Julien Alfred achieved a remarkable victory in the women’s 200 meters at the Monaco Diamond League event, clocking a time of 21.51 seconds. This performance places her as the third-fastest woman in history over this distance. Despite a slow start, Alfred surged ahead in the final 50 meters, finishing 0.25 seconds ahead of Adaejah Hodge from the British Virgin Islands. Gabby Thomas, who previously bested Alfred at the 2024 Paris Olympics, secured third place with a time of 21.84 seconds.
Reflecting on her win, Alfred, the Olympic 100 champion, emphasized the significance of finishing strong rather than reacting quickly at the start of the race. Sebastien Seville, representing Jamaica, dominated the men’s 100 meters, crossing the finish line in 9.88 seconds at the Monaco event. This victory came after Seville’s second-place finish at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon. American sprinter Jordan Anthony claimed second place with a time of 9.92 seconds, followed by Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme in third with a time of 10.00 seconds.
In a surprising turn of events, Kenyan athlete Emmanuel Wanyonyi set a new world record in the 1,000 meters, completing the race in 2 minutes and 11.83 seconds. This achievement marked a 0.13-second improvement over the previous record set 27 years ago by Noah Ngeny. Wanyonyi’s stellar performance saw him cross the finish line almost a full second ahead of British runner Jake Wightman, with Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati securing third place.
Botswana’s Busang Collen Kebinatshipi continued his winning streak in the 400 meters, clinching his fifth consecutive Diamond League victory this season with a time of 43.44 seconds. Kebinatshipi expressed surprise at his own speed and hinted at a potential switch to the 200-meter event in the future. Dominican athlete Marileidy Paulino maintained her unbeaten record this season by winning the women’s 400 meters in 48.67 seconds, followed by Aaliyah Butler from the United States in second place and Czech athlete Lurdes Gloria Manuel in third.
The athletic achievements continued with Masai Russell from the United States securing victory in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 12.20 seconds, closely followed by Alaysha Johnson. Swiss athlete Dominic Lokinyomo Lobalu narrowly edged out American Graham Blanks in the men’s 5,000 meters, crossing the line in 12:52.54. Nina Kennedy from Australia set a new world lead in the women’s pole vault with a jump of 4.95 meters, while Mondo Duplantis cleared 6.07 meters in the men’s pole vault event.
Other notable winners included Yan Ziyi of China in the women’s javelin, Leyanis Perez from Cuba in the triple jump, Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece in the men’s long jump, and Oleh Doroshchuk from Ukraine in the men’s high jump.