Femke Bol thrilled her home fans with a meeting record at the FBK Games in Hengelo on Monday (9).
The defending world and European champion left a high quality international field trailing in her wake at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, winning in 52.51.
After opening the season with victory at the Rabat Diamond League with her fastest ever season's opener of 52.46 on 25 May, this was the flying Dutch athlete's second outdoor appearance of the year. And she didn't disappoint an expectant crowd with a display of fluid hurdling and relentless sprinting.
Pan American Games gold medallist Gianna Woodruff of Panama was a distant second in 54.54 and Slovakia's Emma Zapletalova was third in a seasons's best 54.71.
In-form English sets Irish 800m record
Twice European bronze medallist Mark English maintain his excellent early season form, winning the men's 800m in a national record of 1:43.92. It was 0.42 off his lifetime best for the evergreen 32-year-old. His race experience was key to his victory.
He kept his cool as Yanis Meziane and Pieter Sisk surged out of the final bend with a five metre lead and gradually reeled them in as both the French athlete and the Belgian athlete began to tire.
Meziane clung on to second in 1:44.32 ahead of third placed Craig Peyton of Australia in 1:44.32 as Sisk dropped back to seventh in 1:45.12. France’s European bronze medallist Anaïs Bourgoin won the women’s race in 1:59.53.
Ceh makes it five wins in a row
European champion Kristjan Čeh of Slovenia extended his winning streak to five, taking and elite level men’s discus with a best of 69.21m and taking some big scalps on the way. Olympic bronze medallist Matthew Denny of Australia was second with 67.64m ahead of Olympic champion Rojé Stona of Jamaica, whose best was 67.19m.
Phijffers breakthrough 44.93 in men's 400m
Besides Bol, there was also plenty more for the packed partisan Dutch crowd to savour. Jonas Phijffers landed a big breakthrough victory in the men’s 400m, winning in a new Dutch U23 record of 44.93. It was a big statement win ahead of the next month's Bergen 2023 European Athletics Championships.
Elvis Afrifa won the men’s 100m in 10.25 (-1.0m/s) and Nadine Visser scored a season’s best 12.59 (+1.0m/s) in the women’s 100m hurdles. She just held off he fast finishing Marione Fourie of South Africa by 0.01 to win with Poland’s 2022 European champion Pia Skrzyszowska third in 12.77.
European champion outdoors and indoors Jessica Schilder was second in a high-quality women’s shot with 20.16m, only undone by a superb opening round throw of 20.62m by twice world champion Chase Jackson of USA.