A stunning meeting record of 47.60 by Qatar&rsquo;s Abderrahman Samba in the men&rsquo;s 400m hurdles proved the highlight of the Bislett Games in Oslo on Thursday night (7), the fifth stop of the 2018 IAAF Diamond League.
The race was billed as a head-to-head clash between Samba and close rival Karsten Warholm, the world champion from Norway who was relishing the chance to compete in front of a home crowd after his national record of 47.82 in Rome last week.
Warholm again blitzed through the opening 300 metres after the gun set the eight athletes on their way, but once again it was Samba who finished stronger, the Asian record-holder powering over the final two barriers with crisp technique &ndash; something Warholm struggled with over the final two barriers &ndash; to come home in 47.60 to Warholm&rsquo;s 48.22. Turkey&rsquo;s Yasmani Copello finished third in 48.54.
&ldquo;That was Samba over the hurdles,&rdquo; said Samba, in reference to the Brazilian dance style. &ldquo;I cannot say I was confident coming into the last hurdle, but I have better endurance in the last metres. I&rsquo;m enjoying life and hoping to continue to run fast next time in Stockholm.&rdquo;
Warholm was far from disconsolate in second. "This is the second best race of my career and I&rsquo;m happy with it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m excited to sit down with my coach and see where I can improve before Stockholm on Sunday.&rdquo;
<h3>Barshim tops Lysenko</h3>
Mutaz Essa Barshim made it an even more successful night for Qatar, the world champion once again peerless in the men&rsquo;s high jump. He won with a best of 2.36m, which he cleared at the first attempt to beat rival Danil Lysenko into second, the neutral athlete managing a best of 2.33m. 
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Mutaz Barshim wins again in Oslo</div>
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&ldquo;I really wanted to break the meet record but it was not to be today,&rdquo; said Barshim, who will next compete in Ostrava.
<h3>67.47m national record for Khaladovich</h3>
Tatsiana Khaladovich produced another standout performance in the field events, the Belarusian thrower unleashing a national record of 67.47m to snatch victory in the final round from China&rsquo;s Lyu Huihui. Khaladovich looked to be having a bad evening for much of the competition, fouling her first effort then unable to surpass the 60-metre barrier on her next two throws. 
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Oslo javelin winner Tatsiana Khaladovich</div>
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At that point, Lyu had seized command with her opening effort of 65.11m, but she was unable to better that on all five throws to follow. Khaladovich managed 61.33m in the fifth round to move up to third, but then, from nowhere, came the spear that soared through the Oslo sky and hit the turf 67.47m away, breaking her previous Belarusian record of 66.34m and moving to third on the 2018 world list. Lyu took second with 65.11m, while Czech Republic&rsquo;s Nikola Ogrodnikova was third with 61.56m.
&ldquo;I was not expecting such a great result,&rdquo; said Khaladovich. &ldquo;I knew I was ready, but not for that.&rdquo;
<h3>Walsh gets the better of Crouser</h3>
The men&rsquo;s shot put could best be described as a two-way fight between Tom Walsh of New Zealand and Ryan Crouser of USA &ndash; world champion versus Olympic champion &ndash; where, despite a hefty jab from Crouser in the fifth round, Walsh responded with the haymaker to end matters in the sixth.
Neither surpassed the 22-metre barrier through the first four rounds, Walsh taking command with his opener of 21.91m, but it was in the fifth round that Crouser landed a big one, his 22.21m effort seemingly assuring victory. But then Walsh showed champion class to reach into his locker and find a 22.29m effort to snatch victory and maximum Diamond League points. Darrell Hill of USA took third with 21.20m. 
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Tom Walsh spins to victory in Oslo</div>
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&ldquo;It was awesome,&rdquo; said Walsh, who threw a triumphant hand in the air the moment his throw landed. Crouser had a huge throw in the final round, but it was ruled a foul.
&ldquo;I think it was close to 23 metres,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I guess it was the very corner of the toe board with my left foot. Anyway, it was a good fight with Tom.&rdquo;
Caterine Ibarguen was again dominant in the women&rsquo;s triple jump, the Colombian making her first jump her longest, soaring out to a wind-assisted 14.89m to record an easy triumph over Tori Franklin (14.57m) and Kimberley Williams (14.50m.) 
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Caterine Ibarguen in Oslo</div>
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World champion Andrius Gudzius got back to winning ways in the men&rsquo;s discus, avenging defeat last week by Jamaica&rsquo;s Fedrick Dacres to take maximum points with a throw of 69.04m. That left the Lithuanian well clear of runner-up Ehsan Hadadi of Iran and third-placed Daniel Stahl of Sweden.
Afterwards Gudzius sent a warning shot to his rivals: &ldquo;My technique was at 85 percent and I still did 69 metres. That shows I&rsquo;m ready.&rdquo; 
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Andrius Gudžius celebrates his Oslo win</div>
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<h3>Vault winner Morris: &lsquo;Good things are coming&rsquo;</h3>
Sandi Morris claimed victory in the women&rsquo;s pole vault, the world indoor champion the only vaulter on the night to go over 4.81m, her winning height. Runner-up was neutral athlete Anzhelika Sidorova, while Sweden&rsquo;s Angelica Bengtsson took third with 4.61m.
&ldquo;Last year 4.80m was rare, this year it&rsquo;s more consistent,&rdquo; said Morris. &ldquo;I want to jump five metres soon. Good things are coming.&rdquo;
Elsewhere Dalilah Muhammad continued her winning ways in the women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles, the Olympic champion having to come from behind between the last two barriers to take the win in 53.65 ahead of fellow US athlete Shamier Little in 53.94. Canada&rsquo;s Sage Watson came through strongly for third in 54.55, while the biggest cheer arrived shortly after the finish, when it was announced that back in sixth place, Norway&rsquo;s Amalie Luel had set a national record of 55.26. 
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Dalilah Muhammad en route to her win in Oslo</div>
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&ldquo;I wanted to win and run a season&rsquo;s best so it went according to plan,&rdquo; said Muhammad. &ldquo;I can come close to the world record. Why not?&rdquo;
Murielle Ahoure once again utilised her lightning start to put distance between her and her rivals in the women&rsquo;s 100m, which she went on to win in 10.91 (1.6m/s) despite the late charge of Britain&rsquo;s Dina-Asher Smith, who scorched a national record of 10.92 in second. Michelle Lee-Ahye was third in 11.06. 
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Murielle Ahoure wins the Oslo 100m</div>
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<h3>Guliyev cruises 19.90</h3>
World champion Ramil Guliyev proved his success in London last year was no fluke in the men&rsquo;s 200m, the Turk taking victory in 19.90 ahead of Canada&rsquo;s Aaron Brown, who set a PB of 19.98. Commonwealth champion Jereem Richards was a distant third in 20.19. 
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Ramil Guliyev wins the Oslo 200m</div>
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Bahrain&rsquo;s Salwa Eid Naser was hugely impressive in the women&rsquo;s 400m, taking victory in 49.98 ahead of world champion Phyllis Francis (50.47) and Shakima Wimbley (50.53).
&ldquo;I knew the race would be strong with many good athletes,&rdquo; said Naser. &ldquo;They bring out the best in me.&rdquo; 
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Salwa Eid Naser winning the 400m in Oslo</div>
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In the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles, a non-Diamond League race, Jamaica&rsquo;s Danielle Williams edged victory in 12.60 to Alina Talay&rsquo;s 12.63.
Cathal Dennehy for the IAAF

A stunning meeting record of 47.60 by Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba in the men’s 400m hurdles proved the highlight of the Bislett Games in Oslo on Thursday night (7), the fifth stop of the 2018 IAAF Diamond League.

