Legendary launch for the athletics Diamond League as Doha wins the bet
Champions Asafa Powell, Jones, Felix and Kemboi steal the spotlight in the challenge
Athletics fans get full marks, and an Ethiopian is the jewel of the Diamond League.
An ordinary start for the Arab champions, with Morocco’s Siham and Amine the best
Amid an electric atmosphere and a huge crowd that packed the stands of Suheim bin Hamad 
Stadium at Qatar Sports Club, “Giving Doha” launched yesterday an exciting start to the Diamond League athletics series, with the participation of an elite group of world stars led by Jamaica’s Asafa Powell, the former 100m world record holder; Czech Republic’s Barbora Spotakova, the Olympic champion and world record holder in the javelin throw; America’s Allyson Felix, the world 200m champion; her compatriot Lolo Jones, the world indoor 60m hurdles champion; and Croatia’s Blanka Vlasic, the world high jump champion and world record holder, along with other world and Asian champions, who competed in strong, exciting contests that won the approval of the huge crowd that followed the global spectacle with great enthusiasm. The evening’s programme featured “15” races and events for men and women.
High-level attendance
Prominent figures were in attendance, headed by Senegal’s Lamine Diack, president of the IAAF, along with IAAF leaders and senior figures including presidents of national federations, Diamond League guests among the directors of the world’s meetings, and some presidents of Gulf federations who followed the global challenge, and they were welcomed by Abdullah Ahmed Al Zaini, chairman of the championship’s senior organising committee .
The peak of excitement in the races
The Diamond League – Doha 2010 events were marked by strength and excitement, with (15) races and events held for men and women, as follows:
( women’s discus throw final, men’s shot put final – women’s pole vault final – men’s 400m hurdles final – men’s 100m first heat – men’s 100m second heat – women’s high jump final – women’s 100m hurdles final – women’s javelin throw final – men’s 800m final – men’s triple jump final – women’s 200m final – men’s 3000m steeplechase final, women’s 1500m final – men’s 100m final – men’s 5000m – concluding with the women’s 400m final ).
The big names took the lion’s share
As usual, the big names took the lion’s share of the top places, with the top spots going to the most outstanding champions, those in the best physical and technical shape. The following are the full results of the Doha 2010 meeting..
Women’s category: discus throw final
– Cuban champion Yarelys Barrios took first place with a throw of (64.90m ), Australia’s Dani Samuels came second with a throw of (64.67m ), and Croatia’s Sandra Bukvic finished third with a throw of ( 62.33m ).
Women’s pole vault
– Germany’s Silke Spiegelburg claimed first place and top spot with a height of ( 4.70m ), Russia’s Tatiana Polnova came second with a height of (4.55m) and Czech Republic’s Jarina Petrova finished third with a height of ( 4.55m ) .
Women’s high jump
– Croatian star Blanka Vlasic finished first with a height of ( 1.98m ), winning on countback, American champion Chaunte Howard was runner-up with a height of (1.98m ), and Spain’s Ruth Beitia finished third with a height of (1.94m)
Javelin throw .
– Czech champion Maria Abakova took first place and top spot with a throw of (68.89m) her compatriot Barbara Estkova was runner-up with a throw of (67.33m ) and Slovakia’s Martina Rotija finished third with a throw of ( 67.16m).
110m hurdles .
– America’s brilliant Lolo Jones topped the 110m hurdles and took first place with a time of (12.63 sec ), Canada’s Priscilla Lopes-Schliep was runner-up with a time of (12.67 sec ), and America’s Virginia Balo finished third with a time of (12.70 sec).
200m
– Jamaica’s brilliant Kerron Stewart snatched the top spot in the 200m with a season’s best of (22.34 sec ), her compatriot Sherone Simpson was runner-up with a time of (22.64 sec ) and third place went to Sadene of the Cayman Islands with a time of (22.66 sec ).
1500m .
– Kenya’s Nancy Jelagat topped the 1500m and took first place with a time of (4:01.63 ), Ethiopia’s Gelete Burka was runner-up with a time of (4:02.16 ) and Morocco’s Siham Hilali finished third with a time of (4:03.89 ) .
400m .
The women’s 400m saw a fierce battle among the world’s runners, and, as usual, America’s Allyson Felix won the challenge, finishing top with a time of (50.15 sec ), Bahamas’ Amilee Manchio came second with a time of (50.34 sec) and third place went to Jamaica’s Novlene Williams with a time of (50.50 sec ) .
Men’s category
Shot put
American giant Christian Cantwell took first place with a throw of (21.82m ), Germany’s Ralf Bartels came second with a throw of (21.14m ) and America’s Reese Hoffa finished third with a throw of (21.00m ).
400m hurdles
America’s Bershawn Jackson took first place with a time of (48.66 sec ), America’s Kerron Clement came second with a time of (48.82 sec ), and South Africa’s Van Zyl finished third with a time of (49.59 sec ), while America’s Angelo Taylor had a disappointing run, finishing fourth with a time of (49.66 sec ), and Saudi Arabia’s Bandar Yahya finished eighth with a time of (52.21 sec ).
800m .
Young Kenyan runner David Rudisha took first place and the top spot, recording his best time of the year so far with a time of (1:43.00 ), his compatriot Asbel Kiprop came second with a time of (1:43.45) and Morocco’s Amine Laalou finished third with a time of (1:43.71 ), while Qatar’s Hamza Deriouch finished seventh with his best time of (1:47.95 ) and his compatriot Abdulrahman Balla was eighth with a time of (1:48.12 ), and Sudan’s Ismail Ahmed finished tenth with a time of (1:50.24 ).
Triple jump .
Cuban champion Alexis Copello topped the men’s triple jump, taking first place with a distance of (17.47m ), his compatriot David Giral was runner-up with a distance of (17.29m ) and their compatriot Yandry Betanzos finished third with a distance of (17.22m).
3000m steeplechase
As usual, the 3000m saw outright Kenyan African dominance with 17 runners taking part. Kenyan Olympic champion Ezekiel Kemboi took the top spot and first place with a time of (8:06.26 ), his compatriot Paul Kipsiele Koech came second with a time of
(8:06.69) and their compatriot Patrick Lugit finished third with a time of ( 8:09.12 ), while Bahrain’s Tareq Mubarak Taher finished 13th with a time of (8:28.93 ).
100m .
As usual, world sprinter Jamaica’s Asafa Powell stole the spotlight, taking first place and top spot with a good time of (9.81 sec ). Powell had recorded a good time of (9.75 sec ) in the heats, and his compatriot Nesta Carter was runner-up with a time of ( 9.88 sec ), while America’s Travis Padgett finished third with a time of (9.92 sec ).
5000m .
Closing the busy evening of world athletics was the enjoyable 5000m, which, as usual, saw pure African dominance among the champions of Kenya, Ethiopia and Eritrea. Fortune smiled on Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge, who finished with a time of (12:51.45 ), while his compatriot Vincent Kembek finished second with a time of (12:51.45) and third place went to Ethiopia’s Geda Kipur with a time of (13:05.20 ).
Khalid Habash eighth
Qatari champion Khalid Habash finished eighth among the elite field in the shot put with a throw of (18.03m ). It is worth noting that Habash is coming back from a long injury and only recently began preparing for the sporting season.
Qatari runner Francis bows out in the heats
Luck was not on the side of Qatari runner Samuel Francis in the 100m, as he went out early in the heats, finishing fifth with a time of
(10.16 sec ), while Jamaica’s Asafa Powell took the top spot, winning first place with a time of
(9.81 sec).
