Måkestad sets yet another personal best in 1500...

PARIS, France--Norway's Ingvill Måkestad (left/photo courtesy runingvill.wordpress.com), who attended the University of Washington during the 2003-04 school year, inched closer to the Norwegian national record in the 1500 meters during Friday night's Meeting Areva at the Stade de France.

In this stop of the Samsung Diamond League series of premier track meets, Måkestad set a personal best of 4:04.22 in finishing tenth in the deepest field of the outdoor season, as Russia's Anna Alminova, who won her national championship on Thursday in 4:00.84, ran a world leading time of 3:57.65, leading three others under the magical 4 minute barrier.

The Norwegian national record is 4:00.55 set by the legendary Grete Waitz in 1978.

On the field, Federal Way's Aretha Thurmond finished seventh in the discus, as the three-time US Olympian threw 199-7 (60.83m).

In an event in which all the leading contenders for the Samsung Diamond League title in the event were present, Cuba's Yarelis Barrios, the current leader in the event, won with a meet record toss of 215-0 (65.53m).

The next stop on the Samsung Diamond League tour is the Herculis Monaco meeting on July 22nd in Monte Carlo.

Complete results from the Meeting Areva can be accessed here.