Nine European athletes finished the 2019 season at the top of the world lists in their respective events.
Sifan Hassan topped the world list in both the 1500m (3:51.95) and 10,000m (30:17.62) after winning both events at the World Athletics Championships in Doha. Hassan also finished the season ranked third in the 5000m courtesy of a European record of 14:22.12 in the London Diamond League.
The only other track athlete to finish the season at the top of the 2019 world list was Norway’s Karsten Warholm. He finished the year with six of the ten fastest times in the 400m hurdles including the second fastest time in history of 46.92 in the Zurich Diamond League.
The men’s throws was one area of the sport where European athletes dominated on the global stage. European throwers occupied the top eleven spots on the 2019 world list for the hammer which was led by Poles Wojciech Nowicki (81.74m) and Pawel Fajdek (80.88m).
European throwers also filled seven of the top ten places on the 2019 world list in the discus which was headed by Sweden’s Daniel Stahl. He produced nine of the ten longest throws of the year and three of the four 70 metre-plus performances in the event: 70.56m, 70.89m and 71.86m. This was the fourth successive season in which Stahl ended as the world leader in the discus.
The world title might have gone the way of Anderson Peters from Grenada but European throwers still filled the top five places on the 2019 world list in the javelin. This was headed by Estonia’s Magnus Kirt who achieved the two longest throws of the season: 90.34m and 90.61m.
In the women’s jumps, world champions Mariya Lasitskene, Anzhelika Sidorova and Malaika Mihambo all finished the year at the top of the world lists in their respective events.
Lasitskene topped the world list in the high jump for the third successive season with a 2.06m clearance, Sidorova ended the year ranked top of the world list in the pole vault for the first time with 4.95m while Mihambo produced eight of the ten best marks of the year in the long jump, culminating with a 7.30m clearance at the World Athletics Championships in Doha.
European exponents filled the top five spots on the 2019 world list for the women’s high jump and Europeans also filled four of the top five in the men’s high jump with Ilya Ivanyuk, Mikhail Akimenko and Maksim Nedasekau all clearing 2.35m in 2019 behind Mutaz Essa Barshim’s 2.37m.
Katarina Johnson-Thompson also topped the world list in the heptathlon for the first time since 2014 after winning the world title with a British record of 6981 points to move to sixth on the world all-time list.
European world leaders in 2019
Men
400m hurdles - Karsten Warholm (NOR) 46.92Discus - Daniel Stahl (SWE) 71.86m
Hammer - Wojciech Nowicki (POL) 81.74m
Javelin - Magnus Kirt (EST) 90.61m
Women
1500m - Sifan Hassan (NED) 3:51.95
10,000m - Sifan Hassan (NED) 30:17.62
High jump - Mariya Lasitskene (ANA/RUS) 2.06m
Pole vault - Anzhelika Sidorova (ANA/RUS) 4.95m
Long jump - Malaika Mihambo (GER) 7.30m
Heptathlon - Katarina Johnson-Thompson (GBR) 6981 points