2 months ago
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THE UNITED STATES’ Grace Stark had to produce a meet record in Stockholm yesterday to get the better of Jamaica’s Ackera Nugent, who finished second in the 100-metre hurdles, clocking 12.37 seconds at the seventh stop of the Wanda Diamond League.
The sprint hurdles, though producing an exciting three-way battle among Nugent, Dutchwoman Nadine Visser, and Stark, was overshadowed by Mondo Duplantis, who moved the pole vault bar the furthest it has ever gone … again.
Duplantis’ world record now stands at 6.28 metres.
Julien Alfred, Femke Bol, and Rai Benjamin were also spectacular in breaking meet records.
In a stacked women’s 100m hurdles field, Nugent, in her first Diamond League race of the season, ran well to clock her second-fastest time in the event this season, while Stark, the Diamond League leader, won in a season’s best and meet record of 12.33, with Nadine Visser of the Netherlands third in 12.49.
Nugent was pleased with her race execution despite not getting the win. “Everything went smoothly after I was initially shaken a little from the callback, but that actually was my best start, so I was very pleased,” said Nugent. “It’s my first time here in Stockholm and I enjoyed seeing the Royal Palace. The season has been good for me so far, and I’m enjoying the sport. I’m looking forward to competing in Paris this week, and I know I can make the finals in Tokyo at the World Championships,” she shared.
Nugent’s performance was the best for Jamaica at the meet. Olympic champion Roje Stona was sixth in the men’s discus with a throw of 64.68 metres, while Ackelia Smith was ninth in the women’s long jump with 6.76.
Olympic champion Tara Davis-Woodhall of the United States won the long jump with 7.05 metres to equal the meet record.
Duplantis, competing before his home crowd, broke the world record for the 12th time in his career, his first on home soil, and the fourth time at a Diamond League meet.
After opening up her season in the 100 metres three days earlier in Oslo with a 10.87-second performance, Olympic champion Julien Alfred of St Lucia was supreme yesterday.
Alfred, who had a much better start than in Oslo, controlled the race early, and despite easing up 10 metres from the finish line, clocked a season’s best and meet record 10.75. Her training partner, Dina Asher-Smith of Great Britain, was second in a season’s best 10.93, with Côte d’Ivoire’s Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith third, equalling her season’s best of 11.09.
Alfred was initially concerned with her form after Oslo, but said a conversation with her coach changed that.
“After Oslo, I had to have a long chat with my coach and he went through everything with me, that I’m in good shape, because I was doubting myself,” she stated.
“I am happy with today, with how the race went. The turnaround was fast, but it is nothing new to me. I should be heading back to Austin for training before Prefontaine,” said Alfred.
In the women’s 400-metre hurdles, world champion Femke Bol of the Netherlands, who was pressured early by the United States’ Dalilah Muhammad, showed her class in the latter stage to win in a season’s best and meet record 52.11 seconds — the second-fastest time in the world this year behind Olympic champion Sydney McLaughlin’s 52.07.
Former world record holder Muhammad finished second in 52.91.
In the men’s 400m hurdles, the world’s top three one-lap sepcialists clashed for the second time in three days.
After drawing first blood in Oslo in the rarely run 300-metre hurdles, breaking his own world best, Norway’s Karsten Warholm was confident.
Unlike in Oslo, where he went out very fast early and paid the price, American Rai Benjamin — the Olympic champion — ran a more controlled race, just staying close to Warholm before going by him later in the race.
The battle ended up being between Benjamin and Alison dos Santos of Brazil, with the former winning in a meet record and world-leading 46.54 seconds. The Brazilian was second in a season’s best 46.68, with Warholm relegated to third in 47.41.
English (US) ·