Thompson back to winning ways with 200m Gold in Nanjing World Challenge

Following a disappointing outing in Shanghai, Jamaica’s double Olympic Champion Elaine Thompson returned to winning ways with a 200m win at the Nanjing World Challenge meet on Tuesday.

Thompson ran a seasonal best of 22.40 seconds, running away from the rest, giving glimpses of returning to her form in 2016. Asian Champion, Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser clocked her personal best in a 22.56 seconds strong finish, to overtake Nigerian Blessing Okagbare, who finished third with 22.58 seconds. This was Naser’s third personal best over the distance in three races she has run so far. The first two came in the Asian Championship heats and finals when she won the Gold medal.

Meanwhile the 34 year old USA sprinter Michael Rodgers beat Olympic Bronze medalist Andre De Grasse of Canada in a tape finish to win the 100m in 10.09 seconds. De Grasse came back hard towards the end but could not catch up with the American.

Two world lead performances were seen during the meet from Chinese superstar Lijiao Gong and Ethiopian Gudaf  Tsegay.

Competing before an appreciative crowd of more than 12,000 at the Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, Gong, who suffered a rare defeat on home turf in Shanghai on Saturday, avenged that loss with a flourish as the attention of the athletics world moved 300 kilometres to the west.

Shaking out the rust with an 18.90m throw in the first round, the world champion took command with a 19.42m toss in the second before blasting a 19.84m effort in the third to effectively put the competition out of reach. Underscoring her evening form, Gong closed off with a 19.77m effort.

Ethiopian Tsegay, who was edged out at the line by just a tenth of a second in Shanghai three days ago, learnt from that and left no room for her pursuers here, holding her position over the final 30 metres en route to a 3:59.57 clocking, for the fifth fastest performance of her career.

The 22 year old Ethiopian held off compatriot Axumawit Embaye, who clocked a 4:00.17 lifetime best while Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan improved her season’s best to 4:00.53.

Olympic Gold medalist, Jamaica’s Omar McLeod, was beaten by Orlando Ortega of Spain with a margin of just 0.01 seconds. The pair were nearly stride-for-stride over the first nine barriers before Ortega surged through the last few metres to win it with a time of 13.27 seconds.

The women’s 100m hurdles was even closer with the first four crossing the line within just 0.02 secs. Here, Olympic champion Brianna McNeal closed well to out-dip Nia Ali, both were credited with 12.78. Christina Clemons, who led earlier on, was third in 12.79 with Queen Harrison fourth, another 0.01 behind.

One of the best finishes of the night came courtesy of Japan’s Takatoshi Abe, who ran down five competitors over the final straight of the 400m hurdles to collect his first victory of the season. The 27-year-old clocked 49.16, holding off Pole Patryk Dobek and David Kendziera of the US, who clocked 49.23 and 49.27, respectively.

Amos wins again

Nijel Amos took another decisive 800m victory, his second in as many outings this season. Similar to his world leading win in Doha 18 days ago, Amos was dominant down the homestretch en route to a 1:44.38 clocking, 0.09 shy of his world lead.

In the women’s race, Shanghai 1500m winner Rababe Arafi put on another strong homestretch performance to nearly pull off another victory on her Chinese tour but was ultimately denied by Nelly Jepkosgei. The Kenyan won by a scant 0.04 in 1:59.98 to notch the biggest international victory of her career.

Taylor wins again

With Pedro Pablo Pichardo being kept away with visa issues, the triple jump competition came down to a face-off between world champion Christian Taylor and world leader Omar Craddock. Again it was Taylor who prevailed after delivering a clutch performance in the final round, reaching 17.47m to pull ahead of Craddock, who bounded out to 17.40m in round two. Craddock dug deep in the competition’s final round but came up just short, improving to 17.42m.

Briton Jazmin Sawyers celebrated her 25th birthday with a victory in the long jump, reaching a season’s best of 6.56m in the fifth round to overtake Australian Naa Anang, who reached 6.52m in rounds two and six.

Olympic champion Thomas Rohler of Germany and Czech Jakub Vadlejch finished 1-2 in the men’s javelin – using the same spear.

IAAF World Challenge is a series of one day meetings and the next one will be held on June 09 in Netherlands.

 

Results

Men

100M: 1. Michael Rodgers (USA) 10.09 sec, 2. Andre de Grasse (Canada) 10.09 sec, 3. Isaiah Young (USA) 10.15

800M :1. Nijel Amos (Botswana) 1:44.38 , 2. Cornelius Tuwei (Kenya) 1:44.91 sec, 3.Jonathan Kitlit (Kenya) 1:45.58

3000M St Ch: 1. Benjamin Kogen (Kenya) 8:08.94 sec, 2. Abraham Kibiwot (Kenya) 8:10.27 sec,3. Lawrence Kipsang(Kenya)  8:11.26 sec

110M hurdles:1. Orlando Ortega  13.27 sec , 2. Omar McLeod 13.28 sec, 3. Freddie Crittenden 13.37 sec

400m hurdles  :1.Takatoshi Abe (Japan) 49.16sec, 2. Patryk Dobek (Poland) 49.23 sec, 3. David Kendziera (USA) 49.27 sec

High Jump :1. Yu Wang 2.31m(China) ,2. Django Lovett  (Canada) 2.29m ,3. Maksim Nedasekau (Bulgaria) 2.29m

Triple Jump :1. Christian Taylor (USA), 17.47m , 2. Imar Craddock (USA), 17.42m , 3. Donald Scott (USA), 17.03m

Javelin Throw : 1. Thomas Rohler (Germany) 86.39m , 2. Jakub Vadlejch(Check Republic)  85.34m ,3. Marchin Krukowski ( Poland)84.45 m

Women

200M : 1. Elaine Thompson (Jamaica) 22.40 sec, 2. Salwa Eid Naser (Bahrain) 22.56 sec, 3. Blessing Okabare (Nigeria ) 22.58 sec

800M : 1. Nelly Jepkosgei (Kenya) 1:59.08 sec, 2. Rababe Arafi (Morocco) 2:00.02 sec, 3. Halimah Nakaayi (Uganda) 2:00.58 sec

1500M :1. Gudaf Tsegay (Ethiopia ) 3:59.57 sec, 2. Axumawit Embaye (Ethiopia) 4:00.17 sec, 3. Sifan Hassan (Nederland) 4:00.53 sec

100m hurdles: 1. Brianna McNeal 12.78 sec (USA), 2. Nia Ali (USA), 12.78 sec, 3. Christian Clemons (USA), 12.79 sec

Long Jump : 1. Jazmin Sawyers (GBR) 6.56 m , 2. Naa Anang (Australia ) 6.52m , Alina Rotaru (Romania ) 6.5m)

Shot Put : 1. Lijiao Gong(China) 19.84m , 2. Danniel Thomas- Dodd(Jamaica) 19.21m , 3. Chase Ealey (USA), 19.21m

Hammer Throw: 1. Zheng Wang (China) 75.27m , 2. DeAnna Price (USA) 74.21m , Anita Wlodarczyk (Poland) 73.64m