By Maddie Lang
After about a two-hour delay due to rain at the Stockholm Diamond League meet on Sunday, the men's pole vault finally got its start. All eyes were on the world record holder, the Olympic, Diamond League and world champion Mondo Duplantis of Sweden.
Duplantis won by clearing his first attempt at 5.95 meters. Runner-up Ernest John Obiena of the Philippines was unable to clear the height and placed second with a height of 5.82. But Duplantis wasn’t satisfied with just the win.
After all other competition was over, he remained the last athlete performing. The crowd turned all their focus to him, holding up signs and cheering his name as he cleared 6.05m and then had the bar raised to a world-record attempt of 6.23m.
“The crowd was amazing to stay like that,” Duplantis said. “It says so much about their passion for watching athletics, and I will always be grateful for that.”
The bar was one centimeter above his world record of 6.22, which he set indoors in France in February.
“I was really fired up and felt I could conquer the world,” he said.
He bailed on his first two attempts. Frustration and determination were written on his face. As he stepped onto the runway for his final attempt, the crowd continued its claps and chants of his name.
He took off down the runway and vaulted himself into the air. Despite his best efforts, he clipped the bar with his shin. His valiant attempts earned him one more round of applause from his home crowd.
“I definitely think I have it in me,” Duplantis said. “I need to put it together on the right day and in the right conditions.”
Duplantis leads the Diamond League men’s pole vault standings with 16 points, just ahead of Obiena with 13, which will determine the eight-person field for the Diamond League final, Sept. 16-17 at the Pre Classic in Eugene.
“I found some rhythm on the runway despite the cold,” he said. “It was not the weather we wanted, of course, but I always want to jump well every meet.”
The discus events also proved to be difficult to manage during the on and off showers. Between throws, athletes were wrapping their hands and implements in towels and bags in hopes to stay dry.
In the men’s event, Kristjan Ceh of Slovakia did what he does best. He fouled his first throw and then won with his second throw of 69.83m. Right behind him was Daniel Stahl of Sweden with his second and best throw of 67.57 in front of his home crowd.
“The rain didn’t bother me,” Stahl said. “Just keep your hands dry, and then you can throw in all weather.”
Ceh continues to lead the Diamond League standings with 24 points.
The women’s event unfolded in a similar fashion. In the second round Sandra Perkovic of Croatia threw for 64.49 meters. This throw sealed the win for her.
Runner-up Jorinde van Klinken threw for 62.96 meters. The Diamond League points leader, Valarie Allman of the United States, fouled three times.
In the women’s 200-meter dash, the first 100 meters were all Dina Asher-Smith, but it was her teammate Daryll Neita in the second 100 that determined the race.
Neita made her move on Asher-Smith at the start of the final stretch and came across the line in 22.50, sealing her first Diamond League win. Right behind her was Asher-Smith in 22.58.
“To come out on top means everything to me because I know I can do it,” Neita said.
She now has eight points in the Diamond League standings, putting her in sixth place for the eight-person field.
“It was a weird day with it being literally the biggest shower ever,” she said. “It wasn’t fazing me. I wasn’t thinking about it. I had a feeling that when it was time for us to run it would be fine, and it was.
The women’s long jump was an exciting matchup with reigning world and Olympic champion Malaika Mihambo of Germany, five-time Diamond League champion and Olympic bronze medalist Ivana Vuleta of Serbia and the Diamond League points leader, Larissa Iapichino of Italy.
After the first two rounds, Vuleta led with her second jump of 6.58m. This would end up being her longest mark for the day.
It was then back and forth between Mihambo and Iapichino until the final round. Iapichino won with her final jump of 6.69m. Mihambo finished second with her fifth jump of 6.66m.
“It was mental strength and a bit of luck because the weather was trying to get better,” Iapichino said. “When we started, it was raining very heavily.”
She now has 16 points toward the final.
Karsten Warholm dominated the men’s 400-meter hurdles in his usual fashion. He let out his famous Viking roar before stepping into the blocks in Lane Eight.
After the first two hurdles, to his left, Kyron McMaster of the British Virgin Islands was matching his pace. That’s when Warholm turned on the jets and began blowing away his competition.
“I never underestimate my competitors,” Warholm said. “I run like they're breathing down my neck.”
Warholm finished first in 47.57, and the eight points put him in third place in the standings with 16 overall. Runner-up McMaster finished in 48.94, and fifth-place finisher Wilfried Happio moved to the top of the standings with 23 points.
“I always push the clock,” Warholm said. “I never take any wins for granted.”
In the women’s 5,000 meters, reigning Diamond League champion Beatrice Chebet of Kenya dominated the final 300 meters with a strong kick to win in a season best 14:36.52, ahead of runner-up Lemlem Hailu of Ethiopia, who finished in 14:38.06.
“I have to appreciate everything—running good and winning,” Chebet said.
Chebet now leads the standings with 16 qualification points.
The women’s 100-meter hurdles came down to the final two hurdles. In Lane Four, reigning world champion and Diamond League champion Tobi Amusan of Nigeria battled alongside Pia Skrzyszowska of Poland in Lane Five. It was an even battle until Skrzyszowska clipped the eighth hurdle and Amusan took the lead.
Amusan won in 12.52. Sarah Lavin of Ireland finished second in 12.73. Amusan now has 15 points and sits in second behind Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, who has 16 points.
“It’s not where I want to be,” Amusan said. “But I’m trusting the process even when the process isn’t processing."
