2016 Bislett Games Full Meet Recap: Asbel Kiprop Crushes Everyone In the Mile, Dafne Schippers Crushes Everyone in the 200, and Hagos Gebrhiwet Wins The Loaded 5000

by LetsRun.com
June 9, 2016

Despite near-perfect conditions for distance running (60 degrees, no wind), no one was able to take advantage and run a truly fast time in the distance events at the ExxonMobil Bislett Games. the IAAF Diamond League track and field meet in Oslo, on Thursday. The distance program went mostly to form, as Asbel Kiprop (3:51.48) and Faith Kipyegon (4:18.60) kept their perfect seasons in tact, earning commanding wins in the mile. Hyvin Kiyeng broke 9:10 again to win the women’s steeple but came up well short of the world record, while in the only “upset” of the night, Ethiopia’s Hagos Gebrhiwet claimed a slow 5,000 in 13:07.70. One of the highlights of the night actually came before the TV window as 15-year-old Jakob Ingebrigtsen ran an amazing 3:42.44 in the men’s 1500.

While there weren’t many fireworks in the distance action, there were a few outstanding performances in the sprints and field events. Dafne Schippers crushed Elaine Thompson to run a Diamond League record of 21.93 in the 200, Joe Kovacs went over 22 meters again in the shot put, while Germany’s Thomas Rohler got a world leader of 89.30 in the javelin. The men’s 100 looked to be a great race on paper, but Kim Collins unfortunately pulled up lame late in the race, paving the way for Andre De Grasse to win in 10.07.

Full event by event recap, results and analysis below.

Men’s Dream Mile: Asbel Kiprop Wins Again as the Field Waves the White Flag

Alan Webb can rest peacefully tonight. He still has the fastest mile in the world since 2001 after Asbel Kiprop built up a huge lead halfway through this race but eased up the final lap to win comfortably in 3:51.54.

The rabbits went out at 55.46 (for 400) and only Kiprop and Elijah Manangoi went with the pace. By 800m, Manangoi has dropped back and Kiprop was all alone chasing rabbit James Magut (the field was roughly 2.5 seconds behind Kiprop).

1000m in, for whatever reason Kiprop decided he had had enough and let Magut run away from him. Magut would drop out at the bell and Kiprop, despite running 30.30 from 600m to 400m to go, led the field by a massive 3.3 seconds at the bell.  

Article continues below player.

Kiprop waltzed around the final 400m and actually had to pick it up just a little (58.5 final lap for him) to make sure the field, which was closing in on him, didn’t catch him.

Kiprop won comfortably in 3:51.48 as Manangoi passed Olympic champ Taoufik Makhloufi in the final stretch to get second in 3:52.04, while Nick Willis had a great final 100m to finish 4th in 3:52.26 ahead of Ryan Gregson and Charlie Grice.

Results and our quick take analysis appear below.

One Mile - Men                                                
                                                            Pts
    1 Kiprop , Asbel                   KEN    3:51.48         10        
    2 Manangoi , Elijah Motonei        KEN    3:52.04          6        
    3 Makhloufi , Taoufik              ALG    3:52.24          4        
    4 Willis , Nicholas                NZL    3:52.26          3        
    5 Gregson , Ryan                   AUS    3:52.59          2        
    6 Grice , Charlie                  GBR    3:52.85          1        
    7 Ingebrigtsen , Henrik            NOR    3:53.19                   
    8 Ingebrigtsen , Filip             NOR    3:55.02                   
    9 Biwott , Robert Kiptoo           KEN    3:55.62                   
   10 Hannes , Pieter-Jan              BEL    3:58.53                   
      Magut , James Kiplagat           KEN        DNF                   
      Rotich , Andrew Kiptoo           KEN        DNF                   
      Wote , Aman                      ETH        DNS

QT #1: Is Kiprop Keeping the “Powder Dry”?

