BRUSSELS — Kara Winger and Grant Fisher bettered American records Friday at the Memorial van Damme meet in Belgium, the penultimate stop of the Wanda Diamond League series.
Winger, a graduate of Skyview High School who has announced that this will be her last competitive season, bettered the women’s javelin national record with a final round throw of 68.11 meters (223 feet, 5 inches), adding 71 cm to the mark set by Maggie Malone in July 2021.
The silver medalist at the World Athletics Championships at Eugene, Ore., in July, Winger won her first Diamond League meet since 2010 and reclaimed the American record that she set that year with a then-lifetime best of 66.67m (218-8). It is also the best throw in the world in 2022.
Fisher was at or near the front of the pack throughout the men’s 5,000, passing 1K in 2 minutes, 34.6 seconds in fifth and then moving up a spot to fourth at 2K in 5:07.8. Going through 3K in 7:42.5, Fisher was back to fifth as the lead group stuck together. Hitting 4K in 10:16.5, Fisher needed a 2:37 or better to challenge Bernard Lagat’s 12:53.60 American record from 2011, and he finished very quickly to clock 12:46.96 and shatter Lagat’s record as he placed second.
Both records are subject to verification by the USA Track and Field Records Committee.
