The Herculis meeting in Monaco, which is part of the Diamond League, presented a splendid lineup featuring numerous French and international stars. Here’s a look at the event two and a half months before the World Championships in Qatar.
Bosse has a quiet start, Mayer is discreet, and the Lavillenies are confident
Securing his spot at the World Championships in September due to his title in the 800 meters, Pierre-Ambroise Bosse took his time to return. He needed time to heal a recurring hamstring injury. For his comeback, the French athlete was calm. He achieved the 9th place with a time of 1:45.43, marking his best season debut since 2015. The race was won by Botswana’s Nijel Amos, who clocked a supersonic 1:41.89.
Another French world champion was present at the Louis II Stadium. Kevin Mayer participated in the javelin throw, competing with the discipline’s purists, both to face the best and to practice. The decathlon world record holder managed a javelin throw of only 67.52 meters.
In pole vault, the Lavillenie brothers, Renaud and Valentin, both achieved a commendable performance: 5.82m. World record holder Renaud Lavillenie (5th), who began his season a month ago due to a right hamstring injury followed by tendinitis, is improving with every outing. Last week, he had already shown progress. For Valentin, this clearance marks a new personal best.
In the pole vault competition, Piotr Lisek was the standout performer. The Pole triumphed with a jump of 6.02m, breaking a flurry of records: personal best, meeting record, national record, and the world’s best performance. The tall, broad-shouldered athlete (1.94m, 94kg) had shone just a week earlier by clearing 6.01m in Lausanne (Switzerland). Yet, Lisek isn’t alone on stage: he was pushed throughout the competition by a remarkable lineup of champions. Swedish European champion Armand Duplantis (2nd with 5.92m) nearly cleared 6.02m as well.
Another highlight of the evening was the 100 meters. American veteran Justin Gatlin (37 years old) outpaced his compatriot Noah Lyles, finishing with a time of 9.91, one-hundredth of a second faster than the young runner. French athlete Jimmy Vicaut disappointed again, finishing only 6th with a time of 10.17.
Among women, world record in the mile and the world’s best performance in the 400m hurdles:
Dutch athlete Sifan Hassan broke the world mile record (1609m) with a time of 4:12.33. The world record for this rarely-contested distance, missing from major international championships, had been held by Russian Svetlana Masterkova since August 1996 (4:12.56 in Zurich). In the category of standout performances, Sydney McLaughlin is also mentioned. The American won the 400m hurdles, achieving the best world time of the year with 53.32.
In the sprints, Olympic 200 meters champion Eliane Thompson was defeated. Bahamian Shaunae Miller-Uibo dominated the race in 22.09, beating the Jamaican. However, she failed to surpass the season’s best time of 22 seconds set by Dafne Schippers.