Look at that league - this is the Diamond League - not a jv 1600 Look at that led – this is the Diamond League, not a JV 1600

On the broadcast broadcaster Tim Hutchings wondered if Kiprop was just saving something for later in the season. Right now he’s at a level above everyone else in the world. No one tried to run with him so he just waltzed in the final 600m.

We guarantee no one in the world has run a 3:51 mile doing it like this before. Kiprop closed in a pedestrian 1:28.8 and still ran 3:51. In the history of the world, it’s possible someone went for a much faster mile and really blew up and ran 1:29 the final 600 to run 3:51, but we doubt it. However, we guarantee they didn’t do it running 30.3, 29.3, 29.2 the final three 200s.

It might be better for Olympic preparation for Kiprop to run with the pack and kick to a win but most meet organizers want a fast time.

QT #2: Alan Webb Still the Fastest Miler Since 2001

Hicham El Guerrouj ran 3:45.96 in 2000 and 3:44.95 in 2001, but since then the fastest miler in the world is Alan Webb (3:46.91). The mile isn’t run that often anymore, but someone needs to give a big bonus for a sub-3:45 mile. Since Webb’s run, 14 guys have gone sub-3:30 in the 1500 a total of 26 times, yet no one has run faster than Webb in the mile (Webb’s time converts to 3:30.1 for 1500 using a 1.08 conversion).

And if people want the world record to be broken, the mile record (3:43.13) is slightly softer than the 1500 record (3:26.00).

The B Heat – Men’s 1500: 15-year-old Jakob Ingebrigtsen runs 3:42.44

Australian 800 champ Luke Mathews continued his fine 2016 season by getting the convincing win here in 3:37.99, but the big story was the man — or should we say boy? — who finished in 9th place. Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who was born in the year 2000 and doesn’t turn 16 until September, sliced over two seconds off his pb to run 3:42.44, the equivalent of a 4:00 mile. He began the year with a 3:48 pb but has already run 3:45, 3:44 and now 3:42 in 2016. Ingebrigtsen has great genes as older brothers Filip (23 years old, 3:36 pb) and Henrik (25 years old, 3:31 pb, 5th at 2012 Olympics) are both extremely talented runners. But Jakob could wind up becoming the best of the bunch.

Full results for the 1500 can be found here.

Quick Take #1: Get this guy in a mile

As far as we can tell, the youngest sub-4 miler in history is Jim Ryun, who did it as a 17-year-old high school junior in 1964. Ingebrigtsen, at 15, would have a chance to shatter that record if he can get in a mile some time this year.

MB: Jakob Ingebritsen 15y, 3.42.44 on 1500 today

Women’s Dream Mile: Fait Kipyegon Keeps Rolling, Laura Muir Impresses

A year ago in Oslo, Laura Muir was the only woman to go with the rabbit in the women’s 1500 meters. She had a 3.5-second lead at the bell and try as they might over the final 400, the rest of the field just could not reel her in as Muir became the first Brit to win a Diamond League 1500. The runner-up in that race? Faith Kipyegon.

One year later, Kipyegon got her revenge, defeating Muir in a classic duel over one mile on the same Bislett Stadium track, clocking 4:18.60 to Muir’s 4:19.12. Kipyegon has been untouchable this year on the track, and the .52 winning margin is a bit misleading as she was easing up at the line while Muir was still digging as she wanted Zola Budd‘s 31-year old British record (4:17.57) . But Muir, who wound up fifth at Worlds last year, gave Kipyegon her toughest test so far and should be commended for her strong effort tonight.

Rabbit Jenny Meadows, an 800 specialist, took the race out extremely quickly, as she hit 400 meters in 62.28 seconds with Kipyegon behind her. At that early stage, the field was already completely strung out, with Kipyegon, Muir, Ethiopia’s Axumawit Embaye and Sweden’s Meraf Bahta already separated from the rest of the field. At 800 (2:06.11), they were only a fraction of a second behind world-record pace (4:12.56), which had been the initial aim of this race before Genzebe Dibaba pulled out earlier this week. Only Kipyegon and Muir remained at halfway.