Samba’s momentum continues in Oslo – IAAF Diamond League

Mutaz Essa Barshim finally released meeting organiser Steinar Hoen from his personal pain here at the Oslo Bislett Games, the season&rsquo;s fifth IAAF Diamond League meeting, by breaking the Bislett Stadium&rsquo;s 28-year-old high jump record of 2.37m on Thursday (15).
After assembling another stellar high jump field, Hoen &ndash; who won this event in 1994 with an effort of 2.35m &ndash; admitted: &ldquo;I feel personally that I want to kill this record.&rdquo;
Lo, Qatar&rsquo;s baby-faced assassin did the deed, having teetered on the brink of an earlier-than-hoped-for exit with two failures at 2.35m before clearing at the last and then setting the meeting record of 2.38m at his second attempt, thus bettering the mark set in 1989 by the only man who has jumped higher than him, Cuba&rsquo;s world record-holder at 2.45m, Javier Sotomayor.
&ldquo;That was the target,&rdquo; said Barshim. &ldquo;We came for 2.38m, so mission completed. At the beginning I was feeling a little bit sleepy, but after 2.33m I woke up and came into the right rhythm.
&ldquo;Also my coach was happy and I especially, because I took this record off Sotomayor after 28 years. Our plan works, we go step by step. I&rsquo;m blessed for every opportunity I can get.&rdquo;
Barshim&rsquo;s mark is also the best recorded so far this year, and a clear marker of the 2014 world indoor champion&rsquo;s intention of earning a first outdoor global title at this summer&rsquo;s IAAF World Championships London 2017.
The Qatari had the event won with a first-time clearance of 2.32m, with Ukraine&rsquo;s 2013 world champion Bogdan Bondarenko, in his first competition of the season, relatively content to settle for second with 2.29m, four centimetres clear of Canada&rsquo;s Olympic champion Derek Drouin.
<h3>Wightman notches shock 1500m win</h3>
The concluding men&rsquo;s 1500m &ndash; involving a field that would normally have raced under the traditional banner of a Dream Mile had that not been transferred to the U20 race here involving home athlete Jakob Ingebrigtsen &ndash; produced a breakthrough victory for Britain&rsquo;s Jake Wightman, who took more than a second off his personal best of 3:35.49 as he finished strongly in 3:34.17.
In his wake, the 22-year-old left some of the world&rsquo;s most accomplished metric milers, with Kenya&rsquo;s Elijah Manangoi, who has a personal best of 3:29.67, finishing second in 3:34.30 and the hugely experienced Polish athlete Marcin Lewandowski third in a personal best of 3:34.60.
It was a night to remember for the man whose parents Susan Tooby and Geoff Wightman, who is also his coach, were both successful international marathon runners.
And all told it was marvellous timing by the young British athlete with two former British legends of the mile here, IAAF President Sebastian Coe and the BBC's Steve Cram, both looking on.
After his younger brother&rsquo;s resounding win in the night&rsquo;s Dream Mile, it would have been a home stretch for next up brother Filip, the European champion, to make it a family double. In the end, the 24-year-old had to settle for fourth place in a season&rsquo;s best of 3:36.74.
<h3>Schippers and de Grasse take the short sprint spoils</h3>
There was some embarrassment for the organisers as world 200m champion Dafne Schippers, who was awarded a special Oslo medal for her performances after coming home first in the 200m in 22.31 and serenaded with Happy Birthday on the day she turned 25, then learned she had been disqualified for an earlier false start.
But the Dutch athlete, who had run under protest, belatedly regained her victory on appeal after claiming she had been put off by someone close by standing up and banging their seat back. &ldquo;It was noisy at the start, so much noise, very hard to concentrate,&rdquo; she said.
The Ivory Coast athlete who had chased her home, Murielle Ahoure, was second in 22.74, with Jamaica&rsquo;s Simone Facey third in 22.77.
Andre de Grasse &ndash; just &ndash; held off the challenge of his sometime training partner Chijindu Ujah to retain his 100m title in Oslo, clocking 10.01.
Canada&rsquo;s 22-year-old Olympic 100m bronze medallist had hoped to set his 10th sub-10-second time here, but despite a slight following wind of 0.2m/s, the cooling and blowy conditions did not help him in that ambition.
What did help him to generate speed, however, was the driving challenge, immediately to his right, of Ujah. The Briton pushed to the line to finish in 10.02 &ndash; the same time in which he won the last IAAF Diamond League 100m in Rome.
Both men look as if they are developing the consistency that will see them contesting podium places at this summer&rsquo;s IAAF World Championships in London.
Third place went to the Ivory Coast&rsquo;s Ben Youssef Meite in 10.03.
<h3>Semenya unstoppable</h3>
As the women&rsquo;s 800m field entered the final straight, it looked, for a moment, as if Francine Niyonsaba was going to achieve a rare victory over the athlete who beat her to Olympic gold in Rio last summer, South Africa&rsquo;s Caster Semenya.
The Burundi athlete, her white singlet blustering, showed the strain on her face as she pushed for home. Behind her, and then alongside her, and then in front of her, the face of the Olympic and 2009 world champion was impassive as she maintained her now customary dominance of the two-lap event, winning in 1:57.79.
Niyonsaba was second in a season&rsquo;s best of 1:58.18, with early leader Margaret Wambui third in 1:59.17, thus replicating exactly the Rio medal placings.
Sweden&rsquo;s Lovisa Lindh was fourth in a personal best of 1:59.23, just ahead of Canada&rsquo;s world silver medallist Melissa Bishop, who clocked 1:59.89.
<h3>Silva ups season&rsquo;s best to 4.81m</h3>
On an evening when some women&rsquo;s pole vaulters found a fitful wind troubling &ndash; the national and Diamond League flags on the rim of the stadium couldn&rsquo;t ever seem to make up their minds &ndash; Cuba&rsquo;s world champion Yarisley Silva managed best, winning with a first-time effort of 4.81m before going on for three attempts at what would have been a world lead of 4.92m.
Silva &ndash; whose hair is now, temporarily, gold &ndash; reached her winning height with only two failures on an evening when other high achievers, notably New Zealand&rsquo;s Olympic bronze medallist Eliza McCartney, struggled to find any kind of form. Both McCartney and Switzerland&rsquo;s Nicole Buchler failed to record a mark.
The Cuban thus took maximum advantage of the absence of the Olympic gold and silver medallists, respectively Ekaterini Stefanidi and Sandi Morris, in the IAAF Diamond League&rsquo;s road to the final.
Anzhelika Sidorova, competing here as a neutral, provided the strongest challenge to the Cuban, finishing second with 4.75m ahead of Germany&rsquo;s Lisa Ryzih, who managed 4.65m.
Mike Rowbottom for the IAAF

Mutaz Essa Barshim finally released meeting organiser Steinar Hoen from his personal pain here at the Oslo Bislett Games, the season’s fifth IAAF Diamond League meeting, by breaking the Bislett Stadium’s 28-year-old high jump record of 2.37m on Thursday (15).

