English
As anticipation builds for the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea in Rome (June 4), several of the stars set to compete at the Olympic Stadium delivered impressive performances over the weekend between the opening Wanda Diamond League meeting in Shanghai/Keqiao and the Continental Tour Gold event in Tokyo.
The headline performance came from Italy’s Mattia Furlani, the local idol and long jump world champion, who soared to a personal best of 8.43 metres in China, four centimetres farther than the mark that earned him world gold in Tokyo last September.
Ahead of the Golden Gala, four other athletes expected in Rome also claimed victories in their events: Jamaica’s Nickisha Pryce won the 400 metres in 49.75, Ireland’s Mark English took the 800 metres in 1:43.85, Ethiopia’s Birke Haylom clocked a world-leading 3:55.56 in the 1500 metres, and American hurdler Jamal Britt captured the 110-metre hurdles in 13.07.
In Tokyo, one of the most anticipated stars for the Golden Gala also opened his season in style. Olympic champion Noah Lyles stormed to victory in the 100 metres with a time of 9.95 (+0.6) in his debut race over the distance this year. Joining him in Rome will be fellow American Jordan Anthony, the world indoor 60-metre champion, who won the 200 metres in 20.05.