Great Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith broke his own 400m European record with a commanding victory in his season opener at the Diamond League in Oslo.
The 29-year-old clocked 44.07 at the Bislett Games, surpassing his previous record of 44.26 set at last year’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
“Preparation has been going well,” he told BBC Sport. “I knew anything was possible. The time was a bonus.
“I don’t really care about times, I care about victory and preparing for the Olympics. Times are temporary, medals are forever. I’m healthy. Last year I had tendonitis in my Achilles. The goal is the Olympics.
“It was bittersweet last year, so close to the gold. If I can stay healthy anything is possible.”
Former British athlete Tim Hutchings said on BBC Three: “At 200 he was running away, at 300 he was miles ahead. That forward-learning barrel-chested style was absolutely superb.
“He’s knocking on the door of sub-44 seconds. No European has been there before. Hudson-Smith will surely get there in the coming weeks. That was quite fabulous.”
Reigning Diamond League champion Kirani James finished second with a season-best time of 44.58.
Ethiopia’s Hagos Gebrhiwet recorded the second-fastest 5,000m time in history, clocking 12:36.73, to defeat compatriot Yomif Kejelcha after a remarkable 54-second final lap.
“The conditions, the crowd, was great and it was a very fast race, not easy for me but it was going very well,” said 30-year-old Gebrhiwet. “The race had some very nice guys running – my friend Kejelcha is a very good guy.
“I will try 10k, maybe I will qualify with the 10k at the Olympics so I want to compete there.”
The home fans had a win to celebrate in the final race of the day as Jakob Ingebrigtsen lunged over the line to edge out Timothy Cheruiyot by three-hundredths of a second in the 1500m. Ingebrigtsen, who had been looking comfortable until Kenyan Cheruiyot’s late surge, finished with a time of 3:29.74.
Home favorite Karsten Warholm, the Olympic champion, clipped the final hurdle and was overtaken in the final straight of the 400m hurdles by Brazil’s Alison dos Santos, who won with a time of 46.63, a margin of seven-hundredths of a second.
South Africa’s Akani Simbine won the 100m race in 9.94 seconds, with Japan’s Abdul Hakim Sani Brown finishing second at 9.99 seconds. Britain’s Jeremiah Azu was running well but slowed halfway through due to an injury. Earlier this month, Azu became the first Welsh 100m runner to break the 10-second barrier in wind-legal conditions.
American Brittany Brown narrowly beat Marie-Josee Ta Lou to win the 200m in 22.32 seconds, with Britain’s Daryll Neita finishing third.
Dominica’s Marileidy Paulino won the 400m in 49.30 seconds, half a second ahead of the competition.
Rushell Clayton won the 400m hurdles in 54.02 seconds, leading an all-Jamaican podium with Andrenette Knight in second and Janieve Russell in third.
Australian Georgia Griffith caused an upset in the women’s 3,000m with a late surge, setting a meeting record and personal best time of 8:24.20.
South African Prudence Sekgodiso, who is being tipped for an Olympic medal, ran 1:58.66 to win the 800m despite slowing towards the finish line.
American pole vaulter KC Lightfoot won with a height of 5.82m, while Burkina Faso’s Hugues Fabrice Zango claimed victory in the triple jump with 17.27m.
Lithuania’s Mykolas Alekna threw 70.91m to win the men’s discus, and China’s Feng Bin won the women’s discus with a throw of 67.89m, despite her final four attempts being invalid.