Barshim breaks Sotomayor’s meeting record with 2.38m in Oslo – IAAF Diamond League

Ivorian speedsters dominated the sprint finals, and East African athletes swept the podium in the women&rsquo;s 5000m, but South African athletes raked in 10 medals to open a gap at the top of the medals table at the African Championships in Durban on Thursday (23).
Two weeks after setting an African 100m record of 10.78, 2013 world silver medallist Murielle Ahoure had little trouble securing her first continental title over the distance.
Ahoure earned gold in 10.99, with compatriot Marie Josee Ta Lou, who won the sprint double at last year&rsquo;s African Games in Brazzaville, taking bronze in 11.15.
Local athlete Carina Horn grabbed silver in 11.07, just 0.01 outside the South African record she shares with Yvette de Klerk.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never been African champion in the 100m, so it&rsquo;s something I&rsquo;ve always wanted to accomplish,&rdquo; said Ahoure, who won the African 200m title in 2014.
&ldquo;I wanted to come and support my team, and one of the things we&rsquo;re also trying to accomplish here is getting an Olympic qualifier time in the 4x100m relay, and that would be amazing, so that&rsquo;s the goal.&rdquo;
In the men&rsquo;s 100m final, Ahoure&rsquo;s compatriot Ben Youssef Meite scorched to victory in 9.95, regaining the title he won in 2010. Although his time was 0.04 quicker than the national record he set earlier this month, he had the benefit of a 2.4m/s tailwind.
Mosito Lehata of Lesotho earned silver in 10.04, while South Africa&rsquo;s Akani Simbine recovered from a poor start to snatch bronze in 10.05.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really good because I need to try to get into the final at the Olympics,&rdquo; said Meite. &ldquo;I need to go back to training, fix my start, and I think I'll be ready.&rdquo;
In the men's long jump, Commonwealth bronze medallist Ruswahl Samaai produced a leap of 8.40m to finish top of the podium. But, as was the case with Meite, the illegal following wind of 2.9m/s meant that it will not count as a personal best.
Compatriot Luvo Manyonga, the 2010 world junior champion who is making a comeback this season, secured the silver medal with a jump of 8.23m, albeit with a strong 4.2m/s wind.
&ldquo;I know if I can be consistent, the big jumps will come, like it did today,&rdquo; said Samaai. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just trying to improve with every jump.&rdquo;
Local giant Victor Hogan, ranked fifth in the world this year after setting a personal best of 67.62m in Stellenbosch in April, struggled to find his best form in poor conditions, with the wind working against the athletes in the men&rsquo;s discus final.
He nonetheless did enough for the win with a 61.68m effort, which landed 22 centimetres ahead of compatriot Russell Tucker&rsquo;s best attempt. Nigeria&rsquo;s Stephen Mozia ended third (59.16m), adding to the bronze medal he had earned the day before in the shot put.
<h3>Chepkirui leads Kenyan 1-2</h3>
As expected, Kenya and Ethiopia took control of the women&rsquo;s 5000m final from the start and were never challenged.
Kenya&rsquo;s 2005 world youth 1500m champion Sheila Chepkirui and African Games champion Margaret Chelimo opened a gap in the closing stages to ensure a Kenyan one-two, with Chepkirui earning gold in 15:05.45 and Chelimo crossing the line in 15:07.56. Ethiopian champion Dera Dida was third in 15:15.26.
Managing to complete nine of 10 events in the decathlon, South African Willem Coertzen seemed to have overcome a recurring ankle injury, but he withdrew after the javelin. Although he didn&rsquo;t compete in the 1500m, his score of 7196 was enough for the bronze medal.
With his compatriot forced to watch the end of the two-day contest from the side of the track, Fredriech Pretorius pocketed the gold medal with a PB of 7780.
In the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles final, South African Claudia Heunis took the win in 13.35, also setting a personal best.
On Wednesday, the opening day of the five-day championships, South African athletes won two of the three gold medals on offer.
Two-time Shanghai Marathon winner Stephen Mokoka, focusing on the track this year ahead of the Rio Olympics, handed the East African contingent a rare defeat in the men&rsquo;s 10,000m.
Mokoka hit the front at the bell and drove hard to the line to win in 28:02.97, edging out Kenya's Wilfred Kimitei by 0.21 in a tight sprint finish.
Jaco Engelbrecht produced a 20.00m heave to win the men&rsquo;s shot put, and African record-holder Amy Sene of Senegal won her third continental title in the hammer with a 68.35m effort.
Wesley Botton for the IAAF

Ivorian speedsters dominated the sprint finals, and East African athletes swept the podium in the women’s 5000m, but South African athletes raked in 10 medals to open a gap at the top of the medals table at the African Championships in Durban on Thursday (23).

Sprint double for Ivory Coast but hosts South Africa dominate at African Championships

Murielle Ahoure of the Ivory Coast broke the African 100m record when running 10.78 (1.6m/s) at the Star Athletics Pro Meet in Montverde, Florida on Saturday (11).
The 28-year-old's run catapulted her to the top of the world list and&nbsp;brought her home marginally&nbsp;in front of Jamaica's Veronica Campbell-Brown, who was runner-up in 10.83.
Ahoure's run eclipsed the African record of 10.79 held by Nigeria's Blessing Okagbare since 2013, and took three hundredths of a second off her previous best of 10.81, which was run in London last July. Earlier in the day, Ahoure had run a marginally wind-aided 10.80 (2.1m/s) in the premilinary rounds.
Joanna Atkins finished third in the final in 11.09, while world junior 200m champion Kaylin Whitney finished&nbsp;fourth in 11.17.
World youth champion Candace Hill finished&nbsp;fifth in 11.19, but the 17-year-old sprint sensation was&nbsp;back to winning ways in the 200m later in the afternoon, dispatching&nbsp;a field of&nbsp;seasoned&nbsp;international sprinters several years her senior to win in 22.38. The time would have broken her own world U18 best of 22.41 but for an&nbsp;illegal following wind of 2.1m/s.&nbsp;
Shalonda Solomon was runner-up in 22.59, with Jamaica's Kerron Stewart third in 22.69.&nbsp;
Tyson Gay took victory in the men's 200m in 20.21 (1.6m/s) ahead of Justin Walker (20.26).&nbsp;
The men's 100m saw a sub-10 clocking from USA's Marvin Bracy, who routed the field to win in 9.94 (1.8m/s) ahead of runner-up Aaron Brown (10.01) and Clayton Vaughn (10.02).
Candice Price impressed when winning the 100m hurdles in 12.75 (1.4m/s), while the men's 110m hurdles saw Devon Hill edge US compatriot Antwon Hicks in a tight race, 13.33 to 13.37 (2.2m/s).&nbsp;
Cathal Dennehy for the IAAF

Murielle Ahoure of the Ivory Coast broke the African 100m record when running 10.78 (1.6m/s) at the Star Athletics Pro Meet in Montverde, Florida on Saturday (11).

