Home favourite Ewa Swoboda battled to victory in a high-octane 60m final at the ORLEN Cup, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Bronze meeting, in Lodz on Saturday (27) evening.
The European indoor silver medallist notched up her seventh victory at this meeting, running an early season world lead of 7.04 but she was pressured all the way to the line on her outside by Zaynab Dosso who reduced the Italian record to 7.09 in the heat before improving further to 7.05 in the final.
On an evening of evenings for Italian athletes - with hopefully more to follow at the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships from 7-12 June - European U23 silver medallist Lorenzo Simonelli also won the men’s 60m hurdles in an Italian record of 7.50 ahead of Poland’s Jakub Szymanski in 7.53 and world silver medallist Leonardo Fabbri won the shot put with 21.26m.
Reigning European 100m hurdles champion Pia Skrzyszowska also opened her season in sharp form, clocking 7.85 in both the heats and final of the 60m hurdles. Norbert Kobielski also won the high jump on home soil with a 2.25m clearance.
- Full results here
Belocian in command in Nantes; Crestan runs 1:45.96 world 800m lead
Wilhem Belocian was in sharp early season form on home soil at the Meeting Elite Nantes Metropole in Nantes, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Bronze meeting, on Saturday (27) afternoon.
After clocking 7.54 in the heats of the 60m hurdles, the 2021 European indoor champion won the final in 7.55 to win by a comfortable margin from Finland's Elmo Lakka in 7.68.
There was further French success in the women's 60m hurdles with Solenn Compper winning in 8.01 ahead of Laura Valette in 8.06.
Elsewhere, 40-year-old Lorene Bazolo felled her younger rivals in the women's 60m flat with the Portuguese sprinter winning with 7.25 ahead of European U23 200m champion Delphine Nkansa from Belgium in 7.28. Great Britain's 2017 European indoor champion Asha Philip was third in 7.29.
There were also significant performance from fellow Belgians Eliott Crestan who won the 800m in an early season world leading time of 1:45.96 while Naomi Van Der Broeck won a physical women's 400m in 52.85.
Steven Mills for European Athletics