To be able to pick up points in early May and still be in the physical and mental shape to be winning events through to July and then complete the job in September requires meticulous preparation and, often, outstanding ability.
It’s not surprising, then, that of the athletes competing in the 17 IAAF Diamond League disciplines on show in Paris, only one remains unbeaten after four competitions in 2015.
Caterine Ibargüen, Colombia’s 2013 and 2014 triple jump Diamond Race winner took her fourth four-point haul of the year in the French capital to extend her already-healthy lead over Yekaterina Koneva.
Yet for other unbeaten Diamond Race leaders in action, it was a less successful evening.
Renaud Lavillenie (pole vault), Kirani James (400m) and Fabiana Murer (pole vault) had all been victorious on their previous outings, yet were unable to pick up maximum points.
Lavillenie, the only man to have ever won a Diamond Trophy in the pole vault, failed to pick up any points at his home meeting, meaning that Greece’s Konstantinos Filippidis was able to draw level on points with victory.
James picked up two points for second place behind South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk, who picked up his first 400m points of the year, while Murer could only pick up a solitary point for third place in a pole vault competition won by Greece’s Nikoleta Kiriakopoulou. The Greek vaulter replaces the Brazilian at the top of the Diamond Race leaderboard.
In other events, it was business as usual for Diamond Race leaders who extended their leads in France.
Piotr Małachowski (discus), Jairus Birech (3000m steeplechase), Silas Kiplagat (1500m), Eunice Sum (800m), Genzebe Dibaba (5000m) and Christina Schwanitz (shot put) were all able add further distance between themselves and their nearest challengers with victories.
Other leaders in action either had their leads cut or lost them entirely.
Mutaz Essa Barshim (high jump) and David Oliver (110m hurdles) retained their positions, but saw Daniil Tsyplakov and Orlando Ortega edge closer to them, while Murielle Ahoure saw Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce move past her in the Diamond Race following the Jamaican’s swift performance over 100m.
In the javelin, four women had held the joint lead following the first three meetings, but victory for Barbora Špotáková, allied to a single point picked up earlier in the year, saw her take the outright lead in the race, with Sunette Viljoen tied with her on five points, but in second due to the fact that she hasn’t yet won a meeting.
In the absence of Justin Gatlin (100m), Greg Rutherford (long jump) and Kaliese Spencer (400m hurdles), Asafa Powell, Michael Hartfield and Zuzana Hejnová took much needed wins.
Powell, the 2011 Diamond Race champion, picked up his first points of the year to move within four of his American rival, while Hartfield drew level on points with Rutherford, who retains the lead courtesy of his two wins – in Oslo and Birmingham..
Spencer still has a commanding lead in the 400m hurdles and is favourite to retain the title that she has won four times, but Hejnova, the only other woman to have won a 400m hurdles Diamond Trophy, did move into second place, six points behind the Jamaican’s twelve.
Four Diamond Race points are awarded to event winners at each meeting, two to runners up and one to third place finishers, with the top eight athletes in the standings securing places in the season ending finales in Zurich and Brussels, where points won are worth double. The athletes in each discipline with the most points after all seven meetings are crowned the Diamond Race Champions and each secure a Diamond Trophy.
Dean Hardman for the IAAF Diamond League
