5As expected, 000-meter European champion Konstanze Klosterhalfen was unable to compete for victory in a difficult race at the start of the new Diamond League season. The 26-year-old track and field athlete stayed around seven seconds ahead of her personal best on Friday in Doha with a time of 4:05.63 minutes and finished ninth.
Victory in the first international open-air competition of the World Cup year went to Faith Kipyegon from Kenya in 3:58.57 minutes ahead of Ethiopians Diribe Welteji (3:59.34) and Freweyni Hailu (4:00.29). “I think I did pretty well. In any case, there is still work to be done,” said Klosterhalfen after jumping into the “cold water” at an unusually early start to the season for her.
Weber has to work on his approach
European javelin champion Julian Weber finished fourth in the victory over Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra. At 82.62 meters, he was just over six meters behind the winner from India. Chopra won with 88.67 meters wafer-thin ahead of the Czech Jakub Vadlejch (88.63 m). Third was world champion Anderson Peters (85.88 m) from Grenada. “I definitely have to work on my run-up so that I have more security there,” said the man from Mainz.
Long-distance specialist Klosterhalfen hopes that the speed required over 1500 meters will also do her good over her special route, which is more than three times as long. The World Cup third over 5000 meters from 2019 had surprisingly left her long-term sponsor Nike and switched to the German sporting goods manufacturer Puma. At the same time, the runner, who starts for TSV Bayer Leverkusen, is now training with Irishman Alistair Cragg, who works for a runners’ group of her new outfitter in North Carolina/USA. Most recently she was cared for by Pete Julian in Portland, USA.
World annual best of the runner-up
The American Sha’Carri Richardson showed a strong start to the season over 100 meters. The 23-year-old crossed the finish line in the world’s best time of 10.76 seconds, ahead of relay Olympic champion Shericka Jackson from Jamaica (10.85) and former 200m world champion Dina Asher-Smith (Great Britain/10.98).
Flirtatious sprinter: Sha’Carri Richardson wins over 100 meters
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Image: EPA
100m world champion Fred Kerley (USA) secured victory in the 200m sprint. The 27-year-old American, recently repeatedly in the headlines because of his social media feud with sprint Olympic champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs (Italy), was well ahead of his compatriot Kenneth Bednarek (20.11) and Aaron Brown in 19.92 seconds from Canada (20.20) through.
The Portuguese Olympic and world champion Pedro Pichardo won the triple jump competition with 17.91 meters. However, Hugues Fabrice Zango from Burkina Faso set a new season’s world best of 17.81 m, although he only finished second – the tailwind on Pichardo’s jump was too strong, which is why he is not included in the leaderboard, albeit for the competition mattered.
Winfred Mutile Yavi (Bahrain) also ran the women’s 3000 meter steeplechase in her win with a time of 9:04.38 minutes. The highlight of the year for track and field athletes is the World Championships from August 19th to 27th in Budapest.
