Week in Review: Terrific trio stand out in France
Habz, Stark, and Cherotich move to top six on all-time lists in Meeting de Paris
Azeddine Habz of France got more than he had hoped for in the Meeting de Paris Diamond League meet in Paris last Friday.
The 31-year-old runner entered the meet with the ambitious goal of lowering the national record of 3:28.98 in the 1,500 meters that had been held by Mehdi Baala since 2003.
He left it with a personal best of 3:27.49 that smashed Baala’s mark, was the fastest time in the world this year, as well as the 14th best in history, and moved him to sixth on the all-time performer list.
Grace Stark of the U.S. and Faith Cherotich of Kenya also turned in performances that put them among the top six performers ever in the women’s 100-meter hurdles and 3,000 steeplechase, respectively, during the meet at the Stade Charlety in the French capital. However, Habz’ mark might have been the most surprising, as he does not have the global title-meet resume of either the American or the Kenyan.
While Stark had finished fifth in both the 100 hurdles in the Olympic Games in Paris last summer and in the 60 hurdles in the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China, in March, Cherotich was the bronze medalist in the steeplechase in the 2023 World championships and the Olympic Games.
In contrast, Habz had placed 11th in the 1,500 in 2023 World championships and been eliminated in a semifinal of the event in the Olympics.
Nonetheless, he had turned in some notable performances earlier this year as he won a 10-kilometer road race in Nice, France, in 27:44 in early January, before setting a French indoor record of 3:47.56 in the mile and a personal best of 7:31.50 in the 3,000 in February. He then finished second in the 1,500 and third in the 3,000 in the European Athletics Indoor Championships in March.
He had been disappointed when he faded from first place to fourth in the home straightaway of the 1,500 in a Diamond League meet in Rabat, Morocco, on May 25, but he bounced back to win that event in 3:29.72 in the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea meet in Rome 12 days later.
That clocking had been the second-fastest of his career and it left him feeling confident that he could break the national record of 3:28.98 that Baala had set in finishing second in the Memorial van Damme in Brussels in 2003.
Habz, a Moroccan native who moved to France in 2012, was in third place when first pacesetter Mounir Akbache of France came through the first 400 meters in 55.06 in the Meeting de Paris, and he trailed only second pacemaker Zan Rudolf of Slovenia when Rudolf completed the first two laps in 1:51.29.
However, Habz took over the lead after Rudolf dropped out of the race shortly after passing 1,000 meters and he never trailed again.
George Mills of Great Britain, Stefan Nillessen of the Netherlands, and 18-year-old Phanuel Koech of Kenya were his closest pursuers when he came through 1,200 meters in 2:47.25.
Koech had moved past Nillessen into third place at the end of the backstretch and he trailed only Habz entering the home straightaway, but the Frenchman began to draw away from him with about 75 meters left.
Habz’ 3:27.49 clocking made him the second-fastest European ever behind Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway, who ran 3:26.73 last year, and it came in a race in which six men ran under 3:30 and 13 broke 3:32.
Koech finished second in 3:27.72 to move to ninth on the all-time performer list and better the world U20 (under 20) record of 3:28.81 set by compatriot Ronald Kwemoi last year. Mills placed third in 3:28.36 to move to second on the all-time British list.
Festus Lagat of Kenya finished fourth in a personal best of 3:29.03, with Nillessen placing fifth in a Dutch record of 3:29.23 and Abel Kipsang of Kenya taking sixth in 3:29.46.
Koech, who had placed fifth in the 800 in last year’s World U20 championships, crushed his previous best of 3:32.26 set earlier this month, and Mills sliced more than two and half seconds off his personal best of 3:30.95 that he had run in 2023.
“It’s incredible, there’s no other words for it,” Habz said in a france24.com post. “I came to this Paris meeting with the goal of breaking the French record. I thought I’d do 3:28, that was my ambition. With those 10,000 people supporting me, I felt like I had wings.”
He then added that “It’s truly a dream come true. To succeed in a race like this in Paris is even stronger.”
Another quick time: Grace Stark of the U.S. went from a four-way tie for 13th on the all-time performer list in the women’s 100-meter hurdles to a tie for fifth when she won the event in 12.21 seconds in the Meeting de Paris.
The 24-year-old Stark had run a then-personal best of 12.31 while finishing third in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials last year behind Masai Russell and Alaysha Johnson. But her effort last Friday, left her three hundredths of a second ahead of world record-holder Tobi Amsuan of Nigeria, whose 12.24 clocking was the second fastest of her career.
