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Jason Joseph runs in Florence over 110 m hurdles with a Swiss record time to second place. Faith Kipyegon sets a world record in the 1500m.
Jason Joseph also proved his excellent early form in Florence. The European indoor champion ran over 110 m hurdles in a strong field to a strong 2nd place. With a time of 13.10 seconds, the Basel bidder also reduced his own Swiss record by two hundredths. With this time he moved up to 5th place in the annual world bests list. Joseph set the previous record two years ago in La Chaux-de-Fonds.
In Tuscany, the 24-year-old was only beaten by two-time world champion Grant Holloway (USA). Shortly before the finish, the Swiss Devon Allen intercepted and relegated the American to 3rd place. Immediately after the competition, Joseph said that even more could have been done. “It’s a shame that I took the 8th hurdle with me.” With Holloway in mind, he lost concentration towards the end of the race. “But we’ll take it.”
On the track
With the aim of setting a world record, Faith Kipyegon tackled the last race of the evening. And the Kenyan kept her word. After the two-time Olympic champion initially ran a little over the target time, she really turned up the heat on the last lap. In the end, Kipyegon crossed the finish line in 3:49.11 minutes. The Kenyan undercut the eight-year-old record of Genzebe Dibaba (ETH) by a whopping 96 hundredths.
As in Rabat, the eagerly awaited duel against world champion Fred Kerley fell through due to the cancellation of Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs. The field was not less top-class, as all World Championship medal winners from 2022 were at the starting line. As in Eugene, the winner was Fred Kerley. With a time of 9.94 seconds, the American clearly beat Ferdinand Omanyala (KEN/10.05) and compatriot Trayvon Bromell (10.09).
- 5000m men
In Florence, Dominic Lobalu wanted to compete with the absolute world elite for the first time this season. The refugee from southern Sudan, who lives in eastern Switzerland, had to forego a start due to muscular problems in his calf. The top-class race nevertheless lived up to the high expectations. With a time of 12:52 minutes, the Spaniard Mohamed Katir prevailed just ahead of Yomif Kejelcha from Ethiopia. World record holder Joshua Cheptegei (UGA) had to settle for fourth place.
Jugend forscht was the motto in the women’s 3000 m steeple race. With a time of just over 9 minutes, the only 18-year-old Ethiopian Sembo Alemayehu was the winner of the day. The podium was completed by the no less old Kenyan Jackline Chepkoech (19) and Zerfe Wondemaggn (20) from Ethiopia.
Marie-Josée Ta Lou more than lived up to her role as favorite in the women’s 100m. The Ivorian ran in Florence in 10.97 seconds to a victory that was never in doubt. It was a disappointment for the Americans, who finished 4th-7th.
In the oval
In the absence of local Olympic champion Gianmarco Tamberi, JuVaughn Harrison and Woo Sang-hyeok fought a high-class duel. While the American Harrison mastered the 2.32 m in the third attempt, his South Korean opponent failed at this height.