tag

World champion Lando Norris of McLaren narrowly outpaced Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton to seize his first pole position of the year on Saturday with a flawless lap in the final seconds of qualifying for this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.The 26-year-old Briton clocked a best lap of one minute and 17.207 seconds to wreck Hamilton's bid for an unprecedented 10th pole at the same track by just 0.012 seconds with Charles Leclerc qualifying third in the second Ferrari before Sunday's race in Budapest.World championship leader Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes was fourth, 0.260 seconds adrift, ahead of Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren and four-time champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull."I am very happy to be back on top," said a beaming Norris."It was a tough session and these guys (Ferrari) were very quick. It's been tough all weekend, but we have been quick and our upgrades have helped - it's so nice to be on pole especially at this track."Hamilton, 41, had been within reach of becoming the oldest pole-sitter since Mario Andretti at the 1982 Italian Grand Prix while for Norris it was a second Budapest pole and the 17th of his career, his most recent coming in Las Vegas in November."Congratulations to Lando," said Hamilton. "I think we did a great job all weekend and we were solid in qualifying, but going out first was not the right call. On top of that, the grip just wasn't there for Charles and I at the end."We were quickest, but it got away from us ultimately."Leclerc said: "There was quite a bit of wind change today and I didn't anticipate it well. It was all a bit messy."The session began in hot conditions with a track temperature of 52C as Valtteri Bottas led the way in his Cadillac followed by his team's main rivals, both Williams and the Aston Martin duo in their updated 'B-spec' cars.Ferrari sent both cars out on mediums and Hamilton promptly set the pace in 1:18.730 ahead of Leclerc before the Monegasque's lap was deleted for exceeding track limits.The rest took softs with Norris topping Verstappen and Antonelli ahead of Hamilton while elsewhere Aston Martin had a reason to be cheerful with Alonso in 16th and into Q2 for the first time this year.Out went both Cadillacs, both Williams, Lance Stroll in the second Aston Martin and Haas's Oliver Bearman."That was terrible," said Williams' Alex Albon."Why is the balance changing so much?"Alonso, on used softs, was first out for Q2, but was half a second slower as Hadjar, who had called his car "undriveable" during FP3, spun at turn 12 before Hamilton, on softs, posted 1:17.931 to take control, two-tenths clear of a grumpy Antonelli.Amazingly, Alonso went 10th before Hadjar, back out after a pit-stop, went top only to be pushed off by Norris as Leclerc squeezed through behind him with a lap in the final seconds.Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls, the two Alpines, Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto, Esteban Ocon of Haas and Alonso, ultimately 16th, were eliminated.The top-10 shootout began with Hamilton seizing provisional pole in 1:17.219 to beat Norris by a tenth ahead of Leclerc and Antonelli after their first flying laps.Hamilton and Leclerc led out for their second runs, but were unable to improve as, behind them, Verstappen spun his Red Bull at turn 13 to prompt yellow flags that affected several following cars, but not the McLaren of Norris. 

Qatari team athlete Saif Mohammed clinched the gold medal in the pole vault event on Saturday at the Asian U23 Athletics Championships, held in the Chinese city of Ordos. Mohammed cleared a height of 5.54 meters, recording the best mark of the competition in this category, to finish in first place and secure Qatar's fifth medal at the championships. His victory came after Hatem Hamed secured gold in the 800-meter race, Zakaria Ibrahim claimed gold in the 3,000-meter race, Ahmed Jabrin earned silver in the shot-put event, and Salah Younes won bronze in the 100-meter race. The Qatar Athletics Federation is participating in the championships with a phalanx of promising Olympic-category U23 athletes, including Saif Mohammed in the pole vault event; Ahmed Jabrin in the shot put; Khaled Hussein Sebaqi in the 400-meter race and the 4x400-meter relay; and Zakaria Ibrahim in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and 1,500-meter race. Also competing are Hatem Hamed in the 800-meter race and the 4x400-meter relay; Salah Younes in the 100-meter race; Omar Daoud in the 110-meter hurdles; Abdulrahman Mohammed in the 400-meter hurdles and the 4x400-meter relay; and Mubarak Abdulkarim in the 400-meter freestyle and the 4x400-meter relay.

Two-time Olympic pole vault champion Mondo Duplantis is looking to pack more power into his jump ‌with a new 22-step approach, ​a longer run-up ‌than he previously used to ‌break the ⁠world ‌record multiple times ‌since 2020.Sweden's Duplantis, who set the world ⁠record for the 15th time when he cleared 6.31 metres in March, used to have a 20-step approach."Tried 22 steps for the first time in the indoor season, which was really ​nice," the 26-year-old told reporters on Friday, a day before the season's first Diamond League ‌meeting in Shaoxing."I ⁠feel like ​I hadn't really made a ​change in basically any part of the jump... since five or six years."Duplantis said he was looking forward to developing his new technique, with the World Championships set for next year, followed by the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles."We'll probably try ‌22 steps again tomorrow, ‌see how ⁠it feels, because I'm still very new ⁠to it," ⁠he added.Kenya's Faith Kipyegon, who has three Olympic golds and the world record in the 1,500m, is also looking to ease into the season, competing at the ​5,000m event on Saturday.Kipyegon took the silver medal in the 5,000m at the Paris Games and was the 2023 world champion at that distance."It's really to see how the body is, and going towards the final of the Diamond ‌League," the ​32-year-old said. 

