It has been 13 years, but the women&rsquo;s javelin returns to Oslo&rsquo;s Bislett Stadium for the 50th anniversary of the ExxonMobil Bislett Games, part of the IAAF Diamond League, on 11 June.Javelin has almost folklore status in Norway which has long been regarded as a factory for javelin throwers. Men like Arne Halse, Olav Sunde, Egil Danielsen, Terje Pedersen and Andreas Thorkildsen quickly became household names in Norway. This event, though, will evoke memories of Norway&rsquo;s greatest female javelin thrower, Trine Hattestad. She was a huge crowd favourite at the Bislett Games and had a record that was the envy of every thrower in the world: Olympic champion, twice world champion as well as European champion. Hattestad also improved the world record on two occasions. To celebrate the 50th anniversary, the best possible field has been assembled. Heading the field is a woman with similar credentials to Hattestad: Barbora Spotakova.The Czech thrower is the world record-holder and has won two Olympic titles as well as gold medals at both the World and European Championships.Spotakova has also been the Diamond Race winner in her specialist event in 2010, 2012 and 2014. She will be joined in the competition by two old rivals, both who have returned to competition after taking a year off for maternal duties. Both women are former world champions and both have personal best in excess of 70 metres. Germany&rsquo;s Christina Obergfoll is the world champion while Russia&rsquo;s Maria Abakumova won that title in 2011.Obergfoll broke through for her first major championship victory when she finally won in Moscow. The German had been a finalist at the IAAF World Championships on four occasions prior to Moscow, but without a victory. Obergfoll also won the Diamond Race in 2011 and 2013, meaning that only her and Spotakova have ever lifted the women's javelin Diamond Trophy.Abakumova has medals from three IAAF World Championships, winning in Daegu four years ago as well as gaining the bronze medal in both 2009 and 2013. Her personal best of 71.98m is the second-longest throw in the history of the sport.With the recalibrated javelin, there have only been 11&nbsp;throws recorded beyond 70 metres. Abakumova has achieved the feat on four occasions, Spotakova has managed it three times, while Obergfoll has two marks in advance of 70 metres. This trio represent the best throwers of this era and they will all compete at the ExxonMobil Bislett Games.Organisers for the IAAF2015 IAAF Diamond League calendar Doha, QAT &ndash; 15 May Shanghai, CHN &ndash; 17 May Eugene, USA &ndash; 30 May Rome, ITA &ndash; 4 June Birmingham, GBR &ndash; 7 June Oslo, NOR &ndash; 11 June New York, USA &ndash; 13 June Paris, FRA &ndash; 4 July Lausanne, SUI &ndash; 9 July Monaco, MON &ndash; 17 July London, GBR &ndash; 24-25 July Stockholm, SWE &ndash; 30 July Zurich, SUI &ndash; 3 September Brussels, BEL &ndash; 11 September

It has been 13 years, but the women’s javelin returns to Oslo’s Bislett Stadium for the 50th anniversary of the ExxonMobil Bislett Games, part of the 2015 IAAF Diamond League, on 11 June.

Women's javelin back in Oslo – IAAF Diamond League

Barbora Spotakova and Christina Obergfoll head a deep world-class javelin field at the 2015 IAAF Diamond League meeting in Eugene on 30 May, after organisers for the famous Prefontaine Classic announced the line up for the this event on Monday (30).This particular pair should have a unique rivalry this season as they are the only winners of the Diamond Race in their event during the five seasons of the IAAF Diamond League.World record-holder and two-time Olympic champion Spotakova of the Czech Republic missed almost all of the 2013 season after giving birth to her son Jan in May that year but returned in 2014 to win the European title and at the IAAF Continental Cup.Germany's Obergfoll is also a reigning global gold medallist, winning at the 2013 IAAF World Championships before taking last season off for maternity leave, her son being born in October.&nbsp; Obergfoll has a special fondness for Hayward Field, having won at the past two editions of the Prefontaine Classic when the javelin has been held, in 2011 and 2013, and she owns the meeting record of 67.70m from two years ago.Russia&rsquo;s Mariya Abakumova is another major championship gold medallist in the field, winning at the 2011 IAAF World Championships, the last time someone other than Spotakova or Obergfoll won a major gold in this event. Abakumova's lifetime best of 71.99m is second only to Spotakova&rsquo;s world record of 72.28m on the all-time list.Linda Stahl of Germany claimed her most famous victory in 2010 when winning the European title ahead of Obergfoll and Spotakova while South Africa&rsquo;s Sunette Viljoen is also in the field and she owns the US all-comers best of 69.35m.Slovenia&rsquo;s Martina Ratej and her fellow Olympic finalist Madara Palameika from Latvia will add depth to the classy list of leading javelin throwers at the 41st edition of the Prefontaine Classic.Organisers for the IAAF2015 IAAF Diamond League calendar Doha, QAT &ndash; 15 May Shanghai, CHN &ndash; 17 May Eugene, USA &ndash; 30 May Rome, ITA &ndash; 4 June Birmingham, GBR &ndash; 7 June Oslo, NOR &ndash; 11 June New York, USA &ndash; 13 June Paris, FRA &ndash; 4 July Lausanne, SUI &ndash; 9 July Monaco, MON &ndash; 17 July London, GBR &ndash; 24-25 July Stockholm, SWE &ndash; 30 July Zurich, SUI &ndash; 3 September Brussels, BEL &ndash; 11 September

Barbora Spotakova and Christina Obergfoll headline a deep world-class javelin field at the 2015 IAAF Diamond League meeting in Eugene on 30 May, after organisers for the famous Prefontaine Classic announced the line up for the this event on Monday (30).

