Pattison goes second on British 800m all-time list

Ben Pattison won world bronze on his debut at a global championship last year

Ben Pattison moved second behind Sebastian Coe on the British men's 800m all-time list as Monaco hosted the penultimate Diamond League meeting before the Paris Olympics.

World bronze medallist Pattison, 22, ran a personal best of one minute 42.27 seconds for fifth place in a high-quality race.

It moved him above Steve Cram and leaves Coe - who ran a then-world record 1:41.73 in 1981 - as the only British man to run the two-lap event faster.

Dina Asher-Smith finished third in the women's 100m in 10.99 seconds, as training partner Julien Alfred, of St Lucia, took victory in 10.85secs from American Tamari Davis.

Britain's world indoor champion Molly Caudery cleared 4.83m for third in the women's pole vault, won by Australia's world champion Nina Kennedy with a best of 4.88m.

Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen produced a statement performance in the men's 1500m, clocking a European record 3:26.73 as he builds towards his Olympic title defence and a showdown with world champion Josh Kerr.

Neil Gourley, who will contest that event at Paris 2024 alongside fellow Britons Kerr and George Mills, was fifth in a season's best 3:30.65 and Elliot Giles finished 13th (3:40.72).

Australian Jessica Hull set a women's world record in the rarely run 2,000m, clocking a sensational 5:19.70 just five days after she finished runner-up behind Faith Kipyegon's record-breaking 1500m run in Paris.

Melissa Courtney-Bryant, who missed out on an Olympic place, was second in a British record 5:26.08, while in the women's 5,000m Hannah Nuttall was 14th in 15:37.21.

The final Diamond League meeting before the Paris 2024 Games takes place in London on Saturday, 20 July.

Pattison peaking as Olympic debut approaches

Only 13 men have ever run quicker than Pattison's time - and four of those athletes finished ahead of him in a blistering Monaco race.

The 22-year-old won a surprise world bronze on his debut at a global championships last summer, having only run the qualifying time at the last opportunity at the London Diamond League.

Twelve months on from that breakthrough, he beat reigning world champion Marco Arop in a superb run as Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati improved his world-leading time this year to 1:41.46 in victory.

Sedjati's time has been bettered by only two men in history. The 25-year-old, winner of world silver in 2022, says he will now target David Rudisha's world record of 1:40.91 - which has stood since London 2012 - at Paris 2024.

Pattison, who underwent heart surgery at the age of 18, last year became the first British man to make the world 800m podium since 1987 - and he will next month bid to become the first to do so at an Olympics since Coe 40 years ago.

Asher-Smith has made significant changes in pursuit of a first individual Olympic medal this year and won European 100m gold in June after moving to train with coach Edrick Floreal in Austin, Texas.

But it was training partner Alfred, the third-fastest woman this year, who claimed a dominant victory.

Meanwhile, Caudery's British record vault of 4.92m remains a world-leading mark this year and she will start as one of the favourites for gold on her Olympic debut.

The 24-year-old passed after one attempt at 4.88m but could not produce the personal best required with two more at 4.93m, as Kennedy beat Switzerland's European champion Angelica Moser on countback.

Ingebrigtsen's 1500m showdown with Kerr will be one of the most eagerly anticipated events at Paris 2024, after the Briton beat the Olympic champion to world gold in Budapest last summer.

The Norwegian remains the fourth-fastest man in history over the distance but edged closer to Hicham El Guerrouj's 26-year-old world record of 3:26.00 with a personal best in Monaco that will fuel his belief that he can retain his title in Paris.

Elsewhere, Botswana's 21-year-old world 100m silver medallist Letsile Tebogo was a comfortable winner in the men's 200m in a time of 19.87secs.

American Rai Benjamin edged out Olympic and world champion Karsten Warholm in a stacked men’s 400m hurdles, in which Brazil’s Alison dos Santos finished third.

All three men have run under 47 seconds in 2024 – the only athletes to do so in the event – and it was world bronze medallist Benjamin who finished strongest to win in 46.67secs, with Warholm clocking 46.73secs.

Ireland's Rhasidat Adeleke, who trains alongside Asher-Smith and Alfred in Texas, took an impressive victory in the women's 400m in a time of 49.17secs.

American Grant Holloway won the men's 110m hurdles in 13.01secs as the three-time world champion eyes a first Olympic title.