On April 27, the 2024 Yangtze River Delta International Track and Field Diamond Championships (Shanghai/Suzhou) was held at the Suzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium, where 227 athletes from all over the world competed for the championship of 16 events, dedicating a world-class track and field feast to the Suzhou audience. About 16,000 spectators attended the game, with an attendance rate of over 95%.
This year is the Olympic year, and track and field, as the "mother of sports" and the "gold medalist" of the Olympic Games, has attracted much attention. The Diamond League, the world's premier athletics series, will continue throughout the year.
Starting in April, the Diamond League will be staged in 15 stations in 13 countries on four continents, with the Yangtze River Delta International Track and Field Diamond Championships (Shanghai/Suzhou) being the second stop of the year, and the year-end finals will be held in Brussels, Belgium from September 13 to 14.
The predecessor of this event was the International Athletics Golden Grand Prix in Shanghai in 2005, and its upgraded Diamond League - Shanghai Station in 2010. Returning to the Yangtze River Delta after a four-year absence, this year's event was jointly organized by Shanghai and Suzhou, landed at the Suzhou Olympic Sports Center, and the name of the event was also changed to "Yangtze River Delta International Track and Field Diamond Race". This is the first time that Suzhou has hosted an international track and field event of this level, and it will also become an innovative exploration of the Yangtze River Delta region to jointly host international sports events.
A total of 16 events were held in the Yangtze River Delta International Track and Field Diamond Championships, including 7 men's events and 9 women's events: men's 100m, 800m, 5000m, 110m hurdles, high jump, pole vault and long jump, and women's 200m, 400m, 5000m, 100m hurdles, 3000m steeplechase, long jump, shot put, javelin and discus.
As the top players motivated each other, 13 players set personal bests, and as the outdoor season just started, the season's bests were on the way. Pole vaulter Duplantis set a new record despite failing to cross the new height of 6.25m in three attempts. In addition, the men's 5,000m also set a new meet record, and the women's 5,000m set a world best this year.
The men's pole vault is one of the highlights of the event. World record holder and Sweden's Duplantis attempted 5.92m and 6m in quick succession after 5.82m to secure the title. He then went straight to 6.25 meters to try to set a new world record back-to-back, but unfortunately failed to make three jumps. However, the 6m mark was enough to help him break the 10-year-old record.
The "Chinese Legion", which fought at home, took home a total of four medals. Song Jiayuan stood on the podium for the first time in this competition, and she won the third place in the women's shot put of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank with a score of 19.83 meters, showing the follow-up strength of China's throwing event.
World champion Feng Bin won silver in the women's discus throw with a score of 67.11 meters, and won a medal in two consecutive Diamond League tournaments with a 67-meter shot.
Wang Jianan, the leader of the men's long jump, and Shi Yuhao, who competed in Suzhou, finished second and third with a score of 8.04 meters and 7.99 meters respectively, showing China's depth and advantage in this event.
The Chinese athletes have achieved the effect of training for the upcoming Paris Olympics by holding top international events at their doorstep, and also showed the world the style of Chinese track and field.
The much-anticipated women's 100m hurdles event was a suspenseful affair as the tension was tightened by two runs, with two top runners crossing the line almost at the same time, with Puerto Rico's Olympic champion Camacho Quinn winning in 12.63 seconds, while Charlton Athletic, the women's 60m hurdles world record holder, finished second by just 0.01 seconds. China's Wu Yanni finished eighth.
The men's 100m was also tense, and in the end, South Africa's "Flyer" Himbinlik, two world champions Coleman and Kerry, stood on the top podium, and China's Chen Guanfeng ran a personal season best of 10.47 seconds. The pinnacle duel of the top players ignited the passion of the audience.
In the men's 5,000m, Ethiopia's Barega clocked 12:55.68, beating the meet record set by compatriot Aedis in 2016 by more than four seconds. In the women's 5,000m, Alemeshet, also from Ethiopia, set the world's best time of the year with a time of 14:36.70.
It is worth mentioning that in the Nike women's 5000m event, as many as 12 people set PB, and China's Zhang Deshun finished with a time of 15:41.34.
In the men's high jump competition, this year's best record holder, New Zealand's Kerr beat the Tokyo Olympic champion and Qatar's star Bashim to win the championship with 2.31 meters, and Bashim's 2.29 meters also set a new personal season best, and Suzhou athlete Wang Zhen fought locally and tied for fifth with 2.24 meters. (Su Daily Financial Media Reporter Zhang Tiantian/Text Zhang Jian/Photo)
Editor: Qian Fang