English
Swedish
In the first of the track action in Stockholm, Samuel Pihlström thrilled the home supporters, winning the men’s 1500m in 3:31.53. It was his first major victory at the BAUHAUS-Galan meeting.
The Swedish recorder holder took charge at the bell, hotly pursued by the chasing pack. But he maintained a faultless pace, running clear on the finishing straight, ahead Italy’s Federico Riva (3:32.17) and Denmark’s Kristian Uldbjerg Hansen (3:32.60).
“I was pleased with that performance against a world class field,” said the 24-year-old Swede. “I felt strong on the last lap and started to pick up without sprinting over the last 300 metres. I beat some top runners, Riva Uldberg. Two fast times in a week is great.
“However, running fast times is one thing but winning races is another. I feel my performance was great after my recent national record. That was my third race in nine days so now I will have a period of training before Ostrava in 10 days. Of course, the World Champs is the main focus, but I want to continue running well for the remainder of the season.
The men’s 100m was won by Benjamin Azamati of Ghana in 10.18 (+0.9m/s) after his most likely rival Gift Leotlela of South Africa was disqualified for a false start.