A day after the first Diamond League event of the season in Shanghai, the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold series continued at the Tokyo stadium, which hosted the World Championships last September. Positive news has come for Serbian long jumper Ivana Španović, even though she did not compete.

While awaiting the start of the season in Italy, Španović, the best female athlete in Serbian history, is monitoring her competitors in the long jump. Her main event is the European Championships in Birmingham in August, where she has real chances to win a gold medal. She recently achieved the best European result at the World Indoor Championships in Toruń, and the results from Japan confirm her goal of being at the top of Europe in her new discipline.

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The winner in the long jump at the Tokyo event was Romanian Elena Andrea Taloš with a distance of 13.99 meters, ahead of Slovenian Neja Filipič with 13.62 meters. These results are far from the level required for gold at the European Championships, as Ivana Španović regularly achieves distances over 14 meters.

Global gold medalists Noah Lyles, Jordan Anthony, and Ray Benjamine were among the winners at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix meeting.

American, Olympic, and multi-time world champion Noah Lyles, made his first appearance this year in the 100 meters race on the same stadium where he won world titles in the 200 meters and 4x100 meters relay in September. He ran 10.05 seconds in his first heat with a tailwind of 1.1 m/s, then improved to 9.95 seconds (0.6 m/s) in the final and won the last event on the program. His 18-year-old compatriot Ty Ty Taylor was second with 10.04, while another 18-year-old, Briton Jake Odubade, finished third with 10.09.

His compatriots Anthony and Benjamine also achieved sprint victories. World indoor champion over 60 meters, Jordan Anthony, won the 200 meters race with a time of 20.05 seconds with a tailwind of 1.3 m/s, while world champion in 400 meters hurdles, Ray Benjamine, triumphed in the 400 meters race with a time of 44.69 seconds.

Cortni Lewis had a strong start in the 200 meters race, but Anthony managed to distribute his energy well and secure a convincing victory with a strong finish. Lewis was second with 20.28. The 400 meters race was more uncertain, with four athletes in contention at the final turn. However, Benjamine, in his first appearance since the World Championships, appeared relaxed as he ran shoulder-to-shoulder with the fighting Muzam More. The hurdles specialist won by 0.14 seconds ahead of the Zambian Olympic bronze medalist.