Kenyan 800m runner Wycliffe Kinyamal and Jamaican sprinter Julian Forte grabbed the headlines at the 53rd edition of the Palio della Quercia Memorial Edo Benedetti in Rovereto on Tuesday (29).
Competing in warm and nearly ideal conditions, Kinyamal set the meeting record of 1:43.94, the fourth fastest time in the world this year. Pacemaker Tamas Kazi led at the bell clocking a fast 49.80 ahead of Burundi&rsquo;s Antoine Gakeme, who went to the front at 500 metres. Kinyamal launched his kick with half a lap to go, and came off the bend with a big lead over Gakeme in the final straight to smash his previous personal best of 1:45.65 set in Hengelo last June. Kinyamal improved the meeting record of 1:43.97 held by Youssef Saad Kamel since 2005.
Gakeme clocked 1:44.49 in second, just 0.05 outside of his season&rsquo;s best. Former world bronze medallist Amel Tuka from Bosnia &amp; Hercegovina finished third in 1:44.62, a season&rsquo;s best. Guy Learmonth set his personal best in fourth place with 1:45.10.
Forte followed up his impressive win at the IAAF World Challenge meeting in Berlin with his second consecutive win in the men&rsquo;s 100m in Rovereto clocking 10.07 ahead of Jak Ali Harvey from Turkey (10.15) and Cuba&rsquo;s Yunier Perez (10.17).
Forte won at this meeting last year in 9.97 but an illegal tailwind of +2.1 m/s denied him the meeting&rsquo;s first sub-10 clocking. Forte ran the fastest time in the heats at the World Championships earlier this month but did not get through the semifinals. Last Sunday he smashed his lifetime best with a 9.91 in Berlin, the third fastest time of 2017.
&ldquo;I am really satisfied with my race,&rdquo; Forte said. &ldquo;I have come here for some time and I enjoy competing her. I did not expect to run so fast in Berlin.&rdquo;
<h3>Niyonsaba cruises</h3>
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Francine Niyonsaba in Rovereto</div>
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Olympic and world 800m silver medallist Francine Niyonsaba from Burundi won the final race of her season clocking 2:01.14. Pacemaker Ilona Usovich led at the bell reached in 58.80. Five runners were in contention with 200 metres remaining, including Niyonsaba, Noelie Yarigo from Benin and Kenyan Emily Tuei. Niyonsaba pulled away in the home straight to take the win ahead of Yarigo (2:01.68) amd Tuei (2:02.03). Niyonsaba crowned a successful year in which she also set a lifetime best of 1:55.47 in the Monaco Diamond League meeting and dipped under 1:56 again a few weeks when finishing second to Caster Semenya at the World Championships clocking 1:55.92.
&ldquo;It was great to end the season with a win,&rdquo; said Niyonsaba. &ldquo;My goal was to win the silver in London and I am really happy. I have no regrets.&rdquo;
World Championships finalist and Olympic 4x400 relay silver medallist Stephanie Ann McPherson scored her second consecutive win here clocking 50.86, well clear of Great Britain&rsquo;s Perri Shakes Drayton (52.19) and 2015 world bronze medallist Sherika Jackson (52.26).
This year&rsquo;s 400m hurdles world bronze medallist Ristananna Tracey won her event in 54.57 ahead of Jamaican compatriot Janieve Russell (55.48).
<h3>Tabashnyk upsets Levchenko</h3>
In the women&rsquo;s high jump, Kateryna Tabashnyk from Ukraine cleared a lifetime best of 1.95m on her second attempt to upset 19-year-old London world silver medallist Yuliya Levchenko, who jumped 1.93m at the second time of asking.
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Kateryna Tabashnyk in Rovereto</div>
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Dwayne Cowan, world bronze medallist in the 4x400 relay in London, followed up his win in the Birmingham Diamond League with another victory, clocking 45.63.&nbsp;
Lilian Kasait Rengeruk took the women&rsquo;s 3000m in 8:51.04 ahead her compatriot Joyline Cheroytich, who set a lifetime best with 8:52.59.
Birhanu Balew from Bahrain won his second consecutive 5000m race in as many days, clocking 13.22.81 just two days after his victory in Berlin.
Equador&rsquo;s Angela Tenorio won the women&rsquo;s 100m in 11.18 ahead of Jamaicans Jura Levy (11.31) and Simone Facey (11.45).
Former European Indoor silver medallist Pablo Torrijos from Spain won the men&rsquo;s triple jump with 16.96m. In the men&rsquo;s discus, world bronze medallist Mason Finley beat 2008 Olympic champion Gerd Kanter 64.77m to 62.41m.
Jarrett Eaton prevailed in the men&rsquo;s 110m hurdles in 13.52. Lina Maze from Latvia won the women&rsquo;s javelin throw with 60.75m.
Diego Sampaolo for the IAAF

Kenyan 800m runner Wycliffe Kinyamal and Jamaican sprinter Julian Forte grabbed the headlines at the 53rd edition of the Palio della Quercia Memorial Edo Benedetti in Rovereto on Tuesday (29).

