Unheralded Azzedine Habz and Grace Stark lit up a drama-loaded Diamond League meet in Paris on Friday, snatching the limelight with two outstanding performances that put a raft of higher-profile athletes in the shade. Paris proved to be the perfect testing ground as athletes continue to fine-tune their form ahead of September’s world championships in Tokyo.
Habz sent the partisan crowd into raptures by becoming the sixth fastest man over 1500m of all time, riding the coattails of two pacemakers to clock 3:27.49 for a meet record and new French best.
In a shockingly fast race, Kenya’s Phanuel Kipkosgei Koech set a world junior record in second, while 11 of the next 12 athletes all timed personal bests, including national records for the Netherlands, Belgium and South Africa.
“It’s incredible, there’s no other word for it,” said the 31-year-old Morocco-born Habz, twice a minor medallist at European indoors.