On Monday evening, athletics fans could enjoy the best Zagreb Meeting ever. The Meeting, locally called Hanzek, has been taking place for as many as 59 years.

Before an audience of 10,000, the 2009 IAAF Zagreb Grand Prix offered three world season's best results (and the season is at its end and not at the beginning!) and six meeting records, and it was probably one of the three best athletics meetings in the world this year.

Blanka Vlasic wrote another page in her already rich biography. In a superior competition, supported by the audience that were standing up awaiting her each jump, she had an excellent series, which finished with her clearing 2.08 on her first attempt. That was the second highest result ever, the new Croatian record and the world's best result in 2009. The only time that someone had cleared 2.08 m at an outdoor competition before tonight was in 1986. It was Stefka Kostadinova, who is also the world record holder.

"I had known for a long time that I had a high jump in me, it's just that the right conditions for such a jump never came together. Everything was perfect tonight", Blanka commented.

Blanka knocked the bar off only when she tried to break the world record. Before that, she cleared 190, 194, 200, 205 and 208 cm on her first attempts!

World silver medallist Anna Chicherova finished second with 194 cm; that height was also cleared by Svetlana Shkolina, who finished third. The second Croatian participant Ana Simic finished eighth with the result of 175 cm.

The world season's best was achieved in the excellent shot put competition. The World Champion was also the best at Zagreb. Christian Cantwell broke the old meeting record already in the second round (21.69) to finish the competition with the world's best result in 2009 – 22.16m. Olympic Champion Tomasz Majewski finished second with 21.47 and Andrei Mikhnevich finished third with 20.93. Croatia's Nedzad Mulabegovic finished fifth with his season's best - 20.18m.

The Zagreb audience could see the best five hammer throwers from Berlin; Primoz Kozmus confirmed his title of the world's best thrower, which he has had for two years now. He had four throws over 80 metres. The best of them– 81.77m in the fourth round – was also the world's best result in 2009 and the new Zagreb meeting record. His throws were: x, 80.35, 78.49, 81.77, 80.70, 81.51. Krisztian Pars finished second with 79.18 and Alexey Zagorny third with 78.88. Croatia's Andras Haklits attained his season's best. He threw the hammer 77.65m, which was enough for him to finish sixth.

"I showed what I was ready for this season. I hope that by the end of it I can also challenge the Slovenian national record (82.30m – author's remark)," Kozmus said.

Croatia also saw the first 100m race under 10 seconds! The renewed track, praised by numerous international sprinters, "responded" with good results. US sprinter Darvis Patton won with 9.94 seconds, which was the new meeting record. His compatriot Mike Rodgers finished second with 9.97. Even Jamaica's Nesta Carter, who finished third with 10.05, was faster than the old meeting record of 10.08 set by Bruny Surin in 1999.

"I hoped for a better result than in Zurich (9.95) and I made it! I am very happy. And I congratulate you for a magnificent competition. A small stadium but spectacular audience. Invite me again and I will come back," the winner said.

The meeting record in the women's triple jump was broken twice during competition. Serbia's Biljana Topic opened the competition with 14.51 (only one centimetre shy of her personal best and national record) but World silver medallist Mabel Gay of Cuba jumped 14.58 already in the second round. The meeting record was also set in the women's 3000m. World 10,000m bronze medallist Wude Ayalew of Ethiopia ran the distance in 8:37.12.

The men's 1500m finish was extremely exciting. Ali Bilal Mansour (3:36.20) of Bahrain bested Kenya's William Biwott (3:36.21), junior world record holder in the mile race, by only one hundredth of a second. Lopez Lomong (3:37.80), US flag bearer at the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, finished third.

The 110m hurdles Boris Hanzekovic Memorial Race has a special status with all fans of the Zagreb Grand Prix. Ryan Brathwaite confirmed the World Champion status winning with 13.35. David Oliver, who just recovered from injury, finished second with 13.41. Croatian record holder Jurica Grabusic finished eighth with 14.09.

"I couldn't run faster because I pulled the muscle at the top of my ribs. I did about 85%" Brathwaite said.

In the men's 400m hurdles, we could see a dear guest Felix Sanchez in Zagreb again after a few years. Former World and Olympic Champion finished second with 48.82, one hundredth of a second faster than World bronze medallist from Berlin Bershawn Jackson. Isa Phillips won with 48.51. Croatia's Milan Kotur ran his season's best and finished seventh with 51.64.

Veronica Campbell-Brown (11.15) won in the 100m in Zagreb for the second time in a row. Member of the German World bronze winning 4x100 relay team from Berlin Verena Sailer finished second.

"This is only my second time here, and I have already fallen in love with Zagreb's audience. It's great here!" said two-time 200m Olympic Champion Campbell-Brown.

Russia's Tatyana Firova (50.80) surprised the favourites from Jamaica Novlene Williams-Mills (50.96) and Shericka Williams (51.14) in the 400m. We also didn't get the expected winner in the women's 400m hurdles, as Kaliese Spencer (54.69) bested Olympic and World Champion Melaine Walker (55.02).

In the women's 800m, European Indoor Champion Marina Savinova (1:59.38) bested the 2007 World Champion Janeth Jepkosgei (1:59.94) in the last twenty metres.

Olympic Champion Dawn Harper resumed winning after the poor performance in the World Championships final, when she failed to win a medal. After Zurich, she also won in Zagreb with 12.65, nine hundredths of a second faster than World bronze medallist from Berlin Delloreen Ennis-London.

Yarelis Barrios won in the discus throw second year in a row. This Monday, she threw 63.53m, almost one and a half metres further than Zaneta Glanc (62.24). Croatia's Sandra Perkovic finished fifth with 59.74, and Vera Begic eight with 56.15.

The men's long jump resulted with Croatia's second spot on the winner's podium. Marko Prugovecki finished third with 7.72. Yahya Barrabah won with 8.15, besting Viktor Kuznetsov with 7.96.