Billed as the perfect prelude to Paris, the sell-out 2024 London Athletics Meet lived up to its hype with two area records, seven meeting records, four world-leading performances and a host of national records ahead of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Given the event’s calibre, the seven meeting records were particularly notable.

The first came courtesy of world champion Femke Bol (NED) in the women’s 400m hurdles. The 24-year-old, who went on to win Olympic bronze in the same event, arrived in the capital in fine form having broken her own European record one week earlier (50.95).

While Rushell Clayton (JAM) matched Bol through the first half, the Dutch star pulled away over the final 200m to win comfortably in 51.30, her second-fastest ever clocking and a 0.15 improvement on the European record, meeting record and personal best she had set at the same meeting in 2023. Shamier Little (USA) came through to take second (52.78) with Clayton in third (53.24).

Following Great Britain and Northern Ireland’s 4 x 100m relay gold at the European Championships earlier in the summer, the London Stadium crowd was in a celebratory mood as the athletes – with only one change from that gold medal-winning team – stepped onto the track.

Dina Asher Smith, Imani Lansiquot, Amy Hunt and Daryll Neita proved to be dominant. The quartet clocked a world lead, meeting record and national record-equalling time of 41.55, matching the mark set at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021 and beating France and Great Britain ‘2’ into second (42.10) and third (42.46) respectively. Australia ran an Oceania record in fourth (42.48).

London was special, but the best of the summer was yet to come for the British quartet who went on to win a brilliant silver at the Olympic Games in Paris (41.85).

In the women’s 400m, NCAA champion Nickisha Pryce (JAM) was outstanding on her Diamond League debut. Kicking hard off the final bend, she impressively pulled away from European champion Natalia Kaczmarek (POL) to take the win in a world lead, meeting record and national record of 48.57 – a mark good enough to go eighth on the world all-time list.

Behind her, Kaczmarek finished second in 48.90, taking 0.08 off the Polish record she set at the European Championships and marking just the seventh time in history in which two women have bettered 49 seconds in the same race. Lieke Klaver (NED) was third in a 49.58 personal best.

European 10,000m champion Dominic Lokinyomo Lobalu (SUI), who finished fourth in the Olympic Games 5000m, outsprinted the USA’s Grant Fisher to win the men’s 3000m in a meeting record, national record and lifetime best of 7:27.68, the fastest mark of the year on an outdoor track at the time.

Fisher – the soon-to-be double Olympic bronze medallist in the 5000m and 10,000m – was second in 7:27.99, with Kenya’s Edwin Kurgat third (7:28.53). Mike Foppen (NED) set a national record in 11^th (7:37.12).

Without doubt, the women’s 800m was one of the most hotly anticipated races of the day. All eyes were on Keely Hodgkinson (GBR), the future Olympic 800m champion, as she lined up at the London Stadium for the first time having withdrawn in 2023 due to illness.

She didn’t disappoint. The 22-year-old went through half way in 56.5, almost a full second behind the pacemaker and just ahead of fellow Brit Jemma Reekie, but she kicked hard coming off the final bend and pulled well clear to take the win.

In doing so she set a new meeting record, British record and personal best of 1:54.61, lowering her own world lead and moving her from tenth up to sixth on the world all-time rankings.

Much to the delight of the 60,000 sell-out crowd, she led home a British top three ahead of world indoor silver medallist Reekie and 1500m specialist Georgia Bell who recorded personal best times of 1:55.61 and 1:56.28 in second and third respectively. Bell’s closing speed proved pivotal in Paris as she went on to win 1500m bronze.

Halimah Nakaayi (UGA) clocked a new national record of 1:57.26 in sixth.

Incredibly, it was just the second race in history in which eight women have bettered 1:58.

With an already-ecstatic home crowd, Matthew Hudson-Smith’s (GBR) 400m area record, world lead, meeting record and personal best of 43.74 (at the time) sent excitement levels through the roof.

Demonstrating his incredible potential, he led from the gun in London and opened up a significant gap over USA’s Vernon Norwood and Jereem Richards (TTO) to become the first European man to run inside 44 seconds. Norwood and Richards finished with personal best times in second (44.10) and third (44.18) respectively.

Hudson-Smith went even quicker in Paris, clocking 43.44 for Olympic silver and moving to fifth on the world all-time list.

With the seventh meeting record of the day, Gabby Thomas (USA) hinted at what was to come as she came from behind to win the women’s 200m in 21.82 (-0.9m/s).

The 2023 world silver medallist was locked in a battle with world indoor 60m champion Julien Alfred (LCA) as they pushed one another into the lead. Thomas eventually edged ahead to take victory with Alfred in second in a national record of 21.86. Asher-Smith was third in 22.07.

Between them, Thomas and Alfred went on to win five medals in Paris; three gold for the American (200m, 4 x 100m and 4 x 400m), and gold (100m) and silver (200m) for the St Lucian.

The London Meet – the UK’s biggest one-day athletics event – will return to the London Stadium on Saturday 19 July 2025. Buy your tickets now: britishathletics.org.uk/london-athletics-meet-2025