Cantwell 22.22, Gay beats Carter, home wins for Vlasic and Perkovic

ZAGREB (CRO) - 60th jubilee Boris Hanzekovic Memorial, Zagreb 2010 IAAF World Challenge meeting was succesfully staged before sold out stadium. Stars produced expected top results. Meet record of Christian Cantwell 22.22 in shot put and another event best 9.92 by Tyson Gay in the 100 m. Also home wins for Barcelona heroes Blanka Vlasic and Sandra Perkovic (with meet record). Only the cold weather (at 10 degrees level at the end) was the problem. Otherwise excellent version of the meet, last of inaugural IAAF World Challenge circuit. One more meet record (in total four) in men´s 800 m and Koji Murofushi is the winner of first edition of IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge.

MEN
100 m: Expected highlight as in cold weather Tyson Gay clearly beats Nesta Carter. His 9.92 (-0.3) was new meet record, Carter gets 10.07 ahead of Rodgers 10.14, Frater 10.17 and Saidy Ndure 10.21.
400 m: Top two under 46 seconds, Costarican record holder Nery Brenes over Belgian record holder Jonathan Borlee (45.42 and 45.69).
800 m: Bahraini Ali Belal Mansour was leading until last 50 m but finished second (1:45.65) ahead of Kenyan Job Kinyor (1:45.86 PB). US Nick Symmonds had the best finish and reward was new meet record 1:45.37.
110mH: Main event as Hanzekovic Memorial was won by Jamaican record holder Dwight Thomas in 13.40 (-0.7) over Joel Brown (13.43) and Czech Petr Svoboda (13.45) who beat again Eurochamp Andy Turner (13.50). Another favorite Ryan Wilson stumbled.
400mH: Clear win for US Justin Gaymon in 49.19 ahead of Belgian revelation of the year Michel Bultheel (49.77).
LJ: Dwight Phillips in cold weather could not manage more than 785, just one cm ahead of Luis Felipe Meliz former Cuban who represents Spain.
SP: The mark of the evening. Christian Cantwell in second attempt massive meet record 22.22 m, his second best of the year and seventh best of the career. Reese Hoffa also good with 21.48 and Cory Martin (20.90) beat Oly champ Majewski (20.85).
DT: Asian record holder Ehsan Hadadi won (66.56) ahead of Roland Varga a Hungarian representing Croatia who achieved 66.14 (second best ever for Croatia).
HT: Koji Murofushi confirmed his number one position and won with 79.71. That means for him also the win in inaugural IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge. European champion Libor Charfreitag was second (77.24) ahead of his Hungarian rival Krisztian Pars (76.96). In the challenge Dilshod Nazarov remained second and Charfreitag third (he needed 78+ to rank over Nazarov).

WOMEN

200 m: Mershevet Myers in lane 8 was the best in 22.94 (-0.3) beating veteran Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie (23.08).
400 m: Natasha Hastings achieved first win this year over US Champion Debbie Dunn (51.35-51.75). Best European Czech Denisa Rosolova as third (52.31).
800 m: Kenia Sinclair won her fourth race in a row and achieved her season best 1:58.59 ahead of Morgan Uceny 1:59.49 and Ingvill Makestad who clocked new national record as first Norwegian under 2 minutes 1:59.82.
100mH: Lolo Jones in close duel with Perdita Felicien prevailed 12.87 and 12.88 (+0.5).
400mH: Diamond Race winner Kaliese Spencer was an easy winner in 54.23. Second Czech Zuzana Hejnova (55.14) confirming her position in last races.
HJ: Blanka Vlasic gave the crowd the win after clear sheet at all heights including the winning 202. Her 97th career contest with two or more. She missed then her would-be season best 205.
TJ: Slovak Dana Veldakova ruled at the end of the meet as only one with 14+ and twice identical 14.24.
DT: Another crowd pleaser Sandra Perkovic, already in first attempt meet record and winning 65.56.

Picture by Ales Graf, www.graf.cz