Diamond League: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce surges to 100m win in Doha

Jamaica’s two-time Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce underlined her credentials for the 100m crown in Tokyo with an impressive win in Doha.

The time makes her the third fastest woman in the world this year.

Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare was second in 10.90, but American Sha’Carri Richardson withdrew before the start.

World leader Richardson was suffering with cramps in the wake of her second-placed finish behind Asher-Smith at a wet and windy Gateshead on Sunday.

Fraser-Pryce, who missed more than a year of action around the birth of her son in 2017, is aiming for a third Olympic 100m title after winning gold in Beijing in 2008 and and London in 2012. She also won bronze in Rio in 2016.

In the second of the elite Diamond League meetings of the season, there were a number of creditable British performances.

Britain’s Holly Bradshaw came third in the pole vault, ahead of Olympic champion Katerina Stefanidi, with a season’s best 4.74m. The event was won by American Katie Nageotte who beat compatriot Sandi Morris on countback after both cleared 4.84m.

Russian world champion Anzhelika Sidorova had a disappointing return to international action after being cleared to compete as an neutral athlete, coming seventh with a best of 4.64m.

In the 800m, Britain’s European indoor champion Keely Hodgkinson came fifth on her Diamond League debut.

The 19-year-old and the rest of the field were left trailing as 1500m Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon of Kenya powered through after a tactical first lap to win in one minute 58.26 seconds. Hodgkinson finished in 2:00.63, nearly two seconds off her personal best.

Britain’s Adam Gemili was left trailing American Kenneth Bednarek in the 200m for the second time in six days.

Bednarek, 22, held off fast-finishing Canadian Andre de Grasse to win in 19.88 seconds and make it three successive victories after wins in Ostrava and Gateshead.

Gemili was down in sixth, but his time of 20.58 was a significant improvement on his performance in Gateshead.

British 800m champion Daniel Rowden finished third on his first race of the season with a time of 1:44.60 behind Kenyan Commonwealth Games champion Wyclife Kinyamal, who won in 1:43.91.

There was twin disappointment for the Qatari crowd.

Home hope Abderrahman Samba was fourth in the 400m hurdles, unable to match the 47.38sec winning time posted by American world silver medallist Rai Benjamin, while world champion Mutaz Essa Barshim was edged out by Ilya Ivanyuk’s 2.33m clearance in the high jump.

Elsewhere Kenyan world champion Timothy Cheruiyot won the 1500m in a new world leading time of 3:30.48, while Colombia’s Yulimar Rojas, who came within seven centimetres of the 26-year-old women’s triple jump world record earlier this month, racked up another win.

American Michael Norman won a keenly anticipated 400m, beating world silver medallist Anthony Zambrano and former Olympic champion Kirani James in a world-leading time of 44.27 seconds. – bbc.com