Diamond League Monaco 2022 - Track and field athletics review - Impressive world leads for Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Faith Kipyegon as Noah Lyles tops loaded 200m field
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Faith Kipyegon, Mutaz Barshim and Yulimar Rojas victorious in the 10th stop of the Diamond League in Monaco.
Athletics
About a dozen freshly crowned world athletics champions were on parade on Wednesday (10 August), with the women’s 100m and the men’s 200m the key highlights of an exciting tenth Diamond League stop of the season.
The five-time and reigning world 100m champ, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce soared to victory in a loaded women's 100m field, holding off Jamaican teammate Shericka Jackson. The sprint legend raced to her fastest this season, which was also a world lead of 10.62.
The penultimate event of the evening the men's 200m, finished off with American world champion Noah Lyles breaking a meet record of 19.46 ahead of U.S teammates Erriyon Knighton and Michael Norman.
Reigning world champions Yulimar Rojas (triple jump), Mutaz Barshim (high jump) and Kelsey-Lee Barber (javelin throw) were also in sublime form as they topped their respective field events.
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22:00 Noah Lyles tops again in the 200m
The men’s half lap is a near repeat of the U.S. Trials in Eugene. In the end, it was all about Noah Lyles who bettered his meet record with a brilliant run in 19.46 seconds.
The two-time world champion was quick off the blocks and by the halfway point, he stretched away to cross the line first again ahead of rising star Erriyon Knighton. Knighton, the world bronze medallist, was second in 19.84 while the 400m gold medallist Michael Norman rounded off the American sweep of the podium in 19.95.
Lyles was pleased to earn his first Diamond League points after a 'wobbly' run as he targets the world record next year.
"It was a good race in overall. Of course, I wanted to go a bit faster but to be honest, I am getting my victory points right now," he said.
"Happy to win and the fast times come and that is awesome. The whole race was kind of wobbly. I was kind of inside all the time, trying to get in the middle. I just enjoy what I do. I want to get PRs and get the shoot on the world record, of course. So that is a huge goal for the next year."
Yulimar Rojas was in her usual form in the women's triple jump leaping to 15.01m way ahead of world championships silver medallist Shanieka Ricketts.
The final event on the track – the women’s 3000m steeplechase – saw an Ethiopian 1-2- with Werkuha Getachew, second in the worlds in Eugene, topping in 9:06.19. Zerfe Wondemagegn was second in 9:06.63 with Elizabeth Bird clocking setting a British record of 9:07.87.
21:40 World champs Mutaz Barshim and Kelsey-Lee Barber top again in Monaco
Another event that attracted the three medallists from the World Championships was the men’s high jump.
After the early exit of Olympic gold medallist Gianmarco Tamberi, the focus remained on the other Tokyo 2020 champion Mutaz Barshim and Sanghyeok Woo as the bar moves up to 2.30m.
The Qatari cleared the mark twice to top in Monaco again beating the silver medalist from Eugene in Woo.
Earlier on, Australians dominated the women’s pole vault and javelin events.
Nina Kennedy topped the women’s pole vault with her best of 4.66m. The women’s javelin was also Eugene all over again which reigning double world champion Kelsey-Lee Barber won in 64.50.
21:10 Shaunae Miller-Uibo wins women's 400m
Shaunae Miller-Uibo returned to Monaco after four years with a comfortable win of 49.28 seconds in the women's 400m.
In her last race in Monaco in 2018, the world leader set a meeting record of 48.97, and on Wednesday, she was in control and crossed the line ahead of Candice McLeod from Jamaica (49.87) and third place's Sada Williams of the Barbados (50.10).
Thierry Ndikumwenayo outsprints Berihu Aregawi to take victory in an exciting men’s 3000m race. The late surge secured the win in 7:25.93, the fastest ever by a Burundian. Aregawi of Ethiopia held on for second in 7:26.81 just ahead of American Grant Fisher who times 7:28.48.
The women's 800m is all about Jamaican Natoya Goule who won in a season best of 1:56.98.
