RUDISHA BEATEN
THERE WERE A NUMBER OF SURPRISES AT THE LATEST DIAMOND LEAGUE MEET
POOR weather and empty spectator seats blighted the 2017 BAUHAUSgalan meeting in Stockholm, but the latest stop on the Diamond League circuit produced a number of significant performances halfway through this Olympic summer.
Dina Asher-Smith became the first British woman to win a Diamond League 200m race since the series began in 2010. David Rudisha suffered a surprise defeat, while Ibrahim Jeilan showed he could be one of Mo Farah’s biggest rivals in Rio with a 5000m win.
Desiree Henry: back in 200m action with a win
Asher-Smith clocked 22.72 in wet weather in what was her first 200m race since her fifth place at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing last summer. Holding off Jamaica’s Simone Facey, who ran 22.81, and fellow Briton Desiree Henry, who clocked a PB of 22.88, Asher-Smith said: “I would have liked to have executed it a bit better down the home straight but in these conditions for the first outing of the year, I can’t complain.”
Angelika Cichocka: took surprise 1500m win over Brit Laura Muir with 4:03.25
Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich followed up his win in Shanghai and runner-up position in Eugene with another Diamond League 800m win, clocking 1:45.07. World record-holder Rudisha had placed only fifth in Shanghai and was again beaten by his compatriot as he ran 1:45.69 for fourth behind Pierre-Ambroise Bosse with 1:45.23 and Adam Kszczot with 1:45.41.