The European and Commonwealth medallist is now No.2 on the UK all-time rankings behind Paula Radcliffe

Laura Weightman’s performance at the Prefontaine Classic in Stanford last month was so good it saw her move to second on the British 3000m all-time list and storm on to the cover of AW.

Running 8:26.07, the two-time European 1500m medallist and Commonwealth 1500m and 5000m medallist took a huge chunk off her previous best of 8:43.46 from 2013, with only Paula Radcliffe having ever run quicker among Brits.

Weightman finished fifth in a race won by Sifan Hassan in a European record of 8:18.49 and the two will meet again on the track at Friday’s Herculis EBS meeting in Monaco, where they will race the “Brave Like Gabe Mile”, named in honour of US international Gabe Grunewald, who died last month from cancer.

Ahead of the meeting, Weightman spoke with Stuart Weir to reflect on her 3000m PB performance, discuss her best distance and share insight into her coaching set up with former world 1500m record-holder and 1983 world champion Steve Cram.

Did you expect to run that time at the Prefontaine Classic?

“I was surprised I ran so fast. I knew I was in shape and we knew that a low 8:30 was a realistic target going into the race. But to come away with 8:26, in the manner in which I ran the race – being competitive and finishing fifth and beating some high-quality athletes in doing so – that was quite a shock. But I was delighted to run so fast.”

The 3000m is not a championship distance – do you find it hard to run?

“I’ve not run it that often and my last one was back in 2013 in Stretford, Manchester – a track I love (Trafford Grand Prix where she ran 8:43.46). It’s definitely a different kind of race but it’s a distance that is well suited to me with my strength and speed mix. So it is an event that I really enjoy doing.”

What do you think is your best distance?

“The 3000m potentially could be my best distance. I’ve shown that I’ve got strength and speed so I’m definitely excited to explore some more 5000m to see where that could go, translating that 8:26 (for 3000m) up to 5000m. But I definitely see myself as a 1500m runner as well.”

What will you aim to run at the IAAF World Championships in Doha?

“We haven’t decided yet. We will definitely experiment with all the events and distances to see where my ability lies over 5000m whilst I still believe I’m a strong 1500m runner. This is a year where we can try out both events and see where we think my best strength will lie for a championship performance.”

Would it be possible to run 1500m and 5000m in the same championship?

“I think if the scheduling allowed it, yes. But in Doha there is a timetable clash so it would be too much of an ask to double up so I will be focusing on one event.

Tell me about your coach.

“I’ve been working with Steve for just over 10 years – I figured out the weekend of Stanford (Pre Classic) that was around the time he had been coaching me for 10 years. That is quite a long time, especially in elite sport, to be working with the same coach but it’s definitely a relationship from which I have hugely benefited. I probably wouldn’t be where I am today without the work we’ve done together and am extremely grateful to be learning from him all the time.”

Is it an advantage that he has been an elite athlete?

“He is so experienced and he’s got the knowledge. He has got the experience from all the championships and being a world record-holder and Olympic medallist. He’s got so much he can pass on to me and I am definitely learning from him all the time.”

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa — The Dale DeFrance Memorial/Bill Davis Memorial race was held Thursday night at Marshalltown Speedway during the Central Iowa Fair and Jeff Aikey made his trip from Cedar Rapids very profitable.

After winning the IMCA modified main from the outside front row, Aikey stated in the post-race interview he had to start last in the IMCA late model 44 lapper. He also claimed he was going to win it.

He was wrong on his starting spot as he gridded 19th in the 21-car field, but accurately called his victory in a dramatic finish to the evening.

The 44 laps matched the number Dale DeFrance ran on his car and it took nearly all of them for Aikey to take the lead. Darrell DeFrance, Dale’s son, led the first 5 laps from his pole start with fifth-starting Richie Gustin putting on the pressure.

But it was Brian Harris who used the high line out of turn two on lap six to take over, but only for a pair of times around the high-banked quarter mile. R. Gustin used a slider in turn four on lap eight to take the lead and soon established a multiple car length gap.

