OSTRAVA, CZECHIA, June 24 — There were plenty of highlights in the 64th Golden Spike Continental Tour, but none perhaps as notable as the continuation of sizzling men’s 1500s over the past month that are redefining what is “fast” in the event.
Is 3:29 the new 3:31? Or 3:31 the new 3:33? Between the four Diamond League 1500s since May 25 (Rabat, Rome, Paris & Stockholm) and now Ostrava, there have been a dozen sub-3:30 performances and 34 marks under 3:32. That’s a lot — and doesn’t even include the 3:48–3:50 mile clockings in Oslo — or anything from the likes of superstars Ingebrigtsen, Kerr, Nuguse or Hocker.
But the quartet that added four performances to the sub-3:30 ledger here were probably hardly thinking about such data. Instead, for 4th-placer Cam Myers of Australia (3:29.80), who turned 19 just 18 days earlier, it was his first time under the 3:30 barrier and a new Aussie U20 record. For 3rd-place finisher and 800 World Indoor champ Josh Hoey, his 3:29.75 elevated him to No. 5 all-time U.S.
Runner-up Isaac Nader, who also edged Myers in the Bislett mile, set a Portuguese Record 3:29.37. But the biggest news was the winning 3:29.05 by Phanuel Koech. The fast win impressively backed up the 18-year-old Kenyan’s World U20 record 3:27.72, confirming his status as a Tokyo medal contender.
Nader, Koech and Hoey tucked behind two pacemakers early, going through 400 in 55.62, then remaining in that order through 800 in 1:52.32. The field was well stretched out behind them, affording plenty of running room.
The second pacemaker dropped just before 1K, passed by Nader in about 2:20. Koech was clearly full of run, looking around and making his move with gusto just after the 1200 mark (2:48.54). Nader gave little ground and tried to pressure Koech on the inside in the homestretch, but the Kenyan extended slightly in the final 60 to win by 0.32. Hoey — racing in his second outdoor 1500 of ’25 and seasonal third including indoor — dug deep to hold off Myers in the final meters.
Speaking of fast teenagers, how about Gout Gout? The 17-year-old Australian made his European debut an exceedingly successful one, breaking his own NR with his 20.02 (0.0) — nearly joining the legal sub-20 club. He has run 19.84 with wind aid. Cuba’s Reynier Mena (20.19), who looked terrific while leading at the top of the stretch, simply could not stay with the youngster in the end.
“New personal best, new national record in my first European race,” said Gout, who again displayed the unyielding final 50 he’s becoming known for. “Get some more races in me and [the 20-second barrier] will drop for sure.”
Mondo Duplantis, jumping for the first time since his 20-7¼ (6.28) WR before his home country fans in Stockholm, tried unsuccessfully to add another centimeter to his twelfth global record after he had won the event at 20-1¼ (6.13).
“I felt good with the jumps, considering I felt as though I was operating on less than a full tank,” said Duplantis, who was competing for the third time in 12 days.
Another 800 World Indoor champion running well was Prudence Sekgodiso in the women’s 2-lapper. The South African took over when the second rabbit dropped at about 500 and gradually pulled away to clip her PR with a 1:57.16 that elevated her to No. 2 on the world this year. Botswana’s Oratile Nowe passed Ethiopia’s Nigist Getachew in the final 50 for 2nd in an NR 1:57.49.
Three women broke 50 seconds in the 400, with Salwa Eid Naser continuing a fine season in front at 49.15. While a lot of eyes were on 400H star Femke Bol as she dipped under 50 (49.98) in 3rd, the 49.82 runner-up finish by Lynna Irby-Jackson from lane 8 was striking. It follows the 49.87 she ran in Paris four days earlier, and continues to show a return to form for the Georgia alum who had last broken 50 in ’18.
Grant Holloway, winner of four global outdoor titles in the 110H, was beaten for the fourth straight time; though this time it took a photofinish to sort things out as he and Dylan Beard both clocked 13.13.
The women’s 100H was not nearly as close. Tobi Amusan, coming off her fastest race since her World title in ’22 with a runner-up 12.24 finish behind Grace Stark in Paris, equaled her second-fastest of the season with a 12.45 — a decisive 0.29 up on 2nd.
Holloway wasn’t the only World and Olympic champion to suffer defeat as Haruka Kitaguchi could manage just 209-7 (63.88) in finishing 2nd by almost a meter to world leader Adriana Vilagoš 212-10 (64.87). The Serb avenged a loss to Kitaguchi in Oslo.
OSTRAVA MEN’S RESULTS
200(0.0): 1. Gout Gout (Aus) 20.02 NR (5, x WJ);
2. Reynier Mena (Cub) 20.19.
400: 1. Daniel Segers (Bel) 44.63 PR; 2. Samuel Reardon (GB) 44.99; 3. Christopher Morales Williams (Can) 45.10.
