ROME, ITALY, August 30 — Who would rule the 100 on the post-Olympics circuit, now that Noah Lyles has left the building and Kishane Thompson has not raced since Paris? After his win in Chorzów, it looked like Fred Kerley might be the man. However, the dash in the Stadio Olimpico reminded all the contenders that 200 gold medalist Letsile Tebogo is riding the wave of confidence.
In the final event at the meet that has been named in honor of another 200 gold medalist, Pietro Mennea, the Botswanan set his blocks in lane 6, with ’21 Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs in 5, this year’s bronze medalist Kerley in 4, and Christian Coleman, in his first individual race since the Trials, in 3.
As per the usual script, Coleman got out like lightning, but Kerley was not able to catch him. Instead, it was Tebogo, on the other side of the track, who found his stride at mid-race and reeled in Coleman. His 9.87 missed by 0.01 the national record he set in finishing 6th in the Olympic final. Coleman ran 9.92, Kerley 9.95.
“This was one of my best 100-meter races,” said Tebogo, who indicated he might concentrate on the straightaway event next season. “Before this, I imagined what the perfect race over 100 would look like. You have to lock in into your mind and then it can happen. Today I had a great start and it made me think, ´Why did I not have one like this in the Olympic final?’
“I actually did not plan to set a PB today. I remember how my body felt after the last time I ran a 9.8. It was hard to come back from that to run the 200 the next day in Paris. I still have more races coming up and I did not want to get injured before Zürich.”
The day’s action started with a discus matchup that brought together the top 7 Olympic finishers. In this version, it was Paris 4th-placer Kristjan Čeh, the ’22 world champion, who took the honors. The Slovenian did so by virtue of his last effort of 225-1 (68.61), which lifted him past gold medalist Roje Stona (222-7/67.85) and silver medalist Mykolas Alekna (222-0/67.68). “On the final throw, I went all-in,” he said. “It clicked, that is what we train for. I feel like I still have something to prove after the Olympics.”
The 400 looked like this time Kirani James would have enough of a margin to hold off bronze medalist Muzala Samukonga, but the young Zambian once again demonstrated great lift at the end of the race and easily passed the decade-older Grenadian to win, 43.99–44.30.
Ryan Crouser, now rested and ready for European competition after his jetlag issues in Chorzów, redefined consistency with a series in which the best of his 6 throws was 73-9½ (22.49) and the worst was 72-7 (22.12). Any one of them would have held up to win over Leonardo Fabbri’s 71-2½ (21.70), Payton Otterdahl’s 70-11¾ (21.63) and Joe Kovacs’ 70-11¼ (21.62).
“It’s a good indicator that a big throw is coming up,” he said. “Not that today´s mark is not big, but I believe I can still get into World Record territory. I am trending in the right direction… I am throwing consistently and that is important. You train for that one big throw, but when you get consistency, big throws are more likely to come.”
Korea’s Sang-hyeok Woo triumphed in a high jump battle that saw him attempting 7-6½ (2.30) with Romaine Beckford, Oleh Doroshchukh and Gianmarco Tamberi. It wasn’t until the third attempt that Woo and Beckford made it over, the Jamaican Razorback scoring a PR and Woo taking the win on misses.
The 5000 had been tabbed as a WR attempt, but after they slipped off the pace in the middle kilometer (3K 7:37.58), the mostly Ethiopian vanguard switched into tactical mode. At the bell there were still 7 in the mix. Hagos Gebrhiwet stormed past everyone on the backstretch and held on for a narrow win over Yomif Kejelcha, 12:51.07–12:51.25. Selemon Barega was 3rd in 12:51.39 as Ethiopians took 5 of the first 6 spots.
“I trained a lot for my last 300–400 meters, for the final kick, and this helped a lot,” said the victor.
In a non-Diamond League 110 hurdles race, it was France’s Sasha Zhoya who got the win, a late-race drive giving him a 13.18–13.27 victory over Spain’s Asier Martínez. Jamaica’s Omar McLeod ran 3rd (13.28) and Eric Edwards got a season best 13.29 in 4th.
ROME DL MEN’S RESULTS
100(0.3): 1. Letsile Tebogo (Bot) 9.87; 2. Christian Coleman (US) 9.92; 3. Fred Kerley (US) 9.95; 4. Ackeem Blake (Jam) 10.03; 5. Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (Jpn) 10.05; 6. Kyree King (US) 10.07; 7. Ferdinand Omanyala (Ken) 10.08; 8. Jeremiah Azu (GB) 10.17; 9. Lamont Marcell Jacobs (Ita) 10.20.