20:50 Faith Kipyegon is now world number two in women's 1500m
Newly minted world champion Faith Kipyegon was disappointed at missing the world record, as she raced to the second fastest time ever in the women's 1500m.
After winning her second world title in Eugene, the double Olympic champion aimed to better Ethiopian Genzebe Dibaba’s world record of 3:50.07 which was also set at the Herculis meeting at the Stade Louis II in 2015.
Kipyegon pushed on after dropping off the final pace-setter heading into the final lap opening a huge gap.
She stormed down the finish line just missing the mark by a mere 0.30 seconds.
"I have been chasing the time for quite some time but I am happy with the personal best. It seems I did not give all but I tried hard. I knew this was the best place to get the world record but I am so disappointed I lost it in the last meters," she said after the race.
The Kenyan finished way ahead of the American duo of Heather Maclean (3:58.89) and Elise Cranny(3:59.06).
Shortly after, another two-time world champion Grant Holloway also carried on his world championships shape taking the men’s 110m hurdles with a season-best of 12.99.
Olympic champion Hansle Parchment of Jamaica finished third in 13.08 just behind another American, Trey Cunningham, who crossed the line in 13.03.
20:24 Another fast win for Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in 10.62
One of the key highlights of the evening was the women’s 100m parading five of the finalists from the finals of the worlds in Eugene.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the reigning world champion, who has raced to 10.67 seconds - five times this season-picked up from where she signed off two days ago at the Continental Tour in Hungary.
The Jamaican's consistent form again pays off yet again as she sped to a meet record of 10.62 seconds, the fastest of 2022.
"To be able to run 10.6 consistently means a lot to me. It is remarkable. It is very hard to keep the speed on this high level," she said shortly after dashing to her sixth 10.6 seconds of the season.
"It is important for me to deliver fast times, because I'm looking forward for myself to have a great season. I'm in my late thirties and I think I feel like I have more to give. I look forward to do my Personal Best for the rest of the season and run fast."
Another world champion Shericka Jackson also raced to her personal best of 10.71 while Cote d’Ivoire’s Marie Jose Ta Lou lowered her African record to 10.72.
20:20 Jake Wightman shines in men’s 1000m
World 1500m champion Jake Wightman extended his dominant performance after winning the gold in Eugene, with a superbly timed kick in the home stretch of the men’s 1000m.
The Briton eased past early leader Canada’s Marco Aarop in the last 50m clocking 2:13.88.
"I did not really know I was in shape to do this today," Wightman offered.
"It was just very, very hard. I have run on my own. I knew Aarop is a little bit quicker on the home straight so I had to judge the right moment.
Aarop set a national record in the rarely-raced 1000m of 2:14.35 while U.S.’s Clayton Murphy closed in for third in 2:15.73.
20:04 - Jamaicans rule the women's 400m hurdles
In the absence of world record holder Sydney Mclaughlin who raced her last race of the season two days ago at the Continental Tour meet in Hungary**,** World championships finalist, Rushell Clayton topped the women’s 400m hurdles.
The Jamaican raced to her fastest ever of 53.33 ahead of compatriot Janieve Russell (53.63) and third-placed Gianna Woodruff of Panama (54.13).
The Herculis meeting’s proceedings had began with the men’s long jump. Cuban Masso Maykel who just finished outside the podium in Eugene won that event with his second-round attempt of 8.35m, his best this season.
Greece’s Militiadis Tentoglou and American Marquis Dendy both leapt to bests of 8.31m in their third attempts for second and third, respectively.
18:30pm – Today's schedule
The long jump competition for men is underway!
Here is today's schedule of the Diamond League events taking place in Monaco
18:30 - Long jump - men
19:20 - Pole vault - women
19:35 - Javelin throw - women
19:45 - High jump - men
20:04 - 400m hurdles- women
20:14 - 1000m - women
20:24 - 100m - women
20:26 - Triple jump - women
20:32 - 1500m - women
20:47- 110m hurdles - men
20:56 - 800m - women
21:06 - 400m - women
21:16 - 3000m- men
21:33 - 200m - men
21:44 - 3000m steeplechase-women
See the full schedule of events here.