KEQIAO, China - Cordell Tinch took the spotlight at the second leg of the 2025 Diamond League in Keqiao, East China's Zhejiang province on Saturday, sprinting to an impressive 12.87 seconds in the men's 110m hurdles to break the long-standing meet record and post the fourth-fastest time in history.
The American hurdler's remarkable run surpassed the previous meet record of 12.97 seconds, set in 2012 by Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang, and represented the best performance worldwide in 2025. His time is just 0.07 seconds shy of the world record of 12.80 seconds.
"That's all you dream of when you start running track, to be towards the top level," Tinch said. "Personally, I don't really pay attention to records. I just focus on coming out and being better than the week before. If the world record comes, great. If not, as long as I'm progressing, that's all I can ask for."
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Sweden's pole vault sensation Armand Duplantis secured another win in China, following his victory in Xiamen, with a clearance of 6.11 meters to beat Greece's Emmanouil Karalis, who cleared 6.01 meters.
After securing the gold, Duplantis attempted to surpass his own world record by raising the bar to 6.28 meters but failed all three attempts.
"The jump did not feel that great, and the run did not feel that great either," Duplantis admitted. "I'm going to take another month with no competitions - just train hard and make sure I can build up to a really good, healthy, and strong season leading into Tokyo in September."
China collected a silver and a bronze medal at home as javelin thrower Dai Qianqian took second with a personal best of 64.38 meters, while Paris Olympic silver medalist Zhu Yaming placed third in the men's triple jump with 16.92 meters.
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Zhu, who also made the podium in Xiamen last week, said he's not fully satisfied with the result. "I'm turning 31 soon, but mentally I feel like 24 or 25. There's still so much potential in me, and I'll keep fighting," he said.
More world-leading marks were delivered across the evening. Karsten Warholm of Norway won the men's 400m hurdles in 47.28 seconds, American Grace Stark won the women's 100m hurdles title in 12.42 seconds, and Ethiopia's Tsige Duguma clocked 1:56.64 in the women's 800m to secure victory.
