World U20 champion Erwan Konate took a notable victory on home soil in the long jump at the Meeting Mondeville, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver meeting, on Wednesday (7) evening.
The 20-year-old Frenchman was the only athlete to surpass the eight metre-line with a season's best of 8.04m - the third longest jump of his young career so far - to handily defeat Indian record-holder and world finalist Jeswin Aldred with 7.74m.
The jumps provided the highlights from an international standpoint as well. Cuba’s Leyanis Perez set world leading marks of 14.85m and 14.86m in the triple jump to lead a Cuban one-two from Liadagmis Povea (14.27m) with reigning European indoor champion Tugba Danismaz from Türkiye third (13.96m).
Canada’s Alysha Newman also won a high quality pole vault with a season’s best clearance of 4.73m from Slovenia’s Tina Sutej and Angelica Moser from Switzerland who were second and third on countback at 4.64m.
Takacs sets Hungarian 60m record in a dead heat
There was the rarity of a dead heat in the women's 60m final with Boglarka Takacs and France’s Orlann Oliere both timed at 7.21, nor could they be separated on the photo-finish.
For Takacs, her time was a Hungarian record, replacing the mark of 7.22 which had stood to Eva Barati since 1994 and adds to her national records at 100m (11.14), 200m (22.77) and the 4x100m (43.38).
@: Maxime Le Pihif / Stadion Actu
However, the prospect of an outright home victory in the men’s 60m hurdles was quashed after Pascal Martinot-Lagarde - who holds the meeting record at 7.45 - was disqualified for a false start.
With the Frenchman forced to watch on wistfully from the sidelines, Jamaica’s Damion Thomas took the plaudits with 7.63 ahead of Finland’s Elmo Lakka in 7.68.
In the men’s 3000m, Brit James Gormley stretched away over the last two laps and was rewarded with a lifetime best of 7:48.56 ahead of local runner Valentin Gondouin from France who also set a lifetime best of 7:50.74. Steeplechase specialist Nahuel Carabana was fourth in an outright Andorran record of 7:54.02.
@: Maxime Le Pihif / Stadion Actu
Italy’s Giulia Aprile won the women’s 3000m in 9:07.98, outsprinting former 800m specialist Lydia Lagat from Kenya in 9:08.81.
Steven Mills for European Athletics