Muir did not look as comfortable as Kipyegon; it seemed as if at any second, she might start to fall off the torrid pace, but she hung tough. Meadows dropped out at 1k and without her the pace slowed on the third lap (65.28) as Kipyegon hit 1200 at 3:11.39 just slightly ahead of Muir, who in turn had 35 meters on the rest of the field. Kipyegon was pressing now and Muir started to crack on the backstretch as Kipyegon put three meters on her. The levee finally broke on the final turn as Kipyegon doubled her lead to six meters entering the home stretch and powered down the straight until easing up over the final meters. Muir never gave up for a second and clawed back some of the ground late, but it wasn’t enough and she had to settle for second. Kipyegon’s final 400 (just under 66 seconds; it was hard to get an exact split from the angle on the TV broadcast) was her slowest of the race, a product of the blazing first half.

One Mile - Women                                              
                                                            Pts
    1 Kipyegon , Faith Chepngetich     KEN    4:18.60         10        
    2 Muir , Laura                     GBR    4:19.12          6        
    3 Bahta , Meraf                    SWE    4:25.26          4        
    4 Ennaoui , Sofia                  POL    4:25.34          3        
    5 Cichocka , Angelika              POL    4:25.39          2        
    6 Grøvdal , Karoline Bjerkeli      NOR    4:26.23          1        
    7 Krause , Gesa Felicitas          GER    4:29.58                   
    8 Embaye , Axumawit                ETH    4:29.59                   
    9 Chepkwemoi , Nancy               KEN    4:30.67                   
   10 Måkestad Bovim , Ingvill         NOR    4:31.57                   
   11 Fernández , Nuria                ESP    4:33.88                   
      Meadows , Jennifer               GBR        DNF

 

Quick Take #1: How long until Faith Kipyegon supplants Genzebe Dibaba as the favorite for Olympic gold in Rio?

After Kipyegon won in Shanghai and Eugene, the general consensus was: great performances, she’s the favorite for silver behind Dibaba at the Olympics. But Dibaba, who has reportedly been dealing with a toe injury this spring, scratched out of her third straight meet this week, and with every event she misses, the concern about her chances of winning her first Olympic gold rises. Dibaba was already an underdog to Almaz Ayana in the 5k (and 10k, should they both run it in Rio) and Ayana has strengthened her grip on gold in that event with her incredible 2016 season. But Dibaba, with her 3:50 world record last year, still had the 1500 to fall back on. Now we’re in the second week of June, and Dibaba (as well as World Indoor champ Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands) has yet to race outdoors. You could make a strong case that Kipyegon, not Dibaba, should be the favorite for gold in Rio right now.

Of course, all it takes is one good race for Dibaba to regain favorite status, and she’s supposed to be running the 1500 in Stockholm next week. But if she scratches from that meet as well, then the questions surrounding her health will grow even larger.

MB: Is Genzebe still the favorite for Rio?

Quick Take #2: A fine run from Laura Muir, who has a chance to earn a medal in Rio this summer

Muir, whom we ranked #5 in the world last year, ahead of both Shannon Rowbury and Jenny Simpson, still hasn’t run a 1500 this year, but the signs were good that she’d be able to run something fast at the 1500/mile distance. She ran 2:00.70, an indoor pb, in February and just missed her outdoor pb by running 2:00.57 in France on June 1. Her 4:19.12 mile today was the second-fastest in British history, behind only Zola Budd’s 4:17.57 from 1985.

With Dibaba and Hassan, two of the four women who beat her in Beijing last year, MIA, Muir is firmly among the medal contenders at 1500 and today came closer than anyone to beating Kipyegon this year. Kipyegon is exceptional, but unlike the Genzebe Dibaba of 2015, she’s not that much faster than anyone else. It’s possible Kipyegon could be beaten in Rio in a tactical race, whereas it was nearly impossible to imagine Dibaba losing in any kind of race last year.