Kinyamal clocks 1:43.84 in Rovereto

With the traditional relays meetings during April in the USA and in parts of the Caribbean, including the Gibson Relays in Kingston which saw Usain Bolt have an outing, a few teams have already been going through their paces. But matters will get serious in Nassau.In 2014, without Bolt due to injury, Jamaica fielded Nesta Carter, Nickel Ashmeade, Julian Forte and Yohan Blake and they combined to win in 37.77. It was the third-fastest run of the year and only beaten by two other performances by Jamaican teams, including one in the IAAF World Relays heats.With Bolt replacing the recuperating Blake and Ashmeade just part of the 4x200m team, Jamaica is expected to draft in Carter and Kemar Bailey-Cole to complete the line-up.Whoever they choose from their squad, as long as Bolt is on the anchor leg then Jamaica will start as the overwhelming favourite.Last year, Trinidad and Tobago were second and Great Britain third after the USA had another day to forget where their men&rsquo;s 4x100m is concerned and were disqualified in their heat.If the USA can get the baton round in reasonable fashion, with a squad that includes fast men like Ryan Bailey, Justin Gatlin, Tyson Gay and Mike Rodgers, they should make it on to the podium and potentially could push Jamaica. But there seems to be air of uncertainty about US men&rsquo;s sprint relays teams baton-passing in recent years, which some of the sprinters themselves have even alluded to from time to time. After Jamaica, USA, Trinidad and Tobago and European champions Great Britain, the latter boasting the world indoor and European indoor 60m champion Richard Kilty, there seems to be quite a gap to the other 20 nations entered in this event but Brazil and the Netherlands seem to be the best of the rest.Along with the 4x400m, the first eight nations in this event will get automatic qualification to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.Phil Minshull for the IAAF

With the traditional relays meetings during April in the USA and in parts of the Caribbean, including the Gibson Relays in Kingston which saw Usain Bolt have an outing, a few teams have already been going through their paces. But matters will get serious in Nassau.

Men's 4x100m preview – IAAF/BTC World Relays, Bahamas 2015

Multiple world and Olympic champion Usain Bolt got his 2015 campaign underway at the Gibson Relays in Kingston by running the anchor leg for Racers Lions Track Club in the 4x100m, but the Jamaican superstar&rsquo;s team was surprisingly beaten in the final.The Racers Lions breezed to a heat victory in 39.26, but the University of Technology team posted a quicker 38.87 in a previous heat. Still, few would have bet against Bolt&rsquo;s team in the final, as it also included Commonwealth 100m champion Kemar Bailey-Cole and world 200m silver medallist Warren Weir.Thanks to a storming second leg from Julian Forte, the University of Technology team were ahead before the half-way point. Weir was unable to make much of an impact on Kemarley Brown on the third leg, so Bolt received the baton some five metres down on UTech&rsquo;s anchor, Tyquendo Tracey, the 2012 world junior 4x100m silver medallist.Tracey ran the leg of his life to hold off Bolt, winning in 38.23 while Racers Lions had to make do with second place in 38.29.It was the first time since 2007 that Bolt has been beaten in a 4x100m relay. His last loss in the event was at the Zurich Weltklasse meeting almost eight years ago.UTech made it a double in the senior clubs relays, winning the women&rsquo;s event in a meeting record of 43.13.Further meeting records were broken in the boys&rsquo; high school 4x100m, with Calabar High School &ndash; anchored by world youth 200m champion Michael O'Hara &ndash; clocking 39.32, and in the men&rsquo;s long jump as Nicholas Gordon leapt 7.95m (1.7m/s).Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF

Multiple world and Olympic champion Usain Bolt got his 2015 campaign underway at the Gibson Relays in Kingston by running the anchor leg for Racers Lions Track Club in the 4x100m, but the Jamaican superstar’s team was surprisingly beaten in the final.

Kinyamal clocks 1:43.84 in Rovereto

Men's 4x100m preview – IAAF/BTC World Relays, Bahamas 2015

Bolt opens season in Kingston with rare 4x100m loss