Javelin thrower Pathirage makes his point in Doha
Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage beat a heavyweight javelin field and Jamaica’s Kemba Nelson matched her 100 metres personal best at the Doha Diamond League on Friday. Dominican Marileidy Paulino lowered Allyson Felix’s 400m meet record to 48.91, while Qatar’s former Olympic champion Mutaz Essa Barshim was second in the high jump. Olympic champion Soufiane […] The post Javelin thrower Pathirage makes his point in Doha appeared first on The Namibian.
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Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage beat a heavyweight javelin field and Jamaica’s Kemba Nelson matched her 100 metres personal best at the Doha Diamond League on Friday.
Dominican Marileidy Paulino lowered Allyson Felix’s 400m meet record to 48.91, while Qatar’s former Olympic champion Mutaz Essa Barshim was second in the high jump.
Olympic champion Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco battled to victory in the 3,000m steeplechase, seeing off Samuel Firewu’s late challenge to win it in 8:09.28.
And Slovak 400m hurdler Emma Zapletalova remained unbeaten in four Diamond League meets this season, setting a new national record of 52.30sec in the process.
Former cricketer Pathirage, 23, hit the front and ultimately sealed gold with his fourth javelin throw of 88.68, but did not trouble his world-leading personal best of 92.62 set two weeks ago in Rome.
Grenada’s two-time world champion Anderson Peters threw 86.38 for second with American world bronze medallist Curtis Thompson third.
India’s former Olympic and world champion Neeraj Chopra was fourth while the reigning world title-holder, Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago, finished seventh.
Jamaica’s Nelson, twice a late omission for Olympic relay teams and pilloried over a botched baton exchange at the 2022 worlds, was delighted with her wind-assisted 10.88 to win the women’s 100 metres.
“(I’m) shocked — I mean, I have not run this fast since 2022,” said Nelson, 26, who has also battled serious knee injuries.
“I have been trying, I have been through some hardships, I have been through so much, so to be able to tie my personal best from 2022, it means a lot.”
Barshim, 34, the home favourite and Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion, was happy with second behind Italy’s Matteo Sioli (2.29) in his first outing this season.
“It is a very, very good start of the season for me. I’ve been away for a long time, and coming back to the world stage is nothing easy after so many injuries,” said the Qatari.
Earlier Cuban Davisleydi Velazco jumped a world-leading 15.13m, a new personal best, to win the women’s triple jump.
In the men’s pole vault, missing Olympic champion Armand Duplantis who is getting married, Emmanouil Karalis of Greece won on countback with a leap of 5.92.
The post Javelin thrower Pathirage makes his point in Doha appeared first on The Namibian.
