Doha Diamond League

Just seen the entry list, via the IAAF page... have to say, it looks great.
British athletes include; Michael Rimmer, Tom Parsons, Rhys Williams and an interseting match up between Nicola Sanders and Alyson Felix.
The Mens 800m, 400m/h and triple jump all look pretty tasty as well.

I like the fact there's only only enterant for the mens 100m. It imagine more will enter, but in some ways I would quite like the awkwardness of the race if it was just him!

I think it would be a good idea to repost the (provisional) starting lists over here then!

http://www.diamondleague-doha.com/Live-StartlistsResults/Overview1/

These are the latest starting-lists for Doha where Rick Yates has been added to the men's 400mh line-up:

http://www.diamondleague.com/en/News/NewsArticles/Doha-Entry-lists-available/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Nicola Sanders and Rhys Williams have withdrawn from the first Diamond League meeting in Doha as the latest starting-lists reveal:

http://www.iaaf.org/news/kind=100/newsid=59902.html

To be honest I don't understand the logic of having so many Kenyans in one of the distance race, with hardly anyone else involved. Same thing in the womens 100m hurdles with a field almost entirely of Americans.

Maybe the field in both events will change before the event but right now they are bottom of the list of events I'll be following.

IAAF's preview of the meeting tomorrow in Doha:

http://www.iaaf.org/news/kind=100/newsid=59910.html

teassoc - sometimes it is down to the athletes "making themselves available". In thewomens 100mH 5 of the americans have run 12.4 - 12.5 - Gomis and Law making up the numbers. If athletes like O'Rourke, Nytra Lopes or Pearson are not available the meet organisers will still want to try to put on a show from a competitive point of view. It would probably look a bit farcical if the top international athletes were not available but you filled the field with "international" athletes to try and give an "International" flavour sacrificing the competitiveness

billiethezwerg wrote:teassoc - sometimes it is down to the athletes "making themselves available". In thewomens 100mH 5 of the americans have run 12.4 - 12.5 - Gomis and Law making up the numbers. If athletes like O'Rourke, Nytra Lopes or Pearson are not available the meet organisers will still want to try to put on a show from a competitive point of view. It would probably look a bit farcical if the top international athletes were not available but you filled the field with "international" athletes to try and give an "International" flavour sacrificing the competitiveness

Yes, I didn't really mean there wasn't any logic it's just that I'm questioning the thinking of the promoters. I don't know what they do to sell the meeting to the stars but it seems odd to see such races which are hardly going to have mass appeal.

Maybe early season you can understand some athletes have different priorities/training regimes. I must admit however that when the season gets into full swing I always have that feeling that the top athletes sometimes try to "avoid" each other.

Steve Cram reflects on the new Diamond League series that gets underway later today and the prospects of the new season with the World Championships in Daegu looming large on the horizon.

Note that very interesting part over the graph of an athlete's career and how could that read depending on each different case and circumstances, stressing how relevant age can be.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/athletics/13299288.stm

PS I really wonder what the title of the article has got to do with what Steve Cram actually says in this article although I understand it wasn't picked by him.

Reminds me, to an extent, when I wrote the preview of the UK Olympic Trials in 2008 for AW and what came out in the men's 100m had hardly anything to do with what I had written originally. Modified just to satisfy some people's issues with Dwain Chambers!

Live results on this link:

http://www.diamondleague-doha.com/en/Live-StartlistsResults/Overview1/

Some streamlines to watch the meeting as well:

http://myp2p.eu/broadcast.php?matchid=116091&part=sports

The South Africans have confirmed their superb early season form with a double victory ahead of Bershawn 'Batman' Jackson in the men's 400m hurdles as LJ van Zyl was a runaway winner in 48.11 secs.

Cornel Frederics, enjoying sort of a breakthrough season, sneaked the runner-up spot in 48.43 secs by a mere hunderdth of a second from Jackson, who still shaved over half a second off his SB to 48.44 secs.

Britain's Rick Yates came home last but one in a season outdoor opener of 50.34 secs.

I told Kellie Wells that something fast was on the cards earlier on and she's come up with a world-leading and equal PB of 12.58 secs (1.3m/sec) to fully underline her credentials and prospects heading into the main season.

My favourite Lolo Jones came third but well and fast improved in a big SB of 12.67 secs closely behind Danielle Carruthers who set also a SB of 12.64 secs - her fastest since 2004! Pretty good strength there!

Looks like an excellent performance by Rimmer who came second but a poor one by Yates. Can't believe there's only 3 Brits! Early season of course, but even so.

so far from a British perspective, little bit disapointing for Yates that, especially with the young guns looking so impressive over the hurdles so far. Mike Rimmer should be pretty happy with his start in the 800, second behind Kiprop and a pretty useful time too (low 1:45), bodes well for the rest of the season I think.

