World records fall and champions crowned in incredible weekend of sport
Mammoth throw in Poland
German Johannes Vetter threw an unbelievable 97.76m in the javelin event at the Continental Tour Gold meet in Poland over the weekend.
The 27-year-old's throw not only smashed his own national record but was the second best distance in history - 72cm shy of the world record set by three-time Olympic champion Jan Železný in May 1996.
The Rio 2016 Olympian and 2017 World Champion's throw gave him the win. His next attempt, a 94.84m, also made it into the record books as the sixth longest distance ever.
Vetter did all this while under the covered roof of the Slaski Stadium, Chorzów in the south of the country.
"I think that lots of people didn't think it was possible to throw a javelin more than 95 metres in a closed stadium," the 2019 World Championship bronze medallist told reporters after the event.
"I did it and I think there is a lot space for improvement."
World records broken
Records were expected to fall at the Brussels Diamond League meeting on Friday 4 September... and that's exactly what happened.
Both Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands and Mo Farah of Great Britain set new one hour world records.
Hassan, the 10,000m World Champion, surged clear of world marathon record holder Brigid Kosgei, who would later be disqualified for stepping inside the track, in the final minute to cover a distance of 18,930km.
The Dutchwoman beat the previous record of 18,517km set in 2008.
"I'm very happy. I never thought I would run so far," Hassan said afterwards.
"Actually, at the start I didn't feel good but after 30 minutes it got easier. It was a very strong race. Thank you for organising this in a very difficult time. I'm so happy to be here."
Meanwhile Great Britain's Mo Farah finally got the first world record of his career. And he did it in style by breaking two-time Olympic champion Haile Gebrselassie's one hour record with a new mark of 21,330km.
It was just 45m further than the mark the Ethiopian great set in 2007.
The 37-year-old is the most successful British track athlete in modern Olympic Games history with four gold medals.
In what was his first track race since 2017, Farah's attempt to break the record looked in doubt at the 35-minute mark. Those watching on TV could see a hologram of Gebrselassie's world record run 10m ahead of Farah and training partner Bashir Abdi.
However, cheered on by Gebrselassie's former manager Jos Hermans, the British runner quickened the tempo and produce his trademark kick to burst clear of Abdi.
"That's incredible. I'm very happy to break the world record today. Me and Bashir Abdi worked together. I'm so pleased for him and for myself. An amazing race to do it and to show the people what is possible," Farah said on the track afterwards.
In an incredible race, Belgium's Abdi unofficially broke Gebrselassie's 20km world record with a 56:20.02. The 10,000m European Champion, who finished second at the Tokyo Marathon this year, also broke the national record.
Peres Jepchirchir smashes women's half marathon world record
Kenya's Peres Jepchirchir broke the world record for a women-only half marathon, setting a time of 1:05:34 at the Prague 21.1KM on Saturday (5 September). The 26-year-old raced away from the rest of the field after 20 minutes and maintained her blistering pace until the finish line to break Netsanet Gudeta's previous best of 1:06:11 by 37 seconds.
“I thank God… I’m so excited… I’m satisfied with the result although I thought I could have run 64:50, but I thank God for what He has given me,” the 26-year-old told reporters after the race.
“It was difficult to run alone. If I could have had (good) pacemakers, I could have run 64.”
This is Jepchirchir’s second world record over the distance. In 2017 she clocked 1:05:06 in a mixed-race in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE - a record which stood for just under two months.
World Triathlon in Hamburg
There may have been no spectators and some competitors missing due to enforced COVID-19 restrictions, but athletes present at the World Triathlon series in Hamburg last weekend braced wet and windy conditions for a chance to return to international competition.
During the men's elite race, 2019 defending champion Vincent Luis swam well and was at the front of the bike pack along with Alistair Brownlee and French teammate Dorian Coninx. However, it was only during the run portion of the race that Luis was finally able to stream ahead finishing with a time of 49.13, followed by teammate Leo Bergere and Portugal's Vasco Vilaça.
The two-time world champion said: “I knew I was in good shape and I’ve spent the last six weeks doing a lot of sessions with some of the best guys in the world,” said Luis.
“I swam good and when you have the two Brownlee brothers with you you always have a good chance to get away. I had the two young guys with me on the run so I was a bit scared but pushed the pace with one lap to go. Im so happy for Leo that he took the third spot. That was a great race for France.”
Luis is looking to extend his winning streak and bag a gold medal in Tokyo 2020.
Meanwhile in the women's category, Great Britain's Georgia Taylor-Brown took victory with a time of 54:16, but her win came as a surprise to her.
"I wasn’t confident at all," Taylor-Brown told triathlon.org. “I did Super League Arena Games a couple of weeks ago and got some serious lung burn there. I was wondering how it was going to go, I didn’t really expect much from myself. I was grateful to be able to race again. I am quite shocked at that performance to be honest," Taylor-Brown said about her first world title.
Bermuda's Flora Duffy, who had just returned to competition after an eight-month injury, placed second with a time of 54:25.
"This was a huge race for me, the back half of 2018 and the first part of 2019 were really difficult. To miss most of this year because of COVID-19, it has a long time since I feel like I am in my stride and hit a podium. I am happy for personal reasons to finish second today, it was a really big step for me," Duffy said.
On Sunday, the mixed relay event was dominated by the French team with Dorian Coninx, Leonie Periault, Leo Bergere and Cassandre Beaugrand teaming up to bring home the gold and retain their world title, ending Great Britain's bid for the top spot on the podium.
"World Champions. Even if other nations had been absent [in this race]," he wrote on his own Instagram account.
The French team debuted a new line-up during the race, one which coach Benjamin Maze had envisioned for next year when the discipline make its debut at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
