Diamond League Prefontaine Classic 2024: Keely Hodgkinson stuns Mary Moraa in 800m as Grant Holloway sets 110m hurdles world lead
Keely Hodgkinson gave a real signal of intent in the women's 800m at the Diamond League Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday (25 May).
In her first 800m of the year, the Briton surged past world champion Mary Moraa with 150 metres to go and stretched clear to win in a world lead time of 1:55.78.
Jemma Reekie took third in a race missing Olympic champion Athing Mu who pulled out in midweek citing a sore hamstring.
Hodgkinson said afterwards, "I knew I was in this kind of shape coming into it, but it doesn't really matter when you're racing these girls - it's all about what they're going to do, what are you going to do... all that tactics and stuff.
"I just learned to enjoy it. I think that's a bit part of it and I just can't wait to keep coming out here, producing good times, producing good races and just being consistent. And I think that final in Paris is going to be insane. But I just hope to be a part of it and really challenge for the top place."
Grant Holloway was a comfortable winner of the 110m hurdles, winning in a world lead time of 13.03 from Daniel Roberts. Freddie Crittenden made it an all-American top three with Jamaica’s Olympic champion Hansle Parchment fourth having crawled out of the blocks.
Joe Kovacs rolled back the years in the shot put. The two-time world champion and two-time Olympic silver medallist threw a world lead 23.03m in round three before saving the best for last - 23.13m in the final round - to underline his win.
Payton Otterdahl was second with 22.16m ahead of Chukwuebuka Enekwechi's new Nigerian record of 21.91m.
Valarie Allman secured a home win in the women’s discus. Taking the lead into the final round, the American produced a throw of 67.36m to increase her advantage. Yaime Perez then came close, but her effort of 67.25m was not quite enough to topple the Olympic champion.
Diribe Welteji won the women’s 1500m in impressive style. The 22-year-old Ethiopian was the only one to go with the pacemaker before increasing her advantage with two laps to go. And she kicked clear 300m from home in setting a personal best of 3:53.75.
Australia’s Jessica Hull ran an Oceania record of 3:55.97 in second with home favourite Elle St. Pierre third in a personal best 3:56.00. Britain’s Olympic silver medallist Laura Muir was fourth.
Emily Grove upsets Katie Moon in pole vault
Emily Grove pulled off a big upset in the women's pole vault, taking the scalp of world and Olympic champion Katie Moon. In a rare Diamond League outing, Grove cleared 4.63m on her third and final attempt with Moon choosing to skip that height. Both women went on to have three failures of 4.73m.
Leyanis Perez Hernandez won the triple jump despite having to abort her final attempt due to a botched run-up. The Cuban’s first-round effort of 14.73m proved enough for victory ahead of Thea Lafond of Dominica and Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts.
Beatrice Chepkoech started out at world record pace in the 3000m steeplechase, but Uganda's Olympic champion Peruth Chemutai managed to stay with her and outsprinted the Kenyan after the final barrier to take victory in a new national record of 8:55.09 which was also the fastest time in the world this year.
Ethiopians dominated the women's 5000m, filling the first six places. Tsigie Gebreselama took victory in a 2024 world lead time of 14:18.76 ahead of Ejgayehu Taye and Freweyni Hailu. Birke Haylom was fifth in a new world U20 record with Dutch star Sifan Hassan seventh.
Costa Rica's Gerald Drummond finished strongly to take the men's 400m hurdles in 48.56. Rasmus Magi of Estonia flew home for second ahead of USA's CJ Allen. Jamaican teenager Roshawn Clarke paid the price for going out too hard and finished in fourth.
Cyrena Samba-Mayela sprang a surprise in the non-Diamond League women’s 100m hurdles. Out in lane eight, she beat her training partner, Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, to equal her own French national record of 12.52.
Camacho-Quinn clocked 12.54 with Tonea Marshall third in 12.55 ahead of world indoor 60m hurdles champion Devynne Charlton.
In another non-Diamond League event, Canada's Camryn Rogers threw a meeting record 77.76m in the women's hammer, beating American pair DeAnna Price and Brooke Andersen.