Looking back on the memorable summer of 2023

In an end-of-term report we revisit the best performances of a classic season of track and field athletics

Men’s sprints and hurdles

Noah Lyles was world 100m champion but was not streets ahead over the distance as he shared the world lead of 9.83 with Zharnel Hughes and Christian Coleman and 13 different athletes clocked a time of 9.90 or faster. A total of 41 athletes broke 10 seconds for the distance this summer.

Lyles was outstanding at 200m, though, producing the world lead of 19.47 and four of the 10 fastest times as 20 athletes, eight of them American, bettered 20 seconds.

Over 400m, world champion Antonio Watson was clearly the best in Budapest with the two quickest times but he only ranks fifth-fastest across the summer with his 44.13 semi-final run.

The Olympic champion Steven Gardiner failed to finish his semi-final but his 43.74 world lead in an earlier meeting in Hungary shows he will be the favourite for Olympic gold in Paris. 17 different runners broke 44.50 during the season.

Grant Holloway is the world 110m hurdles champion but did look vulnerable after Budapest and Olympic champion Hansle Parchment, second in Hungary, set the world lead with a 12.93 PB in the Diamond League Final. No fewer than 26 athletes, 12 of them American, clocked 13.26 or faster.

Grant Holloway (Getty)

Karsten Warholm easily won his third 400m hurdles world title in Budapest but Rai Benjamin then beat him in Eugene with a world lead of 46.39 and Kyron McMaster also beat the Norwegian earlier in the summer in Zurich. However, Warholm still had seven of the 12 top times of the year.

USA were clear 4x100m winners in Budapest with a world leading 37.38. They were also dominant over 4x400m with a 2:57.31 in Hungary and will start favourites in Paris for both, as well as the mixed 4x400m where they set a world record 3:08.81 despite effectively fielding a B team with the seventh and 21st ranked US men and the seventh and ninth ranked US women.

USA mixed relay winners (Getty)

Men’s middle and long distance

The 800m was one of the most open events of the summer and the top two from Budapest – Marco Arop and Emmanuel Wanyonyi – were also the fastest this summer. It was the latter who set the 1:42.80 world lead at Eugene. 13 runners broke 1:44 and the standard was high in Britain, with seven running inside 1:45 and 18 inside 1:46.50.

For the second year running, Jakob Ingebrigtsen dominated the 1500m and the mile, apart from the race that…