Men’s 5000: Hagos Gebrhiwet Closes Best In Tactical Affair

The conditions were close to ideal for a fast 5000 as the temperature was in the high 50s (14 Celsius) and the wind was low, but the runners showed no interest in going fast. As a result, the rabbits ended up running pretty close to 2:40 kilometers all the way to 4k as 1k was hit in 2:40.07, 2k in 5:20.31, 3k in 8:02.86 and 4k in 10:43.77. This pace was so modest that the last rabbit made it until two laps to go.

One might think that type of race would play right into the hands of Morocco’s Abdelaati Iguider, the 2012 Olympic bronze medallist at 1500, but he only ended up fourth. The winner was 2013 5000 silver medallist and 2015 bronze medalist Hagos Gebrhiwet of Ethiopia in 13:07.70. Gebrhiwet ran his last 1600 in 3:58, his last 1k in 2:23 high and his last 800 in 1:52 high-1:53 low (leader to leader the last two laps were 59.14, 54.00).

As the bell lap started, Gebrhiwet had the lead but he was followed closely by Yomif Kejelcha, the teen we ranked #2 last year in the world at 5000 and the world indoor 3000 champ. As they hit the middle of the backstretch, those two had a few meters on Muktar Edris, the winner of the last two Diamond League 5000s in Shanghai and Eugene in 12:59, but both Edris and Iguider were still in the hunt. The top 4 were together with 150 to go but Gebrhiwet was without a doubt the best man over the final 100 as Edris ended up second (13:08.11), with Kejelcha third (13:08.34) and Iguider fourth (13:08.61).

5000 Metres - Men                                             
                                                            Pts
    1 Gebrhiwet , Hagos                ETH   13:07.70         10        
    2 Edris , Muktar                   ETH   13:08.11          6        
    3 Kejelcha , Yomif                 ETH   13:08.34          4        
    4 Iguider , Abdalaati              MAR   13:08.61          3        
    5 Koech , Isiah Kiplangat          KEN   13:10.18          2        
    6 Gebremeskel , Dejen              ETH   13:10.68          1        
    7 Embaye , Abadi                   ETH   13:11.45                   
    8 Ibrahimov , Hayle                AZE   13:13.92                   
    9 Longosiwa , Thomas Pkemei        KEN   13:14.51                   
   10 Alamirew , Yenew                 ETH   13:16.99                   
   11 Soi , Edwin Cheruiyot            KEN   13:23.19                   
   12 Debela , Dejene                  ETH   13:27.44                   
   13 Ayalew , Aweke                   BRN   13:28.11
   14 Robinson , Brett                 AUS   13:44.51
   15 Buraas , Sindre                  NOR   13:52.21
   16 Kibrab , Awet Nftalem            ERI   13:59.72
      Kangogo , Cornelius Kipruto      KEN        DNF                   
      Rono , Vincent Kipsang           KEN        DNF

Quick Thought #1:  A Step In The Right Direction For Gebrhiwet and Kejelcha

On the messageboard, some people were bored by this 5k even though the last 1600 was a sub-4:00. Well they need to realize that the Olympics are still two-plus months away. A month ago (May 14) in Shanghai, Gebrhiwet was just 6th and more than 4 seconds back of Edris and Kejelcha was 5th more than 3 seconds back. Today, Gebrhiwet was the winner in 13:07 in a tactical race (he ran 13:04 in a faster race in Shanghai) and Kejelcha beat Edris.

So they are getting better with time. That being said, we’ll admit that with Caleb Ndiku not in top form for Kenya, it seems that if Mo Farah is going to be beat it’s more likely to happen in the 10,000 than the 5,000.

QT # 2: What does it take to get a sub-12:55 race?

Supposedly the pace in this race was going to be set at 12:52 pace. Well, the runners were 17 seconds behind pace at 3k. That got us thinking, how many dollars would it take (for a rabbit plus performance bonuses to get a sub-12:55)? Discuss here.

Update 6/10: A messageboard poster claims the race was so tactical because it was the Ethiopian Olympic trials race – or at least the first of several Olympic Trials races for them: MB: Wonder why Oslo 5k was so tactical? It was the Ethiopian Olympic Trials race.

Women’s 3000 Steeple: Hyvin Kiyeng dominates

Kiyeng and Bahrain’s Ruth Jebet have been head and shoulders above the competition in the women’s steeplechase this year and after Jebet pulled out of this field, Kiyeng was heavily favored to win her second DL steeple of the year. She did just that, running unchallenged for the second half of the race and cruising to the win in 9:09.57.

After Kiyeng ran 9:00.01 in Eugene, there was talk of her challenging the world record of 8:58.81. But Jebet has been the one pushing the pace on the circuit this year, not Kiyeng, and rabbit Caroline Tuigong of Kenya only went out in 3:03.77 for the first kilometer, with Kiyeng on her tail. They slowed even more during the second kilometer and by the time Kiyeng hit 2k (6:08.92), she had a commanding lead over the rest of the field but no shot at the world record. Kiyeng picked it up over the final kilometer, extending her lead, and her split was the fastest of the race (3:00.65). Ethiopian Sofia Assefa ran with countrywoman Etenesh Diro Neda for most of the race, and they were close together in a battle for second at the bell, with Assefa prevailing, 9:18.53 to 9:19.40. Australia’s Genevieve LaCaze continued her career year by running her second straight pb, 9:30.52. She’s also set pbs in the 1500 (4:10.20) and 5,000 (15:27.13) in 2016.

3000 Metres Steeplechase - Women                              
                                                            Pts
    1 Jepkemoi , Hyvin Kiyeng          KEN    9:09.57         10        
    2 Assefa , Sofia                   ETH    9:18.53          6        
    3 Diro , Etenesh                   ETH    9:19.40          4        
    4 Heiner Hills , Madeline          AUS    9:24.73          3        
    5 Fougberg , Charlotta             SWE    9:30.11          2        
    6 LaCaze , Genevieve               AUS    9:30.52          1        
    7 Chepkurui , Lidya                KEN    9:32.48                   
    8 Getnet , Tigist                  ETH    9:42.23                   
    9 Perraux , Claire                 FRA    9:55.77                   
   10 Mohamed , Buzuayehu              ETH   10:01.01                   
      Cherotich , Fancy                KEN        DNF                   
      Tuigong , Caroline Chepkurui     KEN        DNF

Quick Take #1: This was a fairly ho-hum victory for Kiyeng, yet it was still incredibly fast

From the 2012 Olympic final until May 14, 2016 — a period of over 45 months — only one woman broke 9:10 in the steeple (Habiba Ghribi in Brussels last year). Kiyeng has now done it three times in 2016 alone, and though it looked like she was going through the motions for most of tonight’s race, she still closed incredibly quickly (despite running totally unchallenged) to run 9:09.57.

Only world record holder Gulnara Samitova-Galkina of Russia has more career sub-9:10s.

Women with multiple career sub-9:10s in the women’s steeple

Gulnara Samitova-Galkina, 5
Hyvin Kiyeng, 3
Milcah Chemos, 3
Sofia Assefa, 2
Yekaterina Volkova, 2 (reportedly tested positive in retests of 2008 Olympic samples)
Habiba Ghribi, 2

Sprints

Men’s 100: Andre De Grasse wins it in 10.07 as Kim Collins hobbles through the finish line

Collins, who earlier this year became the first 40+ athlete to break 10.00 with a PR of 9.93 in Germany on May 29,  got out to a fantastic start and had the lead at around 75 meters, before tragedy struck. Collins pulled up lame with what looked to be a groin/hamstring injury, throwing the race wide open. Canada’s Andre De Grasse took advantage, continuing his upward trend. He’s now got two season’s bests and two Diamond League wins in the last five days after he ran 20.16 to win in Birmingham on Sunday.

