Great Britain’s Romell Glave stormed to a wind-aided 9.88 in the 100m at the Savona International Meeting, a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meeting, on Wednesday (20).
The 2024 European 100m bronze medallist qualified fastest from the heats with 10.00 - also wind-assisted at 2.6 m/s - before winning the final in 9.88 (+2.7), leaving a field including reigning European champion Marcell Jacobs trailing in his wake.
Glave won by one-tenth from Colombia’s Ronal Longa in 9.98 with Jacobs also making an auspicious season’s opener after an injury-blighted 2025 season. He finished third with 10.01 as he builds towards the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham where he will aim for his third successive title.
Charlie Dobson will be aiming to upgrade his silver medal from the 400m into gold in Birmingham and the Brit clocked a promising 20.26 for victory in the 200m, his first race at the distance in three years.
In a positive meeting for the British contingent, Alastair Chalmers also won the 400m hurdles on his season’s debut in 48.64 despite easing down off the final barrier.
Lifetime best and meeting record for Mawdsley
Fresh from her heroics at the World Relays in Gaborone where she ran a 48.34 anchor leg to help Ireland qualify for the 2027 World Athletics Championships in the women's 4x400m, Sharlene Mawdsley also impressed with a controlled victory in the women’s 400m.
In her first individual race of the outdoor season, Mawdsley came away with a lifetime best of 50.52, improving the meeting record of 50.71 set by reigning Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino in 2021.
World indoor champion Zaynab Dosso opened her individual outdoor season with victory in the 100m in 11.07 ahead of Great Britain’s Imani-Lara Lansiquot in 11.12 and European champion Leonardo Fabbri won the shot put with 21.88m.
2022 European champion Asier Martinez from Spain won the 110m hurdles in a marginally wind-aided 13.34 (+2.2) and Hungary’s Luca Kozak edged out Finland’s Saara Keskitalo in the 100m hurdles, 12.86 to 12.88.
17-year-old Alessia Succo, who is eligible for the European Athletics U18 Championships on home soil in Rieti this summer, equalled her lifetime best as well as her Italian U18 and U20 record with 13.14 in sixth.
Other highlights included Portugal’s Jose Carlos Pinto winning the men’s 1500m in a meeting record of 3:33.36 ahead of his Canadian training partner Kieran Lumb (3:33.95) and Ukraine’s Viktoriya Tkachuk winning the women’s 400m hurdles in 55.72.