LONDON, ENGLAND, July 19 — Twelve months ago, Julien Alfred had to settle for 2nd in London, beaten by Gabby Thomas in a thrilling 200 despite setting a 21.86 NR.
This year, with no Thomas on the start line and with cool rain having fallen earlier, Olympic 100 gold medalist Alfred had the stage to herself and stopped the clock in 21.71 to leap into the top 10 all-time list for the furlong.
With rivals shoulder-to-shoulder with the St. Lucian coming off the bend, Alfred went through the gears down the straight and left ’19 world champion Dina Asher-Smith trailing in her wake by more than half a second. The Briton finished 2nd in 22.25.
“I did the 200 here last year before the Olympics and finished 2nd, but seeing how I ran today and how comfortable I felt, I am a lot more confident in my 200 heading into the Worlds,” said Alfred, who even cracked a rare smile after crossing the line.
Even more remarkably, conditions were far from perfect — not just on the chilly side but with a slight 0.6 breeze facing the athletes on a track that was still drying out after thunderstorms.
The women’s mile isn’t run as frequently at big invitationals as it is for the men but, prompted by Faith Kipyegon’s recent sub-4 piece of theater in Paris, London meet organizers decided to stage the event and were rewarded with a plethora of revisions to the all-time list.
The target was 4:10, tacitly acknowledging that Kipyegon’s ratified World Record of 4:07.64 was probably beyond the reach of the assembled ensemble.
Gudaf Tsegay though seemed not to have read the script as she almost immediately eschewed the help of the designated pacemaker and shot to the front after just 150m.
The Ethiopian ticked off 400 splits of 59.93 and 2:03.45 — inside WR pace — before starting to tire slightly on the third lap. She passed 1200 in 3:07.98 before eventually crossing the line in 4:11.88 to move up to No. 2 on the all-time list after Kipyegon.
Behind Tsegay there was a host of NRs with Australia’s Jessica Hull finishing 2nd in 4:13.68 and Sinclaire Johnson taking 0.03 off Nikki Hiltz’s 2-year-old American Record when finishing 4th in 4:16.32.
“I came here thinking the record was possible and that’s what we were aiming at. We expected Tsegay would go out hard, so I just had to remain calm,” reflected Johnson, who had splits of 62.9, 2:06.8 and 3:12.0 in her first outdoor mile since ’21.
Noah Lyles still has some work to do if he is to defend his 100 world title in Tokyo but he chose to accentuate the positive after clocking 10.00 in his season-opener for the short sprint. He finished 2nd behind Oblique Seville’s sizzling 9.85 win, just 0.04 shy of the Jamaican’s PR.
“I feel great after that; I feel extremely healthy, and I am feeling no pain,” said Lyles. “You are going to see Oblique out there and you have to just be like, ‘OK, do not let it get to your head, just go and try and chase them, just reel them in little by little,’ just like any race. I did not get it this time, but the most important thing was not to panic, to make sure that I hit all the positions regardless.”
Kenyan miling phenom Phanuel Koech beat a top-quality 1500 field including the last two world champions — Josh Kerr and Jake Wightman, who were 2nd and 4th — to win in 3:28.82, just over a second shy of his World U20 Record in Paris last month.
Koech’s compatriot Emmanuel Wanyonyi was equally impressive when winning over two laps. After an audacious 49.21 opening lap, the ’24 Olympic champ found just enough space on the inside to squeeze past Marco Arop 20m from the line, clocking 1:42.00 to the Canadian’s 1:42.22.
In the women’s 800, any disappointment the crowd had at the absence of Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson was assuaged when her training partner and Paris 1500 bronze medallist Georgia Hunter-Bell won in 1:56.74, the second-fastest time of the year.
With the track still sparkling from the rainstorm, Femke Bol pattered around the oval in 52.10, the third-fastest time of the year despite the Dutchwoman expressing dissatisfaction with her second bend.
The standout performance in the field was soon-to-be-Oregon-Duck Mykolas Alekna’s massive 235-3 (71.70) heave in the third round of the discus, his best effort outside of the U.S. and a mark never exceeded inside a stadium as enclosed as London’s.
Kristjan Čeh, the ’22 world champion, narrowed the gap over the rest of the field to 225-10 (68.83) in the last round while Jamaica’s ’24 Olympic champion Roje Stona was down in 5th with 212-3 (64.71).
