World indoor champions Molly Caudery and Georgia Hunter Bell triumphed in the pole vault and 1500m at the Diamond League meeting in Rome.
Two-time world indoor champion Caudery sealed the pole vault title with a clearance of 4.80m.
Track star Hunter Bell, who took a first world title in Torun in March, broke away from the leading pack to win her event in three minutes 58.63 seconds at the Stadio Olimpico.
In a meeting packed with British interest, Keely Hodgkinson, who was another to strike gold at the World Indoors in Poland, finished seventh in a rare outing over 400m.
The 24-year-old, who is the reigning Olympic champion over 800m, was unable to challenge and finished in 51.14 seconds, while compatriot Amber Anning came home fifth in 50.19.
In the women’s 200m, British athletes Amy Hunt and Dina Asher-Smith took fourth and fifth respectively with times of 22.52 and 22.76 seconds, in a race won by Olympic champion Julien Alfred from world title holder Melissa Jefferson-Wooden.
Meanwhile, Olympic champion Noah Lyles surged to victory in the men’s 100m in 9.88 seconds, the American placing ahead of Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme and Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, while Great Britain’s Jeremiah Azu was ninth in 10.12.
The Diamond League continues on Sunday in Stockholm, with live coverage on BBC Two and the BBC Sport website and app from 16:00 BST.
Hunter Bell and Hodgkinson make 2026 outdoor debuts
Hunter Bell’s win was an early statement performance in a season that features a Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and European Championships in Birmingham.
The 32-year-old, who won world outdoor 800m silver ahead of Hodgkinson in Tokyo last September, has now returned to the longer distance where she took a remarkable Olympic bronze in 2024.
Faced with a last lap kick from Nikki Hiltz, Hunter Bell moved up alongside the American before going ahead to take the win in her outdoor season debut.
Fellow Britons Jemma Reekie, who pushed to near the front of the field briefly on the approach to the final lap, and Laura Muir finished 11th and 14th with times of 4:05.39 and 4:10.54 respectively.
Hodgkinson, also entering a first race outdoors this year, improved her personal best by 0.47 seconds in the 400m, where she was looking to demonstrate her one-lap potential following a speed-focused training block.
Norway’s Henriette Jaeger won the event in 49.60 seconds, in a field which featured six athletes who had gone sub-50.
Hodgkinson, 24, will now return to the 800m, the distance at which she set a world indoor record in her title win this year and took Olympic gold in Paris.
She will race in Stockholm on Sunday and on consecutive July weekends in Eugene and London, with her intention to topple Czech athlete Jarmila Kratochvilova’s world outdoor record which has stood for 43 years.
Caudery back to best in Rome
Victory for Caudery marks the latest step on the comeback from a challenging 18 months which culminated in her injuring herself in the warm-up at the World Championships in Tokyo in September.
The 26-year-old watched as her two rivals, Nina Kennedy of Australia and Angelica Moser of Switzerland, failed three times at 4.85m, allowing her to take the title by virtue of a fewer number of failed vaults.
The win was a significant improvement for Caudery from her Diamond League opener in Rabat on Sunday, when she failed three times at 4.70m to finish in seventh.
“I was on a short approach, so I actually jumped a personal best from that run-up. Rabat was a little bit rocky the other day, but a few tweaks and I’m very happy with tonight,” Caudery told BBC Sport.
“To do what I did, it means everything. The last two years have been really tough, and people don’t know what’s been going on behind the scenes.
“It’s definitely been a battle, but to come out in indoors, get that title again, I just want to show everyone I can do it outdoors again and Diamond Leagues are a great place to do that.”
Caudery declined an opportunity to attempt to go beyond the 4.80m mark, but stated that she “absolutely” wants to break her British record of 4.92m this year.
“It’s definitely going to happen this season, I hope,” Caudery said. “I was just looking after myself today; it’s a long season. My back was a little bit sore and it was the right decision for me today.
“I think when I go back to full approach, absolutely, I’m definitely aiming for that. There’s a lot of exciting things coming up.”
