Fraser-Pryce eases home; Barshim wins high-jump

Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar won the high jump event with a jump of 2.33 metres.

Reuters/Shanghai

Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim beat Bohdan Bondarenko in the men’s High Jump on count-back, clearing 2.33m on the first attempt as against Bondarenko’s second at the Shanghai Diamond League meeting yesterday.

In Doha, last Friday, Bondarenko won from Barshim; so the two now lead the Diamond Race with six points apiece. The pair also equalled the meeting record of 2.33m set by Yaroslav Rybakov in 2006.

Olympic 100 metres champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce eased to victory on a damp evening while world champion Carmelita Jeter was stretchered off the track after finishing third.

As low clouds settled around the stadium for the evening meet, the Jamaican sprinter pulled away from her American rival to clock 10.93 seconds, the fastest time of the year.

“I just came out to execute a good race, and I think I did that,” Fraser-Pryce told reporters. “I’m just looking forward to the rest of the season. I pray to God that if I can continue to stay healthy, that is key at this moment because it’s a long season.”

Jeter, who needed treatment for a leg injury, told stadium officials that it was too early to know the extent of her injury.

In the men’s 400 metres, London gold medalist Kirani James eased away from American rival Lashawn Merritt down the home straight.

“It was good, I had Lashawn in front of me. And so he really set the pace and it kind of prepared me to put on a good performance,” said the Grenadian sprinter.

It was the first time the two rivals have met since Merritt was forced to pull out last year’s London Olympics.

Chinese sprint hope Zhang Peimeng broke the national 200 metres record just weeks after he ran China’s fastest 100 metres, but failed to trouble the leaders as Olympic bronze medallist Warren Weir pipped American rival Justin Gatlin.

In the 110 metre hurdles, London silver medalist Jason Richardson won in 13.23 seconds after his fellow-American Aries Merritt sustained an injury in the warm-up.

Richardson said he was concentrating on the Moscow world championships in August. “I’m thinking about Moscow every day to defend my world championship title. I just need to make sure I peak in August,” he said.

In the absence of high hurdler Liu Xiang, a number of local athletes put in strong performances, with Li Jinzhe leading the field in the long jump and Xie Wenjun coming third in the 110 metre hurdles.

Ethiopian Genzebe Dibaba outpaced Olympic champion and compatriot Meseret Defar in the women’s 5,000 metres. Defar snatched Olympic gold in London from Genzebe’s sister Tirunesh.

Russian world record-holder Yelena Isinbayeva won the women’s pole vault with a mark of 4.70, before falling short on two attempts to reach 4.85.

Meanwhile, British golden boy Greg Rutherford, who took gold in the long jump at the London Olympics had to settle for third behind China’s Li Jinzhe’s world leading distance of 8.34 metres.

“I go to every competition to win it, that’s why I’m disappointed to finish third today,” Rutherford he said.