This year, there were no world records on the Stade Charléty’s Sportflex Super X 720™ track – although Yaroslava Mahuchikh’s phenomenal 2.10m high jump clearance in 2024 is still fresh in the memory– but still plenty of superb performances to savour at the Paris Diamond League meeting on Friday 20 June.
Three Area records, a world U20 1500m mark and 10 national records were among the highlights on a night of outstanding athletics action in the French capital.
Getting the biggest cheers from the packed crowd was undoubtably home star Azzerdine Habz.
His winning run in the 1500m, which stopped the clock in a French national record, meeting record and world-leading time of 3:27.49.
Habz eclipsed by more than a second Mehdi Baala’s mark of 3:28.98, which had stood since 2003, and the latter – now one of France’s leading middle-distance coaches – was among the first to congratulate the man who had surpassed him.
“It's the record of an athlete (Baala) I've admired since I was a kid. Before the start, he came, and he encouraged me. He said to me: ‘it's your turn,’” reflected Habz, who now stands sixth on the world all-time list and second on the European rankings.
Behind Habz, Kenya’s 18-year-old Phanuel Kipkosgei Koech was the surprise package in a race of stunning depth which saw three other national records and finished second in a world U20 record of 3:27.72.
The Meeting de Paris saw the 2025 Diamond League reach its halfway point with Mondo athletics tracks having been beneath the feet of athletes at five of the eight meetings so far.
After five Diamond League meetings staged in stadia with Mondo athletics tracks, the record count is: