Asher-Smith sparkles in Diamond League 100 m
On the right track
Britain's leading athletes Dina Asher-Smith and Keely Hodgkinson powered to victory to delight a home crowd at the Diamond League meeting in Birmingham on Saturday.
SuperSport
Clocking 11.11 seconds to beat Olympic bronze medallist Shericka Jackson of Jamaica by one hundredth of a second, Dina Asher-Smith recorded her best result so far in a season in which she is aiming to retain her world 200-metre title in Oregon in July.
“There was a very strong field. I could have done a few things differently if I am being picky, but I’m very happy to win in this temperature and against this field,” she said.
Keely Hodgkinson controlled the women’s 800 m to show that the surprise silver medallist at the Tokyo Olympics is in convincing form in her first outdoor race of the year.
The 20-year-old kicked hard in the home straight to open up a gap on the field and win in one minute and 58.63 seconds from France’s Renelle Lamote.
“It’s a confidence-booster and I want to build on it with two months to go before the world championships,” she said.
She added that she was looking forward to a “good test” when she runs against the Americans in the Oregon Diamond League meeting next weekend.
False starts
Olympic 200 m champion Andre De Grasse was beaten into fourth place in a disappointing men’s 100m that was deprived of American Trayvon Bromell - the fastest man in the world last year - and Britain’s Zharnel Hughes by false starts.
At the stadium that will host the Commonwealth Games athletics later this year, De Grasse was outclassed by Canadian compatriot Aaron Brown who won in a modest 10.13 seconds, with 32-year-old Jamaican Yohan Blake second in 10.18.
De Grasse clocked a pedestrian 10.24, but showed better form when he anchored a Canadian quartet to victory in the men’s 4x100m relay in 38.31 seconds.
Britain’s first-choice relay quartet, who were stripped of their Olympic silver medal after Chijindu Ujah failed a doping test, made a bad start to the 2022 season when Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake dropped the baton in the final changeover.
Dominate
Another home favourite, Laura Muir, showed she is building back strongly from a back injury she suffered in February when the Brit won a hard-fought women’s 1500 m in 4:02.81, holding off Australia’s Jessica Hull. Hansle Parchment, who caused an upset to win the Olympic 110 m hurdles title last year, set a world-leading 13.09 seconds to beat another Jamaican, 2016 Olympic champion Omar McLeod.
American Dalia Muhammad, the Olympic champion in 2016 and silver medallist last year, eased to victory in the women’s 400 m hurdles in 54.54 seconds ahead of two Ukrainians, Viktoriya Tkachuk and Anna Ryzhkova.
In the men’s discus, Slovenia’s Kristjan Ceh moved into the all-time world top 10 with a huge throw of 71.27 metres.
Italian high jumper Gianfranco Tamberi, who famously shared Olympic gold with Mutaz Essa Barshim in Tokyo, had to settle for second in a competition won by Canadian Django Lovett with 2.28 m to 2.25 m.
Meannwhile, Germany’s Olympic gold medallist Malaika Mihomba leaped a world-leading 7.09m to dominate the women’s long jump.
Clocking 11.11 seconds to beat Olympic bronze medallist Shericka Jackson of Jamaica by one hundredth of a second, Dina Asher-Smith recorded her best result so far in a season in which she is aiming to retain her world 200-metre title in Oregon in July.
“There was a very strong field. I could have done a few things differently if I am being picky, but I’m very happy to win in this temperature and against this field,” she said.
Keely Hodgkinson controlled the women’s 800 m to show that the surprise silver medallist at the Tokyo Olympics is in convincing form in her first outdoor race of the year.
The 20-year-old kicked hard in the home straight to open up a gap on the field and win in one minute and 58.63 seconds from France’s Renelle Lamote.
“It’s a confidence-booster and I want to build on it with two months to go before the world championships,” she said.
She added that she was looking forward to a “good test” when she runs against the Americans in the Oregon Diamond League meeting next weekend.
False starts
Olympic 200 m champion Andre De Grasse was beaten into fourth place in a disappointing men’s 100m that was deprived of American Trayvon Bromell - the fastest man in the world last year - and Britain’s Zharnel Hughes by false starts.
At the stadium that will host the Commonwealth Games athletics later this year, De Grasse was outclassed by Canadian compatriot Aaron Brown who won in a modest 10.13 seconds, with 32-year-old Jamaican Yohan Blake second in 10.18.
De Grasse clocked a pedestrian 10.24, but showed better form when he anchored a Canadian quartet to victory in the men’s 4x100m relay in 38.31 seconds.
Britain’s first-choice relay quartet, who were stripped of their Olympic silver medal after Chijindu Ujah failed a doping test, made a bad start to the 2022 season when Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake dropped the baton in the final changeover.
Dominate
Another home favourite, Laura Muir, showed she is building back strongly from a back injury she suffered in February when the Brit won a hard-fought women’s 1500 m in 4:02.81, holding off Australia’s Jessica Hull. Hansle Parchment, who caused an upset to win the Olympic 110 m hurdles title last year, set a world-leading 13.09 seconds to beat another Jamaican, 2016 Olympic champion Omar McLeod.
American Dalia Muhammad, the Olympic champion in 2016 and silver medallist last year, eased to victory in the women’s 400 m hurdles in 54.54 seconds ahead of two Ukrainians, Viktoriya Tkachuk and Anna Ryzhkova.
In the men’s discus, Slovenia’s Kristjan Ceh moved into the all-time world top 10 with a huge throw of 71.27 metres.
Italian high jumper Gianfranco Tamberi, who famously shared Olympic gold with Mutaz Essa Barshim in Tokyo, had to settle for second in a competition won by Canadian Django Lovett with 2.28 m to 2.25 m.
Meannwhile, Germany’s Olympic gold medallist Malaika Mihomba leaped a world-leading 7.09m to dominate the women’s long jump.
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