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In order to excel, it is often better to perform among others, at least two… The Paris leg of the Wanda Diamond League proved this once again this Friday evening at the Charléty Stadium, where over 19,000 spectators got the chance to witness some ferocious clashes right around the track. American Grace Stark posted the stand-out performance of the night by winning the 100 m hurdles in 12’’21 (+0.7), a new meet record. Neck and neck with the world record holder Tobi Amusan, she finally edged out the Nigerian athlete by just three hundredths of a second to secure her third Diamond League win of the season after Keqiao in April and Stockholm last Sunday.
“ I really wanted to run a sub-12’’30 time! I’m thrilled to have pulled it off this time, especially with my coach and fitness trainer present ,” enthused the athlete who was fifth in the last Olympic Games, admitting that she “adored the stadium and the huge crowd” in the stands. The men’s version of the high hurdles saw victory go to Trey Cunningham who narrowly got the better of the competition in 13’’00, equalling his personal best.
It was a similar scenario in the women’s top-flight 400 m, which culminated in victory for the world champion Marileidy Paulino in 48’’81 (meet record), who made up a deficit of around ten metres on Salwa Eid Naser, who was credited with 48’’85. The last fifty metres saw the two athletes almost neck and neck, which really got the crowd on their feet. In the same way, the 3,000 m steeplechase crowned Kenyan Faith Cherotich, who had been following in the footsteps of the race favourite Peruth Chemutai before nailing a blisteringly quick attack as the pair approach the final hurdle, treating herself to the best performance in the world this season in 8’53’’37, and a big dose of confidence into the bargain.
Habz gets the fans out of their seats
The Parisian crowd also had several more opportunities to show their support and they certainly didn’t hold back as they cheered on Azeddine Habz, who made a dazzling sprint for the finish in the 1,500 m, which does not count towards the Diamond League. The Parisian athlete was in his absolute element in this race, shattering the French record, which was set by Mehdi Baala a staggering 22 years ago, and the first to cross the finish line in 3’27’’49. “It’s really a dream come true, on home soil, just five kilometres from the venue where I train year-round,” he beamed. Meantime, the women’s race, which rounded off the evening, saw the win go to Kenyan athlete Nelly Chepchirchir, who demonstrated her sensational power down the final one hundred metres to post a time of 3’57’’02.
Running a longer distance, Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha courageously went on, virtually singlehanded, to have a crack at Joshua Cheptegei’s world record. Ahead of the wavelight LEDs for nearly four kilometres, he finally stumbled in the last few strides, hit by “a big burst of fatigue during the last laps,” just five days after competing in Stockholm. Nevertheless, he still managed to bag the win in 12’47’’84. Spanish athlete Mohamed Attaoui was still feeling fresh and managed to outpace Bryce Hoppel and Josh Hoey when the opportunity opened up in front of him, as if by magic, just fifty metres from the finish of a particularly intense 800 m, conquered in a time of 1’42’’73.
For his last race in Europe before he heads back to the States, Rai Benjamin racked up another victory in the 400 m hurdles and another sub-47’’ time, in 46’’93 (meet record). He was able to reap the benefits of the fantastic start by Abderrahman Samba, second in 47’’09 and clearly in great shape once again, to get into a good rhythm and let his elegant stride do the talking. Javelin throw was dominated by the Indian athlete Neeraj Chopra, who enjoyed an excellent start to the competition with a throw of 88.16 m, though he lamented his lack of control in terms of “a really fast run-up”, which would doubtless have enabled him to throw even further. Valarie Allman surpassed a shaky start in the discus throw to get a last-attempt victory with 67,56 m, ahead of Jorinde Van Klinken. Finally, Nicola Olyslagers managed to get a new win in high jump, thanks to a 2 m jump, as in Stockholm five days earlier. The 2024 hero, Yaroslava Mahuchikh ended up second with 1,97 m.