Ackera Nugent of Jamaica finished third in 12.30, followed by Keni Harrison of the U.S. in 12.48.
Stark, who finished fifth in the Olympic Games last summer, got off to a very good start and was just ahead of Nugent, Devynne Charlton of the Bahamas, and Amusan when she cleared the first of 10 hurdles. But her advantage was five hundredths of a second over Nugent and Amusan at the fifth hurdle and she was able to maintain most of her lead over the Nigerian, who had lowered the world record to 12.12 in a semifinal of the 2022 World championships in Eugene, Oregon.
“I wanted to break that 12.3 so bad!” Stark said in a france24.com post. “It feels that I can have a party.
“And then, I just need to keep working, taking it race by race, stay focused and stay quiet.”
This season has already been an historically fast one in the 100 hurdles as Americans Russell and Tia Jones had run 12.17 and 12.19, respectively, in a Grand Slam Track Meet in Miramar, Florida, on May 2, and Amusan’s 12.24 clocking in Paris is in a five-way tie for seventh on the all-time performance list.
In addition, Nugent’s 12.30 effort in Paris was a season best, making this the first season ever in which more than three women have run 12.30 or faster.
Prior to this year, 2022 had been the only season in which more than two women had run 12.30 or faster as Amusan set the world record of 12.12, and Harrison and Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico each had bests of 12.27.
Four and counting: Faith Cherotich of Kenya continued her splendid run of performances in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase when she won the event in 8:53.37 in the Meeting de Paris after outkicking the Olympic silver medalist Peruth Chemutai of Uganda.
Cherotich’s time was the fastest in the world this year, the 10th fastest in history, and it moved her to sixth on the all-time world performer list. Perhaps most importantly, she has now won four consecutive Diamond League races since finishing third behind Olympic champion Winfred Yavi of Bahrain and Chemutai in the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea meet in Rome last August.
Yavi and Chemutai clocked 8:44.39 and 8:48.03, the second- and third-fastest times ever, in that race, with Cherotich a distant third in 8:57.65. But the 20-year-old Kenyan has beaten both Yavi and Chemutai three times during her current winning streak.
After Caren Chebet of Kenya led the field through the first kilometer in 2:59.33 in Paris, the front pack was down to Chemutai, Cherotich, and Sembo Almayew of Ethiopia with four laps remaining in the race.
Cherotich was in the lead when she went through 2,000 meters in 5:57.33 and she and Chemutai were clear of everyone else with a lap to go. Chemutai, the Olympic champion in 2021, moved up to Cherotich’s shoulder with half a lap to go and she took a small lead over her as they exited the water jump for the final time. But the Kenyan had regained the lead when she cleared the final barrier of the race early in the home straightaway and her advantage grew after that as Chemutai placed second in 8:54.41, the third-fastest time of her career.
Almayew finished third in 9:01.22, and she was followed by the U.S. duo of Gabbi Jennings and Courtney Wayment in 9:08.05 and 9:08.88, respectively.
Rapid improvement: When Angelina Napoleon of the U.S. finished seventh in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase in 9:10.72 in the Meeting de Paris, it marked the fifth time this year that the 20-year-old runner had set a personal best in the event and moved her to ninth on the all-time U.S. performer list.
It also came six days after she had run 9:16.66 to finish third in the NCAA championships in Eugene, Oregon, to cap her sophomore season at North Carolina State University.
Napoleon had started the year with a personal best of 9:54.08 in the steeplechase before running 9:34.22 to win the Raleigh Relays in late March and 9:29.20 to place third in the Wake Forest Invitational in mid-April.
She then lowered her best to 9:27.85 when she won the Atlantic Coast Conference title in mid-May before crushing that time with her 9:16.66 effort in the NCAA championships.
“We just wanted to see what she could do in as race at that level before US Nationals,” North Carolina State coach Laurie Henes wrote about Napoleon in a text. “We were very excited about how she handled herself and her performance.”
The USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships will be held in Eugene from July 31 through August 3, with the top three finishers in the steeplechase expected to represent the U.S. in the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo from Sept. 13-21.
Big step forward: Lamecha Girma of Ethiopia won the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase in 8:07.01 in the Meeting de Paris while racing for the first time since he sustained a concussion in last year’s Olympic final after crashing to the track when he caught his trail leg on the second-to-last barrier of the contest.
Girma, 24, had entered that race as the world record-holder in the event at 7:52.11 and the winner of silver medals in the previous four global title meets. But he ended up spending the night in a Paris hospital after his fall that occurred as he and the rest of the field were trying to catch Kenneth Rooks of the U.S. after the unheralded American had surprised medal favorites such as Girma and Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco when he surged into the lead going around the second-to-last turn of that race.