Ahoure powers to African 100m record of 10.78 in Florida

The three finest high jumpers of the new generation &ndash; Mutaz Essa Barshim, Bogdan Bondarenko and Ivan Ukhov &ndash; gathered in Oslo&rsquo;s City Hall on Wednesday (10) to speak about tomorrow&rsquo;s IAAF Diamond League event where, once again, they will seek to surpass the longstanding world record of 2.45m set 22 years ago by Cuba&rsquo;s Javier Sotomayor.Sotomayor himself &ndash; super cool in shades, sneakers and red trousers &ndash; was there to hear them, and will be there in the Bislett Stadium to see them try, once again.It seems very likely that Sotomayor &ndash; who competed five times at Bislett in the late 1980s and 1990s &ndash; will see at least one of his longstanding marks go, as his meeting record from 1989 stands at 2.37m.How much higher the new high flyers will manage remains to be seen, but every effort has been made by the meeting&rsquo;s organiser, Norway&rsquo;s 1994 European high jump champion Steinar Hoen, to make it a special night for the event.At his direction, the meeting has opted out of running the pole vault in order to site the high jump at the most advantageous area in the stadium in terms of the wind. And to move the whole jumping area closer to a crowd whose deep knowledge of the event will ensure what is hoped will be an inspirational level of support.So how does Sotomayor feel about these grand attempts to knock him out of the record books?&ldquo;This new generation is a very good generation,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Having more than one good jumper helps everyone to jump higher. My generation was good too, with people also jumping 2.40m. They helped me to jump higher, and this generation can do the same for each other.&ldquo;I know that sooner or later my record will be broken. It&rsquo;s going to happen. It could be tomorrow. No record is forever.&ldquo;Last year the jumpers tried and they went very high, they were very close. So it can happen any day. But I would prefer it not to be broken!&rdquo;By the end of a gripping season of competition last year, Ukhov, Russia&rsquo;s Olympic champion, and Bondarenko, Ukraine&rsquo;s world champion, had both cleared 2.42m, and Barshim had become the second-highest jumper of all time with 2.43m. Edging closer and closer&hellip;Barshim, wearing a hat with the logo &ldquo;What gravity, huh?!!&rdquo;, acknowledged it would be special to break the world record in his Oslo debut with the world record-holder looking on.&ldquo;With Soto watching, it would be extra special. He don&rsquo;t want it to be broke &ndash; but if it got to happen, it got to happen!&rdquo; Grinning broadly at Sotomayor, he added: &ldquo;If it happens, you&rsquo;ve got to deal with it. If not, I&rsquo;ll send you the video some time!&ldquo;I heard the weather is going to be good. That&rsquo;s exactly what we need to jump the world record. But I just want to come out there in the best way possible and to jump high.&rdquo;Barshim said that he welcomed being able to jump closer to the crowd, which meant &ldquo;people can really get involved&rdquo;, and his enthusiasm was shared by Bondarenko.Explaining the decision not to hold the pole vault, Hoen said: &ldquo;We did this to give an advantage to the high jump. Otherwise it was impossible because of the design of the stadium. So we have traded away the pole vault and we now have the whole area for the high jump, which means we can put the pit where the wind is optimum.&ldquo;The best Norwegian high jumper tried it out today. I spoke to him just now; he said it was fantastic to jump in that way.&ldquo;You are closer to the public &ndash; you have the spectators on the side &ndash; it will feel a lot like a high jump gala, like Arnstadt. So we have the best possible conditions and we are hoping for something special tomorrow.&ldquo;Firstly we hope for a new stadium record &ndash; that will be 2.38m. And if someone does 2.40m, it will be the first time on Norwegian soil. After that it&rsquo;s just a bonus. When we have so many good jumpers, maybe I am lucky to have one of them that has a good day.&rdquo;Hoen added: &ldquo;This new generation is I think better than the generation in the 1990s, even though the record is still with Javier. So many now are jumping 2.40m or more. We have three jumpers here today, but we have got a couple more back in the hotel that are going to compete tomorrow that have also got 2.40m last year.&ldquo;In the 1990s, people like Patrik Sjoberg were jumping 2.40m, so Soto had to jump high just to win, and that&rsquo;s the same today. And I think that&rsquo;s why the record will be broken, because you need to be at the top of your game to do it.&rdquo;Barshim has won both of the IAAF Diamond League high jumps so far in 2015, clearing 2.38m in Shanghai and 2.41m in Eugene.&ldquo;During my first meeting in Shanghai I wasn&rsquo;t feeling great and I didn&rsquo;t know what I could jump,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I was just going for the win, early in the season. I didn&rsquo;t want to do anything stupid and hurt myself.&ldquo;In Eugene I wanted to go on after 2.41m, but I got some cramps and I didn&rsquo;t want to be greedy so I settled for the win.&rdquo;Commenting on his disappointing third place at the recent Asian Games, he said: &ldquo;I think I was too afraid. I didn&rsquo;t want to do anything like injure myself. It was raining, and I just didn&rsquo;t want to risk injuring myself. It is World Championship year this year, and the Olympics in 2016, and I am in good shape right now.&rdquo;Bondarenko, who only managed 2.32m in Shanghai, although he has a 2.37m to his credit this year, added: &ldquo;Last year I began with a 2.40m in Tokyo, but this year it didn&rsquo;t happen like that. I hoped I would be better at this stage of the year, so maybe tomorrow I will improve. I am looking for a season&rsquo;s best, and the meeting record.&rdquo;<h3>Campbell-Brown has high hopes</h3>Meanwhile Jamaica&rsquo;s two-time Olympic 200m champion Veronica Campbell-Brown is looking forward, like Barshim, to an Oslo debut.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s an honour to be here, and I am hoping to run my fastest time of the season tomorrow,&rdquo; said the two-time world champion, who will compete over 100m against a field that includes the Ivory Coast&rsquo;s double world silver medallist Murielle Ahoure, who spends some of her training time in Oslo.That will mean running faster than 11.04 for Campbell-Brown, and while she will doubtless do that, she has her work cut out against Ahoure, whose first 100m run out at Eugene saw her record 10.81 in a race where she lost out to Jamaica&rsquo;s world and Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce by two thousandths of a second.&ldquo;I was pleased, but I wasn&rsquo;t surprised because I had been doing those kind of times in training,&rdquo; Ahoure said. &ldquo;Losing by such a small margin wasn&rsquo;t a problem. It was a very exciting start to the season.&rdquo;Meanwhile Norway&rsquo;s Ezinne Okparaebo is targeting the IAAF World Championships qualifying mark of 11.32. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m aiming at,&rdquo; she said.Mike Rowbottom for the IAAF

The three finest high jumpers of the new generation – Mutaz Essa Barshim, Bogdan Bondarenko and Ivan Ukhov – gathered in Oslo’s City Hall on Wednesday (10) to speak about tomorrow’s IAAF Diamond League event where, once again, they will seek to surpass the longstanding world record of 2.45m set 22 years ago by Cuba’s Javier Sotomayor.

Oslo press conference highlights – IAAF Diamond League

One of the world&rsquo;s leading sprinters, Jamaica&rsquo;s Veronica Campbell-Brown, will make her long-awaited debut at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Oslo when she competes in the 100m at this year&rsquo;s ExxonMobil Bislett Games on 11 June.Campbell-Brown has a cabinet full of medals from the Olympics and IAAF World Championships. She is a two-time Olympic 200m champion, former world champion at both 100m and 200m and is one of only a handful of athletes to get gold medals at world youth, world junior and then at the IAAF World Championships, which she has achieved at 100m.She has personal bests of 10.76 for 100m and 21.74 for 200m, but she will face a formidable challenge on her first trip to the Bislett Stadium.Murielle Ahoure from Ivory Coast was a double silver medallist at the 2013 IAAF World Championships in the sprints and showed great early season form when she finished second to Allyson Felix over 200m at the recent IAAF Diamond League meeting in Doha. Ahoure has won at Bislett previously over 200m but will be looking to have a strong showing in her chosen event in Oslo, the 100m, where she has a personal best of 10.91.Ezinne Okparaebo will provide local interest. She is the Norwegian 100m record-holder at 11.10 and will use this classy competition to try to achieve her ambition of running faster than 11 seconds.USA&rsquo;s Carmelita Jeter is the fastest in the field. Her best time of 10.64 makes her the second-fastest woman of all time over 100m. After an injury-free spring preparation, Jeter will be looking to regain her position as the world&rsquo;s No.1 sprinter.Adding further value to this field will be two Caribbean sprinters of undeniable quality. Kerron Stewart of Jamaica has won 100m silver medals at both the Olympics and IAAF World Championships. She has a best of 10.75.Trinidad and Tobago&rsquo;s Michelle-Lee Ahye burst on to the international scene last season with a series of runs under 11 seconds. With a victory at the IAAF World Challenge meeting in Beijing last week, she showed that she is again a serious contender in any 100m race.Organisers for the IAAFIAAF2015 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

One of the world’s leading sprinters, Jamaica’s Veronica Campbell-Brown, will make her long-awaited debut at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Oslo when she competes in the 100m at this year’s ExxonMobil Bislett Games on 11 June.

