By Gareth James
Melissa Courtney-Bryant smashed the 20-year-old Welsh 1500m record with a stunning display at the Diamond League meeting in Chorzow.
The Welsh running ace clocked 3:58.01 to take a huge 1.94secs off the mark set by Hayley Tullett in Paris in 2003.
Courtney-Bryant’s time was more than two secs quicker than her previous best (4:00.45) set in Nancy, France, in June this year.
😭🏴 Been dreaming of this record for so long now!!! 🥹🏴🏴🏴 https://t.co/1wvQ6d49Wm
— Melissa Courtney-Bryant (@mcourtneybryant) July 16, 2023
And the new record took her to third on the UK all-time list behind only Laura Muir and Dame Kelly Holmes.
Courtney-Bryant finished sixth in the race in Silesia which was dominated by Ethiopian runners with Hirut Meshesha winning in a personal best 3:54.97.
Fellow Brit Jemma Reekie finished just behind Courtney-Bryant in a new best of 3:58.65 to move fourth on the UK all-time list.
Newly-crowned European U23 100m champ Jeremiah Azu was a late call-up for the men’s race.
The Cardiff runner finished ninth in 10.31 secs.