LAUSANNE: American Aleia Hobbs won the women’s 100 metres at the Diamond League meeting in Lausanne, beating Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson in a photo finish on Friday.

Hobbs won in 10.87 seconds ahead of Jackson (10.88) while Ivorian Marie-Josee Ta Lou was third (10.89).

Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah, who had won in Eugene and Rabat, was disqualified for a false start while compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, a three-times winner this year, pulled out of the final due to a hamstring injury.

Hobbs is only the second non-Jamaican sprinter to win a women’s 100m title in the Diamond League this year after Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith in Birmingham.

“I had a good start today and I know that if I start well I can get great times. I’m happy with the 10.87, it’s another sub-10.9 for me,” Hobbs said. “This is my first time running in Lausanne. Funnily enough, I was supposed to make my professional debut here a few years ago and I got injured and couldn’t race so it’s great to finally be able to run on this track.”

In the men’s 200m, Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Noah Lyles ran a great bend to win his third Diamond League title of the season with a time of 19.56 seconds. He beat compatriot Michael Norman by two-tenths of a second in an American one-two while Jereem Richards of Trinidad & Tobago was third.

Double European champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen set a world leading time of 3:29.05 as he won the 1500m ahead of Kenya’s Abel Kipsang.

Treble European champion Femke Bol of the Netherlands smashed the meeting record in clocking 52.95sec to win the 400m hurdles. Former world record-holder Dalilah Muhammad of the United States finished well off the pace in seventh.

A loaded women’s 100m hurdles featured all three medallists from Oregon: Tobi Amusan, Britany Anderson and Jasmine Camacho-Quinn. The latter claimed the win in Lausanne in a meet record of 12.34sec, with Amusan at 0.11sec.

And there was another meet record, by more than 5sec, for Burundi’s Francine Niyonsaba, who marked her return from injury with victory in the 3,000m in 8:26.80 ahead of American Alicia Monson and Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet.

Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan came in fourth while Britain’s Laura Muir finished seventh.

Jamaican Rasheed Broadbell pulled off a surprise win in the 100m hurdles, going sub-13sec for the first time in his career as he beat a strong field in 12.99sec. Americans Trey Cunningham and Grant Holloway completed the podium.

India’s Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra returned to winning ways in the men’s javelin following his silver at the world championships last month. His mark of 89.08 metres with his first throw was enough for victory.

Chopra was forced to skip the Commonwealth Games earlier this month due to injury and his mark was well ahead of the second-placed Czech Republic’s Jakub Valdeich (85.88m) and American Curtis Thompson (83.72m).

Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2022