Kenya claims double mid-distance sweeps in Doha DL

Kenya claims double mid-distance sweeps in Doha DL

Kenya ruled the tracks in the opening leg of the Diamond League in Doha, Qatar with podium sweeps in the men’s 800m and the women’s 3000m on Friday.

Emmanuel Korir blasted away from his compatriots on the final strait to win the men’s two-lap race in 1:45.21 as World champion Elijah Manangoi finished second in 1:45.60 with Nicholas Kipkoech coming third in 1:46.51.

There was a tight finish in the women’s 3,000m with Kipkirui finishing four tenths of a second ahead of Agnes Tirop after a tense final lap in the evening heat, with Hyvin Kiyeng coming third.

Caster Semenya put aside the controversy over a planned rule change in athletics regarding hyperandrogenism to win the women’s 1,500 metres and break her own South African record time.

Semenya won in a world leading time of three minutes and 59.92 seconds ahead of Nelly Jepkosgei of Kenya and Habitam Alemu of Ethiopia. She set a national and Commonwealth Games record of 4:00.71 in winning the gold medal last month.

The South African has been in the spotlight after the sport’s governing IAAF approved an eligibility rule to limit the advantage of female athletes who, like Semenya, have naturally higher than normal levels of testosterone.

The International Association of Athletics Federations last week confirmed new rules, starting from Nov. 1, which effectively give Semenya a choice of taking medication to restrict her testosterone or move to longer distance events.

Commonwealth Games 400m champion Isaac Makwala failed to reproduce his Gold Coast form as he finished third in a race won by Steven Gardiner of the Bahamas in a national record of 43.87 seconds, with Qatar’s Abdalleleh Haroun coming home second.

Marie-Josee Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast won the women’s 100m in a personal best of 10.85 seconds, beating 2016 Olympic champion Elaine Thompson of Jamaica who was third with Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare-Ighoteguonor finishing second.

American 20-year-old Noah Lyles won the men’s 200m in a meeting record of 19.83 seconds with world champion Ramil Guliyev of Turkey finishing third.

American Sandi Morris won the women’s pole vault with Britain’s Holly Bradshaw coming second.

There were also wins in the men’s events for Pedro Pablo Pichardo of Cuba in the triple jump and home athlete Mutaz Essa Barshim in the high jump.

Tags:

Diamond League Caster Semenya Elijah Manangoi Doha Emmanuel Korir

Want to send us a story? Submit on Wananchi Reporting on the Citizen Digital App or Send an email to wananchi@royalmedia.co.ke or Send an SMS to 25170 or WhatsApp on 0743570000

Leave a Comment

Comments

No comments yet.

latest stories