Two Paris medalists in the women’s verticals also failed to rise to the occasion.
Four women went over 15-6¼ (4.73) in the vault, but New Zealand’s Olivia McTaggart was the only one to make it on her second attempt. Katie Moon had to settle for 2nd on the countback at the same height, the wet runway making life difficult for everyone.
Likewise, the high jumpers faced the same issues. Local favorite Morgan Lake — the World U20 champion 11 years ago in Eugene — was the only one to go over 6-5 (1.96). WR-holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh struggled and needed three jumps to scale 6-3¾ (1.93).
LONDON DL MEN’S RESULTS
100(-0.6): 1. Oblique Seville (Jam) 9.86; 2. Noah Lyles (US) 10.00; 3. Zharnel Hughes (GB) 10.02; 4. Ackeem Blake (Jam) 10.08; 5. Akani Simbine (SA) 10.11; 6. Jeremiah Azu (GB) 10.11; 7. Letsile Tebogo (Bot) 10.12; 8. Louie Hinchliffe (GB) 10.21.
400: 1. Charlie Dobson (GB) 44.14 PR; 2. Matthew Hudson-Smith (GB) 44.27; 3. Zakithi Nene (SA) 44.29; 4. Vernon Norwood (US) 44.34; 5. Collen Kebinatshipi (Bot) 44.51; 6. Reece Holder (Aus) 44.76.
800: 1. Emmanuel Wanyonyi (Ken) 1:42.00; 2. Marco Arop (Can) 1:42.22; 3. Max Burgin (GB) 1:42.36 PR;
4. Bryce Hoppel (US) 1:42.71 (x, 9 A);
5. Mohamed Attaoui (Spa) 1:43.01; 6. Donavan Brazier (US) 1:43.08 (fastest since 10/19); 7. Mark English (Ire) 1:44.07; 8. Andreas Kramer (Swe) 1:44.26; 9. Ethan Hussey (GB) 1:44.30 PR;… rabbit—Patryk Sieradzki (Pol) (49.21).
1500: 1. Phanuel Koech (Ken) 3:28.82 (x, 3 WJ);
2. Josh Kerr (GB) 3:29.37; 3. Isaac Nader (Por) 3:31.55; 4. Jake Wightman (GB) 3:31.58; 5. Jude Thomas (Aus) 3:32.36; 6. Elliot Giles (GB) 3:32.51; 7. Narve Gilje Nordås (Nor) 3:32.54; 8. Adam Spencer (Aus) 3:32.88; 9. Selemon Barega (Eth) 3:32.93 PR; 10. Neil Gourley (GB) 3:33.69; 11. Olli Hoare (Aus) 3:34.03; 12. George Mills (GB) 4:18.37 (2:48.43); 13. Cam Myers (Aus) 4:24.03;… rabbit—Ben Claridge (GB) (55.47, 55.99 [1:51.46]).
Field Events
LJ: 1. Wayne Pinnock (Jam) 26-11 (8.20); 2. Miltiádis Tentóglou (Gre) 26-10½ (8.19); 3. Carey McLeod (Jam) 26-7 (8.10); 4. Mattia Furlani (Ita) 26-5 (8.05); 5. Simon Ehammer (Swi) 26-4¼ (8.03).
DT: 1. Mykolas Alekna (Lit) 235-3 (71.70) (farthest ever in closed stadium) (219-8, 220-8, 235-3, f, f, 224-3) (66.97, 67.27, 71.70, f, f, 68.37); 2. Kristjan Čeh (Slo) 225-10 (68.83); 3. Lawrence Okoye (GB) 220-7 (67.24); 4. Daniel Ståhl (Swe) 218-7 (66.62); 5. Roje Stona (Jam) 212-3 (64.71); 6. Henrik Janssen (Ger) 211-3 (64.39).
LONDON WOMEN’S RESULTS
200(-0.6): 1. Julien Alfred (StL) 21.71 NR (WL) (=9, x W);
2. Dina Asher-Smith (GB) 22.25; 3. Amy Hunt (GB) 22.31 PR; 4. Rhasidat Adeleke (Ire) 22.52; 5. Jael Bestue (Spa) 22.67; 6. Daryll Neita (GB) 22.69.
