Dwelling victories for Morgan Lake, Georgia Hunter Bell and Charlie Dobson at arguably the world’s premier one-day observe and area assembly
On a day when the UK Authorities backed London’s bid to stage the 2029 World Athletics Championships, the Novuna London Athletics Meet gave everybody a style of what they may count on in 4 years’ time. That is assuming the British capital wins a bidding battle which World Athletics president Seb Coe predicts will likely be “aggressive” and which UKA chief govt Jack Buckner admits will likely be removed from a shoo-in.
A sold-out London Stadium crowd of near 60,000 individuals on Saturday (July 19) noticed a Diamond League assembly stuffed with thrills, spills and three stirring British victories. Or make that 12 wins in case you embrace all of the relays, para and ‘nationwide’ races.
On a usually gray and damp day in London, the assembly escaped the worst of the weekend’s heavy downpours by just a few hours. In the long run the athletes loved respectable circumstances with minimal winds and cooler circumstances than the earlier weekend’s heatwave.
Georgia Hunter Bell was among the many British winners as she produced a withering dash end to win the ladies’s 800m in 1:56.74. The occasion was disillusioned to lose its poster woman, Keely Hodgkinson, as a consequence of damage however not for the primary time the occasion however noticed a British winner in her absence.
Two years in the past Jemma Reekie stepped as much as win right here after Hodgkinson’s final minute withdrawal and now, in 2025, Hunter Bell gained impressively from Addison Wiley of the US as Reekie completed sixth this time and Laura Muir, who’s getting back from damage, was tenth.
“I’m a part of such a particular period with not simply Keely and my group however Jemma and Laura who’ve set the requirements for years,” mentioned Hunter Bell. “With the British Champs developing, I can’t chill out. I have to carry my A-game to that occasion in two weeks’ time.”
She added: “In that final 100m I felt wonderful so I actually needed to push to the end line. You’re feeling so supported on this stadium that the 2029 Worlds right here could be unimaginable. It’s so noisy and for us British women it’s unimaginable.”
Matt Hudson-Smith began favorite for the lads’s 400m however when he faltered a little bit within the residence straight it was fellow Brit Charlie Dobson who stormed via to take the win.
Dobson, the European silver medallist from final yr, clocked 44.14 as he surged via from sixth place with 50m to go to win.
Hudson-Smith, the Olympic silver medallist, ran 44.27 in second as Zakithi Nene of South Africa ran 44.29 in third.
“It’s an unimaginable feeling,” mentioned Dobson, “I like working right here in entrance of a large residence crowd and it’s simply superior to get that point.”
Morgan Lake not solely took excessive bounce victory nevertheless it was her first ever win at a Diamond League. The 28-year-old proved a preferred winner with the house crowd as she jumped 1.96m on her second try as world record-holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh of Ukraine, Eleanor Patterson of Australia and Christina Honsel of Germany all cleared 1.93m behind her.
“In London with so many family and friends right here, it’s wonderful,” mentioned Lake. “Even on the decision outs the gang have been so loud and as we speak was all about having fun with it and having enjoyable and staying within the competitors so long as doable.
“I cleared 1.96m on the second try so I used to be actually joyful about that. It felt like an enormous clearance, so once I jumped that, I knew I had 2.00m in there. I had three good makes an attempt at it, so I’m actually happy with how I carried out. I used to be almost over it on the final try, I simply clipped it with my toes, so I do know it’s in there.”
Few occasions produced as a lot drama as the lads’s 1500m as George Mills and Cam Myers fell with 200m to go, leaving teenage Kenyan Phanuel Koech of Kenya to storm to victory in a meet document of three:28.82 as Josh Kerr gamely chased him residence in 3:29.37.
Amid discuss of a British document, Ben Claridge led via 400m in 55.47 and 800m in 1:51.46 earlier than Zan Rudolf assumed the pacing duties. With 550m to go, Mills took over and was main down the again straight on the ultimate lap earlier than Kerr, who had sat behind him all through, overtook him on the surface and Koech handed him on the within concurrently with 250m to go.
As Koech started to burst clear across the last bend, with Kerr chasing laborious, Mills’ and Myers’ legs appeared to make contact by chance, sending each runners on to the observe.
Koech, who continues to be solely 18, appeared highly effective as he strode away from Kerr to set one in all a number of UK all-comers’ data throughout the afternoon. Kerr was happy about his sub-3:30 and can now flip his consideration to 5000m on the UK Championships after having raced 800m on the identical assembly final yr.
