Elaine Thompson-Herah and Mondo Duplantis bounce back at Paris Diamond League
Jamaica's double-double Olympic champion cruises to 100m victory in Paris while there's also redemption for Sweden's pole vault gold medallist Mondo Duplantis
Athletics
Elaine Thompson-Herah and Mondo Duplantis are back to their winning ways after suffering rare defeats in Lausanne.
The Tokyo 2020 triple Olympic sprint champion roared back from her second-place finish in Lausanne in the 100m, cruising to victory on Saturday (28 August) at the Diamond League meet in Paris. The 29-year old Jamaican notched 10.72 seconds at a canter, ahead of compatriot Shericka Jackson (10.97) and Great Britain's Dina Asher-Smith (11.06).
Olympic pole vault champion Mondo Duplantis also recaptured his Tokyo form, having finished only fourth in Lausanne. The Swedish star won the competition in Paris soaring over 6.01m before failing to clear a world record height of 6.19m.
Ernest John Obiena came in second setting a personal - and Filipino - best of 5.91 with his first attempt at the height.
Thompson-Herah's time beat the previous best in Paris, the 10.74 set by Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce in 2015. Fraser-Pryce - the winner in Lausanne - sat out the Paris leg of the Diamond League with fatigue.
It's been a year of maximal effort from the three dominant Jamaicans, who took 100m gold, silver and bronze at the Olympics before taking their form onto the Diamond League circuit. Thompson-Herah ran the best time in Diamond League history in Eugene last week and finished second behind Fraser-Pryce in Lausanne before her victory in Paris on Saturday.
In the men's 100m, American Marvin Bracy took top spot in 10.04 ahead of Jamaica's Nigel Ellis (10.14).
Meanwhile, in the men's 200m, Fred Kerley (USA) raced to a new personal best of 19.79 to edge out countryman Kenneth Bednarek who ws running the same time.
US sprint legend Allyson Felix, making her second Diamond League start since picking up two more Olympic medals, finished third in the 400m in 50.47 behind Sada Williams of Barbados (50.30) and Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Marileidy Paulino who puled away late to win in 50.12.
Elsewhere, Jamaica's Danielle Williams stormed to a season best in the 100m hurdles, winning in 12.50 ahead of Nadine Visser from the Netherlands (12.58) with Olympic bronze medallist Megan Tapper (Jamaica) third in 12.66.
Jamaica's Olympic champion Hansle Parchment clinched the men's 110m hurdles in 13.03. U.S. star Devon Allen came in second with 13.08 ahead of another Jamaican, Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist, Ronald Levy in 13.24.
Olympic 3000m steeplechase champion Soufiane El Bakkali suffered a bad fall at the first obstacle. The Moroccan had become the first non-Kenyan since 1980 to win gold at Tokyo 2020, but his early exit meant it was a Kenyan sweep in Paris, with Benjamin Kigen setting a world-leading time of 8:07.12.
In the women's 3000m Burundi's Francine Niyonsaba clocked a world-leading 8:19.08 for the win. The time makes her the fifth-fastest woman of all time outdoors.