LaShawn Merritt of the US eased to victory in the 400m as one of several newly crowned world champions to shine at the Stockholm Diamond League meeting on Thursday.
Fresh from his success in Moscow last week, Merritt (44.69 seconds) was slower by nearly a second than his time at the world championships, but still won by more than half a second from Luguelin Santos of the Dominican Republic.
Compatriot David Oliver, the 110m hurdles world champion, also triumphed in his event, while women’s 800m runner Eunice Sum, women’s 400m hurdler Zuzana Hejnova and shot putter Valerie Adams were other successful world champions.
Photo: AFP
Ethiopian women’s 5,000m world and Olympic champion Meseret Defar stormed to victory in the 3,000m to win in 8:30.29, the world’s fastest time this year.
The women’s high jump event featured eight of the top nine finalists from Moscow and once again Russia’s Svetlana Shkolina came out on top to remain unbeaten this season.
Another world champion Russian, men’s long jumper Aleksandr Menkov, leapt to victory on a chilly night in Stockholm.
Photo: EPA
Three women earned one-carat diamonds after setting Olympic Stadium records with the Czech Republic’s Hejnova running the 400m hurdles in 53.70 seconds, New Zealand’s Adams throwing 20.30m in the shot put and Russia’s Mariya Abakumova setting a mark of 68.59m in the javelin.
There was an upset in the men’s 1,500m where Kenyan world champion Asbel Kiprop could only finish sixth as Djibouti’s Ayanleh Souleiman took the victory in 3:33.59 in a race that was much faster than in Moscow.
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