ibarguen, Czech Republic&rsquo;s Zuzana Hejnova is a two-time world champion and 2015 Diamond Race winner. Hejnova heads a strong women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles field that includes five finalists from last year&rsquo;s World Championships, including the in-form Jamaican Janieve Russell, current African champion Wenda Nel from South Africa, and Bahrain&rsquo;s world indoor 400m champion Kemi Adekoya.
Last year&rsquo;s Diamond Race 3000m steeplechase winner, Kenya&rsquo;s Jairus Birech, is another returnee to Rabat following his victory at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium last year.
Among others, he will face world silver medallist Conseslus Kipruto, who won the opening contest in this Diamond Race discipline in Doha on 6 May.
The women&rsquo;s 800m brings together the world indoor and outdoor champions, Burundi&rsquo;s Francine Niyonsaba and Belarusian Marina Arzamasova as well as Kenya&rsquo;s 2013 world champion and three-time Diamond Race winner Eunice Sum.
<h3>First 800m of the year for Tuka</h3>
The men&rsquo;s 800m includes world bronze medallist Amel Tuka of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana&rsquo;s Olympic silver medallist Nijel Amos and Algeria&rsquo;s Olympic 1500m champion Taoufik Makhloufi, the latter making his 2016 debut.
Amos won the Diamond Race over two laps of the track last year while Tuka ended the year as the fastest man of 2015, having clocked a national record of 1:42.51 to win at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Monaco.
Cuba&rsquo;s world champion Yarisley Silva is part of a high-class women&rsquo;s pole vault field that includes Greece's 2015 Diamond Race winner Nikoleta Kyriakopoulou and Switzerland&rsquo;s in-form Nicole Buchler.
In the men&rsquo;s 400m, USA&rsquo;s former world and Olympic champion LaShawn Merritt will be looking to consolidate his good start to the season which has included a win in Doha by repelling a field which includes two other sub-44 performers, Botswana&rsquo;s former African record-holder Isaac Makwala and Jamaican record-holder Rusheen McDonald.
The men&rsquo;s discus contains possibly the deepest field based on Beijing results with the top six from last August&rsquo;s World Championships having made the trip to Rabat.
However, the role of favourite belongs to Poland&rsquo;s world champion and 2015 Diamond Race winner Piotr Malachowski.
In Doha, Malachowski needed to dig deep and only a last-round effort of 68.03m defeated Belgium&rsquo;s Philip Milanov, who took the silver behind the Pole in Beijing.
<h3>Goodwin jumping into the spotlight</h3>
A lot of attention in the men&rsquo;s long jump will be on Marquise Goodwin, who flew out to a personal best and world-leading mark of 8.45m in Guadeloupe last Saturday.
Goodwin, the 2008 world junior champion, switched sports after competing at the 2012 Olympics and he missed 2013 and 2014 completely while playing American football, but now is advised by four-time world champion Dwight Phillips and is fully focused after his return to athletics last summer.
Among those facing Goodwin will be South Africa&rsquo;s improving Ruswahl Samaai, who has jumped 8.34m this year, and Australia&rsquo;s Fabrice Lapierre, the world silver medallist indoors and outdoors, as well as Brazil&rsquo;s 2012 and 2014 world indoor champion Mauro da Silva.
Jamaica&rsquo;s Elaine Thompson raised plenty of eyebrows when she flew to a windy 10.71 earlier this month in Jamaica and she will be looking for another quick time in her first 100m since then. USA&rsquo;s 2011 world champion Carmelita Jeter and Nigeria&rsquo;s African record-holder Blessing Okagbare are also in the field.
A popular athlete in Rabat is 2014 IAAF World Athlete of the Year Valerie Adams, and the multiple global shot put champion will be looking to continue her progress after an injury-disrupted 2015.
The New Zealander, who holds the Rabat meeting record of 19.69m, will be up against Hungary&rsquo;s world indoor silver medallist Anita Marton, who finished one place ahead of Adams in Portland.
Last&rsquo;s year&rsquo;s Diamond Race winners Alonso Edward and David Oliver head the fields for the men&rsquo;s 200m and 110m hurdles respectively.
Phil Minshull for the IAAF

Last June, Almaz Ayana clocked an African all-comers' 3000m record of 8:22.22 in Rabat and her recent win over the same distance on Doha in 8:23.11 prompts the question, how fast can she run over 5000m at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in the Moroccan city on Sunday (22)?

