The Swedish 20-year-old star Duplantis set the fifth world record in the pole vault in the history of the Golden Gala, in Rome, after Thierry Vigneron in 1983 (5.83m), the two world records set in 1984 by Thierry Vigneron (5.91m) and Sergey Bubka (5.94m) and Yelena Isinbayeva (5.03m) in 2008. Duplantis cleared one cm higher than Bubka, who set the previous world outdoor record with 6.14m on Italian soil at Sestriere in 1994. Duplantis already set two world indoor records with 6.17m in Torun and 6.18m in Glasgow last February. The Swede won all his 15 competitions this year and cleared six metres in all five Wanda Diamond League competitions in Monaco (6.00m), Stockholm (6.01m), Lausanne (6.07m) and Brussels (6.00m).
Duplantis received the Memorial Primo Nebiolo award for the best technical performance of the meeting from World Athletics President Sebastian Coe.
Armand Duplantis: “World record, well, I would not say that I am used to it. It is crazy. It was a really strong competition for me, so long. In the last two jumps I found my rhythm again. Maybe I will party a bit, just hang out with the guys, but trying to stay a little focused because I have one last meeting in Doha in one week. I will stay in Rome until I fly to Doha. After the last meeting in Doha, I can really party and chill. How I achieved this result ? It has been a long time coming. The world record is really unexpected and I am really greatful. It is so cool. I want to get over 6.15m so badly. Everybody kept talking about it. It was a big chip on the shoulder and I feel I had to do it to have stop people asking me the question. When I didi t, it was more relief than joy. My mum and dad were not here today. Usually one of them is with me. I am a bit disappointed about that. My dad has never been with me when I jumped a WR”.
Belgium’s Ben Broeders set the national outdoor record with 5.80m to finish second
ahead of Philippines’ John Obiena on countback. Former world record holder Renaud Lavillenie finished fourth with 5.70m.
The 40th edition of the Golden Gala was also highlighted by the meeting record in the men’s 400m hurdles set by Karsten Warholm and two world seasonal best performances set by Elaine Thompson-Herah in the women’s 100m (10.84) and Jacob Kiplimo in the men’s 3000m (7:26.64).
Men’s 400 metres hurdles:
Double world champion and European record Karsten Warholm smashed Abderrahman Samba’s Golden Gala record with 47.07 running on his favorite seventh lane. The Norwegian “viking” ran the third fastest time of his career. He is the only 400m hurdles specialist in history to run under 47 after 46.87 in Stockholm in 2020 and 46.92 in the Diamond League final in Zurich last year.
Karsten Warholm: “Of course, I am satisfied. This is the third best time ever. I ran really low 47 ers on a regular basis this year. I am very happy. This season has been a good experience for me. It is good fun for me coming here to Rome with the warm weather and the winds, unlike back home in Norway, where it is cold and rainy. The World record ? I am quite used to talk about it and I love it because it shows that I am in the right pace, that I am close. This year I am getting a lot of meeting records. I am really satisfied with being on that level. It feels good. Covid 19 ? Despite everything, I feel we got a lot of good things out of this season. My focus was and always is: becoming better, staying injury freeand loving what I do. This is sports, it is a tough world”.
Men’s 3000 metres:
Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo set the world seasonal best, the Diamond League record and national record with an impressive 7:26.54 beating European 1500m champion and recod holder Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who set a national record and PB with 7:27.05. Stewart McSweyn also dipped under the 7:30 barrier with 7:28.02. Yeman Crippa finished fourth breaking Gennaro Di Napoli’s long standing Italian record with 7:38.27.
Jacob Kiplimo: “I would like to thank the Diamond League organizers for bringing me here. I am over the moon. I did not expect such a great time. I thought that I could runa round 7.30. The pacemaker was fantastic”.
Women’s 100 metres:
Double olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah won the women’s 100 metres for the third time in her career on the Olympic Stadium’s track setting the fastest time in the world this year with 10.85. Aleia Hobbs finished second with 11.12 ahead of Ivor Coast’s Marie Josée Ta Lou (11.14) and Monte-Carlo and Stockolm DL winner Ajla Del Ponte (11.19).
Elaine Thompson-Herah: “I leave here with the world leading time. I am super excited. This tells me where I am at the end of this season, and tells me how I can prepare for next year. This year required me adjusting, and the goal was to push back and motivate myself. I am the double Olympic champion and I want to be in top form next season”.