A 35-lap stretch of all green saw R. Gustin stretch his lead while a tremendous battle for 2nd carried on between Harris, Aikey, and Cory Dumpert. After multiple passes, sliders, and side by side racing, it was Aikey who emerged with second place.

He quickly closed on R. Gustin and raced the top line out of turn four to end lap 39 with the lead. A late race yellow allowed R. Gustin another shot at the lead, but Aikey held on for the $1,500 win.

Besides Aikey winning from 19th, Dumpert finished second from his 14th starting spot while DeFrance took third.

In other IMCA divisions, Todd Reitzer won the stock car finale, Brayton Carter took the Northern Sport Mod main, and Eric Satton won his 12th hobby stock trophy of the season. The mod lite main was taken by first-time visitor Dillon Raffurty.

A 126-car field appeared for the Thursday night special.

LAKE ODESSA, Mich. — Brian Shirley became the man to beat during the final weekend of the DIRTcar Summer Nationals with a $5,000 triumph Thursday night at I-96 Speedway.

It was the second victory in as many nights for Shirley and his series-best sixth of this year’s Hell Tour. More importantly, he regained the point lead from Bobby Pierce, who finished 17^thon this night.

Shirley led all 40 laps, holding off several late-race charges from Frank Heckenast Jr.

David Mielke finished third with Ryan VanderVeen and Rusty Schlenk rounding out the top five.

Nick Hoffman picked up another DIRTcar modified triumph.

The finish:

Brian Shirley, Frank Heckenast Jr., David Mielke, Ryan VanderVeen, Rusty Schlenk, Jason Feger, Travis Stemler, Jeep Van Wormer, Scott Fisk, Kyle Roberts, Bryant Dickinson, Jake Rendel, Truck Robertson, Chuck Hummer, Brandon Thirlby, Hillard Miller, Bobby Pierce, Jason Playter Jr., Paul Stubber, Rob Anderzack, Devin Shiels, Brad Harden.

BANKS, Ore. — Mitchell Faccinto became the first driver to repeat victory during the Western Sprint Car Tour when he won the 30-lap feature at Sunset Speedway on Thursday night.

Faccinto was aboard Stan Greenberg’s blue No. 37 sponsored by the Western Metal Co. He picked up $2,000 after starting from second position.

Steven Tiner finished in the second pole after starting on the pole. Justin Sanders, the victor from the night before, wagged a race long battle with Jake Wheeler and came home in the third spot.

Tiner and Faccinto would bring the twenty-car starting field down for the green, but Colby Copeland would spin in the third turn and came a complete restart.  On the restart, Faccinto would use a pass line pass in the first turn to overtake Tiner.

Faccinto then sent sail around the red clay quarter-mile oval. The race would slow again on lap three with a single-car spin in the fourth turn. Once again, Faccinto had a clear track but that would quickly go away as he came up on slower cars.

Faccinto would use caution working lapped traffic allowing Tiner to catch up and at one point got along side of Faccinto as both cars exited the fourth turn. Tiner, however, had the same slower cars to deal with and never had another shot at the leader.

The race would slow again when a car tagged the fourth turn wall on lap 16. The caution left Faccinto a clear track on the restart and he clicked off the remaining laps without a challenge.

Sanders got around Wheeler on lap 26 with a turn one pass. The leaders choose the high groove around the tiny bullring and there were no position changes after that.

DONNELLSON, Iowa — Mason Daniel claimed his first Sprint Invaders victory Thursday night at Lee County Speedway.

The win was worth $1,500 to the Springville, Calif., native and came aboard the Mason Daniel Racing No. 33m.

Ayrton Gennetten, who had dominated the Golden Eagle Distributors Shake-up Dash, took the early lead from outside row on in the 20-lap main event.  Sixteen-year-old Riley Goodno, who was making his first Sprint Invaders appearance, trailed him from the pole, followed by Daniel, Kaley Gharst and Josh Higday.