Oslo lines up the world's top sprinters – IAAF Diamond League

Sharika Nelvis upstaged global superstars Renaud Lavillenie and Mutaz Barshim with the performance of the night at the Malmo Games, the US sprint hurdler flying to a world-leading 60m hurdles time of 7.83 on Wednesday (25).Nelvis had showed she was in great form in the past two weeks, successively setting personal bests and world-leading times of 7.91 and 7.87 at the Millrose Games in New York and the IAAF Indoor Permit meeting in Birmingham on the past two Saturdays, but she won her sixth successive competition thanks to a blazing start."I knew I was going to race good," said 24-year-old Nelvis after the race, clearly set to make an impact in her first year as a professional athlete.By the second set of hurdles, she was well clear of her rivals and the only question remaining was just how big her margin of victory was going to be.Alina Talay confirmed her status as the gold medal favourite for next week&rsquo;s European Indoor Championships but the Belarus athlete was 0.1 in arrears of Nelvis, finishing second in 7.93.Lavillenie continued his unbeaten indoor season with a second-time clearance at 5.92m before three unsuccessful attempts at what would have been a world-leading 6.03m, having plenty of height with his second effort but just coming down on the bar.He followed his standard protocol this winter by entering at 5.78m and making it with ease on first attempt. But he wasn&rsquo;t alone as both Poland&rsquo;s Piotr Lisek and Russia&rsquo;s Iliya Mudrov also cleared that height on their first and second tries respectively.For the Russian it was an improvement of his overall best by no fewer than eight centimetres.Mudrov could go no higher but Lisek also made 5.85m, in impressive fashion and just two centimetres shy of his recent national indoor record. It underlined the new level of excellence he has found in 2015. It was his fifth meeting at 5.80m or higher this winter. As Lavillenie passed 5.85m, Lisek was actually in the lead when the bar was raised to 5.92m although the Pole was unsuccessful at that height.<h3>Barshim finishes indoor season unbeaten </h3> Barshim concluded his four-meeting indoor campaign with another win, this time at 2.34m, but the Qatari was noticeably not in the same form that took him to an Asian indoor record of 2.41m in the Irish town of Athlone a week ago.He was alone at 2.34m and needed two attempts to get over what was to be his winning height, clipping the bar with his heels as he went over although it stayed on the uprights despite wobbling frantically, before ending his night and his winter with three failures at 2.38m.To be fair to Barshim it should be pointed out that even on this distinctly off day, he still cleared a height which only one other jumper in the world has managed this winter.Another man unbeaten this winter is the evergreen St Kitts sprinter Kim Collins, who sped to a seemingly easy 60m heat win in 6.55 before winning the final in 6.52.Collins, who turns 39 in a few weeks&rsquo; time, was as dominant as ever, accelerating to a distinct lead at the halfway point and maintaining it to the finish.He would have gone even faster but for suffering a slight hamstring problem about five metres from the line and he finished visibly limping."I'm happy with the win but I'm feeling some pain, cramp," said the 2003 world 100m champion after what will almost certainly be the last race of a busy indoor campaign which saw him win at nine straight meetings. He has run 18 races at nine meetings in 33 days and won all of them apart from one heat, averaging 6.514 in the finals.<h3>Ahoure steps on the accelerator </h3> Ivory Coast&rsquo;s Murielle Ahoure won the women&rsquo;s 60m in dominating fashion, clocking 7.14 with Ukraine&rsquo;s Natalia&nbsp;Pohrebnyak coming through strongly in the second half of the race to take second in 7.26.Cuba&rsquo;s Orlando Ortega was just given the verdict over USA's Olympic champion Aries Merritt in the 60m hurdles, both men being given the same time of 7.52.Ortega had to work really hard for his win as Merritt got out to an early lead and kept it until the final few centimetres. The women&rsquo;s long jump was an experimental event with jumps being measured from the point of take-off, as long as there was not a foul and athletes were on the board.Although the performances will not appear in any world lists, it&rsquo;s worth noting that Serbia&rsquo;s world bronze medallist Ivana Spanovic won with what would have been a national record of 6.99m and had three other jumps better than 6.94m.By the competitions&rsquo; own rules, Canada&rsquo;s world leader Christabel Nettey was second with 6.84m and France&rsquo;s world indoor champion Eloyse Lesueur third with 6.83m.The jumps were also measured according to the conventional rules and Spanovic was still the winner with four jumps &lsquo;legally&rsquo; at 6.76m or better, topped by 6.83m. With traditional measuring it would have been Germany&rsquo;s Sosthene Moguenara who finished second as a &lsquo;net&rsquo; 6.78m jump was a legal 6.75m.Phil Minshull and A Lennart Julin for the IAAF

Sharika Nelvis upstaged global superstars Renaud Lavillenie and Mutaz Barshim with the performance of the night at the Malmo Games, the US sprint hurdler flying to a world-leading 60m hurdles time of 7.83 on Wednesday (25).