Spotakova and Obergfoll to duel in Eugene – IAAF Diamond League

Melbourne, 6 AprilTwo weeks after becoming the youngest ever winner of the senior men’s world cross-country title, 19-year-old Japhet Korir won the 5000m in the opening round of the IAAF World Challenge, clocking 13:31.94.Britain’s Olympic champion Greg Rutherford prevailed with a best of 8.10m in a long jump competition which included Olympic silver medallist Mitchell Watt and 2010 world indoor champion Fabrice Lapierre, while Stuart Farquhar made it a good night for New Zealand by winning the javelin with 81.07m.Wallace Spearmon, who won the 200m in 20.79, spoke of his plans to move up to 400m.Toea Wisil of Papua New Guinea, who trains with Sally Pearson’s coach, Sharon Hannan, took a double in the women’s sprints. Despite a headwind of -0.7m/s in the 100m, she came within 0.04 of the Papua New Guinea record with 11.41, and had a winning 200m time of 23.09, which would have smashed her own national record, rendered ineligible through a barely-illegal tailwind of 2.1m/s.Kingston, 4 MayTyson Gay’s 100m in 9.86 and Ryan Whiting’s 21.74m shot put were among five world-leading marks in an enthralling Jamaica International Invitational meeting.With Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake absent, Gay recorded the year’s first sub-10 time, with Jamaica’s Nesta Carter a distant second in 10.03.Whiting won with an effort of 21.74m ahead of US compatriot Christian Cantwell.Nickel Ashmeade won the 200m in a world-leading time of 20.00 ahead of fellow Jamaican Warren Weir, who clocked 20.14. Jamaica’s double Olympic 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce won her 200m in 22.38, the second-fastest time of the year.The two other world-leading times came in the sprint hurdles races with Dawn Harper-Nelson beating her US colleague Queen Harrison in the women’s 100m hurdles, the pair clocking 12.62 and 12.64 respectively. Antwon Hicks won the 110m hurdles in 13.25 on the track where he had become world junior champion 11 years earlier.Jamaica’s Veronica Campbell-Brown defeated Allyson Felix in the 100m, clocking 11.01. Felix was fifth in 11.13.Tokyo, 5 MayThe Seiko Golden Grand Prix offered a first senior international opportunity to 17-year-old home sprinter Yoshihide Kiryu, who a week earlier had equalled the world junior record of 10.01.“I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be,” said the Japanese high school student, who was third in 10.40 in a race won by Mike Rodgers of the United States in 10.19 into a headwind."I was really looking forward to my first race against foreign runners. The way the foreign athletes accelerate in the second half (of the race) is so different,” he added."He's going to be great," commented Rodgers.The women’s 100m was won by Bulgaria’s Ivet Lalova in a modest 11.46 as she fought against a -2.4m/s headwind.Anna Chicherova, the Olympic high jump champion competing for the first time in almost eight months, won with 1.95m, and Olympic long jump bronze medallist Janay DeLoach won with 6.82m.Jairus Birech won the men's 3000m steeplechase in a world-leading 8:15:26, and in the men's 800m, Anthony Chemut defeated fellow Kenyan Robert Biwott, 17, to win in 1:46.51.Belem, 12 MayCuban triple jumper Ernesto Reve and Brazilian sprinter Ana Claudia Lemos Silva were the stars in Belem.Reve, still only 21, won his event with 17.37m, while Lemos Silva set a South American record of 11.05.There was further home sprint success as Brazil’s Bruno de Barros took the men’s 100m and 200m. He won the 100m in 10.25, then 80 minutes later took the longer sprint in 20.35.Colombia’s Rafith Rodriguez impressed in the 800m with his 1:44.70 victory, while Jamaica’s Patricia Hall came close to her 400m PB, winning in 50.86.Ponce, 18 MayUS 400m hurdler Johnny Dutch ran a world-leading time of 48.02 to upset local hero Javier Culson and the US-based Ivory Coast sprinter Murielle Ahoure earned a 100m and 200m double in Puerto Rico.A packed 12,000 crowd at the Francisco Montaner Stadium also saw Ahoure take the 100m comfortably in 11.09, a season’s best.The world indoor 60m silver medallist returned to the track almost two hours later for her first 200m of the year and earned another comfortable victory in 22.47, just 0.05 short of her personal best.Ten days later after posting his world-leading 13.17, Olympic 110m hurdles finalist Orlando Ortega earned victory over Barbados’s 2009 world champion Ryan Brathwaite in 13.23. Beijing, 21 MayThe meeting was highlighted by world-leading marks from USA’s David Oliver in the 110m hurdles, which he won in 13.16, and the other in the women’s high jump, which was won by Olympic champion Anna Chicherova with a 2.02m leap.Local attention was on Zhang Peimeng, who had broken the national 100m record one month prior with 10.04. But Justin Gatlin won in a season’s best of 9.91.Fellow US sprinter Mike Rodgers clocked a season’s best 9.96 in second, but in third place there was a surprise as 23-year-old Chinese Su Bingtian, who held the national record at 10.16 prior to Zhang’s breakthrough, finished with a personal best of 10.06.Li Jinzhe, who had a world-leading long jump to his credit, was forced to exit the stadium after suffering a gash to his left arm – but by then he had already won with 8.31m.The men’s high jump also engaged local interest as 21-year-old Beijing resident Wang Yu added five centimetres to his personal best with a world-leading 2.35m to go equal second on the Chinese all-time list. The last Chinese athlete to jump higher was former world record-holder Zhu Jianhua back in 1985.Hengelo, 8 JuneA day after his 30th birthday, Polish discus thrower Piotr Malachowski threw a world-leading 71.84m at the Fanny Blankers-Koen Games, a national record which moved him to fifth on the all-time listings.“I have been hunting for this throw for three years now, and we had perfect conditions today," said Malachowski. “Yesterday, there was no beer for me, but today? Maybe, yes!”Another surprise came in the pole vault when Cuba’s Yarisley Silva achieved an outdoor world-lead and Central America and Caribbean record of 4.90m. Only two women – Russia’s world record-holder Yelena Isinbayeva and the USA’s Jenn Suhr – had ever gone higher. Abeba Aregawi won the 800m in a Swedish record of 1:59.20.Kenenisa Bekele couldn’t keep up with the tempo over 5000m when the pace went from 64 to 62 seconds, and three laps from the finish he left the track on which he ran his world record of 12:37.35 in 2004.Rabat, 9 JuneEuropean champion Christophe Lemaitre produced the biggest surprise of the night as he defeated the pre-event favourite Justin Gatlin in the 100m with a wind-assisted 9.98.Gatlin, who had just beaten Usain Bolt in Rome, was forced to settle for second place in 10.02, his first 100m defeat of the year.Ethiopia’s Mohammed Aman, who had set a world-leading time of 1:43.61 in Rome, was an easy winner of the 800m, clocking 1:44.37. Eusebio Caceres of Spain needed just one attempt to win the long jump. His first-round effort of 8.22m was his only valid jump of the evening.Morocco’s Aziz Ouhadi recorded one of the two ‘home’ wins on the night, taking the 200m in a wind-assisted 20.59 (3.1m/s).The other Moroccan win came in the 1500m. In the absence of Olympic bronze medallist Abelaati Iguider with a minor back injury, compatriot Fouad El Kaam crossed first in 3:34.68.Russia’s Olympic bronze medallist Ekaterina Poistogova ran a well-timed race in the 800m to set a meeting record of 1:59.80.Moscow, 11 JuneHeld in the Luzhniki Stadium just two months before Moscow hosted the IAAF World Championships, 2011 world champion Mariya Abakumova provided the highlight of the meeting with her 65.94m javelin victory.On the track, Ukraine’s Mariya Ryemyen defied the heavy rain to win the 200m in 22.73. Her compatriot Bohdan Bondarenko won the high jump on count-back with 2.28m.Ryan Brathwaite, the 2009 world champion, won the 110m hurdles in 13.34, while Andre Oliver defeated home star Yuriy Borzakovskiy in the 800m, clocking 1:44.93.Dakar, 12 JuneAlmaz Ayana, better known as a steeplechaser, dominated the women’s 3000m and reduced her personal best by almost six seconds with a time of 8:44.30 as she won by almost 20 seconds and posted the second-fastest time in the world this year.Eusebio Caceres, a two-time World Junior Championships medallist, won the men’s long jump with 8.20m, and the women’s long jump was won by Bianca Stuart of the Bahamas with 6.73m.Ferguson Rotich won the 800m in a personal best of 1:45.40, coming home ahead of fellow Kenyan compatriot Anthony Chemut who was second in 1:45.43, while Daniel Kipchirchir Komen won the 1500m in 3:35.15.After his personal best of 48.56 at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Rome the previous week, Senegal’s 400m hurdler Mamadou Kasse Hanne provided the one domestic win of the evening when he crossed the line in 48.99.Ostrava, 27 JuneA newly-refurbished Mestsky Stadion welcomed record crowds at the 52nd edition of the Golden Spike, where world-leading performances by Tirunesh Dibaba and Valerie Adams were among the highlights.Held earlier in the evening, the women’s 10,000m provided athletes an opportunity to achieve qualifying marks for the IAAF World Championships, but three-time Olympic gold medallist Dibaba wasn’t content simply to dip under the ‘A’ standard of 31:45.Instead, the Ethiopian went out hard and ran out a clear winner in a world-leading 30:26.67, smashing by 27 seconds the meeting record she set when winning here in 2008. For Dibaba, who has never lost over 10,000m ever since taking up the event in 2005, this was her 10th consecutive victory over 25 laps.Adams, the world and Olympic champion in the shot, produced a best effort of 20.88m on her final attempt – the seventh-best throw of her career and the best mark witnessed in Ostrava since 1984.The oldest meeting record of the Golden Spike fell to Olympic and World 400m champion Kirani James, who bettered the 1976 mark of 44.70 set by Alberto Juantorena with 44.49.Olympic bronze medallist Zuzana Hejnova delighted the home crowd with her 400m hurdles win in 53.32, improving Ionela Tirlea’s meeting record of 53.87 set a decade ago.Olympic 100m hurdles champion Sally Pearson made a winning return after injury to win in 12.67.Another athlete making their season debut was Yelena Isinbayeva, who won the pole vault with 4.78m.Madrid, 13 July Jamaica's Nesta Carter provided the highlight of the 'Meeting de Madrid 2013' with an outstanding 9.87 win in the men's 100m.Brandon Johnson of the United States finished strongly in the 800m to lower his personal best from 1:43.97 to 1:43.84.The highly anticipated women’s high jump saw another US victory as Olympic silver medallist Brigetta Barrett bounced back with 1.98m after losing at the IAAF Diamond League in Paris eight days earlier.Bulgaria’s Georgi Ivanov, the 2004 world junior shot put champion, defeated a field which included Germany’s world champion David Storl with a best of 20.57m, with Storl’s best a relatively modest 20.27m.Berlin, 1 SeptemberIn the first round of the first event of the day, Maria Abakumova improved the javelin meeting record to 68.82m before moving up to 70.53m – the third best throw of her career, the tenth best throw ever and the farthest distance marked since September 2011 when Abakumova won the world title in Daegu with 71.99m.It was the Russian’s fourth consecutive victory since her third-place finish at the World Championships on home soil in Moscow.Triple world discus champion Robert Harting won in his home city thanks to an effort of 69.02m, while New Zealand’s four-time world shot put champion Valerie Adams added yet another victory with six attempts over 20 metres. Germany’s 37-year-old Nadine Kleinert (17.73m) placed fourth in her last competition in a big stadium.“There were some tears today when I said goodbye to Valerie Adams,” said the two-time world silver medallist. “I will miss this crazy chick.”In the men’s shot, Germany’s world champion David Storl won with 20.91m, but the most emotional performance came from veteran Ralf Bartels (19.08m) who, at the age of 35, ended his long career in Berlin.Zagreb, 3 SeptemberAnother thrilling night of track and field in Zagreb produced five meeting records and a little disappointment for the home crowd as Sandra Perkovic’s winning streak of 15 victories came to an end. USA’s 34-year-old Gia Lewis-Smallwood stole the show in the discus with a personal best and meeting record of 66.29m while Croatia’s reigning Olympic and world champion finished second with 65.63m.“I wouldn't be competing if I wasn't competing in my home town,” said Perkovic, who later left the stadium in tears.Finland’s Tero Pitkamaki won the javelin with 86.36m, breaking a meeting record which had stood for more than 20 years, while a meeting record of 5.75m was achieved in the pole vault by Brazil’s Augusto Dutra de Oliveira.Five men dipped under the previous 3000m meeting record of 7:37.50, led home by Kenya’s Caleb Mwangamgi Ndiku, who won in 7:35.06.Rieti, 8 SeptemberRieti staged the final leg of the IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge for both men and women. World silver medallist Anita Wlodarczyk earned overall victory ahead of Russia’s Olympic and world champion Tatyana Lysenko with a meeting record of 76.57m. Lysenko had to settle for the overall runner-up position after managing 73.90m. Hungary’s Olympic champion Krisztian Pars won the men’s hammer with 79.80m in the third round, beating world champion Pawel Fajdek, but the Pole took the overall title, beating Pars by 246.23m to 264.17m.Silas Kiplagat, sixth in the World Championships 1500m in Moscow, won in a season’s best of 3:30.13. Johan Cronje, world bronze medallist in Moscow, set a South African record of 3:31.93 in second place.Qatar’s Musaeb Abdulrahman Balla, 24, dipped under 1:44 in the 800m for the first time to set a national record of 1:43.93.South Africa’s Caster Semenya, world champion in 2009 and Olympic silver medallist in London, returned to sub-two-minute form to win the women’s 800m with a season’s best of 1:58.92.Mike Rowbottom for the IAAF

