Olympic champion Thomas Roehler on Thursday kept the javelin world record in his crosshairs at the Golden Gala, where Kenya’s Hellen Obiri upset the 5,000m world record plans of Ethiopian rival Genzebe Dibaba.
In Doha last month, Roehler’s 93.9m effort was well short of retired Czech legend Jan Zelezny’s 1996 world mark of 98.48m, but was still the best the sport had seen in 20 years.
Although still short on Thursday, the 25-year-old German overcame some early wobbles, and determined compatriot Johannes Vetter, to triumph with his sixth attempt at 90.6m.
Vetter was second at 88.15m and Trinidad and Tobago’s Keshorn Walcott third with a season-best throw of 86.61m.
“I was really motivated to throw it far and the conditions were good, but I had to wait for my sixth attempt,” Roehler said. “Johannes pushed me really hard, to throw further. In the end, I threw over 90m again and I’m really, really happy.”
Ideal conditions graced the 37th edition of the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea, but Dibaba’s hopes of adding the outdoor world record — held by her sister Tirunesh in 14 minutes, 11.15 seconds — to her own 5,000m world indoor record were picked apart.
Obiri had clocked a world-leading 14 minutes, 22.47 seconds for the distance in Shanghai to go three seconds faster than Dibaba did in Eugene, Oregon, a fortnight later, and upset her rival’s plans in sensational style.
“When I came to this race, I told myself that nobody can beat me,” Obiri said.
Before the 10-minute mark she soloed away from Dibaba to go it alone for the final laps and finish amid a standing ovation to set a new world leading time of 14 minutes, 18.37 seconds, which is a new national record.
Kenya’s Agnes Jebet Tirop was second in a personal best of 14 minutes, 33.09 seconds, with Letesenbet Gidey saving Ethiopia’s podium blushes to finish third in 14 minutes, 33.32 seconds.
Dibaba was sixth in 14 minutes, 41.55 seconds.
“I was looking to 14:18, and I think I can even improve it at the next competition,” Obiri said. “I thought Genzebe would push it forward to go faster, but when she didn’t, I tried to push myself.”
In the absence of Jamaican 110m hurdles star Omar McLeod, US world record-holder Aries Merritt also capitalized on the perfect race conditions to match his earlier season’s best in a winning time of 13.13 seconds.
Along with a decisive dip at the line, it secured victory to leave Spain’s Cuban-born Olympic silver medalist Orlando Ortega, who had run 13.15 seconds this year, second in 13.17 seconds.
Russia’s world champion Sergey Shubenkov — competing under a neutral banner — was third in 13.21 seconds.
“It was a bit sloppy,” said Merritt, who suggested that without “jet lag” he could have gone faster. “I wanted to run much faster, but in the end I’m happy with my season’s best. I mad many mistakes, hit a lot of hurdles, but my speed is getting better.”
Canada’s Andre De Grasse, Olympic silver medalist in the men’s 200m, despite sharing a personal best of 19.8 seconds with Christophe Lemaitre, dominated the Frenchman to claim victory in 20.01 seconds, a season’s best.
Lemaitre was second in 20.29 seconds, with American Ameer Webb third in 20.33 seconds.
In the women’s 100m, 200m world champion Schippers fell short of her season’s best of 10.95 seconds, but beat Ivorian Marie-Josee Ta Lou, second in 11.03 seconds, and Trinidad and Tobago’s Michelle-Lee Ahye (11.07 seconds).
Colombia’s Caterine Ibarguen, last year’s Olympic champion, wowed the crowd, but finished second-best to Venezuela’s world indoor champion Yulimar Rojas as the women’s triple jump made its Diamond League debut.
The world leader by more than half a meter, Rojas had leaped 14.96m this year and kept to the form book with a leap of 14.84m that left Ibarguen in second place, albeit with a season’s best of 14.73m.
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