{"id":1391,"date":"2017-06-08T21:04:42","date_gmt":"2017-06-08T21:04:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/rome-fireworks-by-hassan-and-obiri\/"},"modified":"2017-06-08T21:04:42","modified_gmt":"2017-06-08T21:04:42","slug":"rome-fireworks-by-hassan-and-obiri","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/rome-fireworks-by-hassan-and-obiri\/","title":{"rendered":"Rome: Fireworks By Hassan And Obiri"},"content":{"rendered":"
In the end, they turned what looked like competitive races into absolute routs on a warm, dry evening in the Olympic Stadium, with Hassan blasting to victory over 1500m in 3:56.22 and Obiri setting a Kenyan record of 14:18.37 to come home alone in the 5000m.<\/p>\n

After a steady opening half of the women\u2019s 1500m \u2013 where 800m was reached in a conservative 2:07 \u2013 Hassan moved towards the front and when she dropped the hammer on the final lap, her rivals simply had no response. She clocked a 60.7-second final lap to come home well clear of Winny Chebet (3:59.16) and Konstanze Klosterhalfen (3:59.30), who both set lifetime bests.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI am very surprised, such a fast time!\u201d said Hassan. \u201cI felt strong, but did not push too early or start too fast. It was not so hard for me.\u201d<\/div>\n
In the 5000m, the talk beforehand had been all about Genzebe Dibaba\u2019s attempt at her older sister Tirunesh\u2019s world record, and confidence seemed high in the Ethiopian\u2019s camp, with a sub-14-minute pace requested at the technical meeting two days before.<\/div>\n
However, it was eventually decided that a 14:10 pace would suffice, and Dibaba duly assumed pole position behind the pacemakers and passed 1000m in 2:51. However, at 3000m, reached in 8:38, the first cracks were beginning to show for the 1500m world record holder.<\/div>\n
Obiri, who had finished second in the Olympic 5000m, soon put Dibaba\u2019s endurance to the test, charging ahead at the front of the race. It was a surge no one, not even Dibaba, could handle, and the Kenyan reeled off a 65-second lap to bring her clear of her rivals.<\/div>\n
From there, she kept pouring coal on the fire, eventually crossing and falling to the track with a world lead and national record in hand. Agnes Tiprop came through strongly for second in 14:33.09, with young Ethiopian Letesenbet Gidey third in 14:33.32. Dibaba faded to sixth in 14:41.55.<\/div>\n
KIPRUTO ALL CLASS IN STEEPLECHASE<\/b><\/div>\n
Elsewhere Conseslus Kipruto confirmed his superiority over the world of steeplechasing with a classy, almost cocky display to win in 8:04.63. In a race that set out a swift pace \u2013 they passed 1000m in 2:37 \u2013 Kipruto nestled behind the pacemakers, biding his time. The pace inevitably slowed in the second kilometre, and when the field hit 2000m in 5:23, Kipruto swept to the front.<\/div>\n
He pulled with him compatriots Amos Kirui, Jairus Birech, and Moroccan newcomer Soufiane El Bakkali. Kipruto, just as he did in Rio, then refused to surrender the lead throughout the final lap.<\/div>\n
Just when it seemed he was coming under threat, as El Bakkali ranged up alongside with 100 metres to run, the Olympic champion shifted gears impressively, cruising clear and crossing the line almost nonchalantly with the night\u2019s first world lead.<\/div>\n
El Bakkali took nine seconds off his PB to finish second in 8:05.17, with Birech third in 8:07.84. Two-time Olympic champion Ezekiel Kemboi made a disappointing return, trailing home 17th in 8:33.07.<\/div>\n
\u201cI always try to keep the speed for the last two laps and when I have enough power, it pays off,\u201d he said. \u201cI started this season as planned \u2013 8:04 is a good time.\u201d<\/div>\n
In the men\u2019s 800m, Poland\u2019s Adam Kszczot ran a typically coy race to take victory in 1:45.96 ahead of Kipyegon Bett (1:46.00) and Donovan Brazier (1:46.08). The early pacemaker proved essentially useless to the runners, passing 400m in 49.25, more than a second faster than the requested schedule.<\/div>\n
It was so quick that Kinyor tried to snatch the race itself, looking around with 200 metres to run and deciding that his lead was sufficient to carry on. However, he was struck down with overwhelming fatigue as he turned for home and the first to pass was Kszczot, who powered past to victory ahead of Bett.<\/div>\n
\u201cI had to change pace at least three or four times in the race and it cost me a lot,\u201d said Kszczot. \u201cBut I was still able to beat the guys with even better times and that makes me happy.\u201d<\/div>\n
MERRITT BACK ON TOP<\/b><\/div>\n
In the men\u2019s 110m hurdles, Aries Merritt proved he is once again a force to be reckoned with, taking victory despite an imperfect race in 13.13. Orlando Ortega was a close second in 13.17, with Sergey Shubenkov third in 13.21.<\/div>\n
\u201cI was a bit sloppy,\u201d said Merritt. \u201cI just got off the plane from the US two days ago and I am still jetlagged. I wanted to run much faster but in the end I\u2019m happy with a season\u2019s best.\u201d<\/div>\n
In the women\u2019s 400m hurdles, which was not a Diamond League event, Janieve Russell seized command early in the race, turning for home with a three-metre advantage. Though she slowed over the final barriers, it was a lead she never relinquished, the Jamaican coming home in 54.14, a season\u2019s best. Denmark\u2019s Sara Petersen took second in 54.35, with South Africa\u2019s Wenda Nel Theron third in 54.58.<\/div>\n

Cathal Dennehy for the IAAF and the IAAF<\/i><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands and Hellen Obiri of Kenya lit up the middle distance events at...","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1392,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"city":[],"class_list":["post-1391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1391\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1391"},{"taxonomy":"city","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondleague.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/city?post=1391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}