At the Diamond League event in Doha, Sarah Lavin from Limerick participated in her first outdoor race of the season, finishing the world-class 100 metres hurdles in fifth place. Lavin eventually ended up on the track due to her extreme effort. She clocked a remarkable time, hitting 12.73 seconds. It was her first sub-13 second time in an opening race and wasn’t too far off her Irish record of 12.62 seconds, which she established last year, breaking a record previously held by Derval O’Rourke since 2010.
At third venue of the Diamond League, the conditions in Doha were perfect. With a legal +1.7m/s wind, Ditaji Kambundji of Switzerland won the event with a stunning 12.49 seconds, closely trailed by her national record. Second position was secured by Tonea Marshall from the US, who clocked 12.51 seconds, having achieved a world-leading 12.42 seconds last month. Pia Skrzyszowska of Poland landed the third spot with a time of 12.53 seconds.
Despite falling, Lavin quickly got up, gaining encouragement from her fellow competitors. This auspicious commencement to the outdoor season lays the groundwork for her preparation for next month’s European Championships in Rome followed by the Paris Olympics.
In the men’s 1,500m, Andrew Coscoran was striving for a high rank finish in the final stretch, eventually settling for seventh place with a time of 3:34.25. Despite a fast start, the pace slowed substantially, leaving Kenya’s Olympic silver medallist Timothy Cheruiyot in the lead until he was overtaken in the sprint by his fellow team-mate Brian Komen, who seized the first place with 3:32.43, leaving Cheruiyot second with 3:32.67.
The women’s 1,500m saw Freweyni Hailu from Ethiopia in an approximatively 20m lead at the final bell, managing to clinch the win with a time of 4:00.42. Sarah Healy from Ireland ended in the 10th place with a time of 4:05.72 in her first open race of the season, earning her fourth place among Europeans.