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Upsets over sprint favourites and a world record attempt highlighted the second stop of the Diamond League track and field athletics season in Suzhou, the People’s Republic of China on Saturday (27 April).
Swedish superstar Armand "Mondo" Duplantis put on a pole vault show with three world record attempts at a height of 6.25m. Duplantis fell painstakingly short of the mark but still set a meeting record of 6.00m for the gold.
Olympic 10,000m champion Selemon Barega of Ethiopia added some sparkle in the penultimate track event of the night winning the 5,000m in a meeting record time of 12:55.68. He edged compatriot Biniam Mehary into second place (12:56.37).
The two short sprint events – men’s 100m and women’s 200m – saw South Africa’s Akani Simbine and Great Britain’s Daryll Neita claiming surprise victories over former and current world champions.
Simbine came out on top in a 100m tussle with former world champions Fred Kerley and Christian Coleman, sprinting to victory in 10.01 seconds.
Neita, in turn, was in flying form beating the reigning 100m world champion Sha’Carri Richardson in the half-lap sprint event. The British sprinter came out of the curve with a comfortable advantage over the chasing field and cruised to victory in a time of 22.62s without much of a challenge. Anavia Battle followed in second place (22.99s) with Richardson finishing in a distant third (23.11s) settling for a minor placing for the second week in a row in the 200m event.
Reigning world women’s 400m champion Marileidy Paulino claimed a comprehensive victory in the one-lap event with a time of 50.89 seconds. Paulino pulled away over the final stretch to claim her second win in as many races on the Diamond League circuit.
In the opening track event of the evening, Mekedes Alemeshete spearheaded an Ethiopian podium sweep crossing the line in a new personal best and world-leading time of 14:36.70 in the women's 5,000m.
Two-time shot-put world champion Chase Jackson produced a season’s best heave of 20.03 metres to make up for the hiccup from a week ago at the Xiamen Diamond League meeting, when reigning Olympic champion Gong Lijiao took the spoils on home soil with Jackson third.
In the women’s long jump, African champion Marthe Koala took the lead with her opening leap of 6.68 metres. The Burkinabe athlete stayed in pole position with Quanesha Burks of the United States finishing second thanks to her second attempt of 6.59m.
Marquis Dendy of the United States won the men’s long jump by a hair’s breadth with a leap of 8.05m. Former Chinese world champion Wang Jianan claimed silver with a jump of 8.04m.
World indoor champion Hamish Kerr of New Zealand prevailed over Olympic gold medallist Mutaz Essa Barshim clearing the crossbar at 2.31m to win the men’s high jump competition.
Beatrice Chepkoech was in dominant form in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase claiming a second Diamond League race on the trot. The Kenyan star raced home in a time of 9:07.36. Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai followed in second place in 9:15.46 with Gesa Felicitas Krause of Germany finishing third in 9:16.
The women’s 100m hurdles had a good dollop of drama with world record holder Tobi Amusan running under protest following disqualification for a false start. Olympic 100m hurdles champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn had the edge in a close finish, taking the win in a time of 12.63s. World indoor champion Devynne Charlton of the Bahamas took second place (12.64s).
In the men's event, American high hurdler Daniel Roberts (13.12s) beat Japan’s Izumiya Shunsuke and Olympic champion Hansle Parchment into second and third place, respectively.
In an earlier non-Diamond League event, Olympic champion Valarie Allman won the women’s discus throw with a season’s best attempt of 69.86m.
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