Mixed results for Jamaicans
Three world records fall in Paris Diamond League
While there were mixed results for the Jamaicans at yesterday’s Paris Diamond League meet, it was also a night where world records fell, headlined by another stunning performance from World and Olympic 1500 metres champion Faith Kipyegon.
Multiple national 800m champion Natoya Goule finished third in the women’s 800m with a season’s best performance of one minute 58.23 in her second Diamond League meet of the season. Olympic silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson of Great Britain won the event in a world-leading and national record performance of 1:55.77 while American Ajee Wilson was second in 1:58.16. In the field, 2019 World Championships silver medallist Danniel Thomas-Dodd opened her Diamond League campaign with a fourth-place finish in the women’s shot put. Dodd’s best effort was 19.25m which she produced on her fifth attempt but it was not enough to get her into the top three for a sixth and final attempt. Portugal’s Auriol Dongmo won the event with a season’s best effort of 19.72m, beating out the likes of reigning world champion Chase Ealey who was second with 19.43m and her American compatriot Maggie Ewen who was third with 19.26m. Ewen is the leading thrower in the world this year with her 20.45m effort from the Los Angeles Grand Prix last month.
SEASON’S BEST
Olympic and World Championships relay medallist Candice McLeod finished sixth in the women’s 400m in a season’s best effort of 50.82 seconds. In the battle between World Championships silver medallist Marileidy Paulino and World and Olympic 400m hurdles champion and world record holder Sydney McLaughlin Levrone, it was Paulino that prevailed in a meet record time of 49.12. McLaughlin Levrone, competing in her first 400m event of the season, was second in a new personal best time of 49.71. Former world champion, Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain, was third in 49.95.
Former world 100m champion Yohan Blake finished fourth in 10.16 in the men’s 100m with world 200m champion, American Noah Lyles, tasting victory in 9.97. Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya, the fastest man in the world this year, was second in 9.98 while world under-20 100m champion Letsile Tebogo was third in 10.05. Olympic champion Lamont Jacobs who made his outdoor season debut finished sixth in 10.21.
Three world records fell at the meet. The world records were highlighted by Kipyegon smashing the women’s 5000m mark just a week after she claimed the 1500m record. Kipyegon stormed to victory in 14:05.20 getting the better of Letesenbet Gidey who was second in a season’s best of 14:07.94. Kipyegon said she was surprised with her performance.
“I did not think about the world record, I do not know how I made it. I just did the race and wanted to see what happens, when I saw that it was a world record. I was so surprised,” Kipyegon said.
World championship silver medallist Lamecha Girma took the 3000m men’s steeplechase world record en route to winning the event in 7:52.11. World 5000m champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen won the men’s two-mile event in a world record time of 7:54.10