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shakarri richardson Rubs his rivals to dust as American wins 100m for the first time Diamond League at the season meeting Doha on Friday.
Richardson, who was expected to be one of the biggest draws at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, set the meet record in Doha with a time of 10.76 seconds before accepting a one-month ban after testing positive for cannabis.
23-year-old beats Jamaican world 200m champion Sherika Jackson (10.85) while Briton Deena Asher-Smith was third (10.98) in a field that featured five Americans at the start line.
“I’m so blessed and grateful, I feel at peace. I do what I do best and I’m excited to do it,” Richardson said.
“As I said before, I had to be out of the 100m race, so I had to do my best no matter what. Peace, love and life.”
Asher Smith, who won the world 200m title in Doha in 2019, said he was happy to finish third.
“The whole point about my season has been to race against the best and I did that tonight. I’m really happy with my race, third place is a good start and the timing is good,” she said.
In the men’s 200 metres, American Fred Kerley won in lane seven in 19.92 seconds, using his long strides to his advantage in the final 40 metres.
The American, who won silver in the 100m at the Tokyo Olympics, was second behind compatriot and Tokyo 200m silver medalist Kenneth Bednarek (20.11) while Canada’s Aaron Brown (20.20) was third.
“I was comfortable, but I know I still have work to do. The most important was to win and I did,” said Kerley.
“I was happy with the competition, it was a good one, the guys gave me a run for it. Next is Japan, (I) will open my season in the 100 (m).
Fellow Canadian and reigning Olympic champion Andre de Grasse was in lane eight and managed only sixth place despite a season’s best time.
India’s Neeraj Chopra and Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon, the defending Olympic champions in the men’s javelin and women’s 1,500m, began the defense of their Diamond League titles with wins in their respective events.
Chopra set the tone for the competition in his very first attempt, although he showed disappointment with his world-leading throw of 88.67 metres.
Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic, who won a silver medal in Tokyo, finished second again – four centimeters short of Chopra’s mark.
The pair were the only two athletes to cross the 88m mark with Grenada’s Anderson Peters third (85.88).
In the final event of the night, Kipyegon became the fifth athlete to set a world-leading mark when she completed the 1,500 meters in 3:58.57 to beat the Ethiopian pair of Diribe Welteji, who finished less than a second behind , and Freeweeny Halloo.