2018 Rome Diamond League Recap: Ronnie Baker is the Real Deal, Coburn Falls, Samba Sizzles, Manyonga and Echevarría Soar
by LetsRun.com
May 31, 2018
The 2018 IAAF Diamond League season made its way to Europe today for the Rome Golden Gala Pietro Mennea Diamond League athletics meeting and it did not disappoint as there were world leaders all over the place.
In the sprints, Ronnie Baker showed he’s currently the king of the sprint world as he ran a world-leading 9.93 into the wind to get the best of Christian Coleman once again, and show his 9.78 wind-aided win at Pre was no fluke.
The biggest result of the day came in the men’s 400 hurdles where Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba broke his own Diamond League record to win in 47.48. In a terrific men’s long jump, world outdoor champ Luvo Manyonga and world indoor champ Juan Miguel Echevarría battled for the win, with Manyonga edging out Echevarria with a new world leader, 8.58 to 8.53.
Emma Coburn opened up her 2018 season in the steeple and was in a three-way battle for the win on the final lap, but fell on the water jump. Timothy Cheruiyot (3:31.22 1500) and Conseslus Kipruto (8:08.40 steeple) put up world leaders as Kenya’s Wycliffe Kinyamal won the 800 in 1:44.65.
We recap all of the events for you below, starting with the distance events, then going to the sprints before getting to the field events and the epic long jump battle.
You can watch video replays and highlights here: Video: 2018 Rome Diamond League Video Highlights.
Women’s steeple: Hyvin Kiyeng wins a thriller as Emma Coburn falls on final water jump
This is the first time we got to see the last two world champs, Kenya’s Hyvin Kiyeng and the US’s Emma Coburn, in a steeple this year, and the matchup did not disappoint. On the final water jump, Kiyeng, Coburn, and world U20 champion Celliphine Chespol were all level, but a fall by Coburn left it as a two-woman race, won by Kiyeng in a world leader of 9:04.96 after a dramatic home-straight run.
Good news. Best season opener ever for @emmajcoburn . Bad news. She might have won had this not happened. https://t.co/sJBYsMlMQX pic.twitter.com/SgdD6NsnDl
— LetsRun.com (@letsrundotcom) May 31, 2018
The race
Coburn going down
The rabbit was tasked with hitting 3:00 per kilometer, and after 1k (3:01.56), the lead pack of nine were close to 9:00 pace. But the pace would slow over the next kilometer (3:06.44/6:08.00), meaning that sub-9:00 would have to wait for another day.
Coburn went to the lead for the first time on the homestretch with just over two laps to go, trying to keep driving the pace, as it was down to five women: Coburn and a pack of Kenyans (Kiyeng, Chespol, 2017 World #1 Beatrice Chepkoech, and Norah Jeruto).
Chepkoech began to fall off, while both Kiyeng and Chespol moved up onto Coburn’s shoulder as they approached the bell, eager to strike. At that point, the racing began in earnest as Jeruto fell off, leaving three women in contention.
Chespol moved to the front on the turn, with Kiyeng also passing Coburn into second. But the American wasn’t licked, and as Kiyeng passed Chespol into the lead, Coburn fought back and the three women were all together at the final water jump.
That’s where the drama unfolded. Kiyeng chopped her steps badly as she approached the barrier, but it was Coburn, and not Kiyeng, who would hit the ground. Coburn did not have trouble with the barrier, but as she was coming down, she found herself sandwiched between Kiyeng on her right and Chespol on her left and could not stick the landing.
Chespol took advantage of Coburn’s fall and Kiyeng’s poor approach to take the lead, but the drama was not over as Kiyeng pulled onto her shoulder by the final barrier before pulling away to win by .18 thanks to a 66-second final lap. Chespol finished second in 9:05.14 as Coburn took fourth in a very respectable 9:08.13, even with the fall.
