100 METERS
Among the major players there were only 3 undefeated runners—Norman, Bromell & Simbine—and they were 3 of the 4 sub-10 performers. Andre De Grasse was the fourth, but he had losses to slower runners in losing both his races… List leader Norman had nothing to back up his single fast time so can claim no better than silver behind the well-exposed Simbine.
| Gold — Akani Simbine (South Africa) | |||||
| 10.01(A) | … | 1)Pretoria | 3/14 | ||
| (9.91Ah, 10.03Asf) | |||||
| 10.19 | … | 1)Marseille | 9/03 | ||
| (10.31h) | |||||
| 10.17 | … | 1)Rovereto | 9/08 | ||
| 10.02 | … | 1)Bellinzona | 9/15 | ||
| 9.96 | … | 1)Rome Diamond League | 9/17 | ||
| Silver — Michael Norman (US) | |||||
| 9.86 | … | 1)AP Ranch High Performance I | 7/20 | ||
| Bronze — Trayvon Bromell (US) | |||||
| 10.04 | … | 1h)Montverde | 7/04 | ||
| 9.90 | … | 1h)Clermont | 7/24 | ||
| 9.87w | … | 1)Montverde | 8/10 | ||
| (9.99h) | |||||
200 METERS
The half-lapper was very straightforward, as list leader Lyles gave Bednarek his only loss. The undefeated Gardiner was the third of the year’s 3 sub-20 runners, running in a different Clermont section than the two Americans.
| Gold — Noah Lyles (US) | |||||
| 19.94 | … | 1)Clermont | 7/25 | ||
| 19.76 | … | 1)Monaco Diamond League | 8/14 | ||
| 20.13 | … | 1)Székesfehérvár Continental Tour | 8/19 | ||
| Silver — Kenny Bednarek (US) | |||||
| 20.06 | … | 1)Montverde | 7/04 | ||
| 20.30 | … | 1)AP Ranch High Performance II | 7/23 | ||
| 20.19 | … | 2)Clermont | 7/25 | ▷ | 1. N. Lyles |
| 19.80 | … | 1)Montverde | 8/10 | ||
| Bronze — Steven Gardiner (Bahamas) | |||||
| 19.96 | … | 1B)Clermont | 7/25 | ||
| 20.19 | … | 1)American Track League IV | 8/01 | ||
400 METERS
There was no creative way to get around the simplistic “analysis” that the list order of Robinson/Cherry/Warholm was the only way to go. Missouri high schooler Robinson was just 18 and has another year to go in the Junior (U20) ranks.
| Gold — Justin Robinson (US) | |||||
| 44.91 | … | 1) American Track League VII | 8/15 | ||
| Silver — Michael Cherry (US) | |||||
| 45.43 | … | 1)Prairie View | 8/06 | ||
| 44.98 | … | 2)American Track League VII | 8/15 | ▷ | 1. Robinson |
| Bronze — Karsten Warholm (Norway) | |||||
| 45.05 | … | 1)Stockholm Diamond League | 8/23 | ||
| 45.56 | … | 1)Oslo | 10/05 | ||
| (45.97i) | |||||
800 METERS
List leader Brazier had 3 of the year’s 4 sub-1:44 clockings and added a pair of DL wins to boot making him an easy choice. Fellow American Bryce Hoppel (1:43.23) had the fourth sub-1:44, but his overall season wasn’t as good as that of Cheruiyot or Giles.
