Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi broke the men’s 1000m world record as eight meeting records and two Diamond League records fell during an exceptional edition of the Herculis EBS Monaco at Stade Louis II on Friday 10th July.
The Olympic and world 800m champion completed the rarely contested distance in 2:11.83, eclipsing the 2:11.96 record set by fellow Kenyan Noah Ngeny in 1999.
Wanyonyi remained close to the required pace after the final pacemaker withdrew shortly before 800m, before pulling away from Britain’s Jake Wightman in the closing stages to secure his first world record.
Wightman finished second in a lifetime best of 2:12.77, moving to fifth on the world all-time list, while Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati placed third in 2:13.94. All eight finishers recorded personal bests, with Ko Ochiai setting a Japanese record of 2:15.24 in seventh.
Duplantis sets new Monaco meeting record
Armand Duplantis marked his first Herculis appearance as a Monaco resident by clearing 6.07m in the men’s pole vault, adding two centimetres to the meeting record he established in 2025.
The Olympic champion cleared the winning height on his first attempt before making three unsuccessful attempts at 6.15m.
France’s Baptiste Thiery finished second on countback ahead of Australia’s Kurtis Marschall, with both athletes clearing 5.85m.
In the women’s competition, Olympic champion Nina Kennedy produced an Oceanian record of 4.95m. The Australian cleared the height on her first attempt, improving her previous personal and national record of 4.91m and surpassing the 4.94m Oceanian record held by New Zealand’s Eliza McCartney since 2018.
Julien Alfred climbs to third on all-time 200m list
Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred delivered another of the evening’s standout performances, winning the women’s 200m in a world-leading 21.51.
The Saint Lucian’s time moved her to third on the world all-time list, behind only Florence Griffith-Joyner’s 21.34 and Shericka Jackson’s 21.41.
Alfred also broke Merlene Ottey’s Herculis meeting record of 21.77, which had stood since 1993, and finished just 0.03 seconds outside Jackson’s Diamond League record.
Adaejah Hodge placed second in 21.76, while reigning Olympic champion Gabby Thomas recorded 21.84 — the fastest third-place time in the history of the women’s 200m.
Kebinatshipi breaks second Diamond League record in a week
Botswana’s Collen Kebinatshipi continued his strong season by winning the men’s 400m in 43.44, breaking the Diamond League record for the second time in less than a week.
The 2025 world champion had run 43.54 in Eugene on 4th July. His Monaco performance improved his national record and moved him to equal sixth on the world all-time list.
Kebinatshipi also erased Wayde van Niekerk’s Herculis record of 43.73, although he remained narrowly outside Samuel Ogazi’s world-leading time of 43.38.
Jacory Patterson finished second in 43.96, with Olympic 400m hurdles champion Rai Benjamin third in 44.13.
Paulino and Russell rewrite Stade Louis II records
Marileidy Paulino broke the women’s 400m meeting record with a winning time of 48.67. The Olympic champion overtook American Aaliyah Butler in the final 30 metres to improve the previous Herculis record of 48.97 held by Shaunae Miller-Uibo.
Butler also broke 49 seconds for the first time, finishing in 48.84 and moving to fourth on the United States all-time list.
In the women’s 100m hurdles, Olympic champion Masai Russell recorded another meeting record with a time of 12.20. She led an American one-two ahead of Alaysha Johnson, who finished in 12.38, while the Netherlands’ Nadine Visser placed third in 12.49.
Russell now holds four of the seven fastest performances in the history of the event.
Ngetich narrowly misses longstanding 3000m world record
Kenya’s Agnes Ngetich came within three seconds of breaking one of athletics’ longest-standing world records in the women’s 3000m.
Ngetich remained ahead of world-record pace through 2000m before losing ground over the closing 600 metres. She won in 8:08.95, the third-fastest time in history, but fell just short of Wang Junxia’s 8:06.11 mark from 1993.
Her performance nevertheless comfortably broke Gabriela Szabo’s Herculis record of 8:21.42, which had stood since 2002.
Ethiopia’s Alesighn Baweke finished second in 8:23.81, followed by compatriot Senayet Getachew in 8:24.02. Faith Kipyegon placed fourth in 8:24.21 on her return from a hamstring injury.
Olympic triathlon champion Cassandre Beaugrand finished eighth in a French record of 8:32.86, breaking a national mark that had stood since 2005.
Tentoglou and Perez Hernandez pass major milestones
Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou produced the second-longest jump of his career to win the men’s long jump with 8.61m.
The Greek athlete surpassed Ivan Pedroso’s 1995 Herculis record of 8.58m and finished ahead of Jamaica’s Wayne Pinnock, who recorded a season’s best of 8.39m. Cuban teenager Jorge Hodelin placed third with 8.38m.
World champion Leyanis Perez Hernandez also passed a significant milestone in the women’s triple jump, joining the 15-metre club with a personal best of 15.06m in the sixth round.
The Cuban overtook Senegal’s Saly Sarr, who produced a lifetime best of 14.99m, one centimetre short of her country’s national record. Olympic champion Thea Lafond finished third with 14.79m.
Seville closes record-breaking Herculis programme
World champion Oblique Seville brought the meeting to a close with victory in the men’s 100m. The Jamaican won in 9.88 ahead of American Jordan Anthony in 9.92 and Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme in 10.00.
Elsewhere, China’s Yan Ziyi extended her unbeaten javelin season with a winning throw of 68.75m, while Ukraine’s Oleh Doroshchuk cleared 2.32m to win the men’s high jump.
Dominic Lobalu claimed his first Diamond League 5000m victory in 12:52.54, edging American Graham Blanks by 0.06 seconds, while Kenya’s Simon Koech won the 3000m steeplechase in 8:03.35.
View this post on Instagram
Stay updated with Monaco Life: sign up for our free newsletter, listen to our podcasts on Spotify, and follow us across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Tik Tok.
Photo credit: Enrico Bottero for Monaco Life