Colton Fisher spun with a lap in the books, bringing the first of two cautions. The second came on the restart.  Gharst shot from fourth to second on the dry surface, before something went awry in turn three for him, and he spun to the infield and out of the race.

Gennetten led Goodno, Daniel, Higday and Jamie Ball back to green. Daniel quickly ducked under Goodno into second and pursued the leader, while Ball garnered fourth. 2016 series champion, Chris Martin, was on the move as well, having worked from his 14th starting spot to fifth by lap four.

Gennetten entered lapped traffic on the ninth circuit. Two laps later, a lapped car got sideways in front of him. The third-generation driver from Missouri checked up, and Daniel seized the opportunity, exploding into the lead. About the same time, Ball worked his way by Goodno into third.

Daniel pulled away to the checkers ahead of Gennetten, Ball, hard-charger Martin and Goodno.

“Early in the race, I was able to get third, and get to second after a couple yellows,” said Daniel. “It was mainly about saving your tires. Once the rubber came in, I knew if I could stay within somewhat of a distance to him…when we got in lapped traffic, it would be harder for him.  That’s what happened, and once we got the lead, we never looked back. I first came here last year and ran fifth. I came here earlier this year in a 410 and got second. Now, I finally got to get a win here. It’s pretty cool. It’s a very fun race track. It’s up there in my favorites.”

“Both times I’ve been here, the same thing happened,” said Gennetten.  “The last time, (Josh) Schneiderman and I were racing for the lead and a lapped car spun out in front of us and took us out. This time, a lapped car just got shoved up in the loose stuff and came down the track. I thought he was going to the infield, so I sort of checked up. That’s all Mason needed to get by me.  We were fast all night. I can’t say enough about the help we had tonight. It was great to have Jeff (Mitrisin) helping us. We were fast. Sometimes it just doesn’t go that way. We’ll see what’s in store for us Saturday at Knoxville.”

The finish:

Mason Daniel, Ayrton Gennetten, Jamie Ball, Chris Martin, Riley Goodno, Josh Higday, John Schulz, Carson McCarl, Parker Price-Miller, Harold Pohren, Cody Wehrle, Josh Schneiderman, Tanner Gebhardt, Daniel Bergquist, Dustin Selvage, Dustin Clark, Justin Buchholz, Colton Fisher, Kaley Gharst, Jon Agan.

GRANITE CITY, Ill. — Tyler Erb outbattled Jimmy Owens and Mike Marlar to win his fifth Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event of the season on Thursday night at Tri-City Speedway.

The Hoker Trucking Best in the Business 50 presented by Schoenfeld Headers was also Erb’s second consecutive Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory.

Tim McCreadie came on strong to finish third just ahead of Owens and Earl Pearson Jr.

Erb started the day by setting fast time, then went on to earn the PFC Brakes Pole Award for the main event. Owens grabbed the early lead and held the point for the first 22 laps of the race.

The next six laps saw a back-and-forth race for the lead between Owens and Erb. Erb took the lead for the first time on lap 23, but Owens fought back to regain the top spot. The two raced side by side with Erb regaining the lead on the 30th circuit.

Marlar took over the second spot on lap 39 after he and Owens had battled side-by-side for several circuits. A caution came out with five laps to go, which gave Marlar one more opportunity to sneak by Erb.

On the restart, Erb used the clean air in front of him to open up a slight lead and finished three-quarters of a second ahead of Marlar at the finish line for his sixth career LOLMDS victory.

“I really didn’t want to see that last caution because I had gotten into a rhythm,” said Erb. “I was kind of kicking myself when Jimmy got back by me for the lead. I knew when Mikey was behind me that things were going to be tough. I could hear Jimmy under me and then the same thing with Mikey. I just kind of let it go for broke in the last four laps. About a month ago I was in the same position and I wasn’t going to let what happened last time, happen again.”

With the win, the 22-year-old Texan not only keeps his points lead in the rookie-of-the-year chase but also cut into point leader Jonathan Davenport’s championship point lead. Davenport finished 18th after pulling off the track due to heavy damage to his race car.

