After setting the World under 20 1,500m World record, Kenya’s teenager Phanuel Kipkosgei Koech set the Golden Spike, Ostrava, the World Athletics Continental Tour.
Koech, who set the world record during the Paris Meeting in 1,500m at 3:27.72 set the Ostrava course record at 3:29.05.
The teenager, who was part of team Kenya at the 2024 World Under 20 championships in Lima, Peru, won the title ahead of Portugal’s Isaac Nader (3:29.37), world indoor 800m champion Josh Hoey (3:29.75) and Australian teenager Cameron Myers, whose 3:29.80 clocking is an Oceanian U20 record.
At the same time, Swedish Mondo Duplantis broke his own record after scaling a meeting record of 6.13m for the world and Olympic champion.
South African Prudence Sekgodiso and Bahraini sprinter Salwa Eid Naser won the women’s 800m in in 1:57.16 from Botswana’s Oratile Nowe, who set a national record of 1:57.49 in second place.
Tatana Kocembova’s 49.67 in the 400m, set back in 1983 – was finally broken, thanks to 2019 world champion Salwa Eid Naser. The Bahraini sprinter eased ahead down the home straight to win in 49.15 from USA’s Lynna Irby-Jackson (49.82) and world indoor record-holder Femke Bol (49.98).