100 Metres - Men                                              Wind: +0.6 m/s
                                                            Pts
    1 De Grasse , Andre                CAN      10.07         10        
    2 Rodgers , Mike                   USA      10.09          6        
    3 Locke , Dentarius                USA      10.12          4        
    4 Webb , Ameer                     USA      10.18          3        
    5 Lemaitre , Christophe            FRA      10.20          2        
    6 McLean , Sean                    USA      10.32          1        
    7 Koffi , Hua Wilfried             CIV      10.35                   
    8 Collins , Kim                    SKN      11.59

Quick Take #1: Let’s hope Kim Collins rebounds from this

It didn’t look great for Collins at the end, but he didn’t collapse to the ground immediately, and instead determinedly hobbled his way to the finish line, taking last. It’s a testament to how fast he was going when he pulled up that he was still able to clock 11.59. What Collins has done this year at his advanced age is incredible.

Afterwards he said on Twitter it was just a groin cramp:

Women’s 200 Dafne Schippers Puts On A SHOW

2015 world champion Dafne Schippers destroyed everyone in the women’s 200 tonight in Oslo as she set a new Diamond League and meeting record of 21.93. Schippers got off to a great start and quickly made up the stagger on Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson, the 2015 world championship silver medallist in this event who is the third fastest women in the world this year at 22.16. With victory comfortably in hand, Schippers didn’t let up on the straight. She kept running hard all the way to the finish as her lead grew bigger and bigger.

At the line, Schippers leaned as she wanted a fast time. She then glanced up and saw 21.95 (later rounded down to 21.93) and gave herself two claps for a job well done.  Thompson ended up second nearly three-quarters of second behind as she ran 22.64.

200 Metres - Women                                            Wind: +0.7 m/s
                                                            Pts
    1 Schippers , Dafne                NED      21.93         10        
    2 Thompson , Elaine                JAM      22.64          6        
    3 Lalova-Collio , Ivet             BUL      22.78          4        
    4 Facey , Simone                   JAM      22.88          3        
    5 Hyacinthe , Kimberly             CAN      23.13          2        
    6 Williams , Jodie                 GBR      23.29          1        
    7 Santos , Rosangela               BRA      23.65                   
    8 Rønningen , Helene               NOR      24.21

Quick Thought #1: Thank You Dafne – We Only Wish The Men’s Best Sprinters Raced As Often As You

Schippers, who being from the Netherlands is probably used to cool summer days, didn’t let the cool weather faze her. She wanted to put on a show and run a fast time to get over her Pre Classic loss and she did it.

Women’s 400m: Stephanie McPherson Wins

Running in lane 7, Italian Libania Grenot had the lead coming off the final turn, but she’d fade all the way back to sixth (52.03) as Jamaica’s Stephenie Ann McPherson got the win in 51.04, close to her 50.98 seasonal best. McPherson had been 4th at Pre, 2nd in Shanghai, and got her first DL win of the year here. It was a slow time, but was run in 59 degrees.

400 Metres - Women                                            
                                                            Pts
    1 McPherson , Stephenie Ann        JAM      51.04         10        
    2 Hastings , Natasha               USA      51.38          6        
    3 Williams-Mills , Novlene         JAM      51.66          4        
    4 Onuora , Anyika                  GBR      51.85          3        
    5 Mitchell , Morgan                AUS      51.92          2        
    6 Grenot , Libania                 ITA      52.03          1        
    7 Gayot , Marie                    FRA      52.21                   
    8 Kloster , Line                   NOR      54.04                   

 

Women’s 100m Hurdles: Brianna Rollins Dominates

This one was no contest. Brianna Rollins led from the gun and extended her lead throughout to get the dominant win in 12.56. It was off her season’s best of 12.53 at Pre but that was run with a tailwind at Pre in warmer conditions. This one was into a .7 headwind.