While Girma’s world record is nearly 15 seconds faster than the time he ran last Friday, his performance was very significant to him.
“This is a big thing for me today, especially after the Paris Olympics," Girma said in a france24.com post. “It feels it was a long time ago, so this was very important for me. This is a very big achievement, so I am very happy.
“I was a little scared at first getting into the race. Now that the race is finished I feel much better.”
Gallant effort falls short: Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia made a serious run at the world record in the men’s 5,000 meters for the first four kilometers of the race in the Meeting de Paris before slowly significantly during the final two laps and winning the race in a time of 12:47.84.
The 27-year-old Kejelcha entered the race as the fourth-fastest performer in history after running 12:38.95 last year, but he was looking to better the world record of 12:35.36 set by Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei in 2020.
After running in third place when first pacesetter Boaz Kiprugut of Kenya timed 2:32.71 at 1,000 meters, Kejelcha was in second when No. 2 pacemaker Jude Thomas of Australia clocked 5:05.91 at two kilometers and 7:36.70 at three kilometers.
He took over the lead shortly after that as Thomas dropped out. Graham Blanks of the U.S. and Birhanu Balew of Bahrain were not far behind Kejlecha when he was credited with a split of 8:07.4 at 3,200 meters. However, he was six seconds ahead of second-place Blanks when he went through four kilometers in 10:07.26.
Kejelcha looked to be full of run at that point in the race as he had covered his 10th lap in 59.4 seconds. But he ran his 11th lap in 62.1 before covering his 12th in 66.5 and his final 200 in a little more than 32 seconds.
He ultimately won the race by just over a second as Balew finished second in an Asian record of 12:48.67, with Blanks third in 12:49.51.
Jimmy Gressier of France set a national record of 12:51.59 in fourth place and Samuel Tefera of Ethiopia finished fifth in 12:53.44.
Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco, the two-time defending Olympic and World champion in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, placed sixth in a personal best of 12:55.49 and he was followed by Nico Young of the U.S. in 12:55.71.
Young had lowered the American outdoor record to 12:45.27 in winning the 5,000 in the Bislett Games in Oslo eight days earlier.
“I’m happy for the win. But my goal was for a faster time,” Kejelcha said a Citius Mag interview.
On pace for a prolific year: This could very well end up being a record-setting year for the number of sub-13 performers and performances in the men’s 5,000 meters as 29 runners have already run under 13 minutes a combined total of 39 times.
Last year produced the highest-ever figures in those two categories as 33 men ran under 13 minutes a total of 54 times.
Pounding on the sub-13 door: For the second time this season, and the third time in his career, Trey Cunningham of the U.S. ran 13.00 in the men’s 110-meter high hurdles in the Meeting de Paris.
The 25-year-old Cunningham finished two hundredths of a second ahead of compatriot Dylan Beard, who finished second in 13.02. Jason Joseph of Switzerland placed third in 13.07, followed by Rachid Muratake of Japan in 13.08, and defending Olympic and three-time defending World champion Grant Holloway of the U.S. in 13.11.
Holloway, who ran 13.16 in his qualifying heat earlier in the day, was competing in his first meet since he had finished 10th in 13.72 in a Diamond League meet in Xiamen, China, on April 26.
Cunningham’s victory was his fourth in six finals this season, and his winning mark matched a personal best he first posted in winning the 2022 NCAA title as a senior at Florida State University and equaled in winning a Grand Slam Track meet in Miramar, Florida, on May 3.
Cunningham had finished second behind Holloway in the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, but he had been unable to match that form during the 2023 and ’24 seasons.
Streak reaches seven: Rai Benjamin of the U.S. looked to be very under control when he won the men’s 400-meter intermediate hurdles in 46.93 seconds in the Meeting de Paris.
Benjamin and Abderrahman Samba of Qatar were basically running even through the sixth, seventh, and eighth flights of hurdles, but Benjamin opened up a gap on Samba approaching the ninth set of barriers, maintained his advantage over the tenth, and then appeared to be running well within himself all the way through the finish line.
Samba finished second in 47.09 and Trevor Bassitt of the U.S. also recorded a season best when he placed third in 48.14.
Although Benjamin’s clocking was short of the yearly world-leading mark of 46.54 that he had run in the BAUHAUS-Galan meet in Stockholm five days earlier, it was a record seventh consecutive time that he has run under 47 seconds in a final.
Making progress: Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic posted her fastest time of the season while winning her third consecutive race with a come-from-behind victory in the Meeting de Paris.