Men’s 100 metres:
South Africa’s Akani Simbine broke the 10 seconds barrier for the second time this year with 9.96 to beat Ivory Coast’s Ivory Coast Arthur Cissé (10.04) and Italian sprinters Filippo Tortu (10.09) and Marcell Lamont Jacobs (10.11).
Women’s high jump:
Yuliya Levchenko won the all-Ukrainian high jump clash against Yaroslava Mahuchikh with 1.98m after producing a clean-sheet until this height. Levchenko made three unsuccessful attempts at 2.01m. Mahuchikh cleared 1.95m on her first attempt to finish second on countback over Australia’s Nicola McDermott. Both Mahuchikh and McDermott made three unsuccesful attempts at 1.98m.
Yulia Levchenko: “This was a very strange atmosphere without an audience, because we really need the public support to perform well, but we are very thankful for having the chance to compete. Thank you to the organisers for this opportunity”
Men’s high jump:
Andriy Protsenko from the Ukraine set his seasonal best with 2.30m in the first attempt to beat European Indoor champion Gianmarco Tamberi, who cleared 2.27m at third time of asking. The Italian jumper made one try at 2.30m and two at 2.32m.
Men’s 110 metres hurdles:
Great Britain’s Andrew Pozzi crowned a successful season with a win in the men’s 110 metres hurdles on the Olympic Stadium track in 13.15, missing his PB by just 0.01. US Aaron Mallett finished second with 13.23 ahead of his compatriot Freddie Crittenden (13.31).
Andrew Pozzi: “I live in Italy now. I have moved here almost two years ago to train in Formia. This has only been possible because of some incredible people. Rome has always been a special DL event for me, even before I moved here. This was one of my first DL meets or one of my first international races.”
Women’s 100m hurdles:
Nadine Visser scored the third win for the Netherlands in the same evening with 12.72 beating Italy’s Luminosa Bogliolo for the third time this summer. Bogliolo clocked her tenth time under 13 seconds with 12.83 beating US Payton Chadwick (12.89) and Great Britain’s Cindy Ofili (13.02).
Nadine Visser: “I feel really good, this was the last race of the season and my body is tired. I had hoped to improve my PB, but it is still OK. Everything was uncertain at the beginning of the season, We could not train on the track and we did not know about the Olympics, but we kept training. I had a really long season and i did competitions at places I had never been before. The start was nota s good as at the last race, but I was able to accelerate well and could keep the speed well”.
Women’s 800 metres:
Reigning 800m and 1500m European Under 23 champion Jemma Reekie clocked the only sub-2 minutes time of the evening with 1:59.76 to finish ahead of world seasonal leader Hedda Hynne from Norway (2:00.24) and Laura Muir (2:00.24).
Jemma Reekie: “It was a really good race. It was fun. I am happy to finish the season with this win. I would have liked to achieve a SB or a PB but the pace was too slow. I felt safe the whole time. This was the last race of the season”
Women’s 400 metres:
Dutch sprinter Lieke Klaver won the one-lap event setting her PB with 50.98 ahead of Lithuania’s Agne Serksniene (51.80) and European 400m and 4x400 relay champion Justyna Swiety Ersetic (51.94).
Women’s 400m hurdles:
World seasonal leader Femke Bol dipped under the 54 seconds barrier for the second time this season with 53.90 completing the Dutch double in the 400m and 400m hurdles after Lieke Klaver’s win in the 400 metres.
Femke Bol: “Competing at seniorlevel is still crazy for me. Being able to take part in a Diamond League event is something I have always dreamt about. This year I have been able to do it, and on top of that do it with amazing times. I am just really happy about it all. I train with Lieke Klaver. We help each other. We help each other, and we want each other do the best we can. I want to beat her, but I am also happy when she does well. Next year my goal is to train hard, work on my technique so I can improve and make it to the Olympics”
Men’s 400 metres:
Reigning European 400m champion and 4x400 world under 20 champion Edoardo Scotti surprisingly won the men’s 400 metres in 45.21 smashing Claudio Licciardello’s Italian under 23 record with a PB of 45.21. Scotti became the third Italian athlete to win a Diamond League competition this year after Luminosa Bogliolo in the 100m hurdles in Stockolm and Eseosa Desalu in the 200m in Brussels. Scotti edged Kuwait’s Yousef Karam, who set his seasonal best with 45.25, and Poland’s Karol Zalewski (45.48)
Men’s shot put:
US Nick Ponzio produced the only 21 metres put of the evening to win the men’s shot put with 21.09m to beat former NCAA champion Payton Otterdahl (20.86m) and Italian Indoor record holder Leonardo Fabbri (20.69m).
Diego Sampaolo
