Alkass Digital
Qatar’s Mutaz Barshim expressed his satisfaction after the Olympic champion finished second in the high jump event behind New Zealand’s Hamish Kerr in the second Diamond League (DL) meeting of the season in Suzhou, China yesterday.
It is Barshim’s second runner-up spot in as many weeks after he claimed second place in Xiamen with USA’s Shelby McEwen winning in the season-opening meeting.
Yesterday, World indoor champion Kerr rebounded after his third place in Xiamen to win the high jump in Suzhou, clearing 2.31m on his second attempt.
Three-time world gold medallist Barshim had skipped straight to 2.33m after two failed attempts at 2.31m but when that didn’t work out, Kerr was confirmed the winner. Yesterday’s 2.29m was Barshim’s season’s best after he leapt 2.27m in Xiamen. USA’s Vernon Turner, who cleared 2.27m, finished third.
“I love coming back to compete here, and it was a nice week. This is an important season for me and I am really looking forward the next competition,” Barshim said after the event.
“Compared to the last meeting in Xiamen, the weather is way better. Due to the rain (in Xiamen) I was really concerned and I did not want to push myself too hard because I did not want to be injured and ruin my season. The Olympics is the goal with my next competition in Doha in two weeks,” he added.
Duplantis sails to victory
Sweden’s Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis dominated the men’s pole vault, going close to bettering his own world record set last week.
The reigning Olympic champion, who cleared 6.24 metres in Xiamen for his eighth world record mark, wrapped up the win in Suzhou with a meet record of 6.00 metres.
The bar was immediately raised to 6.25m, but it proved too much for the US-born Duplantis, who failed three times at the height, albeit going close on his final effort.
“There’s always a little bit of a crash after a huge performance like that, like I had last week, but I stll felt good today, of course,” Duplantis said.
“I knew I was going to have to push a little bit harder, it wasn’t going to come as natural as last week because that’s just kind of the nature of how it feels.
“I felt a little bit flat today, but still really good. I just feel that conditions have to be perfect for me to jump a world record and I wasn’t quite feeling it off the runway tonight,” he said.
World 100m champion Sha’Carri Richardson suffered another upset in the women’s 200m, with the American coming in third at 23.11 seconds behind Briton Daryll Neita’s winning 22.62 and the USA’s Anavia Battle’s 22.99.
South Africa’s Akani Simbine won the men’s 100 metres in 10.01sec ahead of American Christian Coleman.