Mills can have been significantly aggravated as he fell within the Emsley Carr Mile at this assembly 12 months earlier and in addition fell within the Olympic 5000m rounds.
With Mills and Myers jogging residence together with one other faller, Robert Farken, it left Isaac Nader of Portugal clear to complete third in 3:31.55 with Jake Wightman, the 2022 world champion, persevering with his encouraging progress as he tries to return to prime type with fourth in a season’s greatest of three:31.58.
“Typically I actually appreciated how I felt in the entire race,” mentioned Kerr. “I felt like I made a strong transfer at 250m, I simply didn’t have my head on straight with 200m to go and I allow them to go a little bit bit. The facility was not fairly there however it’s not far-off. However we have now not ran a race like that for some time. To be working 3:29 at this level of the season is encouraging and I do know I could make some jumps over the following couple of months.”
Olympic champion Noah Lyles was anticipated to win the lads’s 100m however Indirect Seville of Jamaica hadn’t learn the script and blasted to a snug victory in 9.86 (-0.6) as Lyles completed runner-up with 10.00.
In third, Zharnel Hughes clocked 10.02 with fellow Brit Jeremiah Azu working 10.11 in sixth. Letsile Tebogo, the Olympic 200m champion from Botswana, was seventh in 10.12 with one other Brit, Louie Hinchliffe, clocking 10.21 in eighth as he regains health following damage.
The lads’s 800m was billed as a world document try however Emmanuel Wanyonyi, the Olympic champion from Kenya, needed to make do with a gathering document of 1:42.00 as he loved one other sensible win.
Behind, Marco Arop of Canada clocked 1:42.22 with Britain’s Max Burgin having fun with a superb run in third with 1:42.36 to go No.3 on the UK all-time rankings behind Seb Coe’s long-standing British document of 1:41.73 and Ben Pattison’s 1:42.27.
Pattison positioned tenth right here in 1:46.08 however the 2023 world bronze medallist is on the comeback path from damage. In ninth, in the meantime, Ethan Hussey clocked a PB of 1:44.30.
As for Burgin, the Olympic finalist says he’s discovered to handle the decrease leg points which have been inflicting him issues in latest seasons. He benefited from a a lot cleaner race in London than in Monaco, too, the place he was bumped round by rivals and jogged residence disillusioned.
“I knew this race had been in me, so it was nice to lastly get all of it collectively after disappointing runs at Paris and Monaco Diamond Leagues,” he mentioned. “I managed to stick with the leaders on this one with out taking the lead too early and it was vital to get an excellent, robust race in earlier than the trials and put my stamp down.
“It was a massively robust area on the market as we speak, so to come back away with a PB may be very pleasing. I gained’t do an excessive amount of extra now earlier than the trials only a little bit of sharpening. As traditional, I gave it my all as we speak however I actually wanted that PB and an excellent race after some messy ones.”
Certainly, such was the standard of the sphere, Donavan Brazier, the 2019 world champion, ran 1:43.08 however was solely sixth.
The ladies’s 5000m was not so quick on the sharp finish with Medina Eisa of Ethiopia profitable in 14:30.57 – a comparatively routine time on the world scene nowadays. However behind there have been some nice British performances.
Hannah Nuttall ran a PB of 14:39.48 whereas Innes FitzGerald, nonetheless solely 19, clocked a British under-20 document of 14:39.56 to smash Zola Budd’s nationwide junior mark 14:48.07 that has stood for 40 years.
When Budd ran that point it was additionally a world document. She did it in naked toes, too.
FitzGerald, nevertheless, has erased her identify from the document books. “I nonetheless love 3000m, she mentioned when requested which occasion she prefers. “The 5000m is a great distance!”
The Exeter College pupil additionally now has a barely faster greatest than her mentor, Jo Pavey. In addition to being a British under-20 document, FitzGerald’s time was additionally a European under-20 document.
Such is the standard of the Diamond League, Megan Keith completed sixteenth however nonetheless ran an honest time of 14:47.34.
Gudaf Tsegay led a raft of quick instances within the girls’s mile. The Ethiopian gained in 4:11.88 – a time that’s sooner than the previous world document held by Sifan Hassan, the latter of whom needed to pull out of this assembly a few days earlier.
Tsegay went off laborious and the early splits have been 59.9 at 400m, 2:03.4 at 800m and three:07.9 at 1200m. By the bell she had been caught by Jess Hull, however Tsegay drew away once more from the Australian within the closing levels.
Runner-up Hull ran an Oceania document of 4:13.68. In third, Sara Healy ran a PB of 4:16.26 and fourth-placed Sinclair Johnson of the US ran a North American document of 4:16.32.