All eyes on Ayana in Rabat – IAAF Diamond League

The newest meeting on the IAAF Diamond League circuit has confirmed the first wave of top athletes set to compete at the Meeting International Mohammed VI in Rabat on 22 May.
The men&rsquo;s 800m is set to be a highlight of the meeting as Ethiopia&rsquo;s 2013 world champion Mohammed Aman will take on Olympic silver medallist Nijel Amos of Botswana, world bronze medallist Amel Tuka of Bosnia and Herzegovina, world silver medallist Adam Kszczot of Poland and Algeria&rsquo;s Olympic 1500m champion Taoufik Makhloufi.
Aman won in Rabat in 2012, setting a Moroccan all-comers&rsquo; record of 1:43.58, and then returned to the meeting one year later to win again.
Amos won the Diamond Race last year and notched up victories in Birmingham, Lausanne and London. Tuka, meanwhile, ended the year as the fastest man of 2015, having clocked a national record of 1:42.51 to win in Monaco. Both will be competing in Rabat for the first time.
Six years after her first appearance in Rabat, two-time Olympic 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce will return to the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium to take on African record-holder Blessing Okagbare of Nigeria over 100m.
Although Okagbare has not previously competed at this meeting, she holds the Moroccan all-comers&rsquo; record of 11.00, set when winning the African title in Marrakech in 2014.
USA&rsquo;s 2011 world champion Carmelita Jeter and 2008 Olympic silver medallist Kerron Stewart of Jamaica are also in the field.
Morocco&rsquo;s world and Olympic bronze medallist Abdalaati Iguider will be aiming to please the home crowd in Rabat. The 29-year-old &ndash; who won the 1500m at this meeting in 2008, 2010 and 2012 &ndash; will contest the 3000m for the first time in the Moroccan capital.
Ukraine&rsquo;s 2013 world champion Bogdan Bondarenko will also be returning to Rabat. Like Iguider, Bondarenko has previously won three times at this competition. When winning in 2014, the European champion set a meeting record of 2.39m, the best jump ever on African soil.
Bondarenko will take on world indoor champion Gianmarco Tamberi, European silver medallist Andriy Protsenko, 2007 world champion Donald Thomas and Olympic bronze medallist Robbie Grabarz.
<a href="http://fantasydiamondrace.com/" target="_blank">Sign up for the 2016 Fantasy Diamond Race</a>
IAAF
2016 IAAF Diamond League calendar 6 May &ndash; Doha, QAT 14 May &ndash; Shanghai, CHN 22 May &ndash; Rabat, MAR 28 May &ndash; Eugene, USA 2 Jun &ndash; Rome, ITA 5 Jun &ndash; Birmingham, GBR 9 Jun &ndash; Oslo, NOR 16 Jun &ndash; Stockholm, SWE 15 Jul &ndash; Monaco, MON 22-23 Jul &ndash; London, GBR 25 Aug &ndash; Lausanne, SUI 27 Aug &ndash; Paris, FRA 1 Sep &ndash; Zurich, SUI 9 Sep &ndash; Brussels, BEL

The newest meeting on the IAAF Diamond League circuit has confirmed the first wave of top athletes set to compete at the Meeting International Mohammed VI in Rabat on 22 May.