3000 Metres Steeplechase - Women - Diamond Discipline
Pts
1 Kiyeng , Hyvin KEN 9:04.96 8
2 Chespol , Celliphine Chepteek KEN 9:05.14 7
3 Jeruto , Norah KEN 9:07.17 6
4 Coburn , Emma USA 9:08.13 5
5 Chepkoech , Beatrice KEN 9:15.85 4
6 Yavi , Winfred Mutile BRN 9:16.36 3
7 Jepkemei , Daisy KEN 9:18.44 2
8 Praught , Aisha JAM 9:19.33 1
9 Gega , Luiza ALB 9:22.00
10 Ghribi , Habiba TUN 9:31.36
11 Kirui , Purity KEN 9:31.96
12 Clarke , Rosie GBR 9:32.08
13 Claude-Boxberger , Ophélie FRA 9:34.43
14 Krause , Gesa Felicitas GER 9:39.52
15 Güvenc , Tugba TUR 9:39.68
16 Pérez , María José ESP 9:43.48
17 Sánchez-Escribano , Irene ESP 9:44.48
18 Sidi Madane , Fadwa MAR 9:46.10
19 Adamu , Birtukan ETH 9:55.77
Gathoni , Ann KEN DNF
Tuigong , Caroline KEN DNF
QT: Despite the fall, this was a great opener for Coburn
Prior to tonight Coburn’s best season opener was her 9:10.76 in 2016 (which was a PB at the time; the first time Coburn broke 9:10 was her 9:07.63 for Olympic bronze). So to run 9:08 — even with a fall — is a sign that she’s in tremendous shape right now. Her American record is 9:02.58 from her World Championship victory last year and it’s not hard to imagine her topping that later in the season.
Coburn said afterwards without the fall she could have won, “I felt strong. I am still satisfied. I am glad that I led. I know that I can do this pace. I feel that had I not fallen I would be in the win.
I fell and then there were a lot of bodies and a lot of chaos. I do not think that I can learn from this fall. I have done this a million times. It was just a bad luck day.”
QT: More sub-9:00s are coming
Only four women in history have broken 9:00 in the steeple, but the sub-9:00 club could be getting some new members very soon. Coburn wouldn’t have been far away today had she avoided falling, and tonight’s winner Hyvin Kiyeng owns a 9:00.01 pb.
Considering the field slowed way down during the second kilometer (3:06) before closing hard (2:56 for Kiyeng, 3:00 for Coburn), they should be able to challenge 9:00 as long as they keep on the pace during that second kilometer.
We should also point out that the depth in Rome was impressive — it was only the third time in history that four women had broken 9:10 in the same race.
Men’s 1500: Timothy Cheruiyot wins and gets a world leader
Timothy Cheruiyot may have lost to training partner Elijah Manangoi at the Commonwealth Games last month, but since then Cheruiyot has been on another level as he has collected wins in Shanghai, Eugene, and now Rome, the latter two by massive margins. Today, he simply crushed the field over the final 200 meters, winning by 2.57 seconds in a world-leading 3:31.22 — the largest margin of victory in a DL 1500/mile since Asbel Kiprop won in Birmingham by 3.77 seconds in June 2016.
The Race
Cheruiyot was the first racer at 400 meters, just behind the rabbits (56.95), and he continued to follow them through 800 (1:52.71) with Manangoi and world indoor champ Samuel Tefera close behind him in second and third. Those three had a gap on the rest of the field as Australia’s Ryan Gregson was five meters back in fourth.
Though Cheruiyot won the Bowerman Mile in Eugene five days ago, both he and his coach Bernard Ouma were hoping for Cheruiyot to run faster than his 3:49 winning time as the pace slowed in the middle of the race. Cheruiyot was not going to allow that to happen this time — as soon as the first rabbit dropped out at 800, Cheruiyot motored past the second rabbit and into the lead.
Or at least it looked that way. In reality, Cheruiyot did slow it down a bit, and Tefera actually moved past him into the lead before the bell as those two and Manangoi led Ayanleh Souleiman in fourth by five meters.
Cheruiyot still had plenty more in the tank, however, as he essentially repeated his gameplan from the Pre Classic, making a hard move on the backstretch of the final lap before crushing everyone over the final 200 meters. We clocked his final lap at 54.9, with near-even splits of 27.4 and 27.5 for the final two 200-meter segments. Manangoi finished a well-beaten second in 3:33.79, over two seconds back of Cheruiyot, but showed more than he did at Pre as he finished well ahead of Tefera in third.