First Brit residence was Revee Walcott-Nolan with 4:19.16.
With world-class performances coming thick and quick, Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia ran a nationwide document, UK all-comers’ document, meet document and world lead of 21.71 (-0.6) to win the ladies’s 200m in fashion.
Rising to the problem in entrance of her residence crowd, Dina Asher-Smith battled via to second place in a season’s greatest of twenty-two.25, with fellow Brit Amy Hunt third in a PB of twenty-two.31.
Mykolas Alekna, the discus world record-holder, threw a Diamond League and UK all-comers’ document of 71.70m in cooler and barely greasier climate than he’s used to.
“Circumstances weren’t too good nevertheless it was not slippery so I felt very assured with my throws and my method,” he mentioned. “It’s my greatest throw ever on this stadium. Folks have been saying I solely throw huge exterior of stadiums, however now I’ve thrown huge inside one.”
It’s 13 years since a younger Lawrence Okoye reached the Olympic discus last in London and right here he threw effectively for third place with 68.74m.
Molly Caudery completed fifth equal within the girls’s pole vault with 4.60m as Olivia McTaggart of New Zealand took the win on depend again with 4.73m.
Lengthy bounce victories went to Malaika Mihambo of Germany with 6.93m (-0.6) as Britain’s Jazmin Sawyers jumped 6.63 (-0.5) throughout a season that has seen her make a outstanding comeback from Achilles surgical procedure, whereas Katarina Johnson-Thompson jumped 6.48m (-0.6).
Sawyers mentioned: “It has been going effectively so I hoped to get a greater efficiency out of myself. However I’ve loads of time to construct extra power and get extra competitors follow.”
The lads’s lengthy bounce, in the meantime, was gained by Wayne Pinnock of Jamaica with 8.20m (0.2), one centimetre forward of Miltos Tentoglou of Greece.
Femke Bol has lit up the London Stadium in latest seasons and she or he gained once more this weekend however not fairly as rapidly as traditional, though her 52.10 left her greater than a second in entrance of runner-up Jasmine Jones of the US.
Earlier within the programme, Ben Sandilands ran 3:48.95 to win the lads’s para 1500m whereas Sophie Hahn clocked 12.89 (0.0) as she pulled away from Olivia Breen within the girls’s para 100m.
The lads’s para 100m was nearer as Zak Skinner clocked 11.01 (0.5) to beat Thomas Younger by one hundredth of a second. It was so shut, actually, Younger felt he’d gained and celebrated as he crossed the road.
Twelve months after Sam Reardon’s 44.70 victory within the ‘nationwide’ males’s 400m, Lewis Davey loved an analogous sub-44 breakthrough as he clocked a PB of 44.91 to win the 2025 version of this race. Davey’s PB beforehand stood at 45.60.
Davey mentioned: “I got here into this competitors hungry after just a few excessive 45s. I actually needed to come back right here and smash my PB and I’ve accomplished that. The entire week I’ve been visualising a PB.”
Victoria Ohuruogu was simply exterior her season’s greatest when profitable the ladies’s ‘nationwide’ 400m in 51.22.
Tyri Donovan was one other Brit who rose to the event in entrance of his residence crowd as he equalled his PB within the ’nationwide’ males’s 400m hurdles with 48.46 forward of Seamus Derbyshire. The occasion guarantees to be one of the aggressive on the UK Championships in early August.
Within the 4x100m relays, Dina Asher-Smith, Amy Hunt, Desiree Henry and Daryll Neita got here near their UK document of 41.55 with 41.69 – world main time – as Jamaica, France and Eire adopted them residence, the latter in a nationwide document of 43.73.
Within the males’s 4x100m, Kishane Thompson anchored the Jamaican males residence in 37.80 because the British quartet of Jeremiah Azu, Louie Hinchliffe, Romell Glave and Zharnel Hughes have been second in 38.08.
From the celebrities of 2025, there was additionally the possibility to recognise the winners of yesteryear Roger Black, Iwan Thomas, Jamie Baulch, Mark Richardson and Mark Hylton have been belatedly awarded an upgraded gold from the 4x400m on the 1997 World Championships in Athens following the disqualification of the US.
“We received an awesome reception,” mentioned Thomas. “I believe we have been a preferred workforce and I’m most likely extra emotional now than I’d have been if I’d received the medal in 1997 as a result of I used to be simply younger and within the second.”
Actually, athletics followers love nostalgia and the 4x400m workforce from 1997 loved one of many greatest cheers of the day.
Full outcomes right here
