byLarry Eder
Five things to watch at the Birmingham Diamond League
Mo Farah vs. the milers… and the media; Men’s 1500m, 4:50pm
The most intriguing performance of the weekend will come when Mo Farah toes the line for the men’s 1500m to close Sunday’s meeting. In that contest – as we have come to expect when Farah races on home turf – he will face a relatively weak field. Only two athletes ranked inside the world’s top 20 this year – Kenya’s James Magut and Hillary Ngetich, who have both run 3:35 this season – will be in opposition. It is a race that Farah, given his current form, should be more than capable of winning.
Mo Farah, noting the coming storm, photo by PhotoRun.net
The true test of the weekend, though, will come when Farah walks into the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Saturday afternoon to face the world’s press after a week in which the spotlight was shone into uncomfortably dark places for Farah’s coach Alberto Salazar and training partner Galen Rupp. The revelations uncovered by the BBC and ProPublica may have fallen short of producing a genuine smoking gun, but they certainly did enough to cast doubt on Oregon Project practices. There was nothing uncovered to suggest Farah has engaged in any illegal methods but he will nevertheless face some probing questions from a suspicious press which are likely to challenge him in a way few of his rivals on the track will this weekend.
Stowers rises again; Women’s 100m hurdles, 4:40pm
One of the strongest events in track right now is the women’s sprint hurdles and thankfully, it’s an event where competitors have little fear of racing each other on a weekly basis. Once again, many of the biggest names will again take to their marks together on Sunday afternoon, among them Dawn Harper-Nelson, Tiffany Porter and Brianna Rollins.
Jasmin Stowers, wins in Doha, photo by PhotoRun.net
The one to watch, though, is unquestionably Jasmin Stowers, the 23-year-old American who has been the revelation of the track season to date. At the Drake Relays, she blitzed the field to run a world-leading 12.40 seconds, which she improved to 12.39 at the Kingston Invitational a fortnight later. At the Doha Diamond League, she stormed to victory in 12.35 seconds before it all came crashing down earlier this week in Rome; Stowers smashed a hurdle mid-race and was forced to jog home thereafter.
Birmingham is not a quick track, but it’ll be fascinating to watch Stowers once again challenge, and more than likely defeat, the world’s best. It’s still early days, but there’s a very real chance that in Stowers, we have found an athlete capable of challenging Yordanka Donkova’s world record of 12.21, set all the way back in 1988.
Taylor’s triple threat; Men’s triple jump, 1:55pm
Given the way Pedro Pablo Pichardo and Christian Taylor began the season, Jonathan Edwards’ triple jump world record of 18.29m may well be living on borrowed time. Could Sunday be the day when Edwards finally sees it broken by a 24-year-old American who has long been touted as the man to rewrite the record books?
Flying through the air with the greatest of ease: Christian Taylor,
photo by PhotoRun.net
Ever since he hopped, skipped and jumped his way to 17.96m all the way back in 2011 as a fresh-faced 21-year-old, Taylor has looked capable of such a feat. He finally surpassed that mark and broke new ground this year when, in finishing second to Pichardo in Doha, he produced a sixth-round jump of 18.04m. Having opted to compete in Rome earlier this week – where he took the win with a best jump of 17.96 – Pichardo will not line up alongside Taylor in Birmingham, which leaves the American in a class of his own. The win, barring accident, will be his, but how far can he go?
Felix set to fly; Women’s 200m, 4:30pm
The reigning Olympic champion will look to confirm her standing as the queen of the 200m this Sunday when taking on some of the world’s best at her speciality distance. Based on what we’ve seen this season, it will be more a case of Allyson Felix vs. the clock than an actual contest with any of her competitors. Felix has already dipped below the 22-second barrier this season courtesy of her 21.98-second win in Doha three weeks ago, and she confirmed her early-season form when defeating Sanya Richards-Ross over 400m in Eugene last week.
Letting her feet do the talking: Allyson Felix, photo by PhotoRun.net
The most interesting challenger to line up alongside Felix on Sunday is Britain’s latest sprint queen, Dina Asher-Smith. Though she is unlikely to challenge Felix over 200m, the 19-year-old Briton started her season in superb form, breaking the British record over 100m in Hengelo a fortnight ago with an 11.02-second run. If conditions are decent, Asher-Smith’s 22.61-second personal best – set in the semi-final of the European Championships in Zurich last year – is set for revision.
Fab five face off; Men’s javelin, 3:32pm
Reaching out for 90 meters: Viteslav Veseley reaches 88.12m, photo by PhotoRun.net
The last few years have certainly not been a golden era for the men’s javelin – the last time we saw a 90-metre throw was all the way back in 2011 – but there are signs that the event is now about to reclaim its standing as one of the most watchable events on the circuit. Ten men have thrown over 85 metres already this season and on Sunday, five of the best spear-chucking men on the planet will be in Birmingham.
Reaching for the sun, Julius Yego hurls the javelin, photo by PhotoRun.net
Heading them is world leader Tero Pitkamaki, who managed 88.62 metres in Doha in May. In Rome earlier this week, Vitezslav Vesely took victory with 88.14m ahead of Julius Yego (87.71) and Keshorn Walcott (86.20). All three of those will make a quick turnaround and also compete in Birmingham on Sunday, along with Finland’s Antti Ruuskanen, who threw 86.61 to finish second behind Pitkamaki in Doha. With these five at the helm, the men’s javelin is beginning to return to its halcyon day. A 90-metre throw, while unlikely to happen on Sunday, is likely to happen sooner rather than later.
His throw be won, Keshorn Walcott dreams of gold once again,
photo by PhotoRun.net
