The peculiarity of the 2019 outdoor season means that, although there are still more than 50 days until the World Championships, it feels like we’ve already experienced an entire season’s worth of track and field. I suppose that was to be expected in a year that won’t wrap until early October. Although it’s a bummer to not have any meaningful action in this down period until the Diamond League resumes on Aug. 18, the break has afforded us a chance to look back at the moments that have so far defined 2019.

Here are the top 10 moments of the outdoor season thus far:

10. Monaco Men’s 400m - July 12, Monaco

This race was memorable for all the wrong reasons, as a false start caused mayhem the likes of which I have never seen in track and field. After Kahmari Montgomery jumped out of the blocks much too early, runners in lanes six, seven and eight failed to hear the infraction buzzer and kept on as if nothing had happened. Texas’ Jonathan Jones, running in lane seven, got the worst of it as he unbelievably ran the entire lap before realizing that his effort was all for naught.

His expression of disbelief, along with that of lane eight representative Anthony José Zambrano, made for an instantly meme-able photo.

To add even more chaos, Montgomery was allowed to run after the restart despite his egregious error. He was only DQ’d well after the whole ordeal was complete.

9. Michael Norman’s 43.45 - April 20, Torrance, California

21-year-old Michael Norman put the 400m world record on notice way back on April 20 when he scorched a 43.45 at the Mt. SAC Relays. The time, tied for sixth fastest in history with Olympic gold medalist Jeremy Wariner, was so quick and so early that it even stunned Norman. The 2019 U.S. runner-up has yet to better the mark this season, but the fastest debut ever still has a nice ring to it.

8. Caster Semenya's 1:54.98 - May 3, Doha, Qatar

Just two days after the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) sided with the IAAF in the landmark case to block DSD athletes like Caster Semenya from competing in the 400m to mile distances, the South African ran the first of only two 800m races in which she was allowed to compete in 2019. In Doha, Semenya ran 1:54.98, the fourth-fastest time of her career and her 30th consecutive 800m victory. Afterwards, the defiant 28-year-old famously told media, “Hell no,” she would not take hormone suppressants to continue her career under the IAAF’s restrictions.

7. Sam Kendricks' 6.06m American Record - July 27, Des Moines, Iowa

Reigning pole vault world champion Sam Kendricks became the second-best outdoor vaulter in history on July 27 when he soared over the 6.06m bar to break the American record at the U.S. Championships. The best part had to be the accompanying dog pile that ensued immediately after as Kendricks’ competitors mobbed him:

? AMERICAN RECORD ? @samkendricks
6.06m/19-10.50
Swipe ? to watch#ToyotaUSATFOutdoors pic.twitter.com/QqViQ71LVl

— USATF (@usatf) July 27, 2019

6. Sha’Carri Richardson’s 10.75 - June 8, Austin, Texas

19-year-old Sha’Carri Richardson put the exclamation point on a stellar 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships with her transcendent 10.75 100m collegiate record. The performance was an utter shock as the freshman’s best time coming into the final was 10.99. But in the span of one race, Richardson propelled herself to track and field superstardom by breaking a 10.78 record, held by fellow LSU sprinter Dawn Sowell, that had stood since 1989.

SHA'CARRI RICHARDSON!!!!! 1️⃣0️⃣:7️⃣5️⃣

WORLD JUNIOR RECORD ✅
WORLD LEADER ✅
COLLEGIATE RECORD ✅
SCHOOL RECORD ✅ pic.twitter.com/n91WHBdCty

— NCAA Track & Field (@NCAATrackField) June 8, 2019

5. Nijel Amos' 1:41.89 - July 12, Monaco

Running 1:41 in the 800m is hard enough-- only five men in history have done it-- but doing so twice with seven years in between each performance was unprecedented until 25-year-old Nijel Amos ran 1:41.89 in Monaco last month. The Botswanan flashed breathtaking talent when he smashed the world junior record with a 1:41.73 at just 18 years old in the 2012 Olympic final, and despite his failure to medal at a global championship since, Amos has remained one of the best time-trialers in history. An untimely hamstring injury just a week after his Monaco run threatens to derail Amos’ medal hopes once again in 2019, but his immense talent remains undeniable.

4. Grant Holloway vs. Daniel Roberts at NCAAs - June 7, Austin, Texas

The greatest high hurdle match-up in collegiate history managed to exceed its sky-high expectations on June 7 in Austin as Florida’s Grant Holloway broke a 40-year-old NCAA 110m hurdles record with his 12.98, bettering rival and friend Daniel Roberts from Kentucky by a slim .02 seconds.

WOW WOW WOW ???

1️⃣2️⃣.9️⃣8️⃣ ??? pic.twitter.com/7y9pwpNgq8

— NCAA Track & Field (@NCAATrackField) June 8, 2019

Roberts’ consolation prize there was matching Renaldo Nehemiah’s 13.00 at second-best ever. That thrilling race punctuated a dynamic final NCAA season for both men in 2019, as the SEC pair pushed each other to record-breaking times throughout indoor and outdoor before turning pro.

3. Noah Lyles’ 19.50 - July 5, Lausanne, Switzerland

If there was any question who the best 200m runner on the planet was after Noah Lyles narrowly lost to Michael Norman on June 6 in Rome, Lyles answered it definitively with his masterful 19.50 on July 5 in Lausanne, Switzerland. The clocking was the fastest in the world since the 2012 Olympic final, and it placed Lyles, only now 22 years old, as the fourth-fastest man in history behind only Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake and Michael Johnson.

PLUS ULTRA!!!!

#RoadToTheFinal #LausanneDL #DiamondLeague #adidasrunning pic.twitter.com/aZHHI5xIAh

— Noah Lyles (@LylesNoah) July 5, 2019

2. Sifan Hassan’s 4:12.33 Mile World Record - July 12 Monaco

The women’s outdoor mile world record of 4:12.56 had stood for nearly 23 years when Sifan Hassan finally eclipsed it with a negative split in Monaco. A slow first two laps seemed to jeopardize Hassan’s chances, but the 26-year-old motored home in a stunning  2:02 for the final 800 meters to slip under the mark by .23 seconds.

SIFAN HASSAN BREAKS THE WORLD RECORD IN THE MILE!!!!
4:12..33!!!! pic.twitter.com/ZbUiqb5goq

— Oregon Project (@OregonPJT) July 12, 2019

1. Dalilah Muhammad’s 400mH World Record - July 28 Des Moines, Iowa

The 2016 Olympic champion wasn’t even the favorite coming into the U.S. final on July 28, as phenom Sydney McLaughlin had rolled Dalilah Muhammad in the last 100m in Oslo six weeks prior. But a lack of context from that June 13 performance obscured reality-- the 29-year-old was test-driving a world record attempt then, which her training had shown was possible.

DALILAH MUHAMMAD BREAKS THE WORLD RECORD IN THE 400MH AT USAS!
pic.twitter.com/0J9OlnOEGa

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) July 29, 2019

It failed in Oslo, but not in Des Moines, as a fitter Muhammad blasted the final 100m en route to a 52.20 world record. In such a loaded event, the mark seems less of a period than an ellipsis, with the Diamond League final and World Championships likely bringing even faster results.