Tia Clayton Wins Doha as Tebogo and Chopra Deliver Drama

(The Post News)– Jamaican sprinter Tia Clayton stole the spotlight at the Doha Diamond League on Friday, clocking a world-leading 10.92 seconds in the women’s 100 metres, just a tenth of a second ahead of her twin sister, Tina.

The two, often inseparable off the track, put their sisterhood aside for a thrilling showdown, finishing first and second in an electrifying race. Tina edged Britain’s Amy Hunt by a hundredth of a second, denying Jamaica a clean sweep of the podium. Hunt’s personal best performance ensured a hard-fought third place.

Despite her win, Tia felt she didn’t quite hit her stride at the start but still called it a memorable race, especially with her sister right behind her. Tina echoed the sentiment, saying when the gun goes off, sisterhood turns to competition.

Veteran sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, in her Diamond League return, placed fourth. The 38-year-old, who claimed the world title in Doha back in 2019, couldn’t quite recreate that magic this time around.

Meanwhile, in the men’s 200 metres, Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo flirted with disaster. Leading comfortably from lane seven, he eased up and glanced at American Courtney Lindsey in the final metres, a near-costly move. Tebogo narrowly held on to win with 20.10 seconds, just 0.01 seconds ahead of Lindsey.

The men’s javelin saw another nail-biting finish. India’s Neeraj Chopra finally broke the 90-metre barrier with a monstrous 90.23m throw, which is a national record and personal best. But Germany’s Julian Weber had other plans. His final throw of 91.06m snatched victory right at the death.

Elsewhere on the track, Salwa Eid Naser opened the night with a dominant win in the women’s 400m, equalling the meet record at 49.83 seconds. Botswana’s Tshepiso Masalela took gold in the men’s 800m, while Molly Caudery soared to her first pole vault victory of the season with a 4.75m clearance.

In the long-distance events, 20-year-old Kenyan Reynold Cheruiyot thrilled the home crowd with a late surge in the 5,000 metres, clinching victory in 13:16.40. South Sudan’s Dominic Lobalu and Bahrain’s Birhanu Balew followed in a tight photo finish for second and third.

The night closed with yet another win for Kenya as Faith Cherotich outpaced world champion Winfred Yavi in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase. A perfectly timed sprint in the final metres sealed her dramatic triumph, leaving the Doha crowd on its feet.

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Duduzile Pila

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