400: 1. Muzala Samukonga (Zam) 43.99; 2. Kirani James (Grn) 44.30; 3. Jereem Richards (Tri) 44.55; 4. Bayapo Ndori (Bot) 44.56; 5. Vernon Norwood (US) 44.71; 6. Charlie Dobson (GB) 44.75; 7. Bryce Deadmon (US) 44.77; 8. Collen Kebinatshipi (Bot) 45.14.
5000: 1. Hagos Gebrhiwet (Eth) 12:51.07; 2. Yomif Kejelcha (Eth) 12:51.25; 3. Selemon Barega (Eth) 12:51.39; 4. Jacob Krop (Ken) 12:51.55 (10:22.69); 5. Telahun Haile (Eth) 12:51.59; 6. Berihu Aregawi (Eth) 12:54.12 (7:37.58); 7. Moh Ahmed (Can) 12:54.90; 8. Dominic Lobalu (Swi) 12:59.16; 9. Nicholas Kipkorir (Ken) 13:07.80; 10. Mike Foppen (Neth) 13:09.00;… rabbits—Mulata Wuholo (Eth) (2:31.20), Melese Nberet (Eth) (5:03.31).
Non-DL 110H(0.4): 1. Sasha Zhoya (Fra) 13.18; 2. Asier Martínez (Spa) 13.27; 3. Omar McLeod (Jam) 13.28; 4. Eric Edwards (US) 13.29; 5. Orlando Bennett (Jam) 13.33; 6. Lorenzo Ndele Simonelli (Ita) 13.34; 7. Cordell Tinch (US) 13.34; 8. Dylan Beard (US) 13.35.
Field Events
HJ: 1. Sang-hyeok Woo (SK) 7-6½ (2.30) (7-½, 7-2½, 7-4¼, 7-5¼, 7-6½ [3]) (2.15, 2.20, 2.24, 2.27, 2.30 [3]); 2. Romaine Beckford (Jam) 7-6½ PR (7-½ [2], 7-2½, 7-4¼, 7-5¼ [3], 7-6½ [3], 7-7¾ [xxx]) (2.15 [2], 2.20, 2.24, 2.27 [3], 2.30 [3], 2.33 [xxx]); 3. tie, Oleh Doroshchuk (Ukr) & Gianmarco Tamberi (Ita) 7-5¼ (2.27); 5. Edgar Rivera (Mex) 7-4¼ (2.24); 6. Jan Štefela (CzR) 7-2½ (2.20).
TJ: 1. Andy Díaz Hernández (Ita) 56-10 (17.32); 2. Max Heß (Ger) 55-9¾ (17.01); 3. Almir dos Santos (Bra) 55-5 (16.89); 4. Hugues Fabrice Zango (Bur) 55-4¼ (16.87); 5. Lázaro Martínez (Cub) 54-9¼ (16.69); 6. Tiago Pereira (Por) 54-7½ (16.65); 7. Jean-Marc Pontvianne (Fra) 53-8½ (16.37); 8. Andrea Dallavalle (Ita) 53-1 (16.18).
SP: 1. Ryan Crouser (US) 73-9½ (22.49) (73-½, 73-9½, 73-2, 73-1¾, 72-11¾, 72-7) (22.26, 22.49, 22.30, 22.29, 22.24, 22.12); 2. Leonardo Fabbri (Ita) 71-2½ (21.70); 3. Payton Otterdahl (US) 70-11¾ (21.63); 4. Joe Kovacs (US) 70-11¼ (21.62); 5. Rajindra Campbell (Jam) 70-7¼ (21.52); 6. Chukwuebuka Enekwechi (Ngr) 68-10¾ (21.00); 7. Tomáš Staněk (CzR) 67-5½ (20.56); 8. Zane Weir (Ita) 65-7 (19.99).
DT: 1. Kristjan Čeh (Slo) 225-1 (68.61) (209-2, 210-2, 209-6, 214-1, 219-4, 225-1) (63.77, 64.07, 63.87, 65.27, 66.87, 68.61); 2. Roje Stona (Jam) 222-7 (67.85) (213-4, 222-7, f, f, 208-6, 215-3) (65.03, 67.85, f, f, 63.55, 65.62); 3. Mykolas Alekna (Lit) 222-0 (67.68) (219-6, 217-2, f, f, 222-0, f) (66.90, 66.20, f, f, 67.68, f); 4. Matt Denny (Aus) 218-0 (66.44); 5. Daniel Ståhl (Swe) 213-5 (65.04); 6. Henrik Janssen (Ger) 210-4 (64.11); 7. Clemens Prüfer (Ger) 210-3 (64.09); 8. Lukas Weißhaidinger (Aut) 207-9 (63.33).