100 Metres Hurdles - Women                                    Wind: -0.4 m/s
                                                            Pts
    1 Rollins , Brianna                USA      12.56         10        
    2 Harper Nelson , Dawn             USA      12.75          6        
    3 Stowers , Jasmin                 USA      12.79          4        
    4 Porter , Tiffany                 GBR      12.94          3        
    5 Roleder , Cindy                  GER      12.94          2        
    6 Pedersen , Isabelle              NOR      13.12          1        
    7 Pearson , Sally                  AUS      13.14                   
      Talay , Alina                    BLR         DQ                   

Field events

Men’s Pole Vault:  Lavillenie Wins Over Barber

Renaud Lavillenie was the only vaulter to clear 5.80 and he got the win. Lavillenie struggled at his opening height of 5.65 with two misses but showed why he’s top of the world. World Champ Shawn Barber was second and Pawel Wojciechowski third.

Pole Vault - Men                                              
                                                            Pts
    1 Lavillenie , Renaud              FRA       5.80         10        
    2 Barber , Shawnacy                CAN       5.73          6        
    3 Wojciechowski , Pawel            POL       5.65          4        
    4 Joseph , Stanley                 FRA       5.55          3        
    5 Xue , Changrui                   CHN       5.40          2        
    6 Dolve , Eirik Greibrokk          NOR       5.25          1        
      Sobera , Robert                  POL         NM                   
      Florvaag , Per Magne             NOR        DNS                   

Men’s Javelin: Germany’s Thomas Rohler beats a strong field with world-leading PR of 89.30

Most of the world’s top javelin throwers were here but Rohler was in a class of his own tonight, throwing 89.30 meters on his second attempt for a world leader and three-centimeter PR. Countryman Johannes Vetter also got a PR — a much bigger one, in fact — improving on his previous best by 1.71m to take second with 87.11. Olympic champ Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad & Tobago was third in a season’s best of 86.35.

Javelin Throw - Men                                           
                                                            Pts
    1 Röhler , Thomas                  GER      89.30         10        
    2 Vetter , Johannes                GER      87.11          6        
    3 Walcott , Keshorn                TTO      86.35          4        
    4 Peacock , Hamish                 AUS      84.25          3        
    5 Abdelrahman , Ihab               EGY      81.94          2        
    6 Vadlejch , Jakub                 CZE      81.89          1        
    7 Yego , Julius                    KEN      80.90                   
    8 Hofmann , Andreas                GER      79.57                   
    9 Arai , Ryohei                    JPN      76.82

Men’s Triple Jump: Alexis Copello Wins But No One Breaks 17m

30-year-old Cuban Alexis Copello, the 2009 bronze medallist at Worlds, got the win with a 16.91m second-round jump, a nice improvement of the 4th place showing he put at Pre (he was also third in Doha). But perhaps the bigger news was the name of the second placer – Teddy Tamgho – who is on his way back from injury and got second by jumping a outdoor seasonal best of 16.80 (previous best of 16.63m, but his best jump of the year came in his first indoor meet (16.98)), but 16.80 certainly isn’t going to scare too many people.

Triple Jump - Men                                             
                                                            Pts               Wind
    1 Copello , Alexis                 CUB      16.91         10              +0.2
    2 Tamgho , Teddy                   FRA      16.80          6              -0.2
    3 Hess , Max                       GER      16.69          4              +0.3
    4 Benard , Chris                   USA      16.66          3              -0.3
    5 Craddock , Omar                  USA      16.48          2              +0.2
    6 Doris , Troy                     GUY      16.48          1               0.0
    7 Évora , Nelson                   POR      16.38                         +0.7
    8 Mokoena , Godfrey Khotso         RSA      16.08                         -0.2

Women’s Discus: Croatia’s Sandra Perkovic earns 30th career DL victory

If Perkovic is entered in a meet, chances are she’s going to win it, and she continued her perfect 2016 by going 67.10m tonight. Though that was her shortest winning mark of the season, it was still over four meters ahead of runner-up Nadine Muller of Germany.

Discus Throw - Women                                          
                                                            Pts
    1 Perkovic , Sandra                CRO      67.10         10        
    2 Müller , Nadine                  GER      63.09          6        
    3 Caballero , Denia                CUB      62.65          4        
    4 Craft , Shanice                  GER      62.08          3        
    5 Pérez , Yaimé                    CUB      61.91          2        
    6 Lally , Jade                     GBR      59.56          1        
    7 Ashley , Whitney                 USA      59.39

Women’s Long Jump: Španović Dominates

World indoor silver medallist Ivana Španović, who has won bronze at the last two outdoor Worlds, got the win with a 5th-round mark of 6.94m, although her second-round mark of 6.79m would have also beaten Canada’s Christabel Nettey, who was second at 6.68m.  