1500 Metres - Men - Diamond Discipline
Pts
1 Cheruiyot , Timothy KEN 3:31.22 8
2 Manangoi , Elijah Motonei KEN 3:33.79 7
3 Tefera , Samuel ETH 3:34.84 6
4 Souleiman , Ayanleh DJI 3:34.87 5
5 Simotwo , Charles Cheboi KEN 3:35.03 4
6 Da'Vall Grice , Charles GBR 3:35.72 3
7 Tolosa , Taresa ETH 3:36.22 2
8 Wote , Aman ETH 3:36.30 1
9 O'Hare , Chris GBR 3:36.47
10 Abdikadar Sheik Ali , Mohad ITA 3:36.54
11 Crippa , Yemaneberhan ITA 3:38.22
12 Gregson , Ryan AUS 3:38.85
13 Mechaal , Adel ESP 3:39.14
14 Manangoi , George Meitamei KEN 3:41.75
15 Kiplagat , Silas KEN 3:41.78
Cheboi , Collins KEN DNF
Kivuva , Jackson Mumbwa KEN DNF
Quick Take: Another big-time run by Cheruiyot, who is a real man of the world
It’s not easy to run a world-leading 3:49 mile in Eugene on Saturday, fly 6,000 miles to Rome, and run a world-leading 3:31 1500 in Rome five days later, but that is exactly what Timothy Cheruiyot did this week. Going back further, Cheruiyot has now finished first or second in all five of his races this year — and, amazingly, all five have come on different continents. Check this out:
| Date | Meet | Location (continent) | Time | Place |
| February 17 | Commonwealth Games Trials | Nairobi (Africa) | 3:34.84 | 1st |
| April 14 | Commonwealth Games | Gold Coast (Australia) | 3:35.17 | 2nd |
| May 12 | Shanghai Diamond League | Shanghai (Asia) | 3:31.48 | 1st |
| May 26 | Prefontaine Classic | Eugene (N. America) | 3:49.87 (mile) | 1st |
| May 31 | Rome Diamond League | Rome (Europe) | 3:31.22 | 1st |
In fact, we should give props to the top four finishers in this race, as all four were doubling back from Pre. They almost finished in the same order as well as it was Cheruiyot-Tefera-Manangoi-Souleiman at Pre and Cheruiyot-Manangoi-Tefera-Souleiman in Rome.
With four straight DL wins (if you count the non-DL Bowerman Mile), Cheruiyot looks like the world’s best 1500 runner at the moment, though we should point out that he has lost to Manangoi in his last two championship races (2017 Worlds, 2018 Commonwealth Games). Clearly, however, he is terrific in rabbitted races. He reminds us a lot of Silas Kiplagat in that he may not have the top-end speed or gear-shifting ability of Manangoi but possesses the ability to kick off a fast pace from a long way out.
Men’s Steeplechase: Kipruto gets revenge, vows to go after WR in Monaco
The 2018 Rome Golden Gala came to an end with a non-DL steeplechase that wasn’t shown on TV or even as part of the NBC Gold package. Five days after an upset loss at the Prefontaine Classic, reigning Olympic, World and Commonwealth champ Conseslus Kipruto turned the tables on Kenyan Benjamin Kigen as Kipruto won in a world-leading 8:08.40 with Kigen second in 8:10.01. Chala Beyo, the 22-year-old Ethiopian who won in Shanghai, was third in a new pb of 8:11.22 (previous pb of 8:13.24). American Andy Bayer ran a seasonal best of 8:26.66 to finish 13th.
From looking at 100-meter splits, it appears that Kipruto was ahead of Kigen from start to finish. At Prefontaine, Kigen closed in sub-60 to win in 8:09 but today Kipruto’s 62.4 final lap was enough to win as Kigen only managed a 64.0 on his final lap.
Kipruto said after the race that he’ll now focus on getting ready for a WR attempt in Monaco on July 20.
“I’m happy I won and the time was important for me – a world lead is good. I wasn’t impressed after Shanghai and Eugene so they helped me to wake up,” said Kipruto. “Today though I was ready and I used my experience here – after winning in the last two years – but I know I can run faster. I keep promising I will return here and I always keep my promises.”
“Now, I have four weeks to focus on training before attempting the world record in the Monaco Diamond League. I will put all of my effort in there – I’m ready for it.”
That should be some race as Evan Jager also told us that he is aiming on chasing a really fast time in Monaco.
Splits: 2:39.63 at 1k (Rabbit) and 5:24.79 at 2k (Kipruto).