Paulino, the defending Olympic and World champion, ran 48.81 seconds in Paris after overtaking Olympic silver medalist Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain in the final 20 meters of the race. Naser finished second in 48.85, followed by Martina Weil in a Chilean record of 49.83.
Paulino had finished third in her first 400 of the season when she ran 49.35 to Naser’s 48.67 and American Gabby Thomas’ 49.16 in the inaugural Grand Slam Track meet in Kingston, Jamaica, on April 5. But she won the second and third Grand Slam meets of the season with times of 49.21 in Miramar, Florida, on May 2 and 49.12 in Philadelphia on May 31.
Her 48.81 clocking in the Meeting de Paris was the fourth-fastest time of her career.
Victories keep coming: Anavia Battle of the U.S. has yet to run particularly fast in the 200 meters this season, but she won her fifth race of the year without a loss when she clocked 22.27 seconds in the Meeting de Paris.
The 26-year-old Battle trailed Dina Asher-Smith of Great Britain coming off the turn, but she quickly overtook the 2019 World champion early in the home straightaway and finished more than two tenths of a second in front of runner-up Amy Hunt of Great Britain, who finished second in 22.45.
McKenzie Long of the U.S. placed third in 22.49, with Asher-Smith finishing sixth in 22.81.
Battle has now won four Diamond League races this year as she had previously posted winning times of 22.41 in Xiamen, China, on April 26, 22.38 in Shaoxing/Keqiao, China, on May 3, and 22.53 in Rome on June 6.
Clutch effort: Valarie Allman of the U.S. posted her 24th consecutive victory in the women’s discus when she moved from third place to first on the final throw of the competition in the Meeting de Paris.
The two-time Olympic champion trailed Jorinde van Klinken of the Netherlands and Yaime Perez of Cuba after the first five rounds, but after those two failed to improve upon their best marks of 66.42 (217-11) and 65.03 (213-4) on their sixth throws, Allman unleashed a 67.56 (221-8) effort to win her ninth meet of the year without a loss.
The 30-year-old Allman did not have a good series by her standards as her second-best throw of 64.88 (212-10) came in the first round and she had fouls in the third and fifth rounds.
Hot streak continues: Kristjan Ceh of Slovenia extended his winning streak in the men’s discus to eight meets in a row with a pair of victories last week.
The 26-year-old Ceh, who had finished second and third in his first two meets of the season, had a best of 70.61 (231-8) in the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland, on June 17, and a top mark of 70.17 (230-2) in the JOHVI 25-Heino Lipp Memorial in Johvi, Estonia, last Saturday.
Matt Denny of Australia and Daniel Stahl of Sweden finished second and third in Turku with bests of 70.52 (231-4) and 70.19 (230-3), respectively, before Stahl placed second in Johvi at 70.14 (230-1), followed by Denny at 67.77 (222-4).
While Ceh has topped 70 meters (229-8) in five of his eight victories this year, Stahl has bettered that mark in 18 competitions during his career.
Virgilijus Alekna of Lithuania, the Olympic champion in 2000 and 2004, currently has the most 70-meter meets during his career with 20.
Briefs: Nicola Olyslagers of Australia improved her yearly record to 3-2 against Olympic champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh of Ukraine when she cleared 2.00 meters (6 feet 6¾ inches) to win the women’s high jump in the Meeting de Paris Diamond League meet last Friday. Mahuchikh and Eleanor Patterson of Australia each cleared 1.97 (6-5½), but Mahuckikh finished second because she cleared that height on her first try and Patterson did so on her second. . . . . . . Nelly Chepchirchir of Kenya ran a yearly outdoor-leading time of 3:57.02 in the women’s 1,500 meters in the Meeting de Paris. Chepchirchir ran her final 300 meters in 46.62 in the race in which 11 women ran under four minutes. . . . . . . Marcell Jacobs of Italy, the 2021 Olympic champion in the men’s 100 meters, had a rough start to his season in the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland, on June 17 when he finished eighth in 10.44. Jacobs, who had placed fifth in the Olympic Games in Paris last summer, had run 10.31 while finishing fourth in a qualifying heat earlier in the meet.
Fun while it lasted: Long Beach Poly High School of California saw its national prep record of 7:28.75 in the boys’ 4 x 800-meter relay fall by the wayside last Thursday when a team from Herriman High in Utah ran 7:26.12 in the New Balance Nationals Outdoors meet in Philadelphia.
