African Athletes Come Up Short as The 2023 Diamond League Winds Up

Elite athletes from Africa only managed to win 5 out of 32 titles over the weekend as the Wanda Diamond League was concluded over two days at the Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, USA. The African winners included 3 Kenyans, one Nigerian and one Ethiopian. It was a come down from the 8 titles Africans won in 2022.

The Diamond League was set up in 2017, replacing the then Europe’s Golden League; and it brings together the world’s most elite athletes who compete in 16 disciplines, both male and female. Gold medal winners take home $30,000, silver medal winners get $12,000 while bronze medal winners receive $7,000.

Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon continued her fine form, winning the 1,500m for the 4th time in 6 years. She first won it in 2017, and then again in 2021 and 2022. Her time of 3:50.7 was off her world record time of 3:49.11, but she still won by more than 5 seconds. She also has world records in the 500m and the mile.

"I didn’t watch the clock, I was just running my race to see what will happen at the finish line," Kipyegon said after the race. "So it was amazing, to run a meeting record is just fantastic. Starting with the world record and now winning the trophy, it has been a fantastic year for me and I really thank God for that."

Ethiopia’s world silver medalist Diribe Welteji was second in 3:53.93, while her compatriot Freweyni Hailu had a Personal Best in 3:55.68 to take 4th place.

Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay set a world record of 14:00:21 in the women’s 5000m final on Sunday, just a month after winning the 10,000m gold medal in the World Athletics Championships. Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet won silver in 14:05.92. Uganda’s Olympic champion Peruth Chemutai was on pace setter duties in the race.

Earlier, Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan won the women’s 100m hurdles for the 3rd straight year in a time of 12.33, beating out Puerto Rico’s Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn. The world record holder also won the event in 2021 and 2022.

On the men’s side, Kenya’s Simon Kiprop Koech won gold in the 3000m steeplechase in 8:06.26, four seconds ahead of Ethiopia’s world U20 silver medalist Samuel Firewu, who clocked 8:10.74. Another Ethiopian, Getnet Wale, was fourth in 8:14.96.

In the men’s 800m, Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi stormed to a world-leading and meeting record of 1:42.80, beating out Canada’s  Marco Arop (born in Khartoum, Sudan). Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati was third in a personal best time of 1:43.06.

Elsewhere Kenya’s Beatrice Chepkoec was beaten to second by Bahrain’s Kenyan-born Winfred Yavi in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase. Two other Kenyans, 19-year old Faith Cherotich and Jackline Chepkoech, were third and fourth, respectively.

Kenya’s African record-holder Ferdinand Omanyala was third in the 100m, Burkina Faso’s world champion Hugues Fabrice Zango took second place in the triple jump, while Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha just missed the gold medal in the men’s 3000m, won by Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtse.

But top billing was the women’s 100m and 200m, both eventually won by Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson, beating out World Champion Sha'Carri Richardson, who could only manage fourth in the 100m. Cote d’Ivoure’s was second in the 200m.