A look back at the best performances across the 2013 IAAF World Challenge.

2013 IAAF World Challenge review

The organisers of the IAAF World Challenge meeting in Berlin couldn’t have hoped for a better start. In the first round of the first event of the day, Maria Abakumova improved the Javelin meeting record to 68.82m. But the Russian wasn’t finished yet.In round four, she achieved 70.53m – the third best throw of her career, the tenth best throw ever and the farthest distance marked since September 2011 when Abakumova won the World title in Daegu with 71.99m.It was the Russain’s fourth consecutive victory since her third-place finish at the IAAF World Championships on home soil in Moscow.“My technical coach has told me all year long that I can throw 70 metres this season – and he was right,” she said. “I have to admit that I am thinking about the World record now. My family and my whole team help me believe I can make this dream come true.” The World record has been set by Czech Barbora Spotakova in 2008 with a mark of 72.28m.Current World champion from Germany Christina Obergfoll had to leave the big stage to Abakumova, placing third with 63.30m behind German champion Linda Stahl’s 65.35m.“Since Moscow, I have found it hard to stay focused,” admitted Obergfoll. “The years before, I have been the one who has set big marks after the top event. This year it’s the other way round.”With her first gold medal being safely stored away at home, she could still enjoy the competition despite the defeat.Wlodarczyk one step closer to Hammer Challenge victoryIn the IAAF Hammer Challenge, it was Olympic bronze medallist Betty Heidler who set the first big mark with 74.62m in round two, putting her at the top of the leader board until halfway through the competition.Even though the Berlin born and raised athlete had the support of the 53,000 spectators in Berlin’s 1936 Olympic stadium, Heidler didn’t improve and ended up in third place as two other athletes stepped up their game.As in 2009, when she took the World title in Berlin, Poland’s Anita Wlodarczyk proved to be the strongest in the German capital. Improving with each attempt, the leader in the IAAF Hammer Challenge improved from 75.16m in the fourth to 76.05m in the fifth round and finished off with 77.15m.Putting even more ground between herself and her opponents, and with only one event to go on 8 September in Rieti, the victory in this year’s IAAF Hammer Challenge seems to be Anita Wlodarczyk’s.World and Olympic champion Tatyana Lysenko from Russia this time had to settle with second place (74.89m).Harting defends his home groundHe would defend his home ground in boxer shorts and with a muck fork – that’s what local hero Robert Harting had said before the meet. As it turned out, the triple World champion from Berlin didn’t need those accessories to claim victory in style.It was his German countryman Martin Wierig, fourth at the World Championships, who challenged Harting in the fourth round with a throw of 66.73m. But Harting bounced back straight away. With 69.02m, his fourth best mark of the year, he went back to the top of the ranking, and that’s where he stayed.With 64.89m, World silver medallist Piotr Malachowski was not only beaten by two Germans this time, but also by another Polish contender as Robert Urbanek finished third with 64.97m.Adams’ last victory of the seasonNew Zealand’s Shot queen Valerie Adams added yet another victory to her growing collection. With six attempts past 20 metres, the Olympic and World champion dominated the competition. “This was my last competition of the year and I am pretty tired,” she said. “But I am still happy with my shape.”As in Moscow, second place was reserved for Christina Schwanitz from Germany, who achieved 19.43m.Thirty-seven-year-old German Nadine Kleinert (17.73m) placed fourth in her last competition in a big stadium. “There were some tears today when I said goodbye to Valerie Adams,” said the two-time World championship silver medallist who will retire at the end of this season. “I will miss this crazy chick; it’s hard to think of doing things without her now. I have celebrated the biggest successes of my career with her.”Home victories for Storl and ReifIn the men’s Shot, World champion David Storl snatched victory from Czech Ladislav Prasil who had a strong series of four attempts beyond the 20-metre mark. His best attempt of 20.79m was not enough, though, to beat the German in front of his home crowd as Storl improved to 20.91m in the fourth round which turned out to be enough to stay at the top.The most emotional performance came from veteran Ralf Bartels (19.08m) who, at the age of 35, ended his long career in Berlin. “My goal for today was to have fun and to surpass the 19-metres mark,” said the 2006 European champion and 2009 World bronze medallist. “And that’s what I did, so I am happy.”Another German victory went to long jumper Christian Reif, who achieved 8.11m on his last attempt, surpassing South Africa’s Godfrey Khotso Mokoena by three centimetres.Kemboi drops out againOf the three individual World champions who participated in Berlin’s track events, only one could claim victory: Mohammed Aman. The Ethiopian dominated the 800m after the pace makers had left and crossed the finish line in 1:43.97, leaving behind the strong US runners Duane Solomon and Brandon Johnson.As in the Diamond League race in Stockholm ten days before, three-time World champion Ezekiel Kemboi did not finish the 3000m Steeplechase. Talking to the press afterwards, he explained that he had muscular problems.But six of his countrymen stepped up and made sure that the victory still went to Kenya. Fastest in the field was Hillary Yego in 8:08.84 ahead of Paul Kipsiele Koech (8:09.31).In the women’s 1500m, World 800m champion Eunice Sum only placed third in 4:10.81. It was Russia’s World University Games champion Yekaterina Sharmina who had the strongest finish and came first in 4:10.45 ahead of Great Britain’s Hannah England (4:10.80).Silke Bernhart for the IAAF

