by Stuart Weir
Michael Norman takes the 400m over Fred Kerley, by IAAF Diamond League
Okay, okay. I told you Stuart Weir was doing five stories. but he decided to do one more. This is the sixth piece on the Brussels meet. Enjoy it!
Random ramblings on Brussels
Pacemakers
I am not convinced that there should be pacemakers in Diamond League finals. It is effectively a championship race and should operate like one. The women’s 800m had a pacemaker who ran a 57 minute lap but then no one was under 2 minutes. What was the point of the pacemaker?
Men’s 200
Noah Lyles battles the world, photo by PhotoRun.net
Noah Lyles maintained his standing as favorite with 19.74, with defending world champion Ramil Guliyev running a season’s best in second. A good time to be in your best form of the season.
Men’s 400
Fred Kerley vs. Mike Norman, photo by PhotoRun.net
Fred Kerley won the 400 in the US championships but lost the DL final to Michael Norman by 0.2 of a second, causing Kerley to comment that he was going home to work on his final 100m.
Michael Norman takes the 400m, photo by IAAF Diamond League
Men’s 1500
The battle of 1,500m continue, photo by PhotoRun.net
Timothy Cheruiyot was pushed all the way by Jakob and Filip Ingebrigtsen. I don’t think this is the last time I will write about that rivalry.
The Men’s Triple Jump
Christian Taylor, photo by PhotoRun.net
The Men’s Triple Jump – see separate post – was a bit of an anti-climax. At the pre-event press conference, Christian Taylor said that triple jumpers needed to speak to the authorities with their distance. Taylor did – 17.85. Second best distance was only 17.22
Women’s long jump
Malaika Mihambo, photo by Getty Images / British Athletics
And talking of distance, I travelled on the same bus to the stadium as Malaika Mihambo. I told her I had enjoyed watching her this year and was amazed how the exceptional feat of a 7 meter jump had become routine for her. She thanked me and then went out and jumped 6.97, 6.99 and 7.03 and passed on her last three jumps, presumably because she felt she had fulfilled my requirements.
Women’s 5000m
Sifan Hassan takes the 5000m, photo by IAAF Diamond League
What a cracker! Defending world champion, Hellen Obiri, finished 7 seconds behind Sifan Hassan. Germany’s Konstanze Klosterhalfen was third, beating five Kenyans to show that she is a serious contender. This will be a race to savour in Doha.
Women’s 100m hurdles
Danielle Williams, photo by PhotoRun.net
Anyone who wants to stop Danielle Williams winning her second world title has 3 weeks to find an answer to her impressive form – see separate post.
Women’s high jump
Maria Lasitskene, photo by PhotoRun.net
The women’s high jump seems to be an event in which lots of ladies jump high – seven over 1.89 in Brussels – and in the end Mariya Lasitskene wins.
Women’s Pole vault
Robeilys Peinado, photo by PhotoRun.net
The women’s pole vault gave us a new Venezuelan record – 4.70 by Robeilys Peinado. Not many of us saw that coming.
Keep politics out of sport
Sandra Perkovic, best discus Parlimentarian? photo by PhotoRun.net
Sandra Perkovic threw sixty-six meters for second place in the women’s discus, which, I am fairly certain, is the longest throw ever by a member of the Croatian parliament. She told me that most politicians are older people and she had stood for parliament as she felt there needed to be more younger voices.
Sandra Perkovic, photo by PhotoRun.net
Women’s 100 metres
Dina Asher-Smith, photo by IAAF Diamond League
In Lausanne when Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce ran 10.74 to Dina Asher-Smith’s 10.91, it seemed a reality check for the British athlete. So, for Dina to beat SAFP 10.88 to 10.95 in Brussels must have done something for her confidence. Another race to savour in Doha.
Flash quotes
Dina Asher-Smith, 100m, photo by Getty Images / British Athletics
After each race or field event at an elite track and field meet, the media are provided with flash quotes, an instant reaction from an athlete as to how the race went. The Brussels Dina Asher-Smith quote was as random as any I have seen. It started: “Officially you have to call her Geraldina Rachel Asher-Smith. That Italian first name has her mother chosen nearly 24 years ago to honor her best friend. Dina is not that into history. She lives into the now and concentrates on her own career”. I suspect Dina is far from the only one who is not interested!
