Two-times European U23 champion Mykhaylo Kokhan continued his promising start to the season after taking the 2024 European Throwing Cup title last month as the Ukrainian produced the second-longest throw of his career at World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Nairobi, Kenya on Saturday (20).
Kokhan, fifth at the World Athletics Championships last summer as well as at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships, unleashed a throw of 80.76m, his first 80-metre throw since July 2021 and an early season European-lead to give him a huge confidence boost with the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships now less than seven weeks away.
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However, Kokhan had to settle for second place in the Kenyan capital behins world champion Ethan Katzberg of Canada, who landed a monstrous 84.38m.
Poland's reigning Olympic and European champion Wojciech Nowicki was third with 79.14m with his compatriot and five-time world champion Pawel Fajdek fourth with 75.82m.
Winning form for Europeans
Latvia’s former World U20 champion Gatis Čakss won the men’s javelin with 81.74m. After missing the whole of 2023, Norway’s European finalist Amalie Iuel got back to winning ways by taking the 400m hurdles in 54.89.
Meanwhile, the women’s 3000m steeplechase was won by Stella Rutto in 9:39.57. The Kenyan-born runner will represent Romania from 3 July 2024.
Cairess clinches Paris place
At the London Marathon on Sunday (21), Great Britain’s Emile Cairess placed third in the men’s race with 2:06:46 to clinch a place at the Paris Olympics. Only four-time Olympic gold medallist Mo Farah sits ahead of Cairess, the holder of the European best for 10 miles, on the all-time list for the British men’s marathon.
Chris Broadbent for European Athletics