Abakumova dominates in Berlin with 70.53m throw – IAAF World Challenge

Meseret Defar’s outstanding 5000m win over her compatriot Tirunesh Dibaba and Bohdan Bondarenko bringing the Letzigrund Stadium to a standstill as he attempted again to improve the High Jump World record provided the highlights of the first of this season’s IAAF Diamond League finals on Thursday (29).The pair were run close by the 1500m win by Kenya’s Silas Kiplagat and Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce’s sizzling 200m win.In total, there were 15 Diamond Race trophies awarded along with the US$40,000 first prize that accompanies them – the women’s Shot Put winners were crowned yesterday – before another sell-out crowd of 26,000 in Zurich.The second of the 2013 Diamond League finals will be held in Brussels on 6 September.Defar and Dibaba renew rivalryA lot of the pre-meeting attention at the IAAF Diamond League final in Zurich was rightfully focused on Usain Bolt and Bohdan Bondarenko, two giants of global athletics literally and metaphorically, but they were upstaged by two diminutive, if only in height, Ethiopians: Merseret Defar and Tirunesh Dibaba.Defar and Dibaba, the 5000m and 10,000m gold medallists respectively from the 2013 IAAF World Championships, were brought together to battle for supremacy over the shorter distance, something that didn’t happen in Moscow earlier this month owing to both of them deciding to only have one bite of the cherry in the Russian capital. It was just their fourth race against each other since the Beijing Olympics five years ago.Dibaba may have come in as the World record-holder and 2013 world leader, while Defar was saying ahead of the meeting how tired she was after her recent outings in Moscow and Stockholm, but it was the latter who prevailed in a dramatic and thrilling last lap, coming home just under two seconds in front of her Ethiopian compatriot and rival in 14:32.83.After a relatively sedentary first 4000m in 11:52.15, the pace started to hot up almost immediately. Dibaba took the lead with 600m to go and Defar stayed on her heels despite the former going through the gears.Coming off the final bend, Defar then moved on to the shoulder of Dibaba before going past her, although her opponent never threw in the towel and finished in 14:34.82.Defar and Dibaba may have been just a few seconds short of their fastest times of the year over the distance but they lived up to the word of meeting director Patrick Magyar that, “athletics is not just about races against the clock but also head-to-head competition.”For the record, Defar uncorked an unofficial last kilometre of 2:40.68 and a last lap of 58.3. Into the bargain, her win meant that she was also was victorious in the Diamond Race and added a $US40,000 first prize as well as the impressive and elusive Diamond Trophy, which she received at the end of the meeting along with the 14 other winners on Thursday night.Triple World champions Bolt and Fraser-Pryce take the sprintsBolt had what has almost become his trademark poor start but the two-time World champion in the shorter sprint was imperious in the 100m once he got into his running in the second half of the race.With the temperature at a pleasant 20°C, he crossed the line in 9.90 with his Jamaican compatriot Nickel Ashmeade 0.04 in arrears.However, the Diamond Race, reflecting his season-long consistency, went to the US sprinter Justin Gatlin.On Thursday night, Gatlin finished third in 9.96 but it was sufficient to give him the honours in the season-long series.In the women’s showcase sprint, Fraser-Pryce was quick out of her blocks and had daylight between her and the rest of the field coming off the bend before crossing the line in 22.40 to leapfrog over Ivory Coast’s Murielle Ahoure in the Diamond Race standings.Just like in Moscow, Ahoure had to settle for second, this time in 22.66.Two jumps to win for BondarenkoBondarenko, as expected, won the High Jump and subsequently the Diamond Race thanks to being flawless up to and including 2.33m, making that height with a soaring clearance.Although Greece’s Konstantinos Baniotis and Mutaz Essa Barshim also cleared 2.33m at the first time of asking, they then brought the bar down three times at 2.35m, a height which Bondarenko passed, and they finished second and third respectively based on their earlier failures in the competition.Bondarenko then audaciously requested for the bar to be put up to the World record height of 2.46m and asked for silence from an attentive Zurich crowd for his 11th attempt in the last two months at trying to consign to history Javier Sotomayor’s two-decade-old standard of 2.45m.However, after one modest attempt – compared to his two good efforts after he had secured his gold medal in Moscow – he decided to call it a night after just three jumps in total to the slight disappointment of the rapt crowd.Silas Kiplagat, third going into the final bend, came out of a tightly bunched leading pack coming into the last 100m to take the men’s 1500m in 3:30.97, just edging out Djibouti’s Ayanleh Souleiman who finished second in 3:31.64 but who had already secured first place in the Diamond Race.Victories for World champion hurdlers Hejnova and OliverZuzana Hejnova dominated her 400m Hurdles race from the second barrier and came home in 53.22 to take her unbeaten run to 11 races in this event this season.As part of that streak she has won all seven of the races in the Diamond League and so was a convincing winner of the Diamond Race. It was also her 10th sub-54 clocking this year; only Deon Hemmings in 1997 has recorded more sub-54 performances in one season, breaking that mark 12 times.Like fellow hurdler Hejnova, David Oliver justified his status as the big favourite for the 110m Hurdles with a sparkling run in 13.12. It was the third consecutive Diamond League win for Oliver and helped him regain the Diamond Race he had won in its inaugural year of 2010.Fellow US athlete LaShawn Merritt was another man who added US$40,000 to his bank balance after pocketing US$60,000 and a gold medal in Moscow.Merritt, as has become the norm, went out fast in the 400m and was clearly in the lead at the halfway point, but his season-long rival and 2011 World champion Kirani James, clearly now over the stomach troubles which left the Grenadian weak in Moscow and trailing home seventh in the defence of his global crown, didn’t let him build up an unbeatable lead and fought with him all the way off the curb.However, Merritt’s confidence is obviously sky-high at the moment and he not only held off James but stopped the clock at 44.13, his third fastest time of the season, while James came home in 44.32.World champions beaten in Javelin and Long JumpMaria Abakumova continues to make up for her below-par performance in Moscow, when she only got the bronze medal, by winning in Zurich with 68.94m.The Russian opened with 64.90m, extended her lead with 65.29m before hitting her big throw in the third round. She finished off with efforts of 66.91m, 66.26m and then a foul; all five of her legal efforts better than the rest of the field, which was led by World champion Christina Obergfoll.The German finished second with 63.36m but had already secured the Diamond Race before the meeting and so was another recipient of a Diamond Trophy.South Africa’s Zarck Visser was a surprise winner of the Long Jump, flying out to a personal best of 8.32m in the third round.Visser, who failed to make the final of the World Championships, beat the top four in Moscow as well as four-time World champion Dwight Phillips, who was having his very last international competition.No one could get close to Visser, who got his big jump into a -0.8m/s wind, the nearest being his compatriot Godfrey Mokoena who leapt 8.11m.World champion Aleksandr Menkov arrived in Zurich tired after the birth of his first child on Monday and understandably was not at his best.The Russian only managed 7.94m and passed his remaining four attempts, eventually finishing sixth. However, as he had already clinched the Diamond Race prior to the final despite getting no points here, he stood on the podium at the end of the night.The popular four-time World champion Phillips had announced that Zurich was to be his last international competition and, sadly, could only finish eighth with 7.53m but the 2004 Olympic champion was given a special award by IAAF President Lamine Diack in honour of his achievements and contribution to the sport.Kanter upsets Harting and MalachowskiThe first Diamond Race to be decided was the men’s Discus which saw World Championships bronze medallist and 2008 Olympic champion Gerd Kanter snatch the title from under the nose of the two men who finished in front of him in Moscow: Germany’s Robert Harting and Poland’s Piotr Malachowski.Kanter could only take the Diamond Trophy if he won and Malachowski finished outside the top three and that is exactly what happened after the Estonian threw a season’s best of 67.02m in the third round while Malachowski had a night to forget and was down in seventh with 63.70m.Harting pushed the inspired Kanter hard and reached 66.83m in the fourth round but it was just 19cm short of the mark which would have given him the win and, instead, made him the Diamond Trophy recipient.There were other exciting Diamond Race battles in the women's Pole Vault and Long Jump, and both were won by the less favoured athletes.With USA's Olympic champion Jenn Suhr retiring from the competition after just two vaults, it left Yarisly Silva, Fabiana Murer and Silke Spiegelburg in the hunt for glory. Murer and Spiegelburg shared the lead with the bar at 4.72m, both with perfect records, while Silva's three attempts at 4.62m left the Cuban playing catch-up.Spiegelburg then went over 4.79m, a season's best, on her first try as Murer and Silva bowed out. The extra points moved the German into the overall lead in the Diamond Race ahead of Silva and Murer.Three-time World champion Brittney Reese was never a factor in the Long Jump tonight. On a night of modest distances, Britain's Shara Proctor found 6.88m enough to beat Nigeria's Blessing Okagbare to the Diamond Trophy.Kenyans Sum and Yego benefit from good late-season formIn the women’s 800m, there was a rematch between Kenya’s Eunice Sum and Russia’s Maria Savinova, the gold and silver medallists at the World Championships two weeks ago, and once again it was the African who triumphed.Sum won in 1:58.82, just 0.11 in front of her predecessor as World champion, and as this event was wide open in the absence of Burundi’s injured Francine Niyonsaba, Sum also took the Diamond Trophy. In the men’s 3000m Steeplechase, pacemaker Haron Lagat tore through the first kilometre in 2:39.26 but the tempo slowed by more than one second a lap as Stockholm winner Hilary Yego took over in the lead just before the 2000m mark, taking only his fellow Kenyan Jairus Birech with him.The pair then duelled over the final two laps and left the main protagonists from Moscow trailing in their wake, Yego eventually winning in 8:08.03 to Bairus’s 8:08.72.Behind the leading pair, Moscow silver medallist Conseslus Kipruto correctly assessed that if he finished third then he would win the Diamond Race and the teenager filled that position in a time of 8:10.76 while three-time World champion Ezekiel Kemboi&nbsp; was a distant 10th.The pick of the non-Diamond League events was the women’s 100m, which saw Jamaica’s Carrie Russell speed to a personal best of 10.98, just holding off the USA’s Alexandria Anderson who fought her all the way over the final 50 metres but had to settle for second in 11.02.Anderson later gained revenge over Russell in the 4x100m as the USA defeated World champions Jamaica. Charonda Williams ran a storming anchor to hold off Fraser-Pryce, 41.67 to 41.78.Phil Minshull for the IAAF

