Diamond Race: Pre Birmingham Update

Jamaica’s Williams-Mills had finished third on her previous two IAAF Diamond League outings in Paris and Glasgow, but came back strongly to beat Sanya Richards-Ross, the victor in France, and Francena McCorory, who won in Glasgow.


Perkovic, who secured her third successive European title in Zurich last week, had suffered a shock defeat to the USA’s Gia Lewis-Smallwood in the Scottish city last month, but knew that second place in Sweden would be enough to take the Diamond Race, pending her appearance in the final meeting of the season. She duly delivered.


Elsewhere, many of the Diamond Race leaders in action struggled to maintain winning form on a cool Stockholm evening. Renaud Lavillenie was in the fortunate position of already having sewn up the pole vault title and it was just as well, as the French world record holder failed to record a height, allowing Konstantinos Filippidis to add four points to his existing three.


Home favourite Abeba Aregawi (1500m), Ethiopia’s Yenew Alamirew (5000m), Jeff Henderson of the USA (long jump), Egypt’s Ihab Abdelrahman El-Sayed (javelin) and Mike Rodgers (100m) all failed to add to their season’s tallies, but remain in pole position thanks to leads built up over the previous three and a half months.


Henderson in particular has an immediate opportunity to bounce back, literally, as he competes this coming weekend in Birmingham, where he will again come up against China’s Jinzhe Li, who sits just three points behind him in the standings. Indeed, the long jump is one of the more open events this season, with ten athletes theoretically capable of taking the crown and that’s assuming a new name doesn’t emerge in the English midlands on Sunday.


A similarly open event is the men’s 800m, where, in the absence of the leader David Rudisha, second placed Nijel Amos failed to capitalise in Stockholm, leaving more than 15 athletes in contention for the top prize, including the winner on Thursday, Adam Kszczot.


There were better fortunes, however, for seven athletes in Sweden who won their events to either retain or take Diamond Race leads. That being said, Michael Tinsley (400m hurdles), Reese Hoffa (shot put), Allyson Felix (200m), Queen Harrison (100m hurdles), Hiwot Ayalew (3000m steeplechase), Mariya Kuchina (high jump) and Tianna Bartoletta (long jump) will all know that they will need to pick up further points in the season finales, where points count for double, to secure Diamond Trophies.


The IAAF Diamond League now moves on to Birmingham in the UK, where a further seven athletes know that victory will see them win the Diamond Race in their disciplines.


Silas Kiplagat (1500m), Bohdan Bondarenko (high jump), Piotr Malachowski (discus), Tori Bowie (100m), Eunice Sum (800m), Fabiana Murer (pole vault) and Caterine Ibarguen (triple jump) are the athletes in question, but will be aware that they face tough opposition.


Especially aware of the strength of their rivals will be Poland’s Malachowski, Kenya’s Kiplagat and European champion Bondarenko. Malachowski faces his nemesis, Germany’s world champion, Robert Harting, while Kiplagat competes against Asbel Kiprop and Ayenleh Souleiman, a formidable duo who both lie five points behind him in the standings. Bondarenko once again meets Mutaz Barshim, the Qatari who has shown himself capable of beating the Ukrainian at various points during the season.


Sum and Ibarguen, on the other hand, can afford to place 3rd and 2nd respectively on the day and still finish first overall.


Elsewhere on the Birmingham programme, Valerie Adams and Jairus Birech compete in the shot put and 3000m steeplechase knowing that they have already achieved unsurpassable positions, while Diamond Race leaders Kaliese Spencer (400m hurdles), Nickel Ashmeade (200m), Mercy Cherono (2 miles), Barbora Spotakova (javelin) and Queen Harrison (100m hurdles) all look to collect more points to make life easier in Zurich and Brussels.


In the 400m, in the absence of Diamond Race winner Lashawn Merritt, Olympic champion Kirani James will look to move into second place in the standings.





Dean Hardman for the IAAF Diamond League