DOHA — Olympic silver medallist Kenny Bednarek dominated the men’s 200m race at the Doha Diamond League meeting, setting a new personal best of 19.67 seconds while winning at a canter.
The Diamond League season continues in Rabat on May 19, the fourth of a bumper 15 meetings that have been scheduled this year. The season finale is in Brussels in mid-September following the July 26-Aug. 11 Olympics in Paris.
Wearing a headband with the words “Fear no one”, Bednarek was in lane seven but the Tokyo Olympics silver medallist stormed to the finish line with a time of 19.67 seconds.
The American Olympic athlete was the only man to go under 20 seconds with a strong but legal tailwind of 1.7m/s behind him as his rivals faded. His time was also a new meeting record in Doha and the new 2024 world lead in the event.
Courtney Lindsey finished second (20.01), while Kyree King (20.21) was third.
“The best I can do this year is gold medal in the Olympics. I know I have the talent and good training. Running this fast this early is really good, it means I will be fast by the time we start the Olympics,” Bednarek said according to Reuters.
“Time doesn’t matter, my main focus is not the time, but competing and making sure we get the job done.”
The previous world leader, Courtney Lindsey, began well heading into the bend but simply could not keep up with Bednarek’s pace. Lindsey was the second man home in a USA one-two-three, crossing the line more than three-tenths back in 20.01 seconds.
Kyree King completed the all-American top three in 20.21.
There was disappointment for two-time Olympic relay medallist Aaron Brown of Canada as well as Liberia’s Joseph Fahnbulleh, who both underperformed. Fahnbulleh’s 20.26 was two-tenths off his season’s best, while Brown will have been hoping for a better start to his 200m season than a 20.29 for fifth place.
“I knew what I was going to run, I won [with] the world lead,” Bednarek said. “I was just hoping that the weather would work with us and that is what it did. When I crossed the finish line I saw the time, I didn’t know if it was the lead [but] they wanted to hand me the lead sign, so I knew I did it.
“Running this fast this early is really good, it means I will be fast by the time we start the Olympics. Time doesn’t matter, my main focus is not the time but competting and making sure we get the job done.”
In the women’s 100 metres, Britain’s Daryll Neita edged ahead of American Tamari Davis in the final 15 metres to win by one-hundredth of a second in a photo finish for the podium.
Neita won with a time of 10.98 while American Celera Barnes was third (11.02).
But it was Alison dos Santos who got the crowd going when he broke the meet record in the 400m hurdles as the towering Brazilian left his opponents far behind to clock 46.86 seconds.
In the men’s long jump, Greece’s reigning Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou finished second behind Jamaica’s Carey McLeod who won with a leap of 8.52 metres thanks to a strong tailwind.
Tentoglou, who was competing in his first event this year, could only manage 8.36 on his final attempt.
McLeod went viral last year at the World Athletics Championships when he slipped during his run-up, flew through the air and landed awkwardly face-first but walked away without any serious injury.
India’s Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra was pipped to top spot in the javelin by the Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch in a close contest where the pair were separated by just two centimetres.
Chopra was looking to beat Vadlejch’s best throw of 88.38 metres but his final effort fell agonisingly short as the two athletes smiled and shook hands.
