Winfred Yavi and Ackera Nugent take barriers in their stride in Rome
Despite there being anticipated world record attempts in the women's 1500m and men's 5000m at the Diamond League in Rome on Friday (Aug 30), the quickest performances came in the women's steeplechase and 100m hurdles.
In the 3000m 'chase Winfred Yavi clocked 9:44.39 to miss Beatrice Chepkoech's world record by only seven hundredths of a second. For the Bahrain athlete it was the second fastest time in history.
Peruth Chemutai, the 2021 Olympic champion and silver medallist behind Yavi in Paris earlier this month, was runner-up in a Ugandan record of 8:48.03.
“I looked at the time after the race and I went ‘oh, no!'” Yavi said. “I was really expecting that record and I was going for it. I definitely feel I should break it and I believe it will happen. I need to work even harder. And I am planning to have another go at it before the end of the season.”
In the women's sprint hurdles Ackera Nugent ran a Jamaican and meeting record and an equal world lead of 12.24 (-0.4) as the 22-year-old moves to No.4 on the world all-time rankings.
It came after she crashed out of the Olympic final in Paris a few weeks earlier.
In Rome, Masai Russell, the Olympic champion from the United States, was runner-up in 12.31.
“This victory is not like a revenge for the Olympics for me,” said Nugent. “I am just in a really good shape. I was injured before and this is a new experience for me.”
Faith Kipyegon was hoping to beat her own world 1500m record of 3:49.04 but after a 59-second first lap followed by a 64-second second lap, the record attempt struggled to get going and the Kenyan had to be content with a win in a fast 3:52.89 as Ethiopians Freweyni Hailu and Birke Haylom clocked 3:54.16 and 3:54.79 in second and third and Jess Hull of Australia was fourth in 3:54.98.
In ninth, Britain's Revee Walcott-Nolan broke four minutes again with a fine 3:58.68, whereas European 5000m and 10,000m champion and Olympic 10,000m silver medallist Nadia Battocletti broke four minutes for the first time in front of her home crowd with 3:59.19 in 11th.
Elsewhere, Letsile Tebogo was in supreme form as he won the men's 100m in style, showboating in the closing metres as he flashed past Christian Coleman and Fred Kerley to clock 9.87 (0.3) with Italy's 2021 Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs winding up last in 10.20.
Biggest cheers of the night, though, went to Gianmarco Tamberi as the Italian world champion finished third behind South Korea’s Woo Sanghyeok and Romaine Beckford of Jamaica, both of whom cleared 2.30m.
Olympic long jump champion Tara Davis-Woodhall of the United States continued her great 2024 form, meanwhile, with a 7.02m (0.1) victory as Olympic pole vault champion Nina Kennedy of Australia won on countback from USA’s Sandi Morris after both cleared 4.83m.
Ryan Crouser threw 22.49m to beat Italy’s European champion Leonardo Fabbri, who threw 21.70m. Impressively, every one of Crouser's marks were over 22 metres.
The men’s 5000m started at world record tempo but slowed down and saw Hagos Gebrhiwet sprint to victory in 12:51.07 from fellow Ethiopians Yomif Kejelcha (12:51.25) and Selemon Barega (12:51.39).
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