Defar and Bondarenko dazzle in Zurich – IAAF Diamond League

Javelin throwers Tero Pitkamaki and Maria Abakumova competed in two different meetings on German soil on Sunday (25), but the end result for both athletes was the same as they produced the best throws in the world since 2011.World silver medallist Pitkamaki was throwing at the Werfertage meeting in Bad Kostritz. In the first round, Germany’s David Golling smashed his PB by more than three metres to take an early lead with 80.67m.After a slow start, Pitkamaki eventually found his rhythm in the fourth round, sending his Javelin out to 89.03m to break Raymond Hecht’s meeting record of 87.87m from 2002.Not only was it the Finn’s best mark since 2007 – the year in which he won the World title – but it was also the best mark in the world since August 2011.“I’m very happy with the competition and the distance, even though the wind was not quite perfect,” said the 30-year-old.Behind Pitkamaki and Golling, European under-23 silver medallist and World Championships representative Bernhard Seifert of Germany finished third with 79.01m.Elsewhere in Bad Kostritz, Germany’s two-time World champion David Storl won the Shot but was pushed all the way by Argentina’s German Lauro.The South American record-holder opened with 20.32m and it took Storl until the third round to take the lead with his 20.47m effort. But that was short-lived as Lauro responded with 20.61m in the fifth round, then improved further with 20.91m on his final attempt.Storl had saved enough for the final throw of the competition, though, and sent his Shot out to a meeting record of 21.02m.In the women’s event, Germany’s World silver medallist Christina Schwanitz was similarly tested against tough opposition. US champion Michelle Carter recorded 19.33m to Schwanitz’s 19.40m in the first round before the home favourite went on to improve with 19.71m and then 20.18m to secure the victory.Abakumova defeats Obergfoll againSince her disappointment of missing out on winning gold in front of her home crowd at the World Championships in Moscow, Russia’s Maria Abakumova has now twice defeated World champion Christina Obergfoll – including today’s triumph in Elstal.The pair were competing at the DKB Cup meeting just three days after their last clash at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Stockholm, where Abakumova also came out on top. This time, the World bronze medallist produced a winning mark of 69.75m, the best performance in the world since her own winning throw at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu.Obergfoll finished almost four metres adrift with a best throw of 65.82m. In a competition which featured four of the top-five finishers from the World Championships, Australia’s Kathryn Mitchell finished third with 62.17m, just two centimetres ahead of Germany’s Linda Stahl.There was one other World champion competing in Elstal, pole vaulter Raphael Holzdeppe, although he had a competition he’ll be keen to forget as he failed to register a valid mark.It left the way clear for Olympic silver medallist Bjorn Otto to enjoy a comfortable victory with 5.80m, 20 centimetres ahead of Czech record-holder Jan Kudlicka.Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF

