IAAF Diamond League final in Brussels Friday.
The IAAF Diamond League final will conclude tomorrow in Brussels at the Memorial Van Damme. The first half of the finals, in Zurich on 19 August, saw 16 of the 32 events completed. Another 8 of the 16 events have already been decided by points.
On the men’s side Bershawn Jackson clinched the 400m hurdles, and countryman, Christian Cantwell clinched the shot put for the Americans. In the pole vault Renaud Lavillenie of France took first and Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway clichéd top spot in the javelin.
Allyson Felix of the United States in the 200m, Milcah Chemos of Kenya in the 3,000m steeplechase, Blanka Vlassic of Croatia in the high jump and Yarelis Barrios of Cuba in the discus all clinched on the women’s side.
Still to be decided on the men’s side are the: 100m, 800m, 1500m, and the triple jump. Up for grabs on the women’s side are the: 800m, 5,000m, 100m hurdles, and the triple jump.
For the men, Asafa Powell of Jamaica holds a two point lead over Tyson g*y of the United States in the 100m. The final race tomorrow should be an exciting one. Powell won the first two races of the league in Qatar and Norway while g*y won the last two in Stockholm and London. Powell also picked up a second place finish in France to give him the two point edge.
David Rudisha of Kenya is likely destined to win the 800m. He currently holds a four-point lead over Mbulaeni Mulaudzi of Russia. Rudisha has won three races including a win over Mulaudzi in France.
Two Kenyans sit in first and second place in the 1,500m. Asbel Kiprop has a three point lead over Augustine Choge. Choge beat Kiprop in the first race in Qatar, and Kiprop returned the favour in Gateshead.
The tightest competition on the men’s side is the triple jump. Teddy Tamgho of France has a slim one point lead over Alexis Copello of Cuba.
Over on the women’s side, Janeth Jepkosgei of Kenya sits atop the leaderboard in the 800m, she has a slim one point lead over both Alysia Johnson of the United States, and Mariya Savinova of Russia. All three women have won at least one race. This race could possibly be the closest of all the finals in Brussels.
Sentayehu Ejigu of Ethiopia has a three point lead over Vivian Cheruiyot of Kenya in the 5,000m. Both have won two races, and Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia, who sits five points back of Ejigu, could be the deciding factor. Dibaba has won two races herself and while she cannot take top spot, she could prevent Cheruiyot the opportunity to win if she wins this race as well.
It’s a North American battle for the 100m hurdles as Lolo Jones of the United States is tied with Priscilla Lopes-Schliep of Canada. Jones has three first place finishes while Lopes-Schliep has two. Jones has fallen off a bit finishing third in her last two races while Lopes-Schliep won the last race, in London.
Cuban, Yargelis Savigne, has a comfortable four point lead over Olga Rypakova of Kazakhstan, and has won the last three Diamond League triple jump events.
The United States took almost half of the events decided in last week’s final in Zurich. Those winners were: Wallace Spearmon in the 200m, Jeremy Wariner in the 400m, David Oliver in the 110m hurdles, and long jumper Dwight Phillips for the men. Carmelita Jeter in the 100m, Allyson Felix in the 400m, and Brittney Reese in the long jump, all won on the women’s side.
Kenya did well in long distance running taking the men’s 3,000m steelplechase, won by Paul Kipsiele Koech, and the women’s 1500m, by Nancy Lagat. Imane Merga of Ethiopia won the men’s 5,000m.
Ivan Ukhov won the high jump for Russia, and Piotr Malachoski, of Poland, won the discus to round out the men’s side.
The other women’s champions were: Kaliese Spencer of Jamaica in the 400m hurdles, Fabien Murer of Brazil in the pole vault, Barbora Spotakova of the Czech Republic in the javelin, and Nadezhda Ostapchuk of Belarus in the shot put.
The Diamond Leagues series is a set of 14 meets that take place all over the world. Most of the events are held in Europe, but the United States hosted two, while China and Qatar each had one.
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