For Marlar, the runner-up finish continued his strong run of podium finishes since the first of June in the LOLMDS.

“This was an awesome race track tonight, we could run anywhere on it,” Marlar said. “I ran the top, but I felt the car working better on the bottom. I have always enjoyed coming here, but I have never had much success here. Glad to come here tonight and get the monkey off of our back.”

McCreadie stayed in the top five and grabbed the third spot at the finish.

“This was a good run. It’s Phillip’s [Crew Chief Phillip Snellen] birthday today. We are still working on a lot of things and we are getting closer. We started with a new shock company for the team and they had been out of racing for a long time, but we keep making strides and hopefully we can get a win soon.”

The finish:

Tyler Erb, Mike Marlar, Tim McCreadie, Jimmy Owens, Earl Pearson Jr., Devin Moran, Chris Simpson, Hudson O’Neal, Scott Bloomquist, Stormy Scott, Gordy Gundaker, Shannon Babb, Rick Eckert, Josh Richards, Billy Moyer Jr., Austin Rettig, Kyle Bronson, Jonathan Davenport, Jesse Stovall, Tim Manville, Shanon Buckingham, Michael Norris, Billy Moyer, Michael Kloos, Daryn Klein.

India coach Ravi Shastri has acknowledged that the team missed a "solid" middle-order batsman, particularly in the semi-final, where their leading run-scorers Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were dismissed cheaply. His statements come in the context of the talk - from before the World Cup - focused on the No. 4 spot and the middle order in general, which cropped up again following the 18-run defeat to New Zealand on Tuesday.

The uncertainty in India's batting order was further compounded by injuries. KL Rahul and Vijay Shankar had been seen as No. 4 options when the World Cup squad was picked, and India began the tournament with Rahul at that slot. However, Rahul moved up to open the innings after Shikhar Dhawan was ruled out due to a hand injury. Vijay batted at No. 4 for a couple of games before being ruled out of the tournament due to a toe injury. Vijay's injury meant that Rishabh Pant played at No. 4 in the last four matches. Neither Vijay nor Pant managed a 50-plus score from No. 4 position.

"In hindsight, yes, we did need a solid batsman out there in the middle order. But now, that's something for the future," Shastri told Indian Express. "That's a position that was always giving us problems, but we just couldn't nail it. Rahul was there but then Shikhar Dhawan got injured. Then Vijay Shankar was there, and he got injured. We just couldn't control it."

Another much-debated decision by India's selectors was Mayank Agarwal's selection over Ambati Rayudu as Vijay's replacement. Agarwal, who is yet to make his ODI debut, was not part of the standby list which had only Rayudu and Pant as batsmen. Shastri stated that the team had not thought of picking Agarwal for the semi-final to allow Rahul to drop back to the middle order.

"Not really, because it got too tight. By the time Mayank came to join us, there wasn't much time," Shastri said. "If there was one more game, that is, if this semi-final was a game later, we would have definitely done it. He flew in, and Rahul had just hit a 60, and then a hundred. But I know what you mean; if we had one more game, that could well have been done."

Agarwal's selection and Rayudu's omission - first from the original squad, and then as a replacement option - drew criticism from former India captain Sunil Gavaskar and VVS Laxman.

Another incident that Gavaskar came down heavily on was MS Dhoni's batting position in the semi-final, saying Dhoni should have batted higher up the order. Dhoni came out to bat at No. 7, after India's chase had lurched from 5 for 3 to 21 for 4. Shastri said Dhoni's batting position was a team decision.

"Everyone was in with it -- and it was a simple decision, too. The last thing you wanted was Dhoni coming out to bat early and getting out -- that would have killed the chase. We needed his experience later. He is the greatest finisher of all times -- and it would have been criminal to not make use of him in that way. The whole team was clear on it.

"And Rishabh Pant did look pretty secure when he got out to bat, even against Trent Boult, didn't he? You could then say that if Pant had continued and not got out… but that's sport. You grow up in quick time. He will learn, he already knows it. But I am happy that the team showed spunk. They didn't give up even after losing Pant and Pandya. What a fightback that was.