Long Jump - Women                                             
                                                            Pts               Wind
    1 Španovic , Ivana                 SRB       6.94         10              -0.5
    2 Nettey , Christabel              CAN       6.68          6              +0.2
    3 Proctor , Shara                  GBR       6.67          4               0.0
    4 Bartoletta , Tianna              USA       6.65          3              +0.2
    5 Balta , Ksenija                  EST       6.61          2              -0.8
    6 Wester , Alexandra               GER       6.42          1              +1.0
    7 Akpana Assa , Nadia              NOR       6.39                         -0.9
    8 Jarder , Erica                   SWE       6.24                         +0.5
    9 Jimoh , Funmi                    USA       6.16       0.0
   10 DeLoach , Janay                  USA       5.94      +0.4
      Renstrøm , Margrethe             NOR         NM

Women’s High Jump: The Lowest Winning Mark in History

With the Russian  dopers jumpers not competing, the pedestrian marks that have been the norm in the Diamond League this year continued tonight as 37-year-old Ruth Beitia of Spain got the win with a clearance of just 1.90m – the lowest winning mark in the seven-year history of the Diamond League. The previous worst mark was Chaunte Lowe’s 1.92m at the 2012 Shanghai meet.

A fan on the messageboard was complaining about the low marks in the women’s high jump and our thought was, “This is an event that used to be dominated by Russians.” Last year, Russians won 3 DL events and in 2014 they won 4.

High Jump - Women                                             
                                                            Pts
    1 Beitia , Ruth                    ESP       1.90         10        
    2 Hrubá , Michaela                 CZE       1.85          6        
    2 Angelsen , Tonje                 NOR       1.85          6        
    2 Skoog , Sofie                    SWE       1.85          6        
    5 Licwinko , Kamila                POL       1.85          2        
    6 Kinsey , Erika                   SWE       1.85          1        
    7 Spencer , Levern                 LCA       1.80                   
    7 Trost , Alessia                  ITA       1.80                   
    7 Jungfleisch , Marie-Laurence     GER       1.80
   10 Mögenburg , Katarina             NOR       1.80

Men’s Shot Put: World Champ Joe Kovacs goes over 22 meters again

Kovacs dominated the world last year, winning three Diamond League events as well as the world title, and he’s carried that form over into 2016. After an off performance in Shanghai (he was only third), Kovacs has now won two straight DL events (Prefontaine and Oslo) and has the top three marks in the world. He went over 22 meters again tonight, missing his world-leading throw of 22.13m by 12 centimeters. He and Germany’s two-time world champ David Storl are the only men to throw over 22m since the start of 2014.

Kovacs trailed through four rounds, however, as 19-year-old Pole Konrad Bukowiecki went 20.77 on his first attempt before uncorking a huge 21.14-meter toss in the fourth round (that’s him in photo celebrating). That mark broke Bukowiecki’s own U-20 world best of 21.01 set in Ostrava on May 20 (technically it’s not a world junior record as junior athletes use a lighter shot).

But Kovacs, as great athletes do, responded to the threat and took the lead with a 21.51 heave in round five before cementing his win with 22.01 on his final attempt.

Shot Put - Men                                                
                                                            Pts
    1 Kovacs , Joe                     USA      22.01         10        
    2 Bukowiecki , Konrad              POL      21.14          6        
    3 Majewski , Tomasz                POL      20.56          4        
    4 Nedow , Tim                      CAN      20.40          3        
    5 Kolašinac , Asmir                SRB      19.84          2        
    6 Richards , O'Dayne               JAM      19.14          1        
    7 Thomsen , Marcus                 NOR      17.68                   

 

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