FBK Games delivers day with top-level action 

The FBK Games delivered a day filled with top-level action as a mixture of established superstars and the sport’s next generation displayed their talents in Hengelo.  

Sifan Hassan came back to the Fanny Blankers-Koen stadium barely 24 hours after winning the 10,000m in 29:37.80 to take the 1500m crown, moving away from Nelly Chepchirchir as both athletes broke four minutes. 

Hassan’s 3:58.12 was just under a second ahead of the Kenyan, who clocked a new personal best of 3:59.96, and means the first half of the year has seen the double Olympic champion win races at 1500m, 10,000m and the 2023 London Marathon.  

Met with one of the afternoon’s biggest cheers was Dutch star Femke Bol, competing over 400m. Bol duly delivered, closing the stagger over the first 200m before moving away down the home straight in a massive meeting record of 50.11s.  

Shakima Wimbley’s record of 50.88s had stood since 2018. Wadeline Jonatas was over a second and a half adrift in 51.74s.  

It wouldn’t be a Mondo Duplantis pole-vaulting display without the customary meeting record. Duplantis’ vault of 6.11m bettered his own meeting record by one centimetre, setting a new world lead in the process. It gave him three attempts at the world record but it proved one height too far.  

In one of the Games’ most anticipated match-ups, world champion Grant Holloway set a new meeting record of 13.03s. Holloway got out fast and maintained a couple of meters lead over compatriot Devon Allen who clocked a new season’s best of 13.12s for his efforts.   

Compatriot CJ Allen took the 400m Hurdles title in 48.24s with Nia Ali completing a US barriers clean sweep with a 12.61s clocking over the 100m Hurdles.  

For the youngsters, 18-year-old Mattia Furlani announced himself as a major player in global long jumping as he increased his personal best by a massive 20 cms to jump 8.24m and take down a world-class field. The Italian won both the Long Jump and High Jump at last year’s European U18 Championships. 

Furlani’s opening jump was all the more impressive given it was achieved into a small headwind and saw him beat world indoor finalists Cheswill Johnson and Olympic finalist JuVaughn Harrison.  

It was a day for the next generation as World U20 champion Busang Collen Kebinatshipi chased down Vernon Norwood in the final metres to win the men’s 400m in 45.01s.  

It was difficult to tell by the naked eye with the Botswanan finishing incredibly quickly but the photo finish revealed he had timed it to perfection, as Norwood was milliseconds behind in 45.05s. 

Daryll Neita began the day’s action with an impressive 11.05s clocking over 100m. The Brit won in Hengelo last year, successfully repeating the feat by moving away from Bassant Hemida who was just over a tenth of a second behind.  

It would be a memorable day for Hemida who, in the final race of the evening set a new Egyptian record over 200m, running 22.41s to overcome home-favourite Lieke Klaver (22.51s.). 

Yaroslava Mahuchikh led a Ukrainian one-two in the high jump as she cleared 2.00m, seven centimetres more than compatriot Iryna Gerashchenko. 

In the throws European Champion Julian Weber threw the javelin 87.14m, ahead of former Olympic Champion Keshorn Walcott. The second furthest in history, Johannes Vetter, in his first competition in almost a year threw 72.85m, good enough for eighth.  

Maggie Ewen threw close to her best to take the women’s shot-put win, throwing 19.61m in the third round to beat one of the day’s deepest fields ahead of Danniel Thomas-Dodd with 19.21m. World Champion Chase Ealey was eighth with 17.09m. 

One of the day’s most exciting races saw almost the whole field in contention for the men’s 1500m with less than 200m to go. Andrew Coscoran of Ireland hit the front with 80m remaining, was slowly reined in by 800m star Elliot Giles but rallied over the final metres to edge out the Brit by three hundredths of a second in 3:37.97. Jye Edwards emerged in third in 3:38.24 

In the fastest race of the evening Reece Prescod ran 9.99s to take the 100m title, closing hard to take down defending champion Yohan Blake. Home-favourite Raphael Bouju was third in a new personal best of 10.09s.