Diamond Race: Post Birmingham Update

Kenya’s Eunice Sum needed to finish in the top 3 in the English city to retain the title that she won last year and the recent Commonwealth 800m champion duly obliged, taking second place in a race won by Britain’s Lynsey Sharp. The two points earned extended her overall lead over the USA’s Ajee’ Wilson to 13, with just 8 available in Brussels.


It was always a matter of time before Caterine Ibarguen, too, secured the triple jump title that she also won in 2013 and her victory in Birmingham meant a 14 point lead for the Colombian World Champion over Jamaica’s Kimberley Williams.


Williams’s fellow Jamaican, Kaliese Spencer, rather than seeking to retain her Diamond Trophy, was on the cusp of regaining it, after winning the 400m hurdles Diamond Race in 2010, 2011 and 2012. The absence of her closest challenger, Bahrain’s Kemi Adekoya, meant that even a solitary point would have been enough, but Spencer picked up the maximum available.


The winning trio joined New Zealand’s Valerie Adams and Kenya’s Jairus Birech, who both competed in Birmingham having already secured overall victory this year. That pair continued their winning streaks in the competition, as both remain unbeaten in the IAAF Diamond League in 6 outings in 2014.


Other Diamond Race leaders struggled to maintain form, however, as ten of the other 11 disciplines on the programme remain undecided with just a single meeting remaining.


Tori Bowie (100m) pulled up injured in her race, allowing Kerron Stewart to pick up 4 points to put herself right in contention for the title in Zurich next week, while Brazil’s Fabiana Murer no-heighted in the pole vault, meaning that she will now need at least second place in Switzerland to take the prize.


Silas Kiplagat (1500m/mile), Bohdan Bondarenko (high jump), Jeff Henderson (long jump), Piotr Malachowski (discus), Queen Harrison (100m hurdles) and Barbora Spotakova (javelin) were all Diamond Race leaders in action in Birmingham who failed to take maximum points, yet all six remain at the top of their respective standings.


The situation is particularly tight in the high jump and 100m hurdles, where should the results be repeated in Brussels and Zurich, the victors would take the title on the basis of superior performance at the finals.


Mercy Cherono (5000m), who won over 2 miles in Britain, and Nickel Ashmeade (200m) were the exceptions on a bad day for Diamond Race leaders, as they secured victories that give them narrow advantages over Genzebe Dibaba and Alonso Edward. Ashmeade knows that four points for 2nd place in Zurich will be enough to pick up the trophy, while Cherono and Dibaba both know that only victory will absolutely guarantee the title.


The remaining Diamond Race discipline in Birmingham, the 400m, saw Kirani James take maximum points to move up to second place overall in an event that Lashawn Merritt has already won.



Dean Hardman for the IAAF Diamond League