by Larry EderThis is why I am going to Doha!
Kiprop vs Aman vs Amos
DOHA (QAT): New top names have been announced for the Doha IAAF Diamond League opener on May 15. Reigning world champions Asbel Kiprop and Mohammed Aman will meet in a scintillating 800m clash while Olympic 200m champion Allyson Felix will chase her 11th victory on the Qatar Sports Club track in her event the 200 m. “I love racing in Doha,” said Kiprop, who also took Olympic 1500m gold in 2008 and is currently the world leader in the 800m. “The fields are always strong and the conditions always very good for fast races. I hope to have another good performance this year. But it will be tough.” The field will also include Nijel Amos of Botswana, the 2012 Olympic silver medallist and last year’s Diamond Race winner in the event. Felix will face Murielle Ahoure of Ivory Coast, who impressed with a pair of silver medal finishes in the 100m and 200m at the 2013 World Championships. They’ll be joined by rising UK star Jodie Williams who took the 100m world youth and junior 100m titles in 2009 and 2010, respectively. The women’s 1500m will offer the clash of top Europeans Sifan Hassan of Netherlands against Abeba Aregawi of Sweden. The pair have met nine times over the distance with Hassan bringing a narrow 5-4 edge into Doha. Defending Kenyan pride will be Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon, the 2011 world youth and 2012 world junior champion, who clocked a sensational 3:56.98 personal best in Doha in 2013 behind Aregawi. Meanwhile Brittney Reese, the most dominant long jumper in the world since 2009, returns to the scene of her 7.25m career best to lead the field in her specialty. She’ll face compatriot Tianna Bartoletta, a former world indoor and outdoor champion who won the Diamond Race last season, and Serbian Ivana Spanovic, the world indoor bronze medallist and runner-up at the Continental Cup last year. Another athlete returning to familiar stomping grounds is Blanka Vlasic, a four-time Doha high jump winner from 2007-2010. She’ll face long-time rival Ruth Beitia of Spain, the reigning European champion in the event at 36, and bronze medallist at the 2013 World Championships and Russian Irina Gordeyeva.