3000 Metres Steeplechase - Men - Promotional Event
1 Kipruto , Conseslus KEN 8:08.40
2 Kigen , Benjamin KEN 8:10.01
3 Beyo , Chala ETH 8:11.22
4 Kirui , Amos KEN 8:16.44
5 Mekhissi , Mahiedine FRA 8:16.97
6 Chemutai , Albert UGA 8:17.17
7 Tindouft , Mohamed MAR 8:20.30
8 Koech , John Kibet BRN 8:22.00
9 Haileselassie , Yemane ERI 8:22.15
10 Lagat , Justus KEN 8:23.23
11 Solomon , Napoleon SWE 8:23.54
12 Deriba , Tesfaye ETH 8:25.09
13 Bayer , Andrew USA 8:26.66
14 Koech , Paul Kipsiele KEN 8:27.78
15 Chiappinelli , Yohanes ITA 8:28.10
16 Seddon , Zak GBR 8:30.19
17 Grau , Martin GER 8:37.20
Kipsang , Lawrence Kemboi KEN DNF
Nganga , Bernard Mbugua KEN DNF
Zalewski , Krystian POL DNF
Men’s 800: Wycliffe Kinyamal wins again
The fine 2018 campaign for Kenya’s Wycliffe Kinyamal, the winner of the Commonwealth Games and Shanghai DL this year (3rd at Pre), continued as he got a very narrow win tonight in 1:44.65. Throughout the final 200, Kinyamal was trying to run down Jonathan Kitilit, the winner of the Kenyan Commonwealth Games Trials who was the top racer in this race until the final 10 meters, and for the entire last 100 they were extremely close. Kinyamal finally got to the lead just before the finish but the fastest closer of all was the third Kenyan in the field – Ferguson Rotich – who nearly stole the race. Rotich nearly went from 5th to first in the final 50, but he ran out of space and ended second in 1:44.74 to Kitilit’s 1:44.78. 2013 world champ Mo Aman, the 9th fastest 800 man in history, was just 9th in 1:47.04 and 2018 world indoor champ Adam Kszczot wasn’t much better (7th in 1:46.23), although both men ran season’s bests.
The Race
Rabbit Bram Som was supposed to take this out in 50-flat but he realized early on no one wanted to go with him so he slowed down and hit 400 in 51.24 with Kitilit being the top racer in 51-high. Kitilit led until the final meters passing 600 in 1:18.17.
800 Metres - Men - Diamond Discipline
Pts
1 Kinyamal , Wyclife KEN 1:44.65 8
2 Rotich , Ferguson Cheruiyot KEN 1:44.74 7
3 Kitilit , Jonathan KEN 1:44.78 6
4 McBride , Brandon CAN 1:44.99 5
5 Tuka , Amel BIH 1:45.68 4
6 De Arriba , Álvaro ESP 1:46.16 3
7 Kszczot , Adam POL 1:46.23 2
8 Bett , Kipyegon KEN 1:46.93 1
9 Aman , Mohammed ETH 1:47.04
10 Benedetti , Giordano ITA 1:48.08
11 Langford , Kyle GBR 1:48.92
Som , Bram NED DNF
Quick Take: The world’s best were in Texas today
Kinyamal is having a nice year but the world’s best 800 runners were nowhere near Rome today. In our opinion, the top 2 guys in the world are both in El Paso. 2018 NCAA indoor champ Michael Saruni is the world leader at 1:43.25 and 2017 NCAA indoor and outdoor champ Emmanuel Korir dominated Kinyamal by 0.98 seconds five days ago at Pre.
QT #2: It’s not how fast you close.
Ferguson Rotich had a great final 100m but could not quite catch Wycliffe Kinyamal. The DL is posting 100m splits for certain races and here are the 100m splits for Rotich – 13.2, 12.6, 13.6, 13.6, 13.3, 13.1, 12.9, and 12.4. His final 100m of 12.4 was nearly a second faster than Winyamal’s 13.3, however he lost because he was a second back with 100m to go. The only other athlete to go sub-13 the final 100m was Alvaro de Arriba in 6th whose final 100m was 12.7.
Sprints
Men’s 100: Ronnie Baker beats Coleman and gets a new PB
This race was a replay of Prefontaine Classic 100. Christian Coleman got off to his traditional good start but Ronnie Baker ran him down once again, winning in a new wind-legal pb of 9.93 (into a -0.4 m/s wind), which is the new 2018 world leader (Baker was tied for the world lead at 9.97 coming in). Clearly beaten, Coleman let off the gas in the final 20 meters and ended up only fourth as a result (10.06).
