Diamond League 2013: Shanghai

Olympic Champ returns with third in the pit as James dominates the track.

GB long jumper Greg Rutherford opens his season with a jump of 8.08m.
Photo: teamgb.com

Shanghai brought Olympic champions from all over the world for each event as Meet Records were broke and World Leads created in what was a fascinating Diamond League!

As the athletics season is still going through the gears on hitting top speed that was definitely the case for GB athletes with Rutherford, Grabarz, Tomlinson, Williams and Jegede nowhere near the standard they would want to be at come world stage competition.

Rutherford by far the impressive out of the five finished in third place and for the Olympic champion he showed character as the likes of Claye, Phillips and Watt faltered after three jumps the Milton Keynes athlete was consistent and tweeted after the competition: 

"Evening all! Not a fantastic performance today. Gutted I missed that 4th round. What could have been!"

Whilst his GB compatriots of Tomlinson and Jegede finished 9th and 11th respectively with jumps of 7.66 and 7.58. Both will hope to improve come British trials time if they hope to be in Moscow.

Grabarz on the other hand was one athlete we expected to really hit form after a dissapointing indoor season, Doha last week not great, surely Shanghai would be where the current Diamond League champion and Olympic bronze medallist really challenged to win the event. Sadly it would not to be, Although he equalled his seasons best of 2 metres 24 he could break into the 2.30 mark and finished in fifth.

To the track and it would be the Olympic champions that grabbed all the headlines with a world lead performance from 100m Olympic champion Shelly-Anne Fraser-Pryce who comfortably won the women's sprint in 10.93 seconds and 20 year old 400m Olympic champion Kirani James opening his season just half a second off his personal best!

Fraser-Pryce known for her quick starts was up against her 100m rival of last year Carmelita Jeter and she flew out of the blocks leaving Jeter chasing from the off. Jeter showed to make ground but with 10 metres to go seemed to pull her quad muscle as the Olympic Champion took the race smiling from ear to ear, Jeter was in clear pain on the floor and as athletes showed worry around her we all hope that the American will be able to retain her title in Moscow this august. Nigerian Blessing Okagbare impressed finishing behind the Jamaican in 11 seconds exact.

Whilst James showed why he can really push onto big things this year and left his competition behind in style in the final 100 metres. Up against silver and bronze medallists Lugelin Santos and Lalonde Gordon, James also had his main rival in LaShawn Merritt who the Grenadian pipped on the line in the 2011 WC final. James though powered from the off and not like in previous races against the American was ahead of him after 300 metres and it proved to be costly as he teared away. With only 11 men having ran 43 second times for James to open his season with such a time shows maybe one day he could push for that WR by Michael Johnson that many think will never be beaten. Merritt will still be pleased with his opening of 44.60 but it seems his 400 dominance is now something of the past with Santos only just behind too. 

For GB athlete Conrad Williams it wasn't even a case of finishing the race as him and European champion Pavel Maslak both false started and will leave the Linford Christie athlete frustrated he wasn't able to test himself against a top field.

Other news on the track saw the final event of the 110 metre hurdles widely anticipated to be close between the Americans of Merritt, Richardson and Oliver. Saw world record holder and Olympic champion Merritt pull up after 3 strides out of his block and Richardson steam to victory with Oliver in fourth.

No more than three Americans pulled up with an injury in Shanghai the third being Wallace Spearmon in the 200m. Spearmon who came fourth in London didn't even get round the bend and walked over the line as it was Olympic bronze medallist and training partner to Usain Bolt, Warren Weir who won the race in 20.18 just ahead of 100m winner in Doha Justin Gatlin who showed his stamina finishing the final 50metres in style with a time of 20.22 seconds.

This Diamond League proved to be athletes who were fresh and ready for the season to begin whilst others clearly not. That the case of James and Fraser-Pryce who will be hard to stop come Moscow. Whilst for team GB it's a case of peaking at the right time as no athlete has yet made their mark on the world stage.

See you for New York in a weeks time! Don't forget to follow us on Twitter for a live feed of all action and thoughts.

For all Diamond League results from Shanghai.