Qatar’s Saif Mohammed qualified for the men’s pole vault final at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025 Saturday, setting a new Qatar, Gulf, Arab and West Asia record for with a clearance of 5.75m.President of the Qatar Athletics Federation, Mohammed Issa Al-Fadala, hailed the achievement, expressing confidence in Saif’s ability to excel in the final.“The historic achievement of champion Saif Mohammed in pole vault and his record is a source of pride for all Qataris and Arabs. He has not only raised the name of Qatar, but also the flag of the Arabs and Asia in the world’s toughest athletics competitions,” Al-Fadala said.Qatar is competing in Tokyo with 11 athletes. Among the standout entries, Abderrahman Samba, bronze medallist in the 400m hurdles at the 2019 Doha Worlds, returns to the event alongside Bassem Hemeida. The 4x400m relay team will feature Ashraf Hussein, Hemeida, Ismail Daoud, and Ammar Ismail.Omar Dawood lines up in the 110m hurdles while Ammar Ismail, Khaled Hussein, Youssef Abdel Aziz, and Ahmed Haroun will race in the 400m, with Ibrahim Zakaria in the 800m.

Australia’s Olympic and world champion pole vaulter Nina Kennedy has pulled out of this month’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo because of a leg injury.Kennedy, who last year became the first Australian woman to win Olympic gold in a field event, underwent hamstring surgery in April after three strains in six weeks.Despite not having competed since September last year, Kennedy said last week that she was determined to defend her title in Japan on a wildcard.Another injury setback forced her to reassess, however.“Not the news I want to be sharing,” the 28-year-old wrote in an Instagram post Friday.“I’ve strained a muscle in my leg in one of my last sessions before worlds (not near the surgery site, which is a win). I’m sad to say I will be withdrawing from the world championships.“Even though I’m disappointed, I’m proud of myself for trying to get back and put myself in the best position to jump high at worlds. I can genuinely say I did everything I could, I gave it a red-hot crack and that in itself is a measure of success. Sport can be brutal, but injuries are just part of the journey, and that’s okay.”Kennedy cleared 4.90 metres to win the world title in Budapest in 2023, the same height that won her Olympic gold in Paris last year. Her personal best is 4.91m.

Pole vault world record holder Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis will aim to win a fifth successive Diamond League title Wednesday in Zurich, the Swiss city hosting the circuit's finals just two weeks before the world championships in Tokyo."I have to be focused, I can't slack," said the US-born Swede, who has been in electric form, setting a 13th world record, of 6.29m, in Budapest earlier this month."High expectations are better than no expectations. It's a good problem, honestly," he said of the public's perception of the current state of the pole vault competition."It's bringing people to watch us, jumping high."Asked whether the 6.30m barrier could soon be breached, Duplantis played a straight bat."I try to maximise my days as much as I can. And if I feel like that on the day, it's a day that I have the possibliity to break the world record, I'll go after it."It would be amazing to do it here, it'd probably even more amazing to do it in Tokyo."It really is just a beautiful circus act that we do and I think we can entertain anyone anywhere in the world."Duplantis will compete in one of six field disciplines held at a street event on Zurich's Sechselautenplatz, directly in front of the city's iconic opera house.Olympic champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh will resume her rivalry with Australia's Nicola Olyslagers in the women's high jump while there is also the men's long jump, the women's pole vault, and the shot put for both male and female throwers."I'm ready to jump!" said Mahuchikh, the Ukrainian who set a world record of 2.10m last year."I started my season very well. The main thing now is to get in shape for Tokyo," she added in reference to the September 13-21 worlds in the Japanese capital."It's exciting, it's the main competition of the season. I'm going to Tokyo to protect my title."Lyles v TebogoThe remaining 26 Diamond League champions will be crowned in the course of a bumper programme at the Letzigrund Stadium tomorrow.The array of global stars on show includes the likes of Olympic 100m and 200m champions Noah Lyles and Letsile Tebogo.They face off in the men's 200m, with Botswana's Tebogo hunting a first ever Diamond League title and US sprinter Lyles looking to win the trophy for a record-breaking sixth time."With Weltklasse Zurich being the last race before the world championships, I am looking to run something special," said Lyles, who had to be happy with 200m bronze at the Paris Olympics in a race won by Tebogo.Olympic and Diamond League champion Julien Alfred also lines up in the women's 100m, while 800m star Emmanuel Wanyonyi and 400m hurdles ace Femke Bol will also be looking to defend their series titles.The majority of athletes have qualified for the Diamond League finals thanks to points accrued in the 14 meets to date, while a handful will compete in Zurich on global or national wildcards.There is, however, no place for Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the men's 1,500m.The Norwegian, who has struggled with an achilles injury since winning double world indoor golds in Nanjing in March, was refused a wildcard because rules stipulate that he must have competed in at least one Diamond League meet during the outdoor season.He instead heads to a training camp in the Japanese city of Kyoto ahead of Tokyo to fine-tune preparation for a tilt at a 1,500-5,000m double.