First headliners revealed for Rabat – IAAF Diamond League

China&rsquo;s high jump hero Zhang Guowei is set to star at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Shanghai on 14 May, where he will come face-to-face with Bogdan Bondarenko.
The pair matched each other height for height at the IAAF World Championships Beijing 2015 last summer and finished joint second, each getting a silver medal.
On height, they ended the season just one centimetre apart, pacing second and third on the 2015 world high jump list. They also finished second and third in the 2015 Damond Race.
They met five times during the outdoor season and leapt the same height at three of those meetings, so another close battle is expected in 2016.
For Zhang, 2015 was something of a breakthrough year as the head-banded showman improved his personal best by four centimetres to 2.38m. He also picked up a first global medal to go with the Asian Games silver he won in 2014.
He now ranks just one centimetre below the legendary former world record-holder Zhu Jianhua on China&rsquo;s all-time high jump list and he has already eclipsed Zhu&rsquo;s national indoor record.
Bondarenko started last season in style by leaping 2.37m in early May, but the 2013 world and 2014 European champion couldn&rsquo;t quite reach the heights of two years ago when he imporoved the Ukrainian record to 2.42m, at the time moving up to joint second on the world all-time list.
The pair have clashed twice at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Shanghai over the past last three years with Bondarenko finishing second, one place ahead of his Chinese rival, in 2013 and again 12 months ago when they both cleared 2.32m, when they were beaten by Qatar&rsquo;s Mutaz Essa Barshim.
Organisers for the IAAF
2016 IAAF Diamond League calendar 6 May &ndash; Doha, QAT 14 May &ndash; Shanghai, CHN 22 May &ndash; Rabat, MAR 28 May &ndash; Eugene, USA 2 Jun &ndash; Rome, ITA 5 Jun &ndash; Birmingham, GBR 9 Jun &ndash; Oslo, NOR 16 Jun &ndash; Stockholm, SWE 15 Jul &ndash; Monaco, MON 22-23 Jul &ndash; London, GBR 25 Aug &ndash; Lausanne, SUI 27 Aug &ndash; Paris, FRA 1 Sep &ndash; Zurich, SUI 9 Sep &ndash; Brussels, BEL

China’s very own high jump hero Zhang Guowei is set to star at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Shanghai on 14 May, where he will come face-to-face with Bogdan Bondarenko, organisers announced on Friday (9).

