Switzerland’s Jason Joseph provided one of the highlights at the Meeting de Paris Indoor on Saturday (11) evening, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver meeting.
A former European U20 and U23 110m hurdles champion, Joseph improved his European leading time and Swiss 60m hurdles record to 7.48 with the Istanbul 2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships only three weeks away.
While Joseph aims to win his first major senior title next month, France’s Pascal Martinot-Lagarde will be looking to recapture the title he won eight years ago in Prague. The 32-year-old was a close second to the Swiss sprint hurdler in a season’s best of 7.53.
With the in-form Pia Skrzyszowska sidelined due to a hamstring injury, Nadine Visser’s chances of capturing a third successive European indoor 60m hurdles title look significantly heightened and the Dutchwoman’s form is heading in the right direction on the approach to Istanbul.
Visser won the 60m hurdles in 7.86, narrowly edging out Ditaji Kambundji who was rewarded with an identical time and Swiss record in second. Finland’s Reetta Hurske was fourth on this occasion in 7.97.
Not since former world 100m hurdles record-holder Grazyna Rabsztyn between 1974-76 has a female sprint hurdler won three successive European indoor titles but Visser could emulate the Pole’s feats in the Atakoy Arena next month.
Tina Sutej, whose career at the European Indoor Championships dates all the way back to Birmingham 2007, is also in prime form ahead of the focal point of the European indoor season.
Having recently broken into the European indoor all-time top-10 with a world leading 4.82m clearance in Ostrava, Sutej backed up that vault with victory in the French capital with 4.78m - the third highest vault of her lengthy international career.
Canada’s Alysha Newman was second with 4.71m with Finland’s reigning European outdoor champion Wilma Murto third at 4.64m.
Full results here.
Fast middle distance times for the Brits in the Millrose Games
British middle distance runners Laura Muir and Neil Gourley set European leading times at the historic Millrose Games in New York, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting, on Saturday (11).
A four-time European indoor champion, Muir showed she is moving into top form again, with the next edition in Istanbul looming into view next month as well as a world indoor 1000m record attempt in Birmingham on 25 February.
Muir led most of the way in the Wanamaker Mile event before briefly being threatened by United States’ Josette Andrews with 400m to go. But the Scot took over on the last lap and strode clear to win in 4:20.15 ahead of Andrews (4:20:88) with another Brit Katie Snowden third in (4:21.19).
In the men’s Wanamaker Mile, Yared Nuguse from the United States went to second on the world indoor all-time list, clocking a world leading 3:47.38, just 0.37 shy of the world record held by Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha.
Such searing pace suited in-form Gourley, who followed in Nuguse’s slipstream to finish second in 3:49.46. He becomes only the third European to break the 3:50-barrier indoors for the mile after teammate Josh Kerr (3:48.87) and Ireland’s Eamonn Coghlan (3:49.78), the first man in history to run a sub-3:50 mile indoors in 1983.
On this occasion, Kerr’s focus was on the 3000m and the Olympic 1500m bronze medallist delivered an excellent season opener, winning in 7:33.47, the third fastest time in the world this year to move to fifth on the European indoor all-time list.
Norway and Sweden split the honours at the Nordenkampen
At the Nordenkampen in Karlstad on Sunday (12) between Sweden, Norway, Finland and a combined Denmark/Iceland team, Sweden dominated the women’s competition while Norway edged out Finland and Sweden in the men’s competition at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Challenger event.
For the Swedish victors, there were outstanding performances from world and European long jump finalist Khaddi Sagnia who leapt out to 6.66m and for Fanny Roos who won the shot put with 18.73m ahead of teammate Sara Lennman with 18.09m.
On the men’s side, there were significant Norwegian victories for European pole vault bronze medallist Pal Haugen Lillefosse with 5.80m and decathlete Sander Skotheim who improved to 2.20m in the high jump to defeat a field which included Melwyn Lycke Holm - the son of 2004 Olympic champion Stefan - who was third with 2.12m.
Elsewhere, Henrik Larsson won the 60m on home soil in 6.61 and there were notable Danish wins on the track for Gustav Lundholm Nielsen in the 400m in 46.61 and European U20 5000m champion Joel Ibler Lillesø in the 3000m in 7:51.41.
Full results here.
Elsewhere around the world…
European finalist Axelina Johansson of Sweden won the women’s shot put with 18.66m in Fayetteville in the United States on Saturday (11) February.
Also on the same day, there was a booming personal best for the multi-talented Jorinde van Klinken from the Netherlands. The European bronze medallist and European U23 discus champion won the shot put with a superb 19.57m, a massive 49 centimetres improvement on her previous best.
There was also record-breaking performances at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational in Boston on Saturday (11). Germany’s Amos Bartelsmeyer won the mile in a national record of 3:50.45, Robin Hendrix was third in the 5000m in a Belgian indoor record of 13:17.45 and Tomas Kersulis set national records for Lithuania in the 400m (45.78) and 200m (21.05).
At the Windy City Invitational in Chicago on Friday (10) evening, two-time European U23 cross country champion Charles Hicks won the 5000m in 13:22.05.
On home soil in Pombal, world and European indoor champion Auriol Dongmo limbered up for her title defence in Istanbul by winning the shot put at the Portugal Clubs Championships in Pombal with 18.91m on Saturday (11).
The following day, fellow European indoor champions Pedro Pablo Pichardo and Patricia Mamona won the triple jump competitions with 17.12m and 14.41m respectively and Portugal-based Ukrainian Roman Kokoshko won the men’s shot put with a sizeable lifetime best of 21.66m.
On the roads...
Double European champion Antigoni Ntrismpioti from Greece won the Australian Open 20km Race Walking Championships in Melbourne on Sunday (12) in a lifetime best and national record of 1:28:12. Sweden's Perseus Karlstrom won the men's competition with 1:19:27.
At the Dutch 10km Championships in Schoorl on Sunday (12), Diane Van Es flew to victory in a national record of 30:29. That time improved Lornah Kiplagat's Dutch record of 30:41 and puts her fourth on the European all-time list behind Lonah Chemtai Salpeter (30:05), Eilish McColgan (30:19) and Paula Radcliffe (30:21).
In the men's race, Belgium's Simon Debognies also took a big chunk off his lifetime best with victory in 27:48 to break Bashir Abdi's national record of 28:07.
Steven Mills and Chris Broadbent for European Athletics