2019 Diamond League Diary: Some semi-deep thoughts on the Doha DL

As season of 2019 hits Diamond League meeting seven this week (Pre Classic), I want to review the meets so far this season and give you a bit of a evaluation point on the long, long season.

The crowd at Khalifa Stadium, Doha DL, May 3, 2019, photo by Stuart Weir

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The Doha DL was held May 3, 2019 in the newly upgraded Khalifa Stadium, including the amazing air condition system for the track. After speaking with our team, and watching the meet several times, my deep thoughts are as follows:

Khalifa Stadium, photo by Stuart Weir

1. The air conditioning system kept the track and athletes cooler. Problem is, the tunnel is cool, the call room is warm and the track is cooler. How will that effect the athletes this fall?

Dina Asher-Smith of #GreatBritain gave us one of the most dominant 200m sprints we have ever seen. AMAZING! ðŸ’Ž#DLDoha #DohaDL #DiamondLeague pic.twitter.com/rW2JpJe3Nr
— Doha Diamond League (@dldoha) May 3, 2019

2. Dina Asher-Smith: Doha was the European Champions coming out party. She is developing a new gear, and her start, middle of race and blasting down the final straight makes her an early medla contender for Doha!

Caster amid the media, photo by Stuart Weir

3. Caster Semenya: Caster Semenya showed up in Doha literally hours after the CAS hearing. The IAAF vs. Semenya is not over, but during this battle, we will see Semenya show her amazing skills. There is no winning in this one. The IAAF is protecting women’s athletic rights and Caster Semenya has the support of a global movement. This is just hopeless.

Distance running stars @hellen_obiri & @GenzebeD do battle over 3,000m in Friday’s #dldoha #DiamondLeague . They today told their media their hopes for the event. pic.twitter.com/okbfbkvlsz
— Doha Diamond League (@dldoha) May 2, 2019

4. Rivalries make our sport! Hellen Obiri and Genzebe Dibaba dueled over 3000m and it was a footrace! Sports fans know when rivalries are real and they love them! Watch how many big rivalries are revealed during the season!

Khalifa Stadium, photo by Stuart Weir, May 3, 2019

5. The Long season will affect 2019 and 2020! Many top athletes did not compete in Doha. Why? A season that is almost 2 months longer than normal will affect 2019, yes, but also 2020. Athletes will be affected for the next two seasons, and perhaps more…..

To review the 2019 Doha Diamond League Meeting, check below:

Stahl and Semenya headline a night to remember in Doha.
Check out our summary of last night’s #DiamondLeague at Khalifa International Stadium.https://t.co/5fS5uubHkO #DLDoha #DohaDL pic.twitter.com/t3cWAdyd0k
— Doha Diamond League (@dldoha) May 4, 2019

Complete results: DLM-DOH19_03052019.txt

Author

Larry Eder
Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys. Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."
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