| Gold — Donavan Brazier (US) | |||||
| 1:43.84 | … | 1)Newberg | 7/31 | ||
| 1:43.15 | … | 1)Monaco Diamond League | 8/14 | ||
| 1:43.76 | … | 1)Stockholm Diamond League | 8/23 | ||
| (1:44.22i) | |||||
| Silver — Ferguson Cheruiyot (Kenya) | |||||
| 1:45.48 | … | 8)Monaco Diamond League | 8/14 | ▷ | 1. Brazier; 2. Hoppel; 3. Arop; 4. Robert; 5. Langford; 6. Reuther; 7. Bol |
| 1:45.11 | … | 4)Stockholm Diamond League | 8/23 | ▷ | 1. Brazier; 2. Arop; 3. Kramer |
| 1:45.34 | … | 1)Chorzów | 8/25 | ||
| 1:44.34 | … | 1)Marseille | 9/03 | ||
| 1:45.30 | … | 1)Chorzów Continental Tour | 9/06 | ||
| 1:44.82 | … | 1)Rovereto | 9/08 | ||
| 1:44.16 | … | 1)Doha Diamond League | 9/25 | ||
| 1:44.78 | … | 1)Nairobi Continental Tour | 10/03 | ||
| Bronze — Elliot Giles (Great Britain) | |||||
| 1:45.46 | … | 2)Sollentuna | 8/10 | ▷ | 1. Kramer |
| 1:45.18 | … | 1)Bydgoszcz | 8/19 | ||
| 1:44.68 | … | 2)Marseille | 9/03 | ▷ | 1. F. Cheruiyot |
| 1:45.51 | … | 6)Ostrava Continental Tour | 9/08 | ▷ | 1. Wightman; 2. Kramer; 3. Tuka; 4. van Diepen; 5. Vazquez |
| 1:44.75 | … | 2)Zagreb Continental Tour | 9/15 | ▷ | 1. Rowden |
| 1:44.56 | … | 2)Doha Diamond League | 9/25 | ▷ | 1. F. Cheruiyot |
| (1:47.40i, 1:47.76i) | |||||
1500 METERS
The top spot was decided by solid head-to-head competition, with the undefeated Cheruiyot beating Ingebrigtsen 2–0. The young Norwegian didn’t lose to anyone else. McSweyn’s seasonal best wasn’t as fast as Jake Wightman’s Monaco race, but the Aussie had four solid races and is a clear Bronze.
| Gold — Timothy Cheruiyot (Kenya) | |||||
| 3:28.45 | … | 1)Monaco Diamond League | 8/14 | ||
| 3:30.25 | … | 1)Stockholm Diamond League | 8/23 | ||
| 3:34.31(A) | … | 1)Nairobi Continental Tour | 10/03 | ||
| Silver — Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norway) | |||||
| 3:28.68 | … | 2)Monaco Diamond League | 8/14 | ▷ | 1. Cheruiyot |
| 3:30.74 | … | 2)Stockholm Diamond League | 8/23 | ▷ | 1. Cheruiyot |
| 3:30.69 | … | 1)Brussels Diamond League | 9/04 | ||
| 3:33.92 | … | 1)Ostrava Continental Tour | 9/08 | ||
| 3:33.93 | … | 1)Norwegian Champs | 9/19 | ||
| Bronze — Stewart McSweyn (Australia) | |||||
| 3:31.48 | … | 3)Stockholm Diamond League | 8/23 | ▷ | 1. Cheruiyot; 2. J. Ingebrigtsen |
| 3:34.25 | … | 3)Ostrava Continental Tour | 9/08 | ▷ | 1. J. Ingebrigtsen; 2. Taki |
| 3:32.17 | … | 1)Zagreb Continental Tour | 9/15 | ||
| 3:30.51 | … | 1)Doha Diamond League | 9/25 | ||
| 3:50.61y | … | 1)Penguin | 12/29 | ||
| Top American — Craig Engels | |||||
STEEPLE
Monaco was the only major DL meet of the year, and El Bakkali’s list-leading win earned him No. 1. Bett was 2nd in Monaco and was then 2nd by 0.03 in the Keino meet to edge Kibiwot for the Silver spot.
| Gold — Soufiane El Bakkali (Morocco) | |||||
| 8:08.04 | … | 1)Monaco Diamond League | 8/14 | ||
| Silver — Leonard Bett (Kenya) | |||||
| 8:08.78 | … | 2)Monaco Diamond League | 8/14 | ▷ | 1. El Bakkali |
| 8:17.63(A) | … | 2)Nairobi Continental Tour | 10/03 | ▷ | 1. Kibiwot |
| Bronze — Abraham Kibiwot (Kenya) | |||||
| 8:17.60(A) | … | 1)Nairobi Continental Tour | 10/03 | ||
| Top American — no national-class times recorded | |||||
5000 METERS
With no really significant head-to-head matches to choose from, the year’s three fastest take all the medals in list order, headed by WR setter Cheptegei.
