Top-class athletics returned to Tokyo as the Japanese capital’s iconic National Stadium hosted the only Asian leg of this year’s World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meetings on 17 May.
Eight months after the stadium and its Mondo athletics track played host to the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 many of the top stars from those championships were back to show off their form at one of the major meetings on this year’s early season calendar.
American duo Noah Lyles and Rai Benjamin, both world title winners on the same track last year, stole the headlines once again.
Lyles, the Tokyo 25 200m and 4x100m gold medallist, dropped down to the 100m – the sprint event at in which he was a Paris 2024 Olympic Games champion, which was also on a Mondo athletics track – and won in 9.95.
"I’m happy with the race, I’m happy with the time," said Lyles. "It’s a great way to start the season. I'd say it was very worth the journey and I'm excited that I got to have it in a fun place like Tokyo."
Tokyo 25 400m hurdles champion Benjamin decided to race over one lap of the track without the barriers. In his first race since winning his world title, he clocked an impressive 44.69 to beat several well-known flat 400m specialists.
Meeting records fell in both 3000m races as well as the women’s 400m, the latter won by Great Britain’s world and Olympic relay medallist Yemi Mary John who made a statement in her first outdoor 400m of the year, by reducing her personal best by more than half-a-second to 49.95.
In addition, two national records and 31 personal bests were set on the National Stadium’s Mondo athletics track.
The 215 competitors in Tokyo clearly benefitted from Mondo's signature ‘athlete-centric’ approach to its athletics tracks: from the composition of materials to the geometry of the bottom layer, with all facets designed to return energy in a controlled manner, optimize athletic performance and reduce the risk of injury.
Mondo athletics tracks have been installed in stadia staging all of Asia’s top one-day meetings in 2026.
In addition to the Tokyo World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, athletes will have Mondo athletics tracks beneath their feet at the three 2026 Diamond League meetings in Asia: the Shanghai/Keqiao and Xiamen, both in China, in May as well as the Doha Diamond League meeting in June.