James Beckford competing in the long jump event at the National Stadium. - file

National long jump record holder, James Beckford, tuned up for this weekend's National Senior and Junior Champion-ships at the National Stadium with an 8.37m winning leap at the 53rd edition of the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial meet which took place in the Warsaw Academy of Physical Education stadium on Sunday.

The winning distance was Beckford's best in six years, but it was some distance below his national record of 8.62m set in 1997 in Orlando, Florida. Trailing after the first three rounds the 32-year-old Beckford, a silver medalist at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, got up to 8.31m in the fourth round and went even better with 8.37m in the fifth round. Gable Garenamotse of Botswana jumped 8.16m for second, while Poland's Marcin Starzak who led after three rounds with 8.07m, was third at 8.13m.

At the same meet former World champion Ana Guevara of Mexico won the women's 400m in 51.08, while the men's 400m was dominated by Polish runners. Daniel Dabrowski won in 45.63 and 21-year old Kacper Kozlowski was second in 45.80, the first sub-46 second race of his career. In the women's 400m hurdles Russia's Natalya Ivanova crossed the line in 55.01, holding off the Polish record holder Anna Jesien who was second in 55.22. European Indoor champion Oksana Zbrozhek of Russia, won the women's 800m in 1:58.80.

Krone lands double

Christiaan Krone of South Africa captured the men's sprint double in 10.37 and 20.51. The women's 100m went to Tahesia Herrigan of British Virgin Islands with 11.23, while in second place was Poland's Ewelina Klocek in a personal best 11.46.

Belarussian Ivan Tikhon, the reigning World and European champion and Cuba's two-time World champion Yipsi Moreno won the men's and women's hammer throw.

Tikhon took the men's event with a world leading 82.58m from Libor Charfreitag of Slovakia, 80.35m and Krisztian Pars of Hungary, 80.19m.

Moreno threw 76.36m for top spot among the women, ahead of Ivana Brkljacic of Croatia with a national record of 75.08m. Germany's Betty Heidler took third with a best of 75.05m. Russians Andrey Tereshin and Yaroslav Rybakov both cleared 2.34m to tie for first in the men's high jump. Another Russian, Danila Burkenya, recorded his season's best of 17.48m to take the triple jump.

The Janusz Kusocinski Memorial is one of a select group of Area meetings at which points can be acquired by athletes to qualify for the IAAF/VTB Bank World Athletics Final set from September 22-23 in Stuttgart, Germany.