Nelvis hurdles world-leading 7.83 to upstage Lavillenie and Barshim in Malmo

Home star Mo Farah will definitely be the star attraction at the Sainsbury&rsquo;s Indoor Grand Prix, the fifth and final IAAF Indoor Permit meeting of the season, in Birmingham on Saturday (21).The last time the world saw Farah in track action was in the same city at the IAAF Diamond League in August last year. The reigning Olympic, world and European 5000m and 10,000m champion finished a summer campaign abbreviated by illness and injury by smashing Steve Ovett&rsquo;s 36-year-old European outdoor two mile best with a time of 8:07.85.Six months on, as Farah prepares to contest his first race of 2015, the watching world must be wondering whether he can again turn the clock back &ndash; and in another two mile race in Britain&rsquo;s second city, this time indoors in the Barclaycard Arena.Birmingham's indoor meeting has become renowned over the years for its clock-chasing feats, with world records and world bests by Haile Gebrselassie (three), Kenenisa Bekele (four), Wilson Kipketer, Gabriella Szabo and only last year Genzebe Dibaba ran a two mile best. This time, in a meeting featuring 33 IAAF World Championship medal winners and 14 Olympic medallists, it will be intriguing to see how quick Farah can go over 16 laps at the start of a year in which he aims to defend his 5000m and 10,000m titles at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing this coming August.In particular, can he measure up not to the greats of yesteryear but to the wintering Mo Farah of early 2012? In the same meeting three years ago, he finished runner up in the two miles race to Eliud Kipchoge in 8:08.07, emphatically demolishing the former British indoor best of 8:17.06 and the European best of 8:13.2 held since 1973 by the brilliant Belgian Emil Puttemans. That would appear to be the logical benchmark for the 31-year-old Briton, whose last race on any surface was his narrow victory in the Great North Run half marathon last September, and who did not race indoors in 2014.&ldquo;It will be great to see where my fitness is at,&rdquo; said Farah, who has been training in Ethiopia of late. &ldquo;This is a big year for me; I&rsquo;ll be defending my 5000m and 10,000m World Championship titles. It would be great to get it off to a strong start in Birmingham.&rdquo;<h3>Koech the threat </h3> Farah&rsquo;s hopes of doing that should be helped by the presence in the field of Paul Koech. Only Bekele (8:04:35) and Gebrselassie (8:04.69) have gone faster over two miles indoors than Koech, both in the Birmingham meeting.&nbsp; Koech, the 2004 Olympic Games steeplechase bronze medallist, clocked 8:06.48 behind Bekele in Birmingham in 2008.The field also includes the remarkable Bernard Lagat, the 2007 World Championships 1500m and 5000m winner and three-time world indoor 3000m champion.Two months after joining the ranks of the fortysomethings, Lagat lopped 3.24 seconds off Eamonn Coghlan&rsquo;s long-standing over-40 mile best with 3:54.91 at the Millrose Games in New York last Saturday. <h3>Collins on clock watch </h3> Kim Collins will turn 40 in April 2016 and, judging by his form this year, the pencil-slim Peter Pan speed merchant from St Kitts and Nevis could be threatening age records then. When the IAAF World Indoor Championships were held in Birmingham back in 2003, Collins took the 60m silver medal. Twelve years on, he returns as the 2015 world leader with the three fastest 60m times of the year, including a national record of 6.47 in Lodz on Tuesday.Collins is unbeaten in seven 60m finals thus far in 2015. The 60m field in Birmingham features four of the five next fastest men this year: Ryan Bailey (6.50), Akeem Haynes (6.51), Trell Kimmons (6.51) and Mike Rodgers (who has run 6.52 twice).The line-up also includes Britain&rsquo;s world indoor 60m champion Richard Kilty, who clocked a season&rsquo;s best of 6.54 in third place in Lodz, and newly crowned British champion Chijndu Ujah (6.53). There is also the X-factor presence of Jamaica&rsquo;s Nesta Carter. The 2012 world indoor 60m silver medallist has yet to race in 2015. Olympic, European and Commonwealth long jump champion Greg Rutherford also makes his first appearance of 2015, although the 28-year-old Briton has added another gold to his collection this year. Rutherford was out walking his dogs in the Buckinghamshire countryside last month when he stumbled across a seriously injured deer. He carried the stricken creature two miles to his home before driving her to Tiggywinkles Wildlife Trust in Aylesbury. Sadly, the ailing doe died of her injuries but the long jumper was given a Gold Heart Award by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). It is gold at the 2015 IAAF World Championships that Rutherford now has in mind. In his first test since ending his 2014 campaign on a winning note at the Great City Games in Gateshead five months ago he faces his perennial British rival Chris Tomlinson, the 2008 world indoor silver medallist.<h3>Ortega looking to conquer Birmingham barriers </h3> Fresh from his world-leading 7.45 clocking in Lodz on Tuesday night, Orlando Ortega renews his 60m hurdles rivalry with the two most recent Olympic 110m hurdles champions. Aries Merritt and Dayron Robles finished well behind the Cuban in Lodz, second and third in 7.54 and 7.64 respectively, but Robles was a close runner-up to his compatriot in Berlin last Saturday, finishing 0.02 behind in 7.53. The 1500m pits world leader Matt Centrowitz against Kenyans Vincent Kibet, Bethwell Birgen and Nixon Chepseba, plus fellow US runner Ben Blankenship and European bronze medallist Chris O&rsquo;Hare of Great Britain. There is also a tasty-looking 800m, featuring Olympic bronze medallist Timothy Kitum, 18-year-old world junior champion Alfred Kipketer and world indoor bronze medallist Andrew Osagie.<h3>Ahoure back on her favourite track </h3> The pick of the women&rsquo;s events is undoubtedly the 60m. Murielle Ahoure, the Ivorian 2013 World Championship 100m and 200m silver medallist, starts favourite, having clocked a world-leading 7.05 at the Millrose Games. She set her personal best of 6.99 when winning in Birmingham two years ago.The third and fourth fastest women of 2015 are also in the loaded field: Michelle-Lee Ahye of Trinidad and Tobago and the 19-year-old world junior 100m champion from Britain, Dina Asher-Smith. US sprinters Carmelita Jeter and Tianna Bartoletta are also in the mix, so sparks could fly.Look out too for a world-leading time in the 800m. Britain&rsquo;s Jenny Meadows tops the list with 1:59.21 and the 33-year-old Briton, back in form after injury, will be chasing her third sub-two-minute clocking of the year. The mile looks an intriguing prospect, with world indoor 1500m silver medallist Axumawit Embaye up against fellow Ethiopian Gudaf Tsegay, the 18-year-old world junior silver medallist, as well as the USA&rsquo;s Shannon Rowbury.In the long jump, a week after her 1.97m British high jump record, 2014 heptathlon world leader Katarina Johnson-Thompson could possibly threaten Shara Proctor&rsquo;s UK indoor long jump mark of 6.89m. The 22-year-old from Liverpool was only eight centimetres short of it when taking the world indoor silver last March. In the women&rsquo;s pole vault, the bar could prove the biggest rival to Fabiana Murer. The 33-year-old former world champion from Brazil cleared an area record of 4.83m at Nevers in France two weeks ago.Simon Turnbull for the IAAF

Home star Mo Farah will definitely be the star attraction at the Sainsbury’s Indoor Grand Prix, the fifth and final IAAF Indoor Permit meeting of the season, in Birmingham on Saturday (21).