Great start indeed to the season, although rather anticipated, for Mike Rimmer as he got a brilliant runner-up in a good quality men's 800m in easily his best ever opener of 1:45.12 over the distance - a straight A qualifier for Daegu and London on top of that.

Olympic 1500m champion Asbel Kiprop won convincingly in a SB of 1:44.74 to back up his early week statements where former world champion Alfred Kirwa Yego (KEN), Richard Kiplagat (KEN) and European champion Marcin Lewandowski were among Rimmer's scalps today!

Wow, isn't that an early season statement from Walter Dix to run 20.06 secs on a slight tailwind of 0.5m/sec in the 200m? Easily a world-leading mark for that matter!

Sorry to seem so negative, but that was a long way for Parsons to go to only jump 2.23. Don't know if I'm being unkind but I seem to recall him failing before in the bigger meets.

Teddy Tamgho was an easy winner in the men's triple jump with a second round 17.49 (1.0), posting also a 17.44 (1.3) in the third, but I don't think there was anything to scare Phillips Idowu there.

well 17:50 is unlikely to win the worlds in Daegu I think, but it's a useful start certainly. Will be interesting to see Idowu's response. Last season he only really performed once, but it was at the main championships. This year though he's going for distance, so we may see more from him.

Phillips is in the best shape he's ever been and I can't wait to see him jumping out there!

Watch out this man, Jesse Williams, as well just clearing 2.31m at the first attempt in the high jump. I tip him to go very high, even over 2.40m, this summer!

Bluddy well done to the Qatari Local for running a 20.30!

Home crowds definitely help!

This young man, Yenew Alamirew from Ethiopia, looks like the next big thing in the men's 5000m and looks like cruising through on the track, having got such a fiercesome turn of pace! Maybe my favourite to win in Daegu. Wow, 7:27.26 in early May, what is he going to be up to when the season peaks later on? Plus three Kenyans under 7:30 on top of that! Superb early distance racing there!

camerajuan wrote:Bluddy well done to the Qatari Local for running a 20.30!

Home crowds definitely help!

Not a local. Another import. Don't think he has any link to Qatar other than their money. According to Wikipedia:

"Femi Seun Ogunode (born 15 May 1991) is a Nigerian-born sprint athlete who competes internationally for Qatar.[1]

He moved to Qatar in October 2009 and began international competition the following year. He won the 100 metres and 200 metres at the West Asian Championships and was entered into the 2010 Asian Games. At the Games in Guangzhou he took two gold medals, winning over 200 m and 400 metres with personal bests of 20.43 seconds and 45.12 seconds, respectively.[2] This made him only the second athlete in Games history to have won both events at the same competition – Milkha Singh first achieved this at the 1958 Asian Games.[3]

He follows in the footsteps of Samuel Francis, another Nigerian sprinter who transferred to compete for Qatar."

teassoc wrote:Sorry to seem so negative, but that was a long way for Parsons to go to only jump 2.23. Don't know if I'm being unkind but I seem to recall him failing before in the bigger meets.

Jumping 2.23 at this stage wouldn't be necessarily worrying, Teassoc, since it is very early days yet into the season and when he's got an edge over the other British high jumpers as the only one holding the A standard for Daegu at the moment. Therefore, he can afford to take his time and ease into his form, especially bearing in mind how long this season is going to be. However, I think that holding the A standard alone might not turn out sufficient enough to make the team.

What could be a point of concern about Tom, for me, is that he slumped at the Europeans Indoors right when he had gone on a sound run of form again, making it now three major champs in a row that he has failed to deliver. He definitely needs to put that record straight now and this is what he has got to get out of his system.

BBC's view of the first Diamond League in Doha:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/athletics/13156175.stm

I've got to disagree on a certain point though. Kellie Wells's victory over Lolo Jones over 100mh was far from a surprise, as wasn't her time. All one has got to do is take a look at her form book this season which conveys the whole picture about who's been the world's number one so far either outdoors or indoors.

Teddy's first out door performance was a meeting record and he had no one to push him on, so given his age I say that was a great set of performces and bodes very well for an 18m+ by the time the Worlds come around.

I though Rimmer ran a blinder, I have been following him since he was a young McDonalds competitor and I knew then he had what it takes to get right up there with the best so a big well done to him.

The high jump was the event of the evening for me most exciting, what happened to parsons can happen to any jumper, he'll be back!

Some very interesting stats concerning the spectacular early times in a hotly contested men's 3000m race yesterday:

http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/index.php/display-article?arId=57841