Bahamian 400m runner clocks 49.08 at Continental Tour Gold as British middle-distance runners Laura Muir and Adelle Tracey also enjoy victories

Shaunae Miller-Uibo looks in imperious form ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. The 27-year-old from the Bahamas clocked a world lead of 49.08 for 400m at the USATF Grand Prix on Saturday (April 24) – it was just one of a number of top-class performances in the first Continental Tour Gold meeting of the year.

The event was held in cool conditions in an impressively renovated Hayward Field arena which is gearing up to stage the World Championships next year. Miller-Uibo, the Olympic 400m champion, relished the setting, too, as she beat runner-up Lynna Irby of the United States by more than a second with 2017 world champion Phyllis Francis back in seventh.

This is how Shaunae Miller-Uibo set a WL 49.08 in the 400m. pic.twitter.com/gQRKxNPFVn https://t.co/g2frrj6tNu

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) April 24, 2021

Laura Muir also meant business as she opened her outdoor racing campaign this year with a clear-cut win. Blasting through the first 300m in 45 seconds, she was already ahead of the pacemaker and the rest of the field and continued to hold a healthy lead to the finish in 4:01.54 as runner-up Helen Schlachtenhaufen finished almost three seconds behind with former world champion Jenny Simpson in ninth.

Fellow Scot Eilish McColgan enjoyed a similar runaway win as she clocked 14:52.44 in the 5000m to beat Abbey Cooper by 21 seconds as European indoor 3000m champion Amy-Eloise Markovc was third in 15:17.13.

The women’s 800m was much closer as Adelle Tracey scored a narrow victory over fellow Brit Jemma Reekie with 2:03.25 to 2:03.26.

In a cagey race as rain started to fall over Hayward Field, the main contenders were reluctant to go with the pacemaker. This left Reekie in the lead at the bell in 61.7 with her rivals bunching behind her down the back straight as she went through 600m in about 1:34.

In the final 200m burn-up, Reekie kicked from the front and looked set to win but Tracey uncorked an inspired finish to claim first place as American Raevyn Rogers was third and Canadian Melissa Bishop fourth.

The 100m finals saw Blessing Okagbare take the women’s race with 10.97 (1.2) with Britain’s Daryll Neita a fine third in 11.18 in a strong line-up that included, among others, Allyson Felix in seventh.

In the men’s 100m Trayvon Bromell was similarly dominant as he won comfortably in 10.01 (-0.1) with Noah Lyles runner-up in 10.17.

How's that for consistency?@TrayvonBromell runs 10.01 FTW in the men's 100m final. He ran the exact same time to win his prelim earlier today.#ContinentalTour #ContinentalTourGold pic.twitter.com/RxhvgkK08i

— TrackTown USA (@GoTrackTownUSA) April 24, 2021

Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico ran 12.46 (-0.3) to win the 100m hurdles in emphatic style from Brittany Anderson’s 12.82. The times were good given the conditions and Sydney McLaughlin, the 400m hurdles specialist, was fourth in 12.86 but ran a PB.

In the men’s 1500m all eyes were on world 800m champion Donavan Brazier but the American was third in 3:37.58 as Australian Ollie Hoare set a strong pace and won in a PB of 3:33.54 as Justyn Knight finished second in 3:35.85.

The much-anticipated showdown in the men’s 400m saw Michael Norman run 44.67 to beat Rai Benjamin’s 44.97 as Britain’s Matt Hudson-Smith was sixth in 45.90.

Earlier in the programme, Rudy Winkler threw a world-leading 81.98m in the hammer. It was the best by a US athlete since 1996 and places him No.2 on the North American all-time rankings.

In the women’s hammer, meanwhile, Brooke Andersen beat fellow American and world champion DeAnna Price with 77.99m.