Grant Fisher Runs 12:46.96 For Second Place In 5,000m; Kara Winger Slings Javelin 223-5 (68.11m) For World Lead; EJ Obiena Deals Mondo Duplantis First Loss In A Year

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Photos courtesy Diamond League AG

The professional track season passed through one of its final stops on the way to the Diamond League final next week with a spate of spectacular performances Friday at the Allianz Memorial Van Damme in Brussels, Belgium. 

Kara Winger, who has repeated her intention to retire at the end of the season, launched the biggest throw of her career and moved all the way up to No. 12 in world history with an American record and world-leading mark of 223 feet, 5 inches (68.11m). 

Winger, the World silver medalist in Eugene, has enjoyed the best season of her life at age 36. 

She surpassed her own personal best by nearly a meter and a half. 

Grant Fisher of the Nike Bowerman Track Club came through with the 5,000-meter performance that matches his 2022 fitness, swiping more than 15 seconds off his personal best with 12:46.96 that makes him the 12th fastest man -- and fastest outside of Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda -- in history. 

The time was nearly seven seconds faster than the American indoor record 12:53.73 that he ran at Boston University in February and eclipsed the 2011 national outdoor mark of 12:53.60 established by Bernard Lagat in Monaco. His outdoor best in the 5,000 had been 13:02.53.

Fisher finished about a second behind Kenya's Jacob Krop (12:45.79). 

In the men's pole vault, world record holder Armand "Mondo" Duplantis of Sweden suffered a rare defeat when World bronze medalist E.J. Obiena of the Philippines made 19-4.75 (5.91m) on his third attempt. Duplantis missed all three of his tries at the height. 

Shericka Jackson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce ran 10.73 and 10.74 in a close finish in the women's 100 meters as the Jamaicans went 1-2. Jackson, the world champion in the 200, beat Fraser-Pryce, the world champion in the 100.

Americans Aleia Hobbs (10.91) and Sha'Carri Richardson (10.93) were fourth and fifth, respectively. 

Great Britain's Jake Wightman, the world 1,500 champion, ran a personal-best 1:43.65 to win the men's 800 meters. He's the fourth-fastest Brit ever in the 800 meters, behind Sebastian Coe, Steve Cram and Peter Elliott.

Ciara Mageean ran to a national Irish record in taking the women's 1,500 meters in 3:56.63, edging out world medalist Laura Muir of Great Britain (3:56.86).

Heather MacLean (3:58.76) and Elise Cranny (3:59.61) both went under four minutes on the way to fifth- and sixth-place finishes.