Japanese javelin star Haruka Kitaguchi notched up her first victory of the season, winning on home soil at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix – a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting – in Tokyo on Sunday (18).
The world and Olympic champion was one of several Japanese athletes to produce a winning performance in the stadium that will host the World Athletics Championships four months from now, but it was the Australian contingent that stole the show with six athletes from Down Under winning on Sunday, three of them breaking meeting records.
For most of the fans in the stadium, though, their focus was on Kitaguchi while the javelin was unfolding. She took an early lead with 61.41m then improved to 64.16m in round five to extend her lead. That remained the best of the day with compatriot Momone Ueda taking second place with 60.66m.
Elsewhere on the infield, Kitaguchi’s fellow world and Olympic champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh enjoyed a comfortable win in the high jump, her 1.96m clearance being enough to win by 11 centimetres. The Ukrainian took one attempt at 2.00m then retired from competition, saving herself for her next outing.
Japan’s Tomohiro Shinno won the men’s event with 2.27m.
In-form Australian Liam Adcock produced a last-round leap of 8.20m to take victory in the men’s long jump. Prior to that, Japan’s Hibika Tsuha had led the competition with 8.15m.
Marshall, Griffith and Thomas break meeting records
USA’s Tonea Marshall powered to a 12.54 triumph in the women’s 100m hurdles, taking down a meeting record (12.62) that had stood for 11 years. Teammate Alia Armstrong was second in 12.68.
Three other meeting records fell – all of them broken by Australian athletes, and all of them in endurance events.
Georgia Griffith dominated the women’s 1500m, winning by five seconds and taking more than a second off the meeting record with 4:01.10. Japanese record-holder Nozomi Tanaka was runner-up in 4:06.08.
Rose Davies won in Tokyo for the second year in succession. Twelve months on from her 5000m win, this time she took the 3000m in 8:43.38, an improvement on the meeting record, with Kenya’s Helen Lobun a distant second in 8:49.28.
Jude Thomas was a surprising winner of the men’s 3000m. The 23-year-old Australian produced a PB of 7:39.69 to win over Ethiopia’s Ermias Girma (7:40.42), both men finishing comfortably inside the previous meeting record.
Elsewhere in the distance events, Japan’s Ryuji Miura lived up to expectations to win the men’s 3000m steeplechase in 8:18.96, beating Ethiopia’s Milkesa Fikadu (8:20.10).
Favourites beaten in sprints
The Australian success continued in the shorter track events on a day when some of the world’s leading sprinters struggled.
Fresh from a strong run at the World Relays, Australia’s Reece Holder won the men’s 400m in convincing style in 44.76 ahead of Japan’s Fuga Sato (45.23).
Holder’s fellow Australian Bree Rizzo emerged victorious from a talented women’s 100m field to win in 11.38 (-0.9m/s) as USA’s Twanisha Terry took second place (11.42) and world champion Sha’Carri Richardson, making her season debut, placed fourth (11.47).
There was a similarly surprising winner of the men’s 100m. Japan’s Hiroki Yanagita, running in lane one, managed to edge ahead to take the win in 10.06 (1.1m/s) from USA’s Christian Miller (10.08) and 2019 world champion Christian Coleman (10.11).
The men’s 200m was similarly close with USA’s Robert Gregory getting the better of 2021 Olympic champion Andre de Grasse, 20.24 to 20.29.
The men’s 400m hurdles was won by the same margin as 2022 world bronze medallist Trevor Bassitt took the win in 48.50 ahead of Japan’s Ken Toyoda (48.55).
The home crowd was happy with the outcome in the men’s 110m hurdles as Rachid Muratake led a Japanese 1-2, winning in 13.16 (-1.1m/s) from Tatsuki Abe (13.27). – worldathletics.org