Farah gets his 2015 season underway in Birmingham

The 108th edition of the NYRR Millrose Games, held at the New Balance Track &amp; Field Center at the Armory on Saturday (14), produced two world bests and five world-leading marks.The men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s Wanamaker miles are traditionally the most cherished events of the meeting. Besides the usual winners&rsquo; cups, this time the organisers secretly prepared additional prizes: one for 40-year old two-time world champion Bernard Lagat, who was targeting Eamonn Coghlan&rsquo;s M40 world indoor best of 3:58.15, and another one for a potential 100th sub-four-minute finisher at the Millrose Games.The men&rsquo;s race didn&rsquo;t disappoint. Matthew Centrowitz and Pat Casey, who just two weeks ago ran together on the world-best-setting distance medley relay team at the Armory, adamantly chased pacemaker Mark Wieczorek, with New Zealand&rsquo;s Nick Willis a few meters behind and Lagat in the chase group.&ldquo;I didn't look behind me at all, but it definitely felt fast right from the start,&rdquo; said Centrowitz, the two-time world medallist.After Wieczorek dropped out with three laps to go, having passed 1000m in 2:25.63, Willis started catching up with the leaders and at the bell he had replaced Casey in second place. Both Centrowitz and Willis demonstrated impressive finishing kicks, but the former was stronger, setting a world-leading time of 3:51.35, just 0.01 shy of the indoor PB he set at this meeting in 2013.The Kiwi improved on the national indoor record he set last week, running 3:51.46 for second, while Casey took third in 3:54.36.&ldquo;When Willis came up on me on the backstretch, I knew that if I&rsquo;d let him by me at that point, it was game over,&rdquo; said Centrowitz. &ldquo;He&rsquo;d have the inside lane, and I&rsquo;d have to go around. I pretty much went all out to hold him off around that corner, and it was the race right there.&rdquo;Lagat smashed the M40 world best with his fourth-place finish in 3:54.91, and one of the first people to congratulate him after the finish was the former record-holder Coghlan himself. Britain&rsquo;s Chris O&rsquo;Hare, who placed sixth in 3:55.35, is now in the meeting&rsquo;s history books as the 100th sub-four-minute mile performer.In the women&rsquo;s mile race, all bets were on USA&rsquo;s Shannon Rowbury, who clocked 4:22.66 on a flat indoor track just two weeks ago, prompting suggestions that she could break the US indoor record of 4:20.5 set by Mary Decker-Slaney in 1982.The 2009 world 1500m bronze medallist, who is part of Alberto Salazar&rsquo;s training group along with Centrowitz, didn&rsquo;t disappoint, pushing the pace in front all the way and gaining a 30-meter lead by the last lap. But the impressive speed caught up with Rowbury on the homestretch as she stumbled a few times and had to give up any hopes of a record-breaking run. She held on to win in 4:24.32.&ldquo;I am disappointed; I knew I had an American record in me today,&rdquo; said Rowbury. &ldquo;I'd love to have another opportunity to go after it because I know I'm capable. We started out fast on the first 400m, and I felt it in the end. On the last 30 meters my legs felt like they&rsquo;ve just disappeared.&rdquo;<h3>World indoor best &ndash; and a world record-holder &ndash; tumble</h3> The unexpected world best came in the men&rsquo;s 500m. USA&rsquo;s 22-year-old Brycen Spratling overcame some serious rivals, such as former world 400m hurdles champion Bershawn Jackson and Belgium&rsquo;s Jonathan Borlee, and clocked 1:00.06, beating Ken Lowery&rsquo;s time of 1:00.17 set in 1987.&ldquo;I didn't know I was on a record pace!&rdquo; said Spratling. &ldquo;I honestly felt like I relaxed a little bit too much early on in the race. So when I saw the time, I was disappointed, I really wanted to run 59 seconds. But if that's the best time ever run in the world, then I'm ok with it.&rdquo;Decathlon world record-holder Ashton Eaton produced the social media highlight of the meeting. He ran an impressive 7.51 in the 60m hurdles for third place in the race and the second position on the 2015 world indoor list.But Eaton, to the astonishment of the audience, couldn&rsquo;t handle his speed after crossing the line and jumped over the crash mat at the finish, falling down a four-metre drop on the outer side of the track. Fortunately, the world and Olympic champion landed on his feet and was back on the track in one piece within a matter of seconds, heading over to the long jump runway for his second event of the evening.The victory in the men&rsquo;s 60m hurdles was taken by Aleec Harris. In his third race as a professional, he set a world lead and a personal best of 7.50. World champion David Oliver was second with the same time as Eaton, 7.51.<h3>Williams back in shape</h3> Jesse Williams, the 2011 world high jump champion, had injury-ridden seasons in 2013 and 2014, but is determined to put them behind. He proved it in New York, clearing 2.31m on his first attempt to beat Canada&rsquo;s Mike Mason on count-back.Elsewhere in the field events, Greece&rsquo;s European silver medallist Ekaterini Stefanidi took the victory in the pole vault with 4.60m, and Jamaica&rsquo;s Damar Forbes leaped 8.03m on his last attempt in the long jump for a narrow win over the world and Olympic medallist Will Claye (8.02m).<h3>World leads for Ahoure and Kipyego</h3> Double world silver medallist Murielle Ahoure posted a world lead of 7.05 to win the women&rsquo;s 60m. Trinidad and Tobago&rsquo;s Michelle-Lee Ahye came in second with a time of 7.11, 0.06 ahead of two-time world indoor bronze medallist Tianna Bartoletta. All three women set season&rsquo;s bests.In the 3000m showdown between Kenyans Sally Kipyego and Betsy Saina, world and Olympic 10,000m medallist Kipyego won in a world-leading 8:41.72. Saina came in second with a time of 8:43.19.&ldquo;I knew that Betsy is a tough competition, that she is fit, so this win is a great booster of confidence coming into the outdoor season,&rdquo; said Kipyego. &ldquo;The focus is, of course, on the National Trials in July, because I want to make it to the World Championships in Beijing. It was my second and last race indoors: in about a month I will be running the New York City Half Marathon.&rdquo;Members of the Bowerman Track Club dominated the men&rsquo;s 5000m and it all came down to a battle between Lopez Lomong and Ryan Hill. Lomong clocked 13:27.60 for the win, while Hill set a personal best of 13:27.80. Japan&rsquo;s Suguru Osako, who now trains under the guidance of Salazar, set a national indoor record of 13:28.00 for third.In the women&rsquo;s 400m, Olympic champion Sanya Richards-Ross tightened up on the home stretch and was passed by US indoor record-holder Phyllis Francis in the closing stages. Francis clocked 53.14 to Richards-Ross&rsquo;s 53.71.USA&rsquo;s Sharika Nelvis won the 60m hurdles in 7.91 with Jasmin Stowers as a close runner-up in 7.92. Marvin Bracy won his second straight Millrose Games sprint title, clocking 6.53 in the 60m ahead of Antoine Adams and Su Bingtian, who both ran 6.61 for second and third respectively.Ajee Wilson rarely lets anyone get in the way of her races at the Armory, and once again she came away victorious with a 2:01.57 in the 800m. The men&rsquo;s 1000m victory was decided in a close fight between Erik Sowinski and Robby Andrews. Sowinski was centimeters ahead of his rival: 2:21.18 to 2:21.23.Elena Dyachkova for the IAAF

The 108th edition of the NYRR Millrose Games, held at the New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armory on Saturday (14), produced two world bests and five world-leading marks.

Two world bests – one expected and one surprise – fall at Millrose Games

Top sprinters Carmelita Jeter and Murielle Ahoure will grace the women&rsquo;s 60m at the 2015 Sainsbury&rsquo;s Indoor Grand Prix, an IAAF Indoor Permit meeting, in Birmingham on 21 February, the organisers announced on Monday (29).USA&rsquo;s Jeter, with a plethora of major championship medals to her name, including the 2011 World Championships 100m gold, is a familiar face in Britain&rsquo;s second city and won the 60m at this meeting in 2009 and 2010.&ldquo;The Sainsbury&rsquo;s Indoor Grand Prix is one of the world&rsquo;s best indoor meets and I&rsquo;m looking forward to testing myself ahead of another important outdoor season where I&rsquo;ll be looking for another World Championships medal,&rdquo; said the US sprinter.Ivory Coast&rsquo;s Ahoure has won the 60m silver medal at the past two IAAF World Indoor Championships and set her personal best of 6.99 when winning at this meeting in 2013.The organisers have lined up the best of Britain&rsquo;s sprinting talent to face the pair.As well as the already-announced Asha Philip, European and Commonwealth 200m silver medallist Jodie Williams and world junior 100m champion Dina Asher-Smith will be on the start line.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m really looking forward to competing at the Sainsbury&rsquo;s Indoor Grand Prix," said 19-year-old Asher-Smith. "It&rsquo;s a very knowledgeable crowd, they always know when there&rsquo;s a good performance and recognise it so I&rsquo;m really excited."&ldquo;I&rsquo;m quite shocked but really happy with last year. I had a good indoor season, and then got the British junior 200m record; hopefully 2015 will be just as good.&rdquo;Organisers for the IAAF

Top sprinters Carmelita Jeter and Murielle Ahoure will grace the women’s 60m at the 2015 Sainsbury’s Indoor Grand Prix, an IAAF Indoor Permit meeting, in Birmingham on 21 February, the organisers announced on Monday (29).