Zhang to face Bondarenko in Shanghai – IAAF Diamond League

<h3>Melbourne, 21 March</h3>World record holder David Rudisha earned his second win in Australia as he dealt imperiously with the challenge down the home straight of Jeff Riseley.The Kenyan crossed in 1:44.94, 0.07 faster than he had achieved in Sydney a week earlier, with his local rival second in 1:45.29.New Zealand&rsquo;s Tom Walsh produced an Oceanian record of 21.37m to win the men&rsquo;s shot put.Australia&rsquo;s London 2012 Olympic Games champion Sally Pearson won the 100m hurdles despite being unhappy about a late switch of her race from the back to the main straight.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s so far from where I want to be,&rdquo; said Pearson of her time of 12.93, as compared to her season-opener of 12.74 two weeks earlier in Brisbane.In the women&rsquo;s javelin, South Africa&rsquo;s Sunette Viljoen threw 66.62m to defeat home thrower Kim Mickle (66.57m) and Chinese record holder Lu Huihui (64.59m).<h3>Kingston, 9 May</h3>Shaunae Miller went top of the 2015 world list for 200m as she trimmed 0.31 off her personal best on the super-fast National Stadium track in clocking 22.14 at the Jamaican Invitational International.It was a national record for the 21-year-old former world youth and world junior champion from The Bahamas.She left in her wake the USA&rsquo;s Tori Bowie, who was second in 22.29, while Jamaica&rsquo;s own world 200m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was third in 22.37.US 100m hurdler Jasmin Stowers improved her personal best and the 2015 world-leading time by 0.01 to 12.39, helped by a 2.0mps following breeze.Behind her, Jamaican siblings Danielle and Shermaine Williams ran 12.77 and 12.89 for second and third respectively.Home sprinter Asafa Powell earned big cheers for winning the 100m in 9.84 ahead of Ryan Bailey, who had anchored the US team to victory over Jamaica at the IAAF/BTC World Relays in Bahamas the previous week.Elaine Thompson made it a Jamaican double in the 100m, clocking 10.97 ahead of Nigeria&rsquo;s Commonwealth champion Blessing Okagbare (11.05) and USA&rsquo;s Allyson Felix (11.09).Colombia&rsquo;s world triple jump champion Caterine Ibarguen stretched her unbeaten run to 22 contests with a world-leading 14.87m in her opening contest of the year.<h3>Tokyo, 10 May</h3>Tianna Bartoletta won the long jump and 100m double by the closest of margins at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix, finishing a centimetre clear of Russia&rsquo;s Darya Klishina in the field event with 6.69m before taking the sprint decision by thousandths of a second over Ivory Coast&rsquo;s Marie-Josee Ta Lou after both were clocked at 11.26.Bohdan Bondarenko repeated his high jump win here of 2014 with a best effort of 2.37m.Australia&rsquo;s Olympic champion Sally Pearson won her 100m hurdles easily in 12.66.There were meeting records from Ukraine&rsquo;s Anna Mischchenko in the women&rsquo;s 1500m (4:02.47) and Hungary&rsquo;s Anita Marton, whose shot put of 18.94 bettered Valerie Adams&rsquo;s 2003 mark by a centimetre.<h3>Beijing, 20 May</h3>Four days after competing at the Shanghai Diamond League, David Oliver had the energy to improve his season&rsquo;s 110m hurdles best with a win in 13.15 that put him top of the 2015 world listings.The world champion&rsquo;s performance was one of four in the Bird&rsquo;s Nest stadium preparing to host the IAAF World Championships later in the summer to earn a place at the head of the 2015 lists but for the bulk of the 40,000 crowd the high point was a men&rsquo;s high jump which saw home hope Zhang Guowei earn victory with 2.34m at his third attempt before boldly but vainly moving to 2.40m, a centimetre higher than Zhu Jianhua&rsquo;s 1984 Chinese, and former world, record.Wenda Nel, of South Africa, topped the 2015 rankings with a 400m hurdles personal best of 54.37 as she headed the US pair of Tiffany Williams (55.22) and Olympic silver medallist Lashinda Demus (55.86).Polish hammer world record-holder Anita Wlodarczyk produced a 2015 world best with 77.73m, and Christina Schwanitz did likewise in the shot put with a personal best of 20.77 that put paid to home thrower Gong Lijiao&rsquo;s hopes of repeating her Shanghai victory. <h3>Dakar, 23 May</h3>Ivory Coast&rsquo;s Marie-Josee Ta Lou won the 100m in what would have been a personal best of 11.08 had it not been for a marginally illegal following wind of 2.1mps for record purposes.Senegal&rsquo;s World University Games silver medallist Amadou Ndiaye earned the only home win as he held off Ukraine&rsquo;s two-time European bronze medallist Stanislav Melnykov to win the 400m hurdles in a season&rsquo;s best of 50.53.<h3>Hengelo, 24 May </h3>Dafne Schippers brought a wave of home excitement to the AA Drink FBK Games in Hengelo as she set a Dutch 100m record of 10.94, bettering her time of 11.03 set in Glasgow the previous year.Aided by a 1.8mps tailwind, Schippers finished ahead of world junior champion Dina Asher-Smith, who set a British record of 11.02 while fellow Briton and 2007 world youth champion Asha Philip also set a personal best, clocking 11.10.Minutes after Schippers&rsquo; triumph, another Dutch record fell as Sifan Hassan won the women&rsquo;s 1000m in 2:34.68, the fastest time in the world for six years European indoor 60m hurdles champion Alina Talay won the 100m hurdles in a personal best of 12.70 while in the women&rsquo;s discus, the in-form Cuban Denia Caballero won with 65.46m and four of her five valid throws would have been enough to win.<h3>Ostrava, 26 May</h3>Three weeks after suffering a rare defeat at the IAAF World Relays, multiple world and Olympic champion Usain Bolt returned to business as usual by recording his seventh victory at the Golden Spike meeting as, in cold and rainy conditions, he clocked 20.13 in a 200m that was his first individual international race of an injury-dogged season.