Mo Farah and Tiffany Ofili-Porter set British records at a dramatic Diamond League meeting in Monaco. Phillips Idowu and Usain Bolt also took gold but an evening that almost ended with a world record in the 3,000m steeplechase was overshadowed by a fight between two French athletes.
Farah recorded his eighth successive victory when he outsprinted the American former world champion Bernard Lagat to win the 5,000m in a time of 12min 53.11sec – five seconds quicker than his previous best.
Ofili-Porter also set a new national record of 12.60sec in the 100m hurdles as she finished third behind the Australian Sally Pearson.
Mehdi Baala and Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad finished down the field in the 1500m but all eyes were on them after the finish when they started to trade blows. Baala, who was ninth behind the winner Silas Kiplagat of Kenya, said he went to console Mekhissi-Benabbad, the Olympic 3,000m steeplechase silver medallist, after he came in 11th. But after an exchange of words Baala head-butted Mekhissi-Benabbad who responded by swinging a series of punches, all of which missed their target.
The pair were separated on the track but the row did not stop there as they exchanged strong words in the media zone after Mekhissi-Benabbad appeared to slap Baala. "I'm going to break you in two," an angry Baala responded.
Around 20 minutes later, Baala expressed his regret at the incident. "At such an event, in front of a full stadium, it's a shame to give a bad image of athletics," he said.
The Olympic and world champion Usain Bolt clocked a season's best of 9.88sec in the 100m to pip fellow Jamaican Nesta Carter to the line. In the triple jump, Idowu leapt 17.36m to finish 6cm ahead of Cuban Alexis Copello, who was 1cm in front of compatriot David Girat.
Dai Greene took bronze for Britain in the 400m hurdles, with a time of 48.43sec to finish behind the American pair of Angelo Taylor and Bershawn Jackson.
However, Lisa Dobriskey could manage only eighth place in the women's 1500m. The night ended on a high note as Kenya's Brimin Kipruto finished the 3,000m steeplechase in a time of 7min 53.64sec, just 0.01 outside Saif Saeed Shaheen's world record.
The British sprinter Bernice Wilson has been suspended from all competition after she failed a drugs test. The suspension, issued by UK Anti-Doping and which came into effect on 9 July, follows a sample that was collected from the athlete in competition at the Bedford International Games on 12 June. The sample was found to contain the anabolic steroids testosterone and clenbuterol.
The 27-year-old Wilson is from Boston in Lincolnshire and competes for the Birmingham-based Birchfield Harriers club. She reached the 60m semi-finals at the European Indoor Championships this year and equalled her personal best of 7.26sec to reach the qualifying mark for the championships in Paris.
She also won the Commonwealth Games 100m trials last summer only to miss out on a place in the England squad because she did not meet the qualifying time. She now has the opportunity to respond to the charge against her, including the right to a full hearing of the case.
The world junior champion Jodie Williams ran a championship record time to secure gold in the 100m for Great Britain at the European Junior Championships in Tallinn. The 17-year-old sprinter's time of 11.18sec was also a personal best and the 2012 hopeful felt she won in a difficult field.
"These girls are so talented and they've been running good times this season so it wasn't even a given that I'd medal, but I performed on the day and I'm over the moon. I had hoped today would be the day for a PB so I'm really happy," Williams said. "I've been training better than last year and my times in training have been better than last year so I knew I had 11.1 in me, I've just not had the right conditions until today."
Her compatriot Marilyn Nwawulor also reached the final and finished eighth with a time of 11.73. Adam Gemili had to settle for silver in the men's 100m final but the 17-year-old, who also plays for the League One football side Dagenham, was looking forward to the relay final. He said: "I'm really happy to continue with both football and athletics and I'm really, really happy with that race today."
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