One big subplot of this race was whether Italy’s national record of 10.01, which has stood from 1979 and is held by Pietro Mennea, the 1980 Olympic 200 champ whom the meet is named after, would be broken. The record lives on but 19-year-old Filippo Tortu, who ran 10.03 last week, gave it a scare as he ended up third in 10.04 running into the headwind.
Tortu was thrilled with his run, but admitted it wasn’t the highlight of the week.
“My start was quite well. I am really satisfied. In Savona I did a 10.03 at this very fast track. So this 10.04 means a lot,” said Tortu. “Today was a great and big day. We did a notable race. Meeting the Pope (earlier this week) was an experience for me that was more important than any race.”
100 Metres - Men - Diamond Discipline Wind: -0.4 m/s
Pts
1 Baker , Ronnie USA 9.93 8
2 Vicaut , Jimmy FRA 10.02 7
3 Tortu , Filippo ITA 10.04 6
4 Coleman , Christian USA 10.06 5
5 Simbine , Akani RSA 10.13 4
6 Rodgers , Michael USA 10.13 3
7 Jacobs , Lamont Marcell ITA 10.19 2
8 Guliyev , Ramil TUR 10.19 1
9 Young , Isiah USA 10.30
QT: Ronnie Baker needed this one
Baker has had great success at the 60 but struggled as a pro in the 100. That changed at Pre, and he backed that win up with the win here. He’s got to know now he’s one of, if not the best in the world in the 100m now.
Men’s 400 hurdles: What a race! Abderrahman Samba blasts Diamond League record to hold off national record by Warholm
This was a terrific race. World champ Karsten Warholm, making his season debut, stormed out of the blocks. Running in lane seven, he was already level with Rasmus Magi in lane nine midway down the back straight.
The only man remotely close to him was world leader Abderrahman Samba of Qatar, who set a Diamond League record of 47.57 in Doha, and it was a two-man race coming off the final turn. Eventually, the blistering early pace took its toll on Warholm, who began to slow in the home straight and stumbled just slightly off the final hurdle. Samba, meanwhile, was coming on strong and stopped the clock in 47.48. Warholm, for his effort, ran a significant PR (47.82, his first time under 48) but it was not enough to stop the brilliant Samba.
Samba now has three pbs in three 2018 races, including Diamond League records in the last two. Quite a season, and it’s still only May.
400 Metres Hurdles - Men - Diamond Discipline
Pts
1 Samba , Abderrahman QAT 47.48 8
2 Warholm , Karsten NOR 47.82 7
3 Copello , Yasmani TUR 48.63 6
4 Holmes , TJ USA 49.00 5
5 Mägi , Rasmus EST 49.19 4
6 Clement , Kerron USA 49.48 3
7 Bencosme de Leon , José Reynaldo ITA 49.79 2
8 Bett , Nicholas KEN 49.95 1
Lambrughi , Mario ITA DNF
QT: Samba and Warholm are the present and future of the 400m hurdles
Both Samba and Warholm are only 22. With his 47.48 today, Samba moves from #18 to a tie for #14 all-time in the event. Only one man, Kevin Young 46.78, has ever broken 47.00 in the 400 hurdles. Young’s world record, which dates to 1992 and is the oldest men’s track world record on the book, is still a ways off but there is the possibility one of them could challenge it. If Samba does break the WR, we can’t wait to see the celebration as we loved his celebration today.
The official https://t.co/iug8xyLBFh approved way to celebrate a world leader. https://t.co/pwSI55MZDt pic.twitter.com/Cmu5YXAXY9
— LetsRun.com (@letsrundotcom) May 31, 2018
Women’s 400 hurdles: Georganne Moline gets revenge
Moline, who was run down by Janieve Russell at the Pre Classic on Saturday, once again got out hard but this time she held on, battling back against Russell’s hard close to earn the win in a season’s best of 53.97, .36 faster than she ran in Eugene.