| Gold — Joshua Cheptegei (Uganda) | |||||
| 12:35.36 | … | 1)Monaco Diamond League | 8/14 | ||
| Silver — Jacob Kiplimo (Uganda) | |||||
| 12:48.63 | … | 1)Ostrava Continental Tour | 9/08 | ||
| Bronze — Selemon Barega (Ethiopia) | |||||
| 12:49.08 | … | 2)Ostrava Continental Tour | 9/08 | ▷ | 1. Kiplimo |
| Top American — Lopez Lomong | |||||
10,000 METERS
Like the 5000, it’s the top 3 on the yearly list, but unlike the shorter distance the Silver and Bronze performers had multiple significant races. The most significant race, of course, was Cheptegei’s WR.
| Gold — Joshua Cheptegei (Uganda) | |||||
| 26:11.00 | … | 1)Valencia | 10/07 | ||
| Silver — Richard Yator (Kenya) | |||||
| 27:49.35 | … | 3)Abashiri | 7/15 | ▷ | 1. Ndiku; 2. Mutiso |
| 27:01.42 | … | 1)Kumagaya | 9/19 | ||
| 27:01.74 | … | 1)Yokohama | 11/14 | ||
| Bronze — Nicholas Kimeli (Kenya) | |||||
| 26:58.97 | … | 1)Leiden | 9/19 | ||
| 27:12.98 | … | 2)Valencia | 10/07 | ▷ | 1. Cheptegei |
| Top American — Eric Jenkins | |||||
110 HURDLES
The undefeated Ortega was the clear choice for gold, with the busy Pozzi and Belocian taking the other two spots, the latter edging out breakthrough American Aaron Mallett.
| Gold — Orlando Ortega (Spa) | |||||
| 13.11 | … | 1)Monaco Diamond League | 8/14 | ||
| 13.21 | … | 1)Székesfehérvár Continental Tour | 8/19 | ||
| 13.25 | … | 1)Chorzów | 8/25 | ||
| 13.15 | … | 1)Marseille | 9/03 | ||
| Silver — Andy Pozzi (Great Britain) | |||||
| 13.48 | … | 1)Rieti | 7/04 | ||
| (13.44h) | |||||
| 13.30 | … | 1)Savona | 7/16 | ||
| 13.36 | … | 1)Trieste | 8/01 | ||
| 13.17 | … | 1)Turku Continental Tour | 8/11 | ||
| (13.25h) | |||||
| 13.14 | … | 2)Monaco Diamond League | 8/14 | ▷ | 1. Ortega |
| 13.60 | … | 6)Székesfehérvár Continental Tour | 8/19 | ▷ | 1. Ortega; 2. Holloway; 3. Crittenden; 4. Belocian; 5. Mallett |
| 13.31 | … | 2)Rovereto | 9/08 | ▷ | 1. Crittenden |
| 13.15 | … | 1)Rome Diamond League | 9/17 | ||
| Bronze — Wilhem Belocian (France) | |||||
| 13.38 | … | 2)Turku Continental Tour | 8/11 | ▷ | 1. Pozzi |
| (13.57h) | |||||
| 13.18 | … | 3)Monaco Diamond League | 8/14 | ▷ | 1. Ortega; 2. Pozzi |
| 13.34 | … | 4)Székesfehérvár Continental Tour | 8/19 | ▷ | 1. Ortega; 2. Holloway; 3. Crittenden |
| 13.27 | … | 2)Marseille | 9/03 | ▷ | 1. Ortega |
| 13.20 | … | 1)French Champs | 9/13 | ||
| (13.29h) | |||||
| 13.32 | … | 1)Zagreb Continental Tour | 9/15 | ||
| 13.49 | … | 4)Rome Diamond League | 9/17 | ▷ | 1. Pozzi; 2. Mallett; 3. Crittenden |
| dq | … | –)Doha Diamond League | 9/25 | ▷ | 1. Mallett; 2. Joseph; 3. King; 4. Constantino; 5. Fillery |
| Top American — Aaron Mallett | |||||
400 HURDLES
The ’19 AOY was even better in ’20, with his top-4 average improving from 47.16 to 47.03. With neither Rai Benjamin nor Abderrahmane Samba running the event there was then a huge drop to Vaillant and Mägi.
