Femke Bol slashed more than half-a-second from her world lead in the 400m hurdles at the Golden Gala which was held in Florence this year on Friday (2) evening, one of two world leads set by European athletes at the third leg of the 2023 Diamond League.
With the track at its usual venue of Rome currently being renovated ahead of the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships next June, Bol tore up the track at the Ridolfi Stadium with another victory in 52.43.
The Dutchwoman, who won a memorable and historic triple at the Munich 2022 European Athletics Championships last summer, has since adjusted her stride pattern in pursuit of faster times and an elusive global title and it seems to be paying rich dividends.
Bol opened her outdoor season with victory in Oordegem last Saturday in 53.12 - her fastest ever season’s opener - and her 52.43 performance in damp conditions this evening represented the fifth fastest time of her career so far.
"I executed the race like I wanted. It was a strong field which pushes me even more. I changed the rhythm between the hurdles, this change makes it easier, less steps and I am still fast," analysed Bol, who won by almost one second from Shamier Little from the United States in 53.38.
Bol will substitute the barriers for the flat 400m in her next race on Sunday at the FBK Games on home soil in Hengelo.
While Bol’s victory was very much expected, Mohamed Katir from Spain outsprinted a field which included reigning global champions past and present in the 5000m in a world leading time of 12:52.09.
Katir held off the imposing figure of Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha - a former two-time world indoor 3000m champion - in the home straight for victory in his first race since the indoor season which was highlighted by his performance in Lievin where he set a European indoor 3000m record of 7:24.68.
World 10,000m champion Joshua Cheptegei and Olympic 10,000m champion Selemon Barega were fourth (12:53.81) and ninth (12:56.18) in a race which saw a record 13 athletes break the 13 minute-barrier.
Fabbri and Iapichino highlight at home
In the shot put, Leonardo Fabbri took what must rank as the biggest victory of his career so far, winning with a best throw of 21.73m at his home meeting.
“I live a few kilometers from Florence and the stadium was full of friends of mine: my goal was to give all of them an evening to remember. A victory against such strong competitors means a lot for me after the problems of the last few years,” he said.
The field did lack world record-holder Ryan Crouser but Fabbri still bested a field of a very high calibre including 2017 world champion Tom Walsh (21.69m) and 2021 European indoor champion Tomas Stanek (21.64m) who were second and third respectively.
Fabbri’s training partner Zane Weir, who has taken over the mantle as the best Italian shot putter, was sixth with 21.13m.
A second Italian victory of the night came from European indoor silver medallist Larissa Iapichino in the long jump.
In cooling temperatures in the Tuscan capital, Iapichino - who was born only 20 kilometres away from Florence - landed her winning jump of 6.79m in the first round. This proved sufficient for victory against a stacked field.
Tara Davis-Woodhall finished second with 6.47m while Olympic and world champion Malaika Mihambo and European champion Ivana Vuleta were fifth (6.57m) and seventh (6.42m) respectively on their season’s debuts.
And even though he is not yet eligible to compete for Italy in major championships, Cuban-born Andy Diaz took ownership of the Italian record from his coach Fabrizio Donato in the triple jump with 17.75m.
Full results here.