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not the conditions I&rsquo;d like to run my first international race in, but I&rsquo;m happy that I came away from the race injury-free,&rdquo; said Bolt. &ldquo;I just need more races; the more I run, the better I&rsquo;ll get.&rdquo;Sharika Nelvis, broke the long-standing 100m hurdles meeting record of 12.65 set in by Poland&rsquo;s Grazyna Rabsztyn in 1980 as the American clocked 12.55 into a 1.7 mps headwind.Kenya&rsquo;s Commonwealth javelin champion Julius Yego was ninth after two rounds and in order to remain in the competition he needed a good third round throw. It was better than good, a national record of 86.88m that earned victory.However, David Rudisha made it only around the first bend of the 600m before pulling up injured, clutching at the front of his thigh. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s very unfortunate that I pulled my muscle just after 100m,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s not a very serious injury.&rdquo;Poland&rsquo;s Adam Kszczot caught Mark English just before the line to win in 1:16.02, Olympic triple jump champion Christian Taylor broke the oldest of the Golden Spike&rsquo;s meeting records &ndash; the 16.82m achieved by Viktor Saneyev in 1979 &ndash; three times, with a best of 17.52m.World 400m hurdles champion Zuzana Hejnova was the only other Czech winner on the night, clocking 55.13.<h3>Rabat, 14 June</h3>In her first race since clocking a 2015 world-leading personal best of 14:14.32 in the 5000m at Shanghai, Ethiopia&rsquo;s Almaz Ayana won the 3000m in a national and African all-comers&rsquo; record of 8:22.22 which also topped the season&rsquo;s rankings.A week after producing the longest throw of 2015, 91.39m, at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Birmingham, Julius Yego was beaten by the man who preceded him as African record holder, Egypt&rsquo;s Ihab Abdelrahman, who threw a meeting record of 85.44m, with the Kenyan&rsquo;s best being 83.99m.Poland&rsquo;s world hammer champion Pawel Fajdek also threw a meeting record of 79.90m to finish nine centimetres ahead of Hungary&rsquo;s 2012 Olympic champion Krisztian Pars for his seventh successive win.The women&rsquo;s 400m race was won by Allyson Felix in a meeting record of 51.05.Meeting records also came from Russia&rsquo;s Angelina Zhuk-Krasnova, who won the pole vault with an African all-comers&rsquo; record of 4.56m, France&rsquo;s Pascal Martinot-Lagarde, who won the 110m hurdles in 13.37, and Lithuania&rsquo;s Zinaida Sendriute, who threw 61.37m in the discus.Three days after finishing fifth at the Oslo Diamond League, Ukraine&rsquo;s world high jump champion Bohdan Bondarenko cleared 2.36m to win an event including Russia&rsquo;s Olympic champion Ivan Ukhov and Canada&rsquo;s Commonwealth champion Derek Drouin.<h3>Madrid, 11 July</h3>Mike Rodgers of the United States made the most of temperatures in the mid-30s to win with a season&rsquo;s 100m best of 9.88, finishing ahead of Jamaica&rsquo;s Andrew Fisher, who broke 10 seconds for the first time, clocking 9.94.Fisher&rsquo;s Jamaican compatriot Elaine Thompson won the women&rsquo;s 100m in a meeting record of 10.90.Bosnia and Herzegovina&rsquo;s Amel Tuka improved on his own national record as a swift final 50 metres earned him victory in 1:43.84.Joe Kovacs won the shot put with 21.22m and home poster girl Ruth Beitia won the high jump with a best of 1.96m.<h3>Berlin, 6 September</h3>Three athletes who had recently failed to reach their final at the IAAF World Championships Beijing 2015 earned a measure of consolation with impressive victories in the historic Olympic stadium.Lynsey Sharp defeated an 800m field including newly-established world champion Marina Arzamasova, of Belarus, to win in 1:57.71, taking more than a second off her personal best when producing the fastest time by a Briton since Kelly Holmes&rsquo;s victory at the 2004 Olympics.The men&rsquo;s 800m was won by 2012 Olympic Games silver medallist Nijel Amos, who finished almost a second clear of Poland&rsquo;s Beijing silver medallist Adam Kszczot in 1:43.28.And in her first race since falling in the Beijing semi-finals, 2008 Olympic Games 100m hurdles champion Dawn Harper Nelson won in 12.82.Two newly crowned world champions excelled in the throws.Poland&rsquo;s Piotr Malachowski won the men&rsquo;s discus with a best of 66.13m, and Christina Schwanitz won the shot put on home territory with 19.66m.<h3>Zagreb, 8 September</h3>Sandra Perkovic, newly deprived of her status as the discus world champion, responded to her home crowd with a dominating victory and a meeting record of 69.88m.Turkey&rsquo;s world championships finalist Ramil Guliyev won from the outside lane of the 200m in 19.88, a national record and the fastest time by a European in 2015. Russia&rsquo;s new world high jump champion Mariya Kuchina won with a best effort of 2.00m. Her compatriot and fellow world champion Sergey Shubenkov won the 110m hurdles in 13.11.On the eve of the meeting, New Zealand&rsquo;s Tom Walsh had won the shot put in Fountain Park, improving his Oceania record by four centimetres to 21.62m.<h3>Rieti, 13 September</h3>Burundian 800m runner Francine Niyonsaba, making a comeback having been out of action in 2014, produced a stand-out win on a rain-affected evening, clocking 1:57.62 to finish clear of Kenya&rsquo;s world championships 1500m silver medallist Faith Kipyegon, who was second in a personal best of 1:58.02.Qatar&rsquo;s Femi Ogunode won the men&rsquo;s 100m in 9.93, just 0.02 outside his Asian record.Having won in Zurich and Brussels, world silver medallist Adam Kszczot won his third consecutive 800m race, clocking 1:44.82.Mike Rowbottom for the IAAF

