In the presence of HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, president of the Qatar Olympic Committee, the Doha meeting – the fourth and final round of the 2020 Diamond League – was held successfully this evening, with strong participation from world and Olympic champions, amid strict precautionary measures at the Suhaim bin Hamad Stadium track and field at Qatar SC.
A total of 117 athletes took part in the meeting, including 10 medallists from the last Olympic Games (Rio 2016) and 17 medallists from the last World Athletics Championships (Doha 2019), competing across 12 events without spectators.
The organising committee made huge efforts and took every precautionary measure, ensuring the dazzling success of the international meeting, which confirmed the confidence of the sporting world and the world’s and Olympic champions in Qatar, despite the exceptional circumstances the world is going through due to the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19).
Representing the Qatari athletics team were runners Musaab Abdulrahman and Hamza Deriouech in the main 1500m, while runners Mohammed Al Qarni and Yasser Bagrab competed in the 1500m (B) race; runner Abdulaziz Salem competed in the 200m and Asian champion Jamal Hairane in the 800m.
Qatar’s Mohammed Al Qarni finished second in the 1500m (B) race in 3:44.30, ahead of Australia’s Joseph Deng, who finished third in 3:47.39, while Morocco’s Ilyas El Wali won the race.
During the meeting, Jamaican Olympic champion Elaine Thompson confirmed her absolute dominance of the marquee event, the 100m, which saw a record turnout of world and Olympic champions. Thompson claimed first place in 10.87 seconds, continuing her domination of the 100m – she who won gold at the last World Championships (Qatar 2019) and was the first woman to win both the 100m and 200m gold at a single edition of the Olympic Games, specifically at Rio 2016.
Thompson’s best mark this season was 10.88 seconds, set in Kingston on 8 August, the second-fastest time of the year, and today’s race in Doha was her first outside Jamaica in 2020.
Thompson finished ahead of Ivory Coast’s Marie-Josee Ta Lou, who took second in 11.21 seconds, with the United States’ Kayla White third in 11.25 seconds.
The Jamaican Olympic champion said after her win: “I’m very happy to be back in Qatar again and to win here once more”.
She added: “Everything is good here and it helps you excel and win”.
The evening’s second standout race was the women’s 3000m, which saw a fierce battle between world and Olympic champions and an outright Kenyan sweep of the top places. Olympic champion Hellen Obiri won in 8:22.54, a new world lead for the year, with compatriot Agnes Tirop second in 8:22.92 and fellow Kenyan Beatrice Chepkoech third, also in 8:22.92.
In the men’s events, the pole vault was the standout event of all, also featuring world and Olympic champions, with an exciting contest between Sweden’s Armand Duplantis, the world record holder and runner-up at the last World Championships (Qatar 2019), American Sam Kendricks, the current world champion, and France’s Renaud Lavillenie, gold medallist at the London 2012 Olympics.
All three champions cleared the same height in today’s competition, 5.82m, a new world lead for the year, but the result was decided on countback of successful attempts, with Sweden’s Duplantis taking first place, America’s Kendricks second, and France’s Lavillenie third.
Duplantis had set a new world record of 6.18m at the Glasgow meeting on the World Indoor Tour last February.
In the long jump, Ukraine’s Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk took first place with 6.91m, a new world lead for the year, Nigeria’s Ese Brume was second with 6.71m, and Sweden’s Khaddi Sagnia was third with 6.85m.
In the women’s 800m, Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon recorded a new world lead of 1:57.68 to take first place, ahead of Spain’s Esther Guerrero, who ran 1:59.22, with Britain’s Adelle Tracey third in 1:59.87.
