There were national records and fast times aplenty in the 3000m at the Boris Hanžeković Memorial in Zagreb, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, on Sunday (10) evening.
Behind the Swiss-based Sudanese-born Dominic Lobalu, who will be eligible to compete for his adopted nation from April 2026, who won in 7:33.95, Norway’s Henrik Ingebrigtsen continued his return to form after injury with a second-place finish in a lifetime best of 7:34.80.
In third, Jonas Raess smashed Markus Ryffel’s 34-year-old Swiss record of 7:41.05 to 7:35.12 while another Norwegian Ferdinand Kvan Ekman was fifth in a lifetime best of 7:36.32.
There was a Serbian record for Elzan Bibic in seventh in 7:37.03 while Croatian Dino Bosnjak took ownership of the Croatian record on home soil, finishing 13th in 7:48.50 to eclipse the previous record of 7:48.72.
However, one of the longest standing records in the books survived - but only just. European U20 3000m champion Jonathan Grahn, 18, ran a lifetime best of 7:43.38 in 11th, just missing the 46-year-old European U20 record held by Ari Paunonen by a mere 0.18.
"I am not completely satisfied. I really felt that I had the European record in me," he said as reported by Swedish broadcaster SVT.
The European all-time list in the rarely-contested 2000m steeplechase underwent revision as well.
Behind Kenya’s Beatrice Chepkoech who revised the world best with 5:47.42, Slovenia’s Marusa Mismas-Zrimsek and Albania’s European champion Luiza Gega moved to second and third on the list with 5:53.38 and 5:56.79 respectively.
Other highlights in Zagreb included home favourite Sandra Perkovic delighting a capacity crowd with victory in the discus with a season's best of 67.71m and British victories for double world silver medallist Laviai Nielsen (50.93 in the 400m) and Dan Rowden (1:44.96 in the 800m).
Halvorsen breaks Ingebrigtsen’s Norwegian U20 3000m record
There was also a fast 3000m race in Trier, Germany on Friday (8) evening.
In a race won by Luxembourg’s Charles Grethen in a national record of 7:43.41, another Nordic distance running prodigy Andreas Fjeld Halvorsen finished sixth in 7:47.04 to break Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s Norwegian U20 record of 7:51.20.
Only 17, Halvorsen won silver medals in the 1500m and 3000m behind Niels Laros at the European Athletics U18 Championships in Jerusalem last year but had the misfortune of falling in a tactical 3000m final at the European Athletics U20 Championships last month.
Another silver medallist behind Laros in the last month, Austria’s Kevin Kamenschak finished one place behind Halvorsen in 7:48.57.
The pair went to second and fifth respectively on the European U20 all-time list although they were both shunted down a place after Grahn clocked 7:43.38 in Zagreb on Sunday evening.
In her last race of the season, European U23 1500m champion Sophie O’Sullivan finished second in the 800m in 2:01.43 and won the 2000m in 6:00.44.