Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith handed world leader Sha’Carri Richardson her first defeat of the season after she impressively took the women’s 100 meters in wet, cold, and windy conditions at the 2021 Wanda Diamond League opener in Gateshead on Sunday (23).
Asher-Smith entered the contest confident, despite watching Richardson burning up the track in recent outings, and the world 200m champion defended her home turf with a commanding run to seal the victory with an 11.35 seconds clocking, running into a headwind of -3.1 m/s.
Watch Asher-Smith Defeats Richardson
“I feel really good. Conditions were far from ideal for sprinting but the most important thing is to come away with a good result and a win and I was very happy to do that,” Asher-Smith said.
“I think all in all today was more of an experience but the only thing that can indicate Tokyo is the Olympic final itself. I want to stay focused, do well and get better from here.”
- Where Are The 2021 NCAA Outdoor Regionals, How To Watch?
- Video Highlights: Sha`Carri Richardson Wins 200m At Ostrava Golden Spike
American world-leader Richardson who has been able to recover from slow starts this season, was unable to do so again in Gateshead and had to settle for second place in 11.44. World bronze medalist Marie-Josee Ta Lou from the Ivory Coast ran home in third place with a time of 11.48, while world champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce clocked 11.51 for fourth.
Solid Run Again For Bednarek In 200m
In the men’s 200m, American Kenny Bednarek continued his fruitful form this season after he powered away from the field to clock an impressive 20.32 seconds for the victory, running into a -3.0 m/s headwind.
“I felt very good despite the terrible conditions,” Bednarek said. “My coach told me to work on my technique and that’s what I did so I am really pleased. I would have liked to run faster but with the rain and a headwind, and it was cold, so you can only go so far.”
He added: “I feel happy with my performance. I am in a really good place at this point in the season. I am heading back after Doha for the US trials and I have some things to work on now. I believe the only thing that will stop me from making the team is me.”
Aaron Brown (20.79) of Canada got the better of his countryman Andre De Grasse (20.85) for second place.
Cindy Sember of Great Britain won the women’s 100m hurdles in 13.28s, battling a -3.9 m/s headwind, with Hungarian Luca Kozak taking second in 13.37 and third going to Italian Luminosa Bogliolo in 13.45.
Elsewhere, USA’s Kendall Ellis battled against a strong headwind in the home straight to win the women’s 400m with a time of 51.86 ahead of a fast-finishing Stephenie Ann McPherson (51.96) of Jamaica, while Hillary Bor of USA won the men’s steeplechase in 8:30.20 and Britain’s Laura Muir dominated the women’s 1500m with a time of 4:03.73.
Field Event Report In Gateshead
In the field event competitions, Jamaica’s world silver medalist Shanieka Ricketts took first place in the women’s triple jump with a mark of 14.40 meters, Marcin Krukowski of Poland was impressive in the men’s javelin throw and won with a throw of 82.61m, while Filippo Randazzo of Italy took the men’s long jump with a leap of 8.11m over Spain’s Eusebio Cáceres (8.04m) and Jamaica world champion Tajay Gayle (8.00m).
The men’s pole vault went to USA’s Sam Kendricks with a clearance of 5.74m with second place going to Sweden star Armand “Mondo” Duplantis (5.55m).
