From Kenneth Bednarek to Corey McLeod: leading performances in Doha Diamond League 2024

For an Indian fan, Friday night in Doha was all about Neeraj Chopra and javelin. But the Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium inside the Qatar Sports Club had a lot more going on, on the track and the field, with some extraordinary performances from current and future stars.

None more dominating than Alison dos Santos in the men’s 400m Hurdles, which he won in 46.86 seconds. It was not just a new meet record and a world lead for the season by the 3rd fastest man in the event ever – it was a beautiful race for the ease with which the Brazilian outran the rest, winning by almost 10m, an almost unimaginable feat in a 1-lap race.

“It is still very early in the season, we know we have much work to do, so this result gives us a good vibe for the rest of the season. It is going to be very tough this year, so to start in such a fashion is so positive,” Santos beamed after the event. With Karsten Warholm and Rai Benjamin lurking around for future events, it will be an event to watch out for.

Alison dos Santos, of Brazil, poses after winning the men’s 400 meters hurdles during the Diamond League athletics meet.
| Photo Credit:
AP

Kenneth ‘Fear No One’ Bednarek

In the 200m, Kenneth Bednarek sounded his own warning to others – mainly his compatriots, the event being largely dominated by USA led by Noah Lyles – with a personal best of 19.67 seconds, again the best for this season. Fellow Americans Courtney Lindsey and Kyree King completed the top-three

“I knew what I was going to run. I was in a good shape because my teammates would push me in practice. We are happy for each other, I am happy for them, they are happy for me, that is all that matters. It is just love. The best I can do this year is a gold medal in the Olympics. I know I have the talent and good training. ‘Fear No One’ is the message on my today’s headband. I have a special headband for every single track event, I give it to the other competitors…,” Bednarek said. It would do well for them to fear him on the track, though, in the run-up to Paris.

Windy or not? McLeod, Tentoglou differ

On the field, Chopra wasn’t the only favourite to be upstaged, Greek long jumping sensation Miltiadis Tentoglou finishing second behind a determined Jamaican Corey McLeod’s massive 8.52m jump despite pushing hard, getting his best of 8.36m in his last attempt. That should have given McLeod a meet record and the season leader spot but it didn’t, the wind conditions reducing it to simply the best performance of the day (marks with wind assist of over 2m/s are legal but not considered for records) even though he insisted it was not so windy.

“In order to win I have to jump something amazing. It was not windy, so it was wonderful. I will just go back home to see how good I can prepare for the next competition,” he said but Tentoglou disagreed on the conditions, admitting there was a lot of wind. Ironically, Tentoglou’s best made it to second spot on the world lead list with an assist of 1.9m/s.

Greek long jumping sensation Miltiadis Tentoglou finished second behind a determined Jamaican Corey McLeod.
| Photo Credit:
AP

“I was prepared for an 8.20m jump. I jumped longer due to the strong wind but when one is starting off his season, this kind of wind can be dangerous. I had some trouble with it. The Jamaican guy jumped 8.52, I could get him tonight but it is too early for me at the moment. I am expecting similar jumps, around 8.20 or 8.30, in my next events, too, as we are just starting,” he said.

In the longer distance, the Kenyan-Ethiopian rivalry played out in front of a vocal, packed crowd with the Kenyans getting the boasting rights, Beatrice Chebet edging past the Ethiopian pair of Ejgayehu Taye and Medina Eisa by less than three seconds on the final straight.