It was a busy day of track and field over in Europe on Tuesday, with high profile Americans racing all over the continent in Hungary, Ireland, and Italy. Here's a brief look at the action:

 

Budapest Grand Prix - Budapest, Hungary

 

Justin Gatlin ran his first race since his stunning 19.57 win in the 200m at USAs on Tuesday, winning the 100m in Budapest in a pedestrian 10.02. The 33-year-old owns the 2015 World lead with his 9.74 from Doha in May, but he used today’s race to sharpen up his technical skills in anticipation of his matchup with Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell in Switzerland on Thursday.  

No one has been close to Gatlin in 2015, and a sound beating of Gay and Powell on Thursday would further cement him as the clear favorite for August’s World Championships.

 

Reigning 400m World champion LaShawn Merritt continues his slow, but steady improvement in 2015, as he was 2nd today in Budapest in a season’s best of 44.43. Bahamian Steven Gardiner took the win in 44.30, a new meet record.
 

SB 44.43 for defending World Champ @lashawnmerritt today in Budapest pic.twitter.com/yMx2aWDaJB

The 28-year-old Merritt was second at USAs on June 27th. 

 

19-year-old Ronald Kwemoi of Kenya won a tactical men’s 1,500m in Budapest, out-kicking 3:27 man Silas Kiplagat with a winning time of 3:37.76. Both men raced the Paris 1,500m on July 4th, won by Kiplagat in 3:30.12 with Kwemoi 3rd in 3:30.43. 

 

OTC Elite’s Pat Casey was 9th in 3:41.56.

 

Lolo Jones won her first race since June 2014, taking the women’s 100 hurdles in 12.69. 

 

After stealing a win from a fallen Evan Jager in Paris, 2015 World leader Jairus Birech scored an easy win in the steeple, winning in 8:16.92. The 22-year-old ran 7:58.83 in Paris.

 

Bowerman TC’s Andy Bayer was fourth in 8:27.89. 

 

Lignano Meeting International - Lignano, Italy

 

Kerri Gallagher needed to run 4:06.50 in the 1,500m to hit the IAAF standard and punch her ticket to Beijing. The 3rd place finisher in the women’s 1,500m at USA’s had just a 4:08.70 PR entering Tuesday’s race in Lignano, a time she ran in the prelims in Eugene. 

 

The standard proved to be no match for the 26-year-old, as she utterly demolished that mark with her 4:03.56 victory today in Northern Italy, officially qualifying her for the World Championships in Beijing this August. Gallagher’s PR entering 2015 was 4:09.64. 
 

.@kgall3 DOES IT!! She runs 4:03.56 FTW at #LignanoMeeting Books her ticket to Beijing! pic.twitter.com/OIY2POyyCT

Kenyan Violah Lagat (Bernard’s sister) was 2nd behind Gallagher in 4:04.10, with 18-year-old Alexa Efraimson 3rd in 4:05.63. NCAA 3K champion Dominique Scott of Arkansas was 6th in a PR of 4:08.65. Watch the race above.

 

Former Oregon NCAA champ Eric Jenkins recorded his first win as a pro in the men’s 3,000m, setting a new PR of 7:41.79. Jenkins made easy work of two-time Olympian Collis Birmingham of Australia, who was 2nd in 7:49.98. Watch race here:  
 

The 23-year-old will next target a 5K PR in Heusden, Belgium on July 18th. His 13:18 best has stood since 2013. 

 

Heavily favored Nick Willis did not disappoint in the men’s 1,500m, taking the win in 3:39.31. He’s prepping for the Monaco 1,500m on July 17th, the site of his 3:29.91 from a year ago. Watch race here: 



Afterwards, he donned a #RunJunkie hat...

#runjunkie @nickwillis pic.twitter.com/Bb3onm6e8v

Cork City Sports - Cork, Ireland

It was a good day for recent Oregon grads, as newly-minted Nike pro Will Geoghegan ran away early from a good field of milers to take the win in 3:59.09. 

Geoghegan settled in early behind the pacers on a windy day in Cork, something that fellow Americans Kyle Merber and Riley Masters were unable to do in the tough conditions. The 22-year-old was all alone as he passed 800 meters in 2:00, and never looked back en route to his first victory in over a year.

Masters and Merber were 2nd and 3rd respectively, in 4:01.33 and 4:01.43. 

Abbey D'Agostino won the women's 3,000m over Rachel Schneider and Mary Cain in 8:58.39. The 23-year-old ran her first race since finishing 3rd in the USA 5K in 15:06, qualifying her for her first World Championship team. 

.@CorkCitySports women's 3K results: pic.twitter.com/LNW1lQ41hO

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) July 7, 2015