31st May 2018
EIGHT BRITS IN STRONG FIELDS FOR ROME DIAMOND LEAGUE
Eight British Athletes will be in track action tonight in Rome as the Diamond League heads to Europe for the first time this season.
Matthew Hudson-Smith (coach: Lance Brauman) will race in Europe for the first time this season and will do so against two of the men’s 4x400m silver medal winning team from the IAAF World Indoor Championships.
Fred Kerley (USA), who has a 43.70 personal best, and Michael Cherry (USA) will take to the track in Italy, alongside Abdalelah Haroun (QAT), who is currently second in the standings only to Botswana’s Isaac Makwala.
Commonwealth silver medallist Kyle Langford (Jon Bigg) will look to improve on his fifth-place finish in Eugene last weekend with his first Diamond League points of the season in the men’s 800m.
Wyclife Kinyamal (KEN) is the fastest man heading into the race and is the only man in the field to have broken the 1:44.00 barrier this year. Ethiopian Mohammed Aman’s 1:42.37 PB makes him the quickest on paper.
Langford’s silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in a personal best 1:45.16 shows what he is capable of and his kick in the final 100m is a dangerous weapon to have at his disposal.
After being pipped to victory in Sunday’s Vitality Westminster Mile, Charles Da’Vall Grice (Jon Bigg) will look to get the better of Scotsman Chris O’Hare (Terrence Mahon) when the duo face off for the second time in less than a week at the Stadio Olimpico.
O’Hare edged Da’Vall Grice in a tight finish, with both athletes recording times of 4:03 and are very evenly matched with personal bests split by just 0.01 at 3:33.61 and 3:33.60 respectively.
Defending Diamond League champion Timothy Cheruiyot, who won at Eugene Diamond League, and World Indoor gold medallist Samuel Tefera (ETH) head to Italy to provide strong competition for the British duo.
The first Brit on track will be Rosie Clarke (David Harmer), who came fourth in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase at the Commonwealth Games, and goes in the same event this evening in a very strong field.
Beatrice Chepkoech (KEN) is the fastest woman in the field this year heading into the race with a season’s best 9:07.27, while Celliphine Chespol (KEN) is the fastest when it comes to personal bests with a time of 8:58.78.
Fellow Kenyan Hyvin Kiyeng, who finished on 15 points last year along with Chepkoech and Norah Jeruto (KEN), is just a shade behind with a 9:00.01 personal best.
British number one Zak Seddon (Jeff Seddon), who recently achieved the European qualifying standard in Rehlingen, Germany, is in men’s 3,000m steeplechase action in a packed field. Current world leader Benjamin Kigen (KEN) heads to Italy, along with Paul Kipsiele Koech, a man boasting a personal best of 7:54.31.
Julie Rogers (Allen Adamson) goes in the women’s para 100m and Morgan Jones (Christian Malcolm) in the men’s equivalent as they bring the programme to a close.
The Rome Diamond League is available to watch live on Eurosport Player from 6:50pm and Eurosport 2 from 7pm. Highlights from the event will be shown on BBC Two at 1:15pm on Saturday, 2 June.
Start lists and timetables can be found here.