This summer has been a whirlwind for professional track and field athletes, as a substantial amount of international competitions took place, including the Diamond League Series, the Athletics World Cup, the 2018 European Championships, and the IAAF Continental Cup. Over the course of these meets, Dina Asher-Smith of Great Britain (pictured above) ran two world-leads in the 100 and 200 meters, 10.85s and 21.89s respectively, and Beatrice Chepkoech of Kenya broke her own world record in the 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 8:44:32.
This time, I’m here to provide a brief recap of the Continental Cup, given that it takes place every four years and generally gains less popularity than the aforementioned European Championships. This meet series is the only competition contested by teams representing continents instead of individual countries.
The 2018 games took place on September 8th and 9th in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Team Americas earned gold and silver in the Women’s 100m Hurdles as Danielle Williams of Jamaica slightly edged out USA’s Kendra Harrison in 12.49 seconds. Ruswahl Samaai of Team Africa earned the gold medal in the Men’s Long Jump, and the top four women in the 3000m run: Hassan, Teferi, Obiri, and Klosterhalfen, ran a Championship Record, a Personal Best, a Season’s Best, and a Season’s Best, respectively. Team Americas earned gold for both Women’s and Men’s 4×100 meters relay, and Europe took the lead in the Women’s Pole Vault (with 3 Championship records in one event!!!)
All in all, the Continental Cup was a successful end to many athletes’ busy competitive summers. Unfortunately for us spectators, now it is their time to rest!
For more results, make sure to check out IAAF.org!