800: 1. Peter Bol (Aus) 1:43.80; 2. Marino Bloudek (Cro) 1:44.02 NR; 3. Abdellatif El Guesse (Mor) 1:44.19 PR;
4. Nicholas Kiplagat (Ken) 1:44.37; 5. Jakub Dudycha (CzR) 1:44.48 NR; 6. Callum Dodds (GB) 1:44.70 PR.
1500: I–1. Phanuel Koech (Ken) 3:29.05 (x, 3 WJ);
2. Isaac Nader (Por) 3:29.37 NR;
3. Josh Hoey (US) 3:29.75 PR (5, 9 A);
4. Cam Myers (Aus) 3:29.80 PR (4, 5 WJ);
5. Narve Gilje Nordås (Nor) 3:30.73; 6. Samuel Pihlström (Swe) 3:31.18; 7. Jude Thomas (Aus) 3:32.07 PR; 8. Raphael Pallitsch (Aut) 3:32.96 NR; 9. Tshepo Tshite (SA) 3:34.14.
110H(0.6): 1. Dylan Beard (US) 13.13; 2. Grant Holloway (US) 13.13; 3. Enzo Diessl (Aut) 13.25; 4. Eric Edwards (US) 13.26; 5. Oumar Doudai Abakar (Qat) 13.47.
400H: 1. Chris Robinson (US) 48.05; 2. Matheus Lima (Bra) 48.11; 3. Vít Müller (CzR) 48.41 =PR; 4. Seamus Derbyshire (GB) 48.73; 5. Ismail Doudai Abakar (Qat) 48.75.
Field Events
HJ: 1. Dmytro Nikitin (Ukr) 7-4¼ (2.24); 2. Jan Štefela (CzR) 7-4¼; 3. Marco Fassinotti (Ita) 7-2½ (2.20); 4. tie, Jef Vermeiren (Bel) & Tihomir Ivanov (Bul) 7-2½.
PV: 1. Mondo Duplantis (Swe) 20-1¼ (6.13) (18-5¼ [2], 19-1, 19-5 [x], 19-7, 19-9, 20-1¼, 20-7½ [xxx]) (5.62 [2], 5.82, 5.92 [x], 5.97, 6.02, 6.13, 6.29 [xxx]);
2. Emmanouíl Karalís (Gre) 19-5 (5.92); 3. Kurtis Marschall (Aus) 19-1 (5.82); 4. Sondre Guttormsen (Nor) 18-9¼ (5.72);
5. Simen Guttormsen (Nor) 18-9¼ =PR; 6. Austin Miller (US) 18-9¼.
SP: 1. Leonardo Fabbri (Ita) 71-2½ (21.70); 2. Zane Weir (Ita) 70-2¼ (21.39); 3. Jordan Geist (US) 69-2½ (21.09);
4. Wictor Petersson (Swe) 68-3 (20.80).
JT: 1. Neeraj Chopra (Ind) 279-10 (85.29); 2. Douw Smit (SA) 276-0 (84.12) PR; 3. Anderson Peters (Grn) 274-4 (83.63).
OSTRAVA WOMEN’S RESULTS
100(0.6): 1. Thelma Davies (Lbr) 10.91 NR; 2. Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith (CI) 10.92; 3. Zoe Hobbs (NZ) 10.94 NR; 4. Amy Hunt (GB) 11.08; 5. Cambrea Sturgis (US) 11.19.
400: 1. Salwa Eid Naser (Bhr) 49.15; 2. Lynna Irby-Jackson (US) 49.82; 3. Femke Bol (Neth) 49.98; 4. Natalia Bukowiecka (Pol) 50.21.
800: 1. Prudence Sekgodiso (SA) 1:57.16 PR; 2. Oratile Nowe (Bot) 1:57.49 NR; 3. Nigist Getachew (Eth) 1:58.02;
4. Worknesh Mesele (Eth) 1:58.40; 5. Anna Wielgosz (Pol) 1:58.69 PR.
100H(1.4): 1. Tobi Amusan (Ngr) 12.45; 2. Viktória Forster (Svk) 12.74; 3. Sarah Lavin (Ire) 12.76.
Field Events
PV: 1. Amálie Švábíková (CzR) 15-3½ (4.66); 2. Juliana Campos (Bra) 15-3½ PR; 3. Tina Šutej (Slo) 14-11½ (4.56).
JT: 1. Adriana Vilagoš (Ser) 212-10 (64.87); 2. Haruka Kitaguchi (Jpn) 209-7 (63.88).