An all-senior Poly team of Christopher Hall, Myles Andrews, Aaron Harris, and Christian Penn had set its record in the 2011 New Balance Outdoor Nationals when Hall ran 1:53.00 on the first leg, Andrews timed 1:52.79 on the second, Harris clocked 1:55.26 on the third, and Penn had a split of 1:47.70 on his anchor carry. Their time had bettered the previous best of 7:30.67 set by Albemarle High of Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2009, and it came in a race in which Charlotte High in Punta Gorda, Florida, had also broken the previous record when it finished second to Poly with a time of 7:30.31.
Herriman received a 1:54.74 opening leg from senior Jonah Tang in the race at Franklin Field last Thursday and his twin, Micah Tang, followed with a 1:52.52 split on his second carry. Senior Tayshaun Ogomo clocked 1:48.94 on his third leg for Herriman before junior Jackson Spencer capped the record run with 1:49.94 split on his anchor leg to give the squad from Herriman a large margin of victory over runner-up Rock RC, which ran 7:32.44 while being comprised of runners from Rockhurst High in Missouri.
Record seasons continue: Senior Jane Hedengren of Timpview High School in Provo, Utah, and sophomore Cooper Lutkenhaus of Northwest High in Justin, Texas, broke their own national prep records in the girls’ 3,000 meters and the boys’ 800, respectively, in the Nike Outdoor Nationals meet that was held in conjunction with the USA Track & Field U20 Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon, last Saturday.
The BYU-bound Hedengren ran 8:40.03 in the 3,000 to better her previous record of 8:40.99 that she had set 13 days earlier while on her way to a national prep record of 9:17.75 in the two mile in the Brooks PR Invitational in Renton, Washington.
Lutkenhaus ran 1:45.45 in the 800 to lower his previous record of 1:46.26 that he had also set 13 days earlier in the Brooks PR Invitational, as well as exceed the automatic qualifying standard of 1:45.60 for the USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships that will be held at the same Hayward Field facility from July 31-August 3.
Lutkenhaus’ 1:46.26 clocking had trimmed .19 seconds off the previous national record of 1:46.45 that had been set by Michael Granville of Bell Gardens, California, in 1996.
In addition to Hedengren’s prep records in the 3,000 and two mile, she has also lowered the national outdoor record in the mile to 4:23.50 and in the 5,000 to the 14:57.93 this season.
Last hurrah: Rylee Blade of Santiago High School in Corona and Evan Noonan of Dana Hills High in Dana Point made the final races of their prep careers good ones in the Nike Outdoor Nationals in Eugene, Oregon, last week.
The Florida State-bound Blade won the girls’ 5,000 meters in 15:59.65 last Thursday before finishing third in the 3,000 in 9:24.62 on Saturday.
Noonan, who is headed to Stanford, placed second in the boys’ mile in a personal best of 4:00.53 on Saturday.
Blade took the lead early in the 5,000 and passed through the first kilometer in 3:14.45 and three kilometers in 9:43.14. She had a small lead on sophomore Sophia Rodriguez of Mercer Island, Washington, at that point in the race, but her advantage had grown to six seconds when she came through 3,800 meters in 12:15.48.
Senior Holly Barker of Trabuco Hills in Mission Viejo moved from fourth to second in the final three laps of the race to finish second in 16:15.96.
As mentioned in the previous note, Jane Hedengren of Timpview High in Provo, Utah, lowered her national prep record to 8:40.03 in the 3,000 in the Nike meet and she was followed by sophomore Blair Bartlett of Lawrenceville, New Jersey, in 9:21.83 and Blade in 9:24.62.
A stomach illness had forced Noonan to withdraw from the 3,200 meters in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) State championships on May 31, but he bounced back with a big performance on Saturday as his 1,600-meter split of 3:59.17 during the mile smashed his personal best of 4:03.71 that he had run in the winning the 1,600 in the Division 2 race of the Southern Section Divisional Finals on May 17.
Quentin Nauman of Western Dubuque High in Epworth, Iowa, came from behind to nip Noonan by a hundredth of a second at the finish line as his 4:00.52 clocking was the result of him running his last lap in 56.20 seconds and his final 800 in 1:55.95.
Noonan pushed the pace for most of the race, as he was in first place when he went through the first 809 meters in 2:02.68 and the 1,209 mark in 3:02.77. Nauman, who had run a personal best of 3:58.65 in winning the HOKA Festival of Miles meet in St. Louis on June 5, was in fifth place in 3:04.32 when he began the final lap of the race in Eugene. But his sensational final 400 gave him the photo-finish victory over Noonan, whose 4:00.53 clocking moved him to fifth on the all-time California prep performer list.