A look back at the highlights from the IAAF World Challenge series in 2015.

2015 IAAF World Challenge review

Bogdan Bondarenko, the 2013 world high jump champion and a silver medallist in Beijing just over a week ago, provided the highlight of the famous Palio Citt&agrave; della Quercia meeting in Rovereto with a 2.31m clearance at Italy&rsquo;s oldest meeting on Tuesday (8).However, Bondarenko made the competition seem like hard work. He failed his first attempt at the opening height of 2.21m but then cleared at the second time of asking. After passing at 2.25m, Bondarenko failed twice at 2.28m and then chose to make his final attempt at 2.31m.The Ukrainian star then failed his three attempts at 2.36m, one centimetre higher than Troy Kemp&rsquo;s 2.35m meeting and stadium record set in 1991. &ldquo;It was not bad but I would have been happier if I had cleared 2.36m," said Bondarenko. "I would have managed to jump this height if we had been at the start of the season. I am happy with my silver medal in Beijing but I hoped to win the gold. I enjoy competing in Italy, during the winter I train in Formia. I have one more competition in Warsaw."After his dominant displays during the summer of 2014, his win in Rovereto was actually his first victory in almost three months.Kemp&rsquo;s Bahamian compatriot Donald Thomas &ndash; both men, like Bondarenko, former world champions &ndash; cleared 2.25m to finish second.Qatar&rsquo;s Asian champion Femi Ogunode improved the 100m meeting record to 10.00. The previous meeting and stadium record was held by Keston Bledman, who clocked 10.04 in 2013. French sprinter Christophe Lemaitre edged out Jamaica&rsquo;s Rasheed Dwyer by 0.02 in a close 200m race won in 20.31 into a -0.4m/s headwind. Jamaica's world 4x400m champion and Commonwealth 400m champion Stephanie Ann McPherson got her second consecutive 400m win in Rovereto in 51.62.Fiona Benson from Canada prevailed in the women&rsquo;s 1500m in 4:05.62 over Ireland&rsquo;s Clara Mageean, who was second in 4:06.54. Shane Brathwaite from Barbados won the men&rsquo;s 110m hurdles in 13.43 while Ukraine&rsquo;s Hanna Platytsina took the honours in the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles in 13.13.Russia&rsquo;s promising 19-year-old Konstantin Tolokonnikov just had the edge over Morocco&rsquo;s Amine El Manaoui in a close finish in the men&rsquo;s 800m, with both men given the same time of 1:46.12. Turkey&rsquo;s Ali Kaya won over his preferred distance of 5000m in 13:25.41.Amber Campbell produced her best throw of 71.52m in the sixth round, the US thrower overtaking Moldova&rsquo;s Zalina Marghieva who took the lead with 71.19m one round earlier. Andrius Gudzius from Lithuania produced his best throw with his second attempt and reached 63.05m to win the men&rsquo;s discus throw.Belarus&rsquo; Natalya Mironchyk-Ivanova took the lead in the third round of the women&rsquo;s long jump with 6.65m and held on to win from Great Britain&rsquo;s Jazmin Sawyers, who was second with 6.49m.Cuba&rsquo;s Alexis Copello won the triple jump with 16.85m while Argentina&rsquo;s German Chiaraviglio, a Beijing finallist, won the men&rsquo;s pole vault on countback with 5.51m over Russia&rsquo;s Ilya Mudrov. Diego Sampaolo for the IAAF

Bogdan Bondarenko, the 2013 world high jump champion and a silver medallist in Beijing just over a week ago, provided the highlight of the Palio Città della Quercia meeting in Rovereto with a 2.31m clearance at Italy’s oldest meeting on Tuesday (8).