Olympic and European hammer bronze medallist Mykhaylo Kokhan picked up what was arguably his biggest win to date as a senior at the Boris Hanzekovic Memorial in Zagreb on Sunday (8) afternoon.
The Ukrainian, who has won European hammer titles at U18, U20 and U23 level, threw a lifetime best of 81.14m to defeat not only Poland’s Pawel Fajdek (79.10m) but also reigning Olympic and world champion Ethan Katzberg from Canada (79.04m) who suffered his first defeat since June 2023.
European silver medallist Adriana Vilagos was another standout performer in the Croatian capital. The 20-year-old improved her Serbian javelin record by four centimetres to 65.64m for victory by almost five metres from Czechia’s Petra Sicakova (60.91m).
Emmanouil Karalis, who has won medals in all three major championships this year, cleared 5.88m in the pole vault before three attempts at a prospective Greek record of 6.01m for a notable victory over Sam Kendricks with 5.78m.
Reigning European champion Kristjan Ceh defeated a strong field - including Olympic champion Rojé Stona from Jamaica with 65.98m - in the discus with 67.95m although fellow European champion and Croatian superstar Sandra Elkasevic - who has notched up 11 victories at this meeting in Zagreb - finished second in the women’s discus to Olympic champion Valarie Allman, 67.83m to 67.12m.
On the track, Belgium’s Isaac Kimeli won the rarely-contested 2000m in a world lead of 4:54.29 while Norway’s Olympic finalist and multiple national record-holder Henriette Jaeger finished second in the 400m to Jamaica’s Stacey-Ann Williams, 50.00 to 50.22.
Elsewhere around Europe…
In wet and rainy conditions at the Grand Prix Lombardia in Brescia, a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meeting, on Sunday (8), European champion Lorenzo Simonelli took victory on home soil in the 110m hurdles in 13.39 against a 1.2 m/s headwind.
There was also a home victory in the women’s 400m hurdles for Ayomide Folorunso in 55.41. She defeated a field including former world record-holder Dalilah Muhammad from the United States who was fourth in 55.99.
Denmark’s Katrine Koch Jacobsen won the hammer with 71.02m, outperforming reigning European champion Sara Fantini in second with 70.25m.
In one of her last competitions before retirement, Great Britain’s former Olympic bronze medallist and European indoor champion Holly Bradshaw cleared 4.60m for victory at the International Pole Vault Meeting for Women in Beckum, a World Athletics Continental Tour Challenger event, on Sunday (8).
Steven Mills for European Athletics