400 Metres Hurdles - Women - Promotional Event
1 Moline , Georganne USA 53.97
2 Russell , Janieve JAM 54.08
3 Muhammad , Dalilah USA 54.65
4 Folorunso , Ayomide ITA 55.16
5 Pedroso , Yadisleidis ITA 55.43
6 Tkachuk , Viktoriya UKR 55.69
7 Tate , Cassandra USA 56.09
8 Sprunger , Léa SUI 56.36
9 Adekoya , Oluwakemi BRN 56.83
Men’s 400: Fred Kerley wins for the first time on the DL circuit
American Fred Kerley had a big lead halfway down the homestretch but he nearly got run down as Qatar’s Abdalleleh Haroun, the 2016 world junior champ, nearly went from 3rd to 1st in the final 20 meters. Kerley had just enough to hold on for the first Diamond League win of his career in a big seasonal best of 44.33 (previous sb of 44.71) with Haroun second in a seasonal best of 44.47 (previous sb of 44.50).
Unheralded American Paul Dedewo, running in lane 2, was the only guy close to Kerley coming off the final turn. In the end, the 26-year-old, who coming into the year had a 45.13 pb but made the 4×400 team for the world indoors, ended up being rewarded with a third-place showing and pb of 44.58 (previous pb of 44.62).
400 Metres - Men - Diamond Discipline
Pts
1 Kerley , Fred USA 44.33 8
2 Haroun , Abdalleleh QAT 44.37 7
3 Dedewo , Paul USA 44.58 6
4 Cherry , Michael USA 44.97 5
5 Roberts , Gil USA 45.22 4
6 Re , Davide ITA 45.49 3
7 Hudson-Smith , Matthew GBR 45.52 2
8 Santos , Luguelín DOM 45.81 1
9 Husillos , Óscar ESP 46.04
QT: Kerley runs fast again in May
This was the biggest professional win of Kerley’s career but he’s run faster in May. Last year at NCAA regionals, Kerley ran 43.70. Still this is a nice step in the right direction for him. Last summer, he was at his best in May and June and not July and August.
Women’s 200: Marie-Josee Ta Lou gets her third DL win of the season
Ta Lou won the first two Diamond League 100s of the year in Doha and Eugene and got the win in the 200 tonight against a fairly underwhelming field. Her time of 22.49 won’t turn any heads, but considering it came into a 1.7 m/s headwind, it was a pretty solid performance.
200 Metres - Women - Diamond Discipline Wind: -1.7 m/s
Pts
1 Ta Lou , Marie-Josée CIV 22.49 8
2 Lalova-Collio , Ivet BUL 22.64 7
3 Kambundji , Mujinga SUI 22.76 6
4 Jefferson , Kyra USA 22.91 5
5 Emmanuel , Crystal CAN 23.08 4
6 Jackson , Shericka JAM 23.14 3
7 Brown , Felicia USA 23.19 2
8 Atkins , Joanna USA 23.29 1
9 Siragusa , Irene ITA 23.64
Women’s 100 Hurdles: A third American wins
Olympic champ Brianna McNeal hit the first two hurdles and ended up finishing last. That meant the race was there for taking for Sharika Nelvis, who was third in Doha, 2nd in Shanghai, and she did not falter winning in a modest 12.76.
Three different Americans have now won the three Diamond League 100 hurdles races on the year. Kendra Harrison won in Doha (12.53), McNeal won in Shanghai (12.50), and Nelvis tonight.
Women’s 400: World silver medalist Salwa Eid Naser holds off Stephenie Ann McPherson
London 2017 silver medalist Salwa Eid Naser earned the victory in 50.51 in this non-DL event, but she had to work for it as Commonwealth bronze medalist Stephenie Ann McPherson gave her all she could handle in the home straight.
400 Metres - Women - Promotional Event
1 Naser , Salwa Eid BRN 50.51
2 McPherson , Stephenie Ann JAM 50.69
3 Stepter , Jaide USA 51.47
4 Swiety-Ersetic , Justyna POL 51.59
5 Latiševa-Cudare , Gunta LAT 52.24
6 Grenot , Libania ITA 52.51
7 Chigbolu , Mariabenedicta ITA 52.77
8 Bryzhina , Anastasiya UKR 52.79
9 Lukudo , Raphaela Boaheng ITA 52.80
Field Events
Jumps
Men’s Long Jump: Manyonga edges his new rival Echevarría as both men go over 8.50!
