Recently crowned European champions Amy Hunt and Bence Halasz were in victorious form at the Grand Prix Brescia, a World Athletics Continental Tour Silver meeting, on Sunday (30) afternoon.
Competing only 60 kilometres away from her training base in Padua, the quadruple European champion received a lot of local acclaim as she sprinted to victory in the women’s 100m.
Hunt trailed Dominican Republic’s Liranyi Alonso until 70 metres before the Brit’s famed top end speed took her clear of the field, taking the win in 11.06 ahead of Alonso in 11.13 with Cote d’Ivoire’s Maboundou Koné third in 11.25.
In the men’s hammer, European champion Halasz returned to winning form after slipping into third-place in the Silesia Diamond League last Sunday.
Halasz had already wrapped up the victory before the sixth round with 79.94m but the Hungarian encroached on the 80 metre-line with his final attempt which landed at 80.67m.
Halasz won by almost two metres from European bronze medallist Mykhaylo Kokhan (78.78m) with Germany’s Soren Klose completing the continental clean sweep in third (76.41m).
800m lifetime bests for Bizimana and O'Sullivan
US-based Brit Yusuf Bizimana defeated a strong field in the men’s 800m, improving his lifetime best to 1:44.02 for victory over France’s Yanis Meziane (1:44.26) and Kenya’s Laban Chepkwony (1:44.44).
In the women’s 800m, Olympic fourth-placer Shafiqua Maloney strode to an expected victory in 1:58.03 ahead of Ireland’s Sophie O’Sullivan who continued her two-lap breakthrough by slashing more than one second from her recently-set lifetime best with 1:58.60.
As well as taking the scalp of Italian record-holder and European finalist Eloisa Coiro who was squeezed into third in 1:58.62, O’Sullivan came within one-tenth of Ciara Mageean’s Irish record of 1:58.51.
One of the non-European highlights was victory for Jamaica’s Rajindra Campbell in the men’s shot put. Campbell produced three throws in excess of the 22 metre-line, including a national record of 22.59m in the third round.
Double European champion and home favourite Leonardo Fabbri had to settle for second against a top-level field with 21.99m.