800: 1. Georgia Hunter Bell (GB) 1:56.74;
2. Addy Wiley (US) 1:57.43 (AL);
3. Halimah Nakaayi (Uga) 1:57.62; 4. Claudia Hollingsworth (Aus) 1:58.02 PR; 5. Shafiqua Maloney (StV) 1:58.47; 6. Jemma Reekie (GB) 1:58.76; 7. Sarah Billings (Aus) 1:58.99; 8. Natoya Goule-Toppin (Jam) 1:59.27;… rabbit—Lisanne de Witte (Neth) (56.49).
Mile: 1. Gudaf Tsegay (Eth) 4:11.88 NR (WL) (2, 2 W) (3:54.75) (59.93, 2:03.45, 3:07.98);
2. Jessica Hull (Aus) 4:13.68 NR (6, 6 W) (3:55.64);
3. Sarah Healy (Ire) 4:16.26 PR (3:59.27);
4. Sinclaire Johnson (US) 4:16.32 AR (old AR 4:16.35 Nikki Hiltz [lulu] ’23) (3:59.48) (62.9, 63.9 [2:06.8], 65.2 [3:12.0], 64.3 [from 1200 to mile]);
5. Marta Zenoni (Ita) 4:17.16 NR (3:59.16 PR); 6. Agathe Guillemot (Fra) 4:19.08 NR; 7. Revee Walcott-Nolan (GB) 4:19.16 PR; 8. Salomé Afonso (Por) 4:19.51 NR; 9. Linden Hall (Aus) 4:19.58 PR;
10. Birke Haylom (Eth) 4:19.74 (x, 3 WJ) (4:02.20);
11. Gaia Sabbatini (Ita) 4:19.83 NR; 12. Esther Guerrero (Spa) 4:20.12 NR.
5000: 1. Medina Eisa (Eth) 14:30.57; 2. Fantaye Belayneh (Eth) 14:30.90 PR; 3. Rose Davies (Aus) 14:31.45 NR; 4. Fotyen Tesfay (Eth) 14:32.55; 5. Georgia Griffith (Aus) 14:32.82 PR; 6. Hirut Meshesha (Eth) 14:33.42; 7. Nozomi Tanaka (Jpn) 14:34.10;
8. Marta Alemayo (Eth) 14:34.46 WYR (old WYR 14:37.94 Birke Haylom [Eth] ’23) (6, x WJ).
400H: 1. Femke Bol (Neth) 52.10; 2. Jasmine Jones (US) 53.18; 3. Andrenette Knight (Jam) 53.79; 4. Gianna Woodruff (Pan) 54.00; 5. Emma Zapletalová (Svk) 54.08 NR; 6. Lina Nielsen (GB) 55.04; 7. Daniela Ledecká (Svk) 55.83.
Field Events
HJ: 1. Morgan Lake (GB) 6-5 (1.96); 2. Eleanor Patterson (Aus) 6-4 (1.93); 3. Christina Honsel (Ger) 6-4; 4. Yaroslava Mahuchikh (Ukr) 6-4; 5. Imke Onnen (Ger) 6-2¼ (1.89); 6. Elena Kulichenko (Cyp) 6-2¼; 7. tie, Lamara Distin (Jam) & Charity Hufnagel (US) 6-¾ (1.85).
PV: 1. Olivia McTaggart (NZ) 15-6¼ (4.73) PR (missed 15-10½/4.84); 2. Katie Moon (US) 15-6¼; 3. Angelica Moser (Swi) 15-6¼; 4. Emily Grove (US) 15-6¼ (4.73); 5. tie, Molly Caudery (GB) & Amálie Švábíková (CzR) 15-1 (4.60); 7. Tina Šutej (Slo) 15-1.
LJ: 1. Malaika Mihambo (Ger) 22-9 (6.93); 2. Larissa Iapichino (Ita) 22-8½ (6.92); 3. Hilary Kpatcha (Fra) 22-6¼ (6.86); 4. Claire Bryant (US) 22-3 (6.78); 5. Monae’ Nichols (US) 22-1½ (6.74); 6. Annik Kälin (Swi) 22-¾ (6.72); 7. Jazmin Sawyers (GB) 21-9 (6.63); 8. Katarina Johnson-Thompson (GB) 21-3¼ (6.48).
