Chopra opens Diamond League with Doha javelin, returns at Lausanne

Chopra opens Diamond League season with Doha win

Olympic javelin champion Neeraj Chopra won the men's javelin at the Doha Diamond League on May 5, 2023, recording a world-leading distance of 88.67 metres on his first throw at a packed Qatar Sports Club Stadium. The 25-year-old had publicly targeted breaking the 90-metre barrier at the season-opening World Athletics event but unusually strong winds repeatedly kept competitors from surpassing the 85-metre mark. Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic also featured in the field as Chopra made his Diamond League debut in Doha in style.

Richardson and Kipyegon headline Doha sprints and distance

American sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson won the women's 100 metres in a world-leading 10.76 seconds, beating Jamaica's Shericka Jackson (10.85) and Britain's Dina Asher-Smith (10.98). Kenya's Faith Kipyegon, the reigning Olympic and world 1500m champion, set a world-leading 3:58.57 with Ethiopia's Diribe Welteji second in 3:59.34. Ethiopia's Lamecha Girma led a home-country top-three finish in the men's 3000m with a winning time of 7:26.18, ahead of Selemon Barega and Berihu Aregawi. Nearly 15,000 spectators filled the Qatar Sports Club Stadium, with expatriates from Ethiopia and Kenya prominent among the crowd.

Barshim and other Doha results

Qatar's Olympic high jump champion Mutaz Barshim, cheered by a partisan home crowd, finished third in his specialty. The United States' JuVaughn Harrison won the competition, with South Korea's Sanghyeok Woo second. American Katie Moon cleared 4.81 metres to win the women's pole vault, a day after describing the event as "a very mental sport." Fred Kerley of the United States won the men's 200 metres and Algeria's Slimane Moula took the men's 800 metres.

Chopra returns from injury at Lausanne

Chopra returned to action at the Lausanne Diamond League on June 30, 2023, after recovering from a muscle strain that had kept him out for close to a month. He had skipped the FBK Games in the Netherlands and the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland. The Lausanne meeting was the sixth event of the 2023 Diamond League series and the second that Chopra was contesting, after Doha. Chopra entered Lausanne as the leader of the men's javelin standings and aimed to strengthen his position, having opened with the 88.67m winner in Qatar.

Sreeshankar joins Chopra in Lausanne field

India's Murali Sreeshankar qualified for the Lausanne long jump, aiming to improve on his 8.09m mark set at the Paris Diamond League earlier in the season. Sreeshankar had secured a World Athletics Championships berth with an 8.41m jump at the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar. The Lausanne men's javelin event was scheduled for 12:10 am IST on July 1, with Sreeshankar's long jump set for 12:05 am IST, both broadcast on Sports18 and streamed via JioCinema in India.