Akani Simbine Produces 100m Stunner At Diamond League Shanghai/Suzhou
Akani Simbine Produces 100m Stunner At Diamond League Shanghai/Suzhou
Mondo Duplantis and Co. were back in action on Saturday in the second Diamond League meeting of the season, this time in Shanghai/Suzhou
With many top athletes racing their second Wanda Diamond League meet in a row after last week’s event in Xiamen, the competition remained steadfast on Saturday in the Shanghai/Suzhou meeting in the early stages of the 2024 outdoor track season.
While headlining favorites such as Mondo Duplantis and Selemon Barega brought home decisive victories in their events, we also saw some surprise winners to shake things up at an early stage in the season inside the Suzhou Olympic Sports Center.
Check out the top storylines from action this weekend in the Diamond League.
Related Links:
Sha'Carri Richardson, Christian Coleman set for Wanda Diamond Shanghai/Suzhou
The Wanda Diamond League is set to stream on FloTrack in 2025
Akani Simbine Comes From Behind To Win Men’s 100m
Tabbed as a sleeper pick behind U.S. headliners Christian Coleman and Fred Kerley, Simbine equaled his world-leading mark in the 100 meters, running 10.01 to take home an impressive victory.
Simbine has gotten a hot start to the season, taking down some very talented names in his first two Diamond League appearances in 2024. If he can keep up this momentum over the entire season, he could be a underdog pick to do some damage on the Olympic scene in the summer.
Mondo Duplantis soars over the field in the Men’s Pole Vault
After his world-record setting appearance last week in Xiamen, Duplantis once again took the runway, looking to better his extraordinary performance.
After easily clearing 6.00m, Duplantis reset the target height to 6.25m, which was a centimeter higher than his newly-minted world record.
He gave some strong attempts at 6.25m, getting some great distance over the bar, but barely clipped it on the way down.
He would ultimately fail to clear that height over three attempts, but clearly showed that he’s ready to continually be setting world records over the course of this season.
Daryll Neita scores Upset Victory In Women’s 200m
Facing some stiff competition -- including the likes of Sha’Carri Richardson, Tamara Clark, and Anavia Battle -- Neita came away with a decisive victory in the women’s 200m, running 22.62 to Battle’s 22.99.
This is Neita’s best season debut in the 200m of her career, giving her some great momentum as she progresses forward with the rest of her season. After taking fifth-place at the World Athletics Championships in this event in 2022, Neita will certainly be looking to break into the podium once the Olympics roll around.
Richardson, meanwhile, showed that she is still wiping the rust off. She fell to third in the final in a time of 23.11 seconds.
Drama in the Women’s 100m Hurdles results in Camacho-Quinn’s Victory
Tobi Amusan got off the blocks with a reaction time of 0.093 seconds, which is under the legal threshold for reaction time, but after protest, her time of 12.63 seconds did not stand.
Amusan received the opportunity to race the field and ended up crossing the line first, but reigning Olympic Champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn was ultimately awarded the victory, finishing in 12.63 seconds to Devynne Charlton’s 12.64 seconds.
Amusan, the world-record holder, is clearly in excellent shape right now. She’s going to wreak some havoc in 2024 after a chaotic 2023 season, dealing with a whereabouts failures suspension, only to have it revoked, followed by finishing sixth at the World Athletics Championships in the 100m hurdles.
Camacho-Quinn now is two-for-two in official Diamond League victories and her 12.45 mark from last week in Xiamen still bodes strongly as her season opener.
Selemon Barega cruises to Sub-13:00 Opener in Men’s 5000m
Pulling wide in the final stretch, Selemon Barega looked very smooth in capturing his first Diamond League victory of 2024, running 12:55 in the process.
This was a great opportunity for Balega to test out his closing tactics, closing his final 400 meters in under 56 seconds and looking very controlled in doing so. Barega will be a top contender in both the 5000m and 10,000m this outdoor season in his quest for an Olympic Gold medal.
Diamond League Streaming On FloTrack In 2025
In a major announcement on April 10, FloTrack revealed it will add to its five-star live content schedule by streaming the Wanda Diamond League for U.S. audiences and territories beginning in 2025.
FloSports, the global sports media company and operator of FloTrack, signed a multi-year media rights agreement with the Wanda Diamond League to distribute the world's very best track and field meets, including events held in London, Monaco, Stockholm and Rome, among others.
"As a former track athlete, I founded FloSports to cover the sport I love so much," said Mark Floreani, the Chief Executive Officer of FloSports. "To now be the home for the world's preeminent track and field events -- outside of the Olympics -- with Diamond League is near and dear to me.
FloTrack Is The Streaming Home For Many Track And Field Meets Each Year
Don’t miss all the track and field season action streaming on FloTrack. Check out the FloTrack schedule for more events.
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