Sprinters make major impact on UK all-time rankings with blistering 60m runs at ISTAF indoor meeting

British sprinters enjoyed a brilliant 15-minute spell at the ISTAF meeting in Berlin on Friday night (Feb 10) when firstly Daryll Neita stormed to 60m victory in 7.05 and then Reece Prescod won the men’s 60m in 6.49.

Neita’s time lifts her to No.2 on the UK all-time rankings, just one hundredth of a second behind Dina Asher-Smith’s recent UK record of 7.04.

Evelyn Tristan finished runner-up in a Barbados record of 7.14 with Germany’s European 100m champion Gina Lückenkemper third in 7.16.

“I was really excited to come here and to execute the race like that, it is a massive PB,” said Neita, whose previous best was 7.11. “It is incredible. This time means I am in fantastic shape. I am really excited regarding the European Indoor Championships.

“For me 60m is just about improving my 100m race. And this made a huge difference today. I love it here, the atmosphere is electric.”

Prescod now sits equal fifth on the UK rankings with Colin Jackson and Richard Kilty. Only Dwain Chambers (6.41), Linford Christie (6.43) and Jason Gardener (6.46) have run faster.

Prescod’s run was also a world leading mark and four hundredths of a second quicker than his previous best set in 2019. Joshua Hartmann was second in 6.53 with fellow German Julian Wagner third in 6.56.

Both Neita and Prescod are part of Marco Airale’s coaching stable in Italy and the set-up is clearly working for both of them.

“It is the music, it is the crowd, everything – the ISTAF Indoor is one of my favourite meetings,” said Prescod. “I was here in 2019 and I won. This year I broke the meeting record and won again.

“I have been training really hard. My coach and I have worked on new things. I have moved to Italy together with Jeremiah Azu to work with Marco Airale. New coach, new vibes. Let’s see what happens over 100m.”

Mondo Duplantis also entertained the 11,850-strong crowd in the Mercedes Benz Arena as he just missed out on setting a world record with three decent efforts at 6.22m in the pole vault. Instead he had to settle for victory with 6.06m – improving his own meeting record by 3cm.

“My attempts at 6.22m felt good,” he said. “I was closer than last week, that is the good thing. I would say it was more the distance than the height. But that is part of the game.

“For 6.22m you have to get everything really perfect. I felt really good today, but I was not perfect enough for that. I do not know if I have ever experienced an atmosphere like that indoors. It was great fun and I hope to be back next year.”

There was a British victory in the men’s 60m hurdles too as David King ran a season’s best of 7.63 to beat Jamaica’s Damion Thomas by two hundredths of a second.

Jazmin Sawyers was also in good form in the long jump with 6.69m but had to settle for third behind Olympic champion Malaika Mihambo’s 6.81m and Larissa Iapichino’s 6.69m.