| Gold — Karsten Warholm (Norway) | |||||
| 47.10 | … | 1)Monaco Diamond League | 8/14 | ||
| 46.87 | … | 1)Stockholm Diamond League | 8/23 | ||
| 47.62 | … | 1)Ostrava Continental Tour | 9/08 | ||
| 47.08 | … | 1)Berlin Continental Tour | 9/13 | ||
| 47.07 | … | 1)Rome Diamond League | 9/17 | ||
| 48.23 | … | 1)Norwegian Champs | 9/20 | ||
| Silver — Ludvy Vaillant (Fra) | |||||
| 50.37 | … | 3)Turku Continental Tour | 8/11 | ▷ | 1. Smidt; 2. Magi |
| 49.35 | … | 4)Monaco Diamond League | 8/14 | ▷ | 1. Warholm; 2. Copello; 3. Magi |
| 49.18 | … | 3)Stockholm Diamond League | 8/23 | ▷ | 1. Warholm; 2. Happio |
| 49.14 | … | 2)Ostrava Continental Tour | 9/08 | ▷ | 1. Warholm |
| 49.22 | … | 1)Bellinzona | 9/15 | ||
| 48.69 | … | 2)Rome Diamond League | 9/17 | ▷ | 1. Warholm |
| Bronze — Rasmus Mägi (Estonia) | |||||
| 50.01 | … | 2)Turku Continental Tour | 8/11 | ▷ | 1. Smidt |
| 49.23 | … | 3)Monaco Diamond League | 8/14 | ▷ | 1. Warholm; 2. Copello |
| 50.18 | … | 2)Székesfehérvár Continental Tour | 8/19 | ▷ | 1. Kendziera |
| 49.40 | … | 4)Stockholm Diamond League | 8/23 | ▷ | 1. Warholm; 2. Happio; 3. Vaillant |
| 49.79 | … | 2)Rovereto | 9/08 | ▷ | 1. Happio |
| 49.32 | … | 1)Šamorín | 9/11 | ||
| 49.22 | … | 2)Berlin Continental Tour | 9/13 | ▷ | 1. Warholm |
| 48.72 | … | 3)Rome Diamond League | 9/17 | ▷ | 1. Warholm; 2. Vaillant |
| Top American — David Kendziera | |||||
MARATHON
Tokyo winner Legesse held down the top spot for most of the year but ended up in the Bronze position after losing to Chebet & Cherono in Valencia.
| Gold — Evans Chebet (Kenya) | |||||
| 2:07:29 | … | 1)Lake Biwa | 3/08 | ||
| 2:03:00 | … | 1)Valencia | 12/06 | ||
| Silver — Lawrence Cherono (Kenya) | |||||
| 2:03:04 | … | 2)Valencia | 12/06 | ▷ | 1. Chebet |
| Bronze — Berhanu Legesse (Ethiopia) | |||||
| 2:04:15 | … | 1)Tokyo | 3/02 | ||
| 2:03:16 | … | 3)Valencia | 12/06 | ▷ | 1. Chebet; 2. Cherono |
| Top American — Galen Rupp | |||||
20K WALK
Yamanishi’s 2-minute win over Ikeda & Karlström early in the year pulled things into perspective.
| Gold — Toshikazu Yamanishi (Japan) | |||||
| 1:17:36 | … | 1)Kobe | 2/16 | ||
| Silver — Koki Ikeda (Japan) | |||||
| 1:19:07 | … | 2)Japanese Champs | 2/16 | ▷ | 1. Karlstrom |
| 1:18:22 | … | 1)Nomi | 3/15 | ||
| Bronze — Perseus Karlström (Sweden) | |||||
| 1:21:57 | … | 1)Adelaide | 2/09 | ||
| 1:19:34 | … | 3)Japanese Champs | 2/16 | ▷ | 1. Yamanishi |
| 1:20:58 | … | 1)Alytus | 9/18 | ||
| 1:19:43 | … | 1)Podébrady | 10/10 | ||
| Top American — Emmanuel Corvera | |||||
50K WALK
In a very slow year, Tóth, Cheparev & Sharipov were the only three to break through the 3:45 barrier.
| Gold — Matej Tóth (Slovakia) | |||||
| 3:41:15 | … | 1)Dudince | 10/24 | ||
| Silver — Dementiy Cheparev (Russia) | |||||
| 3:43:29 | … | 1)Russian Champs | 9/05 | ||
| Bronze — Sergey Sharipov (Russia) | |||||
| 3:43:46 | … | 2)Russian Champs | 9/05 | ▷ | 1. Cheparev |
| Top American — Andreas Gustafsson | |||||