By N D Prashant
Doha: Athens Olympics gold medallist Ezekiel Kemboi sent out a strong warning to Qatar’s Saif Saaeed Shaheen by winning the men’s 3,000 Steeplechase with a new meet record of 7:58.85 in the Qatar Super Grand Prix, here yesterday.
Kemboi, in the process not only pipped compatriot and reigning Olympic champion Kipruto Brimin, but also was quick to state that he has his set sights on Shaheen’s world record of 7:53.62.
‘‘It’s a great victory and yes I’m very much looking forward to breaking Shaheen’s record. And I want to do that well before the World Championships in August. I’m confident of achieving that mark. That’s my goal for this season,’’ said an elated Kemboi. The silver went to Kipsiele Paul Koech, while Brimin, who was far from his best, won bronze with a timing of 8:01.72.
Shaheen was making his comeback after a long injury layoff of two years in the 3,000m, the last race of the evening. But although he put up a strong performance, Shaheen had to be content with the fourth place. The top three places were bagged by Kenyans.
Eliud Kipchoge won gold, while the silver and bronze went to Pkemei Thomas Longosiwa and Cheruiyot Edwin Soi respectively.
However, Shaheen was not too unhappy with his effort.
“I’m quite pleased with my showing today. I finished the race on the time I had set (7:32.46) so it is great going. I will be back to my best soon.”
However, the 26-yr-old brushed aside any threat to his world record in the near future.
“That record would be difficult to break. It will be a huge ask for both Ezekiel and Brimin. Also Brimin is almost my age, so it will be all the more difficult for him,” asserted Shaheen.
Reese Hoffa of the US also set a new meet record in the men’s shot put with a distance of 21.64m. In doing so, he also shocked Beijing Olympic gold medallist Tomasz Majewski of Poland. Majewski won silver by throwing a distance of 21.22m on his last attempt. Saudi Arabia’s Abdulmajeed Sultan al-Hebshi took bronze with an Asian record of 21.13m.
In the men’s 800m, Sudan’s Abubaker Khamis Kaki stole the limelight by setting a new meet record with a timing of 1:43.09. This was also the world’s leading performance of the season.
Kaki was closely chased down to the wire by second-placed Asbel Kiprop of Kenya but the former showed he had enough air in his lungs to hold on to his position. The third place was bagged by Mohamed al-Salhi of Saudi Arabia with a time of 1:43.66.
Double Olympic gold medallist Andreas Thorkildsen threw his javelin way ahead of the rest of the pack to make his intentions clear.
Thorkildsen, with a throw of 83.39m, later went on to bag his fourth successive title here in Doha. Latvian Eriks Rags won silver with 82.23, while Russian Sergey Makarov stood third. “It wasn’t my best performance but javelin is a strange sport and anything can happen on the day. However, I’m happy with my effort and want to keep improving as the season progresses,” said a delighted Thorkildsen.
The much sought out event of the evening, the 100m, was won handsomely by Travis Padgett of the US with the season’s world leading timing of 10 seconds.
Jamacians Michael Frater and Nesta Carter, who were the part of the Beijing Olympics 4x100m gold medal winning team, were firm favourites going into the finals. Frater, though quick off the blocks, failed to match the pace of Padgett and had to settle for silver clocking 10.15 secs. Carter, on the other hand, finished a disappointing seventh. The bronze went to Marlon Devonish of Great Britain in a time of 10.19. |