Luvo Manyonga and Juan Miguel Echevarría are developing quite the rivalry. Echevarría is only 19, and stunned Manyonga by jumping 8.46 to win world indoors. Echevarría was even better today going 8.53 in round 2, but so was Manyonga as he went 8.58 in round 2 as well. Neither would improve so Manyonga got the win and world leader and Echevarría the PR.
Manyonga was pleased. “Today was a tight competition, I was waiting for this. I met Echevarria last time at the World Indoors where he beat me. So I wanted to compete against him and give back. I am quite happy with this performance. I only look at myself, but I have an eye on Echevarria.”
As Ben Bloom pointed out on Twitter, this is the first time since 2009 that two men have jumped farther than 8.50 meters (wind-legal) in the same year, and they did it in the same round of the competition in Rome. (At the 2016 Olympic Trials, Jeff Henderson and Jarrion Lawson both did it, but Henderson’s jump wasn’t wind-legal).
It was a great competition overall as seven men eclipsed eight meters in all. In case you are wondering, the most ever men over eight in a single competition came in this stadium at the 1987 world champs when the top 12 all went 8.00 or farther.
Long Jump - Men - Diamond Discipline
Pts Wind
1 Manyonga , Luvo RSA 8.58 8 0.0
2 Echevarría , Juan Miguel CUB 8.53 7 +0.5
3 Samaai , Ruswahl RSA 8.34 6 +0.9
4 Henderson , Jeff USA 8.19 5 +1.3
5 Gayle , Tajay JAM 8.17 4 +1.3
6 Frayne , Henry AUS 8.15 3 +0.5
7 Dendy , Marquis USA 8.08 2 +0.8
8 Massó , Maykel CUB 7.92 1 -0.8
9 Ojiaku , Kevin ITA 7.78 -0.1
10 Tentoglou , Miltiadis GRE 7.69 -1.2
11 Juška , Radek CZE 7.68 -0.4
Women’s High Jump: Lasitskene remains undefeated with world leader
Mariya Lasitskene got the win (her 40th in a row!) and world leader in 2.02, which isn’t much of a surprise considering she hasn’t lost since 2016. Some of you may be surprised to know that Lasitskene did not have have the outdoor world leader this year as Nafissatou Thiam jumped 2.01 in the heptathlon at the Gotzis. They will square off in Paris on June 30, which is good as Lasitskene needs some competition.
Men’s Pole Vault: Season’s best and win for Kendricks
Sam Kendricks cleared 5.84 on his third attempt to defeat Pawel Wojciechowski. It was a season’s best for Kendricks.
Pole Vault - Men - Diamond Discipline
Pts
1 Kendricks , Sam USA 5.84 8
2 Wojciechowski , Pawel POL 5.78 7
3 Holzdeppe , Raphael GER 5.62 6
4 Joseph , Stanley FRA 5.52 5
5 Filippídis , Konstadínos GRE 5.52 4
6 Houston , Scott USA 5.52 3
7 Barber , Shawnacy CAN 5.52 2
Braz , Thiago BRA NM
Ferreira , Diogo POR NM
Lisek , Piotr POL NM
Obiena , Ernest John PHI NM
Throws
Women’s discus: Sandra Perkovic wins her ninth straight competition
World champ Sandra Perkovic of Croatia is now four-for-four in competitions this year and two-for-two in Diamond League meet records as she followed up her win in Doha (71.38 meters) with a victory in Rome thanks to her 68.93 toss in round five.
Men’s discus: Jamaican Fedrick Dacres gets his second DL win
Dacres last year won in Stockholm and got 4th at the World Championships, but his 2018 season is even more impressive so far. He’s undefeated, the Commonwealth champ, and now has 2 European wins in 3 days (he won in Turnov on the 29th).
Discus Throw - Men - Diamond Discipline
Pts
1 Dacres , Fedrick JAM 68.51 8
2 Gudžius , Andrius LTU 68.17 7
3 Hadadi , Ehsan IRI 65.93 6
4 Ståhl , Daniel SWE 64.84 5
5 Harting , Robert GER 64.64 4
6 Finley , Mason USA 64.17 3
7 Weisshaidinger , Lukas AUT 64.16 2
8 Urbanek , Robert POL 64.10 1
9 Malachowski , Piotr POL 63.95
10 Milanov , Philip BEL 61.57
11 Kirchler , Hannes ITA 57.46
You can watch video replays and highlights here: Video: 2018 Rome Diamond League Video Highlights..