Javelin world leads by Pitkamaki and Abakumova in Germany

Ethiopia’s Meseret Defar would have preferred to have raced over 5000m, the distance at which she has won consecutive Olympic and World titles, but she made the very best of the scheduled 3000m race at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Stockholm to win in 8:30.29, the world’s fastest time this year, on Thursday (22).At the bell, Defar had her compatriot Genzebe Dibaba, the World 1500m finalist, on her shoulder, with the Kenyan who had followed her home for silver in the Luzhniki Stadium, Mercy Cherono, also close. However, Defar turned the screw as they entered the final bend and kept it down all the way to the line as she crossed five metres clear of Cherono, who clocked a personal best 8:31.23. There were personal bests, too, for the next three women home. Ethiopia’s Sifan Hassan took third place in 8:32.53, Kenya’s Viola Kibiwot clocked 8:33.97 and fellow Kenyan, fifth-placed Gladys Cherono, was timed at 8:34.05.“To be able to come and win just a few days after the World Championships is good,” said Defar. “I am so happy for this victory. I ran 14:50 at the World Championships, which is not fast for me, so I was able to run well tonight. I’m in good shape.”Shkolina still hitting the heightsOn a chilly evening, but with a near-capacity crowd in the 1912 Olympic Stadium, eight of the top nine High Jump finalists from Moscow did battle here again – and once again Shkolina came out on top to continue her unbeaten record this season as her fellow Russians Anna Chicherova and Mariya Kuchina took second and third place. Shkolina had first time clearances at 1.90m, 1.94m and 1.98m before failing at 2.01m, but only Chicherova joined her in attempting that height, and the Olympic champion’s earlier failed attempt at 1.94m saw her take second place on count back, with Kuchina third after getting over 1.94m.Another of Russia’s victorious field event athletes from Moscow, long jumper Aleksandr Menkov, earned a win on the night after turning his fortunes around mid-competition.Menkov, who had mentioned several times the day before just how tired he was after his epic win in the Luzhniki Stadium, faced missing the cut as he moved down the runway on his third attempt with only a best of 7.77m to his credit, but he dramatically restored his fortunes with an effort of 8.06m which took him past South Africa’s 2008 Olympic silver medallist Godfrey Mokoena and into the lead.Mokoena, who had led with 8.03m, improved to 8.16m in the fifth round, but by then the Russian had registered his best of the night, 8.18m, in the fourth round before passing on the two final rounds. Job done.Spain’s Eusebio Caceres, fourth in Moscow, was third here with 8.00m.Moscow bronze medallist Mariya Abakumova became a member of Stockholm’s Diamond Club after bettering Trine Hattestad’s 13-year-old Javelin stadium record of 67.92m with a winning effort of 68.59mDiamonds are a girl's best friend Abakumova threw her best effort in the second round to take the lead from Germany’s 2013 World champion Christina Obergfoll after the latter’s opening effort of 62.36m. Obergfoll, perhaps drained after all the elation of Sunday, was unable to advance on her first effort, and fellow German and 2010 European champion Linda Stahl came through for second place with a last round effort of 63.75m.“I didn’t throw so far in Moscow because it was a World Championships and in my home country and my husband threw one day before me and I was very, very nervous,” said Abakumova. “There was a lot of pressure. I felt relaxed tonight and I decided that I would compete tonight because my shape can be good for one day.”Czech Republic’s World 400m Hurdles champion Zuzana Hejnova joined her as winner of a 1-carat, US$10,000 diamond after beating the 2011 400m Hurdles meeting record of 53.74 set by Jamaica’s Kaliese Spencer, as she won in 53.70.Hejnova is having a dream of a year. Having arrived unbeaten at the Moscow World Championships, she was the commanding winner of the final in a national record of 52.83 and came to Stockholm already secure as winner of the Diamond Race. She finished five metres ahead of Spencer, who was disqualified from her heat at the World Championships, and the Jamaican finished second in 54.88 ahead of the USA’s Moscow silver medallist Delilah Mohammad, who clocked 55.74.The final race of the night, over 800m, involved Sweden’s World 1500m champion Abeba Aregawi but was conclusively won by the Kenyan who won the World title at that distance in Moscow, Eunice Sum, in 1:58.84.Sum’s win came in a strange finale to the 800m. As the Kenyan moved clear in the finishing straight, the field bunched as the US pair of Ajee Wilson and early leader Alysia Montano appeared to clash. The latter was forced wide, and, bizarrely, ran still wider, moving from lane three to lane four as she challenged Sum on her inside, as if it were a 400m race.Montano’s strange route to the finish proved profitable, however, as she took second place in 1:58.96 ahead of Morocco’s Malika Akkaoui, who clocked 1:59.74, with Wilson settling for fourth in 1:59.96. Aregawi was never at the front and finished sixth in 2:01.22, one place ahead of World 800m bronze medallist Brenda Martinez, who had suffered from a migraine the day before.“I was feeling good today,” said Sum. “The pace was good for me. I was not really tired since Moscow was on Sunday and we came here directly, and I’ve had enough time to train and rest. The crowds were really screaming and really helping my morale and we ran good tonight.”Montano commented: “I got stuck in a box at the end, I had a lot left but I just got stuck, and it was as bit cold out there tonight.”Kiprop left out in the coldThe fears World 1500m champion Asbel Kiprop expressed before this race proved well founded as the Kenyan struggled home sixth in 3:35.49 in a race won by World 800m bronze medallist Ayanleh Souleiman in 3:33.59. Souleiman ran a fully committed race in the cool conditions after the sun had dipped beneath the rim of the historic stadium, tracking the pacemakers until the last one dropped out with 350 metres to go and then pushed hard down the back straight. The Djibouti athlete looked like a man on a mission after being bumped and almost tripped in his Moscow 1500m semi-final and failing to progress.“At the World Championships there was a lot of pushing but now I am happy having won tonight,” said Souleiman. “This is my second country. I live in Sweden so this is my home track.”Kiprop said on Wednesday that he thought he would be the target in the race, particularly for talented runners who had not earned selection for the World Championships such as his Kenyan compatriot Augustine Choge.However, Choge was not the danger Kiprop had anticipated and finished four places behind him in 3:39.41. It was, instead, the other Kenyans who ran in Moscow who proved sharper on the night, with Silas Kiplagat finishing second in 3:33.92 and Nixon Chepseba, whose front-running effort in the Luzhniki Stadium saw him miss the podium by just one place, taking third place in 3:34.05.Colombian triple jumper Caterine Ibarguen, who equalled the 2013 legal best in the world of 14.85m to take gold in Moscow, sealed her victory in the Diamond Race with a final round effort of 14.61m to open an insurmountable 11 points lead over Ukraine’s Moscow bronze medallist Olha Saladuha, who finished second with a modest 14.07m.Valerie Adams earned her fourth consecutive Shot Put World title in Moscow and looks almost impossible to beat at the moment. She secured her 40th consecutive competition victory here with a third round effort and stadium record of 20.30m, which extended her Diamond Race lead to 16-12 over the woman who finished second in Moscow and here as well, Germany’s Christina Schwanitz, who threw 19.26m. LaShawn Merritt, the World 400m champion, looked very comfortable as he won here in 44.69 ahead of Dominican Republic’s Moscow bronze medallist Luguelin Santos, who was a distant second in 45.25.Poland’s Piotr Malachowski, Discus silver medallist in Moscow, consolidated his gold medal position as far as the Diamond Race is concerned with a winning effort of 65.86m which extended his points total to 14, six more than Germany’s Robert Harting, the absent World champion, and Estonia’s 2008 Olympic champion Gerd Kanter, who was only fourth here with 62.93m.Iran’s London 2012 Olympic Games silver medallist Ehsan Hadidi took second place with a third round effort of 63.64m, ahead of Germany’s Martin Weirig, who reached 63.20m.Spiegelburg upsets Suhr and SilvaIn the absence of Russia’s Yelena Isinbayeva, who upstaged both of them on the evening of the World Championships Pole Vault final, the Moscow silver and bronze medallists USA’s Jennifer Suhr and Cuba’s Yarisley Silva, resumed their battle at the top end of the Diamond Race. Suhr, the 2012 Olympic champion, had the chance to win the event had she cleared 4.69m at her third attempt, with all other competitors finished, but it was not a night for big heights and the US record-holder could not manage the height and had to settle for fourth place with 4.59m. “I always have a tough time jumping here,” lamented Suhr. “This is just my bad luck meet.”Suhr’s failure left Silva and Germany’s Silke Spiegelburg as joint leaders, and they progressed to a jump-off which was won by the German as she cleared 4.69m on her first attempt, with Silva failing. Brazil’s former World champion Fabiana Murer finished third, having also cleared 4.59m. Silva now leads the Diamond Race with 11 points, two more than Spiegelburg and four more than Suhr, ensuring an exciting climax to this event at the IAAF Diamond League final in Zurich in eight days’ time.As might have been expected, Kenyans obliterated all their opposition in the 3000m Steeplechase as they took the first six places, however, the race certainly didn’t run to form in any other repsect.World champion Ezekiel Kemboi made an early exit, dropping out with two laps remaining of a race won by Hilary Yego in 8:09.81 with Gilbert Kirui second in 8:11.55, third place went to the World silver medallist Conseslus Kipruto in 8:12.35. Curtis Mitchell, the United States runner who achieved his major championship break though by taking the 200m bronze medal in Moscow behind Usain Bolt and his Jamaican team-mate Warren Weir, discovered the harsher side of the sport here as he pulled up clutching his left hamstring shortly before the halfway stage of a 200m race surprisingly won from lane eight by Ukraine’s Serhiy Smelyk in 20.54.David Oliver, the World 110m Hurdles champion, flattened barriers three and seven en route to flattening his opposition on a chilly evening. The former US record-holder clocked 13.21 to finish well clear of Russia’s Moscow bronze medallist Sergey Shubenkov, who recorded 13.35, as Moscow silver medallist Ryan Wilson struggled home in seventh place in 13.60, a series of crashed hurdles behind him.Jamaica’s Kerron Stewart won the 100m in 11.24, 0.01 second clear of &nbsp;US sprinter Alexandria Anderson, with another US athlete, Barbara Pierre, third in 11.29.Mike Rowbottom for the IAAF

Defar defies the Stockholm elements to run fastest 3000m in 2013 - IAAF Diamond League  

Defar defies the Stockholm elements to run fastest 3000m in 2013 – IAAF Diamond League  

