DOHA, Qatar — Jamaican sprinter Kemba Nelson, a World Championships relay medalist, delivered a standout performance in her long-awaited Diamond League debut on Friday, claiming top honors in the women’s 100m at this rescheduled event. Crossing the finish line in a wind-assisted 10.88 seconds with a wind reading of 2.5m/s, Nelson held off a strong field of elite international sprinters to secure her first major Diamond League title.
Nelson, who had clocked 11.08 seconds three times heading into the Doha meet, got out of the starting blocks with an explosive early pace that put her ahead of the pack before holding off challenges from the chasing pack. Italy’s Zaynab Dosso, the reigning World Indoor 60m champion, took second place with a 11.01-second run, while Luxembourg’s Patrizia van der Weken rounded out the top three in 11.03 seconds.
In the men’s triple jump competition, Jamaica’s Jordan Scott delivered a personal best leap of 17.69m with a legal 1.7m/s wind, but it was only enough to earn him a second-place finish. Scott entered the competition holding the world leading mark of 17.66m, and jumped to the top of the leaderboard in the opening round. However, Portugal’s Pedro Pichardo, making his first outdoor appearance of the 2024 season, overtook Scott in the second round with a winning jump of 17.71m in 0.4m/s wind conditions. Algeria’s Yasser Mohammed Triki claimed third place after breaking his own national record with a 17.67m leap.
Jamaica’s Rushell Clayton, the country’s national 400m hurdles champion, continued her consistent podium streak, picking up a second consecutive second-place finish at a Diamond League meet. Clayton lowered her season’s best time to 53.05 seconds, but was outpaced by in-form Slovakian athlete Emma Zapletalova. Zapletalova notched her fourth straight Diamond League victory, breaking her own Slovakian national record with a 52.30-second run that extended her world leading time and toppled the previous meet record of 53.61 seconds set by American Dalilah Muhammad back in 2019. Bahrain’s Kemi Adekoya took third place with a season’s best 53.67 seconds.
In the final Jamaican result of the meet, two-time World Indoor medalist Raymond Richards finished fourth in the men’s high jump, clearing a height of 2.20m. This report was contributed by Paul A Reid.