"He [Dhoni] was magnificent. The composure in the situation. And let me tell you, if not for that unfortunate run-out, I think he had his calculations going inside his head. Which ball to hit, how much to keep for [Jimmy] Neesham's last over. You could see his brain was ticking. He wanted to do it so desperately and it was clear on his face when he came back to the dressing room."

Martin Guptill was at deep backward square leg. And at first he didn't quite catch where the ball was. Then he realised it was dribbling over to him. And that MS Dhoni was looking for a very difficult second run.

Guptill went full sprint at the ball, picked it up with his right hand, took aim while somehow retaining perfect balance and shot down the stumps at the keeper's end to effectively seal New Zealand's spot in the 2019 World Cup final. (It was also only the 16th time in 297 innings that Dhoni has been run out in a one-day international)

"Lucky enough to get a direct hit from out there" - New Zealand's @Martyguptill on his ️throw to dismiss MS Dhoni in the #CWC19 semi-final against India. #BackTheBlackCaps pic.twitter.com/GnerDahQgQ

— ICC (@ICC) July 11, 2019

Until that moment though the New Zealand opener was having a horrible tournament. After an unbeaten 73 against Sri Lanka in New Zealand's opening game, he racked up five single-digit scores in the next eight innings, with a highest score of 35.

"It's bloody tough," Guptill told 1 News. "You try not to read what people are writing and hear what people are saying, but it's hard to tear away from it all.

"I've felt a little bit late on the ball in quite a few games, which is hard to deal with. You don't want to move too early because then you get stuck."

Guptill has one more chance to turn his form around, when New Zealand meet England in the final at Lord's on Sunday.

"The last couple of nets I've probably felt the best I have since I've been here," he said. "I've put a lot of time in and for it not to be working out in the middle, it's frustrating. People can say they're frustrated with me, but no one is more frustrated than what I am.

"I'm just trying to carry on with what I've been doing, work hard in the nets and hopefully in the next game it all comes together."

Ross Taylor, who spoke to the media at the end of the match against India, also backed Guptill to come good.

"Hopefully that's a bit of luck that he takes from his fielding to his batting and maybe he can have a bit of luck and make the most of it.

"Cricket's about small margins. When we came in to the huddle, the boys were joking that Gup always misses the stumps. When there's a run out on, he always missed the stumps. All those misses over the years, he only hits when there's nothing to worry about, but he did it now, and we celebrated accordingly and we're very happy for him."

Kumar Dharmasena will umpire Sunday's World Cup final between England and New Zealand, despite his incorrect decision to give Jason Roy out in yesterday's semi-final.

Dharmasena gave Roy out caught behind on 85 off Pat Cummins, despite replays showing that he had made no contact with the ball.

The umpire appeared to suggest Roy should refer the decision if he didn't think he was out, apparently failing to realise that Jonny Bairstow had already used up England's review after he was trapped in front by Mitchell Starc.

Roy's remonstrations on the field - he was picked up calling the decision "f**king embarrassing" by stump microphones - earned him two demerit points and a fine worth 30 per cent of his match fee, which he accepted at a post-match hearing.

Roy escaped a ban for the final, falling one short of the four-point threshold, but will face a one-Test or two-ODI suspension if he receives another demerit point within the next two years.

Dharmasena has won the ICC's Umpire of the Year award twice - in 2012 and 2018 - but also holds an unwanted record involving England. In 2016, during a Test in Chittagong, eight of his on-field calls were overturned, notably including a streak in which he gave Moeen Ali out three times in six balls, only for the batsman to successfully review each decision.

He will be standing in his second consecutive World Cup final, and also umpired the 2016 World T20 final.

Dharmasena will be joined in the middle by Marais Erasmus, who stood alongside him in Thursday's semi-final.

Rod Tucker will be the sole Australian representative at Lord's in his capacity as third umpire, while Aleem Dar, of Pakistan, will be fourth official. Sri Lankan Ranjan Madugalle will be the match referee.