After so many near misses at the IAAF World Championships and Olympic Games, Germany’s Christina Obergfoll was determined not to let the gold medal slip from her grasp on this occasion and fulfilled her role as the favourite with a winning throw of 69.05m.At the previous four World Championships, Obergfoll had finished second in 2005 and 2007, fifth in 2009 and fourth in 2011. At the London 2012 Olympic Games last year, she was again runner-up to add to her bronze from 2008, and she was second at the past two editions of the European Championships.This season though, the 31-year-old Obergfoll has been in outstanding form and won seven of her eight competitions.She already has the 2013 Diamond Race secure after victories in New York, Eugene, Rome, Paris and London, so anything less than first place would have not only been an upset but a bitter disappointment to the personable blonde-haired former European record-holder.Local hope and 2011 World champion Maria Abakumova never found her best form in the final, in the wake of her reaching 69.09m in qualifying which was farther than Obergfoll’s winning effort, but the Russian tossed the spear out to 65.09m in the first round to take an early lead.However, she never improved and had to settle for the bronze medal, which will sit alongside the one of a similar hue won by her husband Dmitri Tarabin in the men’s final on Saturday. After 64.63m in the first round and throwing 12th in the final, so able to watch her rivals and assess their form, Obergfoll then grabbed her chance and unleashed a season’s best of 69.05m with her second throw.On a still evening in the Luzhniki Stadium which was generally far from conducive to big throws, that throw clinched the competition. Obergfoll then threw 64.02m and 62.93m with her next two throws before fouls in rounds five and six as she tried to improve.However, she didn’t need to as she eventually won by more than two metres.Behind Obergfoll, Australia’s Kimberley Mickle had the competition of her life and will look back at Moscow with fond memories. After her personal best of 65.73m in qualifying, she threw another best with 66.25m in the second round to briefly take the lead, before Obergfoll took her turn five throws later.With her final throw, Mickle, smiling broadly and secure of getting a medal, then improved to 66.60m. &nbsp;The top two were thrilled with their places and achievement but it was not difficult to see the disappointment on Abakumova’s face at a championships when so many Russians have risen to the occasion in front of their family and friends.Not only did she relinquish her World crown but it was also a case of history repeating itself for Abakumova from four years ago, in Berlin 2009, when she also threw farther than the eventual winning mark in qualifying only to end up third on that occasion as well.Phil Minshull for the IAAF

Report: Women's Javelin final – Moscow 2013

Sunday, the ninth and closing day of the IAAF World Championships held in Moscow at the Luzhniki Stadium, will bring in bits of everything: throwing (the women’s Javelin final), jumping (the men’s Triple Jump), sprinting (the men’s and women’s 4x100m Relays) and distance running (the men’s 1500m and women’s 800m finals.) And, of course, host-country favourites and Usain Bolt, the running themes of the championships.Bolt is expected to take a leg of defending champions Jamaica’s 4x100m Relay, with whom he set a World record in Daegu in 2011. Whether Bolt will run in the first round, which for men will be held shortly before 17:00 Moscow time, is unanswered so far, but should Jamaica succeed in making the final, which seems likely, leaving an uninjured Bolt off the relay would be madness.The mechanics of getting the baton around - twice – are just difficult enough to make no team a sure thing, but Jamaica have yet to lose with Bolt carrying the stick.The women’s 4x100m Relay is even more interesting. With both Jamaica and the USA depleted by injury – not one of the World-record-setting quartet which ran for the USA in London is available now – the door is open for a challenge from the likes of the Bahamas, Great Britain, or hosts Russia to claim a big medal. And, as we’ve already mentioned, actually finishing the race is by no means a sure thing.Middle-distance featuresThe men’s 1500m suffered a number of high-profile exits in the semi-finals, including those of Olympic silver medallists Nick Willis and Leo Manzano, but it retains 2008 Olympic champion Asbel Kiprop, and from the way Kiprop ran in the semi-finals, he may be all the race needs.Kiprop and his countrymen Nixon Chepseba and Silas Kiplagat should improve on Kenya’s no-medals showing in this event last summer in London, but outside the red, black and green it’s worth keeping an eye on the young Briton Chris O’Hare, an NCAA champion in the USA, and 2011 bronze medallist Matthew Centrowitz, whose semi-final tactics were close to perfect.The women’s 800m final features two Russians and three from the USA and as such might be close to a rematch of Saturday’s 4x400m Relay. The tactical range between the front-running Alysia Johnson Montano and fast-closing Brenda Martinez mirrors the USA one-two punch of Duane Solomon and Nick Symmonds in the men’s 800m.However, in the women’s race is Mariya Savinova, the Olympic champion and winner in Daegu two years ago whose own tactical sense is near perfect. Savinova has to be considered the favourite until events prove her otherwise.Abakumova brings attentionWith Russia’s Maria Abakumova dominating the women’s Javelin, that event might get more attention than it generally does during Sunday’s competition. Abakumova’s seasonal best is more than a metre-and-a-half farther than that of anyone else in the final, and she is the only woman in the final with a PB over 71m – in fact, at 71.99m, she’s almost the only one over 72m. The only other woman in the field with a PB over 70m is Christina Obergfoll.There aren’t any Russians in the men’s Triple Jump final, so those athletes may find themselves under the radar when their final starts. However, through qualifying Pedro Pichardo has one of the best PBs of the bunch at 17.69m and the best of any finalist this year.The challenge is likely to come from World and Olympic champion Christian Taylor of the USA, who will join team-mate Will Claye in the final.Events begin at 16:00 Moscow local time and will be completed before 19:00.Parker Morse for IAAF

Day nine preview – Moscow 2013

Russia’s defending women’s Javelin champion Maria Abakumova showed that she will not be giving up her title without a fight and has arrived at these IAAF World Championships in terrific form as she threw 69.09m with her first throw in Friday morning’s qualifying rounds.It was the longest distance in a qualifying round at any championships in history with the current women’s Javelin specification.In contrast to a number of other field event qualifiers that have been held in the morning, where there have only been a few athletes reaching the automatic qualification standard, the javelin throwers seemed raring to go.No less than 11 throwers went over the automatic qualifying standard of 61.50m.Australia’s Kimberley Mickle was the next best behind Abakumova when she added more than a metre to her best, set in Paris at the IAAF Diamond League there last month, with her second round effort of 65.73m.Four other women made it a short morning’s work, reaching the qualifying standard with their first throw, including the German pair of Linda Stahl and Christina Obergfoll, who went through to Sunday’s final easily with 64.51m and 62.36m.Another to get qualification quickly resolved was South Africa’s Sunette Viljoen, the bronze medallist at the last championships in Daegu two years, who was the fourth woman to throw over 64 metres on Friday morning when she launched her first throw out to 64.51m as well.Although they are not expected to be medal contenders, Serbia’s Tatjana Jelaca and Sweden’s current World and European junior champion Sofi Flinck have already made their mark on the competition by setting national records of 62.68m and 61.96m respectively.The 12th and last place went to Nadeeka Babaranada with 60.39m, just 25cm away from her recent national record, who became not only the first Sri Lankan woman to make the final of a World Championships field event but was actually the first woman from her nation to compete in a World Championships field event when she took part in the qualifying competition.A number of names stand out from the 15 women who didn’t progress on a morning when conditions were obviously conducive to good throwing. The biggest casualty was Germany’s Katherina Molitor, fifth at the last World Championships and sixth at the 2012 Olympic Games, who could throw no farther than 60.32m.Japan’s Yuki Ebihara, Ukraine’s Marharyta Dorozon, Slovenia’s Martina Ratej and Latvia’s Madara Palameika have all thrown over 62 metres this season and would have come to Russia hoping to make the final but found 60 metres beyond them on Friday.Phil Minshull for the IAAF