Jeter and Ahoure set to duel over 60m in Birmingham

The 2014 African Championships in Marrakech drew to a close on Thursday (14) as no fewer than 15 titles were decided. One of the most hotly contested of those, the men’s 1500m, was the last individual event on the programme and it did not disappoint.World champion Asbel Kiprop had won his semi-final just 24 hours prior, finishing ahead of world junior record-holder Ronald Kwemoi and world indoor champion Ayanleh Souleiman. That same trio filled the top three spots in the final, only this time it was a different order.In a tactical race, everything was left to a final dash for the line in the home straight with four athletes still in contention. At the end, though, Souleiman got the upper hand and crossed the line in 3:42.49, just 0.09 ahead of Kiprop with Kwemoi just 0.01 further behind in third. Ethiopia’s Mekonnen Gebremedhin missed out on a medal by just 0.06.Having made history for Djibouti earlier this year at the World Indoor Championships by becoming their first global champion, Souleiman once again broke new ground by becoming his country’s first African champion in a track event. Before today, Djibouti’s sole gold medal at the African Championships was Ahmed Salah’s marathon title in 1985. While Kenya missed out on a medal in the metric mile, they more than made up for it in the 5000m, filling three of the top four places.World indoor champion and Commonwealth champion Caleb Ndiku added another African title to his collection, having won the 1500m two years ago. In Marrakech he won the 5000m by one-and-a-half seconds, crossing the line in 13:34.27 from team-mate Isiah Koech. Eritrea’s Abrar Osman, the 2012 world junior silver medallist, took the bronze medal.Double gold for Ivory Coast in 200mIn the space of 10 minutes, Ivory Coast tripled their gold medal haul at the championships, taking the men’s and women’s 200m titles.Earlier in the week, double world silver medallist Murielle Ahoure had taken silver in the 100m, but in the absence of Blessing Okagbare she cruised to victory in 22.36, just 0.12 outside her own national record.Team-mate Marie Jose Ta Lou, who took bronze in the shorter sprint, also went one better this evening, earning the silver medal with a PB of 22.87.Moments later, fellow Ivorian Hua Wilfried Koffi won the men’s half-lap sprint in 20.25. Just like his 100m victory, he improved on the national record too. He became just the fifth man in the history of the championships – and the first since 2002 – to win the men’s sprint double.Isaac Makwala, the 400m champion, clocked 20.51 for the silver, just 0.02 ahead of Kenya’s Carvin Nkanata.Makwala ended on a high note though, as Botswana took gold in the 4x400m with a national record of 3:01.89, winning by more than a second from Nigeria (3:03.09).Nigeria, with three of the top-four finishers from the individual 400m, took gold in the women’s event, winning by more than three seconds in 3:28.87.Yego successfully defends as Kenya sweep 800mKenya’s Commonwealth champion Julius Yego won his second successive African title in the javelin, but he was made to work for it.African record-holder Ihab Abdelrahman El Sayed opened with 81.09m to Yego’s 80.57m. Yego then went into the lead in the following round with 82.77m as El Sayed improved to 82.35m. In the penultimate round, Yego sent his spear out to 84.72m. El Sayed saved his best for the final round, but his 83.59m wasn’t enough to challenge Yego’s lead.On a good night for Kenya, world champion Eunice Sum led a Kenyan sweep of the medals in the women’s 800m; the first time one nation had achieved the feat in the women’s two-lap discipline at the African Championships.Silver medallist two years ago, this time Sum was in complete control and won in 1:59.45 from 2007 world champion Janeth Jepkosgei. Their younger team-mate Agatha Jeruto improved on the PB she set in the heats with 1:59.84 for the bronze medal.Historic fifth title in a row for KgosiemangBotswanan high jumper Kabelo Kgosiemang made history by becoming the first athlete in the history of the African Championships to win five titles in succession.A few athletes have won five or more titles in the 35-year history of the event, but none had managed to win five consecutively. Until today.He had first-time clearances up to and including his winning height of 2.28m. Before that bar, Cameroon’s Fernand Djoumessi had an identical record, but he failed once at 2.28m and twice at 2.30m, eventually settling for silver.Hiwot Ayalew broke the championship record to win the women’s 3000m steeplechase, taking the gold medal in 9:29.54 ahead of fellow Ethiopian Sofia Assefa. Morocco’s Salima Alami was third.Nel and Shange boost South Africa’s medal countSouth Africa topped the medals table with 10 gold medals, two of which were won on the final day.Wenda Nel made up for her disqualification at the recent Commonwealth Games by winning in 55.32, 0.14 ahead of Nigeria’s Amaka Ogoegbunam, who took exactly a second off the PB she set six years ago. In third, Kenya’s Francisca Koki set her second national record in as many days, clocking 55.84.South Africa’s other title came in the men’s 20km race walk, which was won by Lebogang Shange in 1:26:58. In doing so, he became his nation’s first winner of this event since 1992.In the women’s event, African record-holder Grace Wanjiru Njue won her fifth African title in 1:37:04 from Kenyan team-mate Emily Ngii. In third, Askala Tiksa set an Ethiopian record of 1:40:05.Late gold rush for CameroonBefore today, Cameroon hadn’t won any events in Marrakech. But almost simultaneously, two gold medals came along at once.Auriol Dongmo improved on her national record she set at the recent Commonwealth Games, taking the shot put title with 16.84m. Discus champion Chinwe Okoro had to settle for the silver on this occasion, 44 centimetres in arrears.In another corner of the stadium, Dongmo’s team-mate Joelle Mbumi Nkouindjin – who, like Dongmo, also finished seventh at the Commonwealth Games – was similarly producing the best form of her life to win the triple jump title.She added 54 centimetres to her previous best to take the gold with 14.02m, becoming just the second woman from Cameroon to surpass the 14-metre barrier, behind two-time Olympic champion Francoise Mbango.The African Championships doubled up as Africa’s selection event for next month’s IAAF Continental Cup, which will be held in the same Grand Stade de Marrakech.Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF

The 2014 African Championships in Marrakech drew to a close on Thursday (14) as no fewer than 15 titles were decided. One of the most hotly contested of those, the men’s 1500m, was the last individual event on the programme and it did not disappoint.

Souleiman, Ndiku and Ahoure among winners on final day of African Championships

Olympic champion Allyson Felix will be looking to put an injury-plagued 2013 behind her and re-establish herself as the dominant force in 200m running at the Bislett Games on 11 June, the fifth leg of the 2014 IAAF Diamond League.Felix will be competing in Norway for the first time in her career and Oslo gives her the perfect opportunity to pick up where she left off after her brilliant 2012 season in which she was named the female IAAF World Athlete of the Year.Felix, who has been world champion at the distance on three separate occasions, is one of the most decorated athletes in the sport’s history, having won 12 gold medals at Olympic and World Championships level. She has returned to the track this year with a fifth-place finish over 400m in Shanghai and a third-place finish over 200m in Eugene.Another athlete looking to make a statement of her own is Ivory Coast’s Murielle Ahoure. The world silver medallist over 60m, 100m and 200m will be looking to further her progression and become the world no.1 in 2014.Ahoure spends a great deal of time training and residing in Norway , a fact that will not be lost on the parochial Bislett crowd. The 26-year-old, who finished one place behind Felix in Eugene last weekend, will be looking to improve on her personal best of 22.24 for 200m, after opening her season with a 11.06 clocking over 100m.While Felix and Ahoure are the favourites for the 200m, there will be several other athletes in Oslo who will want to challenge for the victory. 21-year-old Bahamian Anthonique Strachan is the double world junior champion and recently produced her second-fastest performance event when finishing second in the 200m in Shanghai.Another world-class competitor is USA’s Tiffany Townsend. The 24-year-old has a personal best of 22.26 and is capable of an upset.In what promises to be a tight competition, listen for the big Bislett crowd to rise as one and support their adopted daughter Ahoure, especially if she can challenge Felix.Organisers for the IAAF2014 IAAF Diamond League calendarDoha, QAT – 9 May Shanghai, CHN – 18 May Eugene, USA – 31 May Rome, ITA – 5 Jun Oslo, NOR – 11 Jun New York, USA – 14 Jun Lausanne, SUI – 3 Jul Paris, FRA – 5 Jul Glasgow, GBR – 11-12 Jul Monaco, MON – 18 Jul Stockholm, SWE – 21 Aug Birmingham, GBR – 24 Aug Zurich, SUI – 28 Aug Brussels, BEL – 5 Sep

Olympic champion Allyson Felix will be looking to put an injury-plagued 2013 behind her and re-establish herself as the dominant force in 200m running at the Bislett Games on 11 June, the fifth leg of the 2014 IAAF Diamond League.