Kendra Harrison of the US continued her impressive run of form in Stockholm on Thursday, leading a US 1-2-3 in the 100m hurdles.
On a wet night in the Swedish capital, Harrison was not able to match her performance last month in Eugene, Oregon, which saw her run the second-fastest race of all time.
However, the 23-year-old was too strong for the rest of the field, winning the Diamond League event in 12.66 seconds, ahead of Nia Ali in second and Queen Harrison in third.
Photo: AP
After the race, Kendra Harrison acknowledged that the damp summer evening had made a difference to her time.
“Conditions slowed me down a little, but I’m happy with my performance,” she said before looking ahead to the US Olympic trials next month. “The US team is one of the toughest to qualify for, but I am in good form and will give it my best shot.”
Another athlete chasing a world record was teenager Ruth Jebet of Bahrain. She was impressive in the 3,000m steeplechase, streaking away to finish nearly 15 seconds ahead of Kenya’s Beatrice Chepkoech, but unable to match her recent feat of finishing under nine minutes.
There was a strong lineup for the men’s 800m race, with Kenya’s Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich pipping Pierre-Ambroise Bosse of France to win in 1 minute, 45.07 seconds.
World record holder David Rudisha of Kenya, who won gold four years ago at the London Olympics, was back in fourth.
“It wasn’t perfect conditions for today’s race. I came here expecting to run a fast race, but the weather wasn’t so good,” he said.
Despite finishing outside the top three, Rudisha said he is still in good form ahead of the upcoming Rio Games.
“When I came here yesterday the conditions were perfect and if this was how it was going to be today, there’s no doubt I was going to run fast and I was aiming for the world lead — but maybe I’ll do it next time,” Rudisha said.
Meanwhile, Ivana Spanovic of Serbia cemented her lead at the top of the women’s long jump standings, winning with a jump of 6.9m. Brittney Reese of the US was a close second, jumping 6.88m. Tianna Bartoletta, also of the US was third.
Javier Culson of Puerto Rico won the men’s 400m hurdles ahead of Kerron Clement of the US.
However, it was a disappointing race for his fellow Americans, with Bershawn Jackson disqualified after a false start and Michael Tinsley not finishing the race after pulling up on the top bend.
Ethiopia took the first six spots in the men’s 5,000m, with Ibrahim Jeilan overtaking Yomif Kejelcha on the home straight.
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