Report: Women's Javelin qualifying – Moscow 2013

After being so long in the shadow of other throwers at major championships, not least Czech Republic’s London 2012 Olympic Games champion and World record-holder Barbora Spotakova who will be missing in Moscow because of maternity leave, Germany’s Christina Obergfoll will possibly never have a better chance of taking a global title.This season, the 31-year-old Obergfoll has been in outstanding form and won seven of her eight competitions. Consequently, she will start as the favourite for her first major international title.She already has the 2013 Diamond Race victory sealed after victories in New York, Eugene, Rome, Paris and London; and her only defeat came after she made a tiring dash across the border to compete at the German Championships in Ulm on 7 July, after winning in the French capital the previous night.Obergfoll, a former European record-holder with a best this season of 67.70m from Eugene, has acquired an impressive array of medals and near-misses since she emerged as a world-class thrower in 2005 but none of them gold.&nbsp; At the past four World Championships, she finished second in 2005 and 2007, fifth in 2009 and fourth in 2011. At the Olympics last year, she was again runner-up to add to her bronze from 2008 and she was second at the past two editions of the European Athletics Championships.Her obvious immediate rival to stand on top of the podium is home favourite and reigning World champion Maria Abakumova.After two low-key winter outings, the Russian started the serious part of her season in stunning fashion with a throw of 69.34m at the European Champion Clubs' Cup in Spain back in May and that effort leads the 2013 world list by more than a metre.However, since then, her form has been rather indifferent although she threw over 65 metres to win on Russian soil at both the World University Games and Russian Championships last month.Abakumova has also lost all five of her encounters with Obergfoll this summer and, despite her talent and winning in Daegu two years ago, has admitted that she has sometimes struggled to cope with high pressure situations, demonstrated by her finishing down in 10th at the Olympic Games last summer.In addition to the anticipated two main protagonists, the only other woman going to Moscow to have thrown over 65 metres this season is Germany’s Linda Stahl.Stahl does not have the big distances to her name that Abakumova and Obergfoll can boast of, but she has a habit of doing well at major championships and her best of 66.81m came when she won the 2010 European title.She picked up two bronze medals last year after finishing third both at the European Athletics Championships and Olympic Games, and is the only woman this year to have beaten Obergfoll. Australia’s Kim Mickle and Ukraine’s 2012 European champion Vira Rebryk have both thrown over 64 metres this year and so could enter into medal contention but, curiously, neither has won a competition outside their home country so far this year.Rebryk won her continental crown in Helsinki last year with a personal best of 66.86m and is a former World junior champion as well as the World junior record-holder but has never quite rid herself of the reputation of being an erratic performer. In addition to her Olympic disaster, when she failed to make the final in London, she could only finish third at the recent Ukrainian Championships. Other throwers who could entertain hopes of getting a medal include South Africa’s Sunette Viljoen and Germany’s Katharina Molitor, fourth and sixth at the 2012 Olympic Games, and the pair have both gone over 63 metres in 2013.Click <a href=" http://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-championships/14th-iaaf-world-championships-4873/athletes">here</a>&nbsp;for OFFICIAL ENTRIES in the Moscow 2013 Athletes’ section.Phil Minshull for the IAAF

Women’s Javelin Throw – Preview

Six of Russia’s nine reigning World champions will defend their titles in front of a home crowd at the 2013 IAAF World Championships in Moscow from 10-18 August.In total, 119 athletes – 50 men and 69 women – from the host nation will compete in the Russian capital. Included in that figure are six athletes who struck gold in Daegu two years ago – Yuliya Zaripova in the 3000m Steeplechase, Olga Kaniskina in the 20km Race Walk, Mariya Abakumova in the Javelin, Anna Chicherova in the High Jump, Tatyana Lysenko in the Hammer and Mariya Savinova in the 800m.Three of Russia’s reigning World champions – heptathlete Tatyana Chernova and race walkers Valeriy Borchin and Sergey Bakulin – will miss the World Championships.Long jumpers Aleksandr Menkov and Elena Sokolova guaranteed their places on the team after winning the 2012 Diamond Race in their events.Aside from the defending champions and Diamond Race winners, there are several other medal hopes. Olympic 400m Hurdles champion Natalya Antyukh can never be discounted, nor can Pole Vault World record-holder Yelena Isinbayeva.Olympic 20km Race Walk champion and World record-holder Elena Lashmanova will look to extend her winning streak by taking her first World title.Two-time European indoor champion Darya Klishina will contest the Long Jump, while European champion Sergey Shubenkov goes in the 110m Hurdles.Olympic High Jump champion Ivan Ukhov and Javelin world leader Dmitri Tarabin carry some of Russia’s best chances of medals in the men’s field events.Antonina Krivoshapka and Kseniya Ryzhova, the two Russian women who have broken 50 seconds this year, have been named in the 400m. They are also part of a formidable 4x400m squad that also includes the likes of Tatyana Firova and Anastasiya Kapachinskaya.IAAFRUSSIAN TEAM FOR MOSCOWMen 100m: Aleksandr Brednev 200m: Aleksandr Khyutte 400m: Vladimir Krasnov 800m: Yuriy Borzakovskiy 1500m: Valentin Smirnov 5000m: Rinas Akhmadiyev 10,000m: Yevgeniy Rybakov Marathon: Aleksey Sokolov 3000m Steeplechase: Ilgizar Safiulin 110m Hurdles: Konstantin Shabanov, Sergey Shubenkov 400m Hurdles: Vladimir Antmanis, Timofey Chalyy, Denis Kudryavtsev High Jump: Aleksey Dmitrik, Aleksandr Shustov, Ivan Ukhov Pole Vault: Aleksandr Gripich, Sergey Kucheryanu Long Jump: Aleksandr Menkov, Sergey Polyanski Triple Jump: Aleksey Fyodorov Shot Put: Aleksandr Lesnoy, Maksim Sidorov, Soslan Tsirikhov Discus: Viktor Butenko Hammer: Aleksey Korolyov, Sergey Litvinov, Aleksey Zagorniy Javelin: Valeriy Iordan, Dimitri Tarabin, Aleksey Tovarnov Decathlon: Artem Lukyanenko, Ilya Shkurenyov, Sergey Sviridov 20km Race Walk: Aleksandr Ivanov, Andrey Ruzavin, Denis Strelkov 50km Race Walk: Sergey Kirdyapkin, Ivan Noskov, Mikhail Ryzhov 4x100m: Brednev, Khyutte, Denis Ogarkov, Konstantin Petryashov, Maksim Polovinkin, Roman Smirnov 4x400m: Maksim Dyldin, Aleksey Kenig, Krasnov, Lev Mosin, Sergey Petukhov, Artem VazhovWomen 200m: Yelizaveta Savlinis 400m: Antonina Krivoshapka, Kseniya Ryzhova 800m: Elena Kotulskaya, Ekaterina Poistogova, Marina Pospelova, Mariya Savinova 1500m: Yelena Korobkina, Svetlana Podosyonova, Yekaterina Sharmina 5000m: Olga Golovkina, Yelena Nagovitsyna 10,000m: Gulshat Fazlitdinova Marathon: Tatyana Aryasova, Alevtina Biktimirova, Valentina Galimova, Albina Mayorova, Nadezhda Leontyeva 3000m Steeplechase: Natalya Aristarkhova, Natalya Gorchakova, Lyudmila Lebedeva, Yuliya Zaripova 100m Hurdles: Tatyana Dektyareva, Yuliya Kondakova 400m Hurdles: Natalya Antyukh, Irina Davydova, Anastasiya Ott High Jump: Svetlana Shkolina, Irina Gordeeva, Elena Slesarenko, Anna Chicherova Pole Vault: Yelena Isinbayeva, Angelina Krasnova, Anastasiya Savchenko Long Jump: Darya Klishina, Lyudmila Kolchanova, Olga Kucherenko, Elena Sokolova Triple Jump: Irina Gumenyuk, Yekaterina Koneva, Anna Pyatykh Shot Put: Anna Avdeeva, Yevgeniya Kolodko, Irina Tarasova Discus: Vera Ganeyeva, Svetlana Saykina, Yekaterina Strokova Hammer: Anna Bulgakova, Gulfiya Khanafeyeva, Oksana Kondratyeva, Tatyana Lysenko Javelin: Mariya Abakumova, Viktoriya Sudarushkina Heptathlon: Aleksandra Butvina, Kristina Savitskaya 20km Race Walk: Olga Kaniskina, Anisya Kirdyapkina, Elena Lashmanova, Vera Sokolova 4x100m: Elena Bolsun, Olga Kharitonova, Yekaterina Kuzina, Natalya Rusakova, Savlinis, Viktoriya Yarushkina 4x400m: Tatyana Firova, Yuliya Gushchina, Anastasiya Kapachinskaya, Krivoshapka, Ryzhova, Kseniya Zadorina

Host nation Russia reveals team for World Championships