Diamond League: 2012 Aviva London Grand Prix

TOP 5 RECAP: Day 1, Aviva London Grand Prix

TOP 5 RECAP: Day 1, Aviva London Grand Prix

Jul 13, 2012 by Taylor Dutch
TOP 5 RECAP: Day 1, Aviva London Grand Prix
Top 5 Recap: Day 1, Aviva London Grand Prix



1. The men's 110m hurdles was the performance of the meet with a ridiculously fast time by Aries Merritt in the final.  Merritt ran a 12.93, tying his previous world leading time from the US Trials. He also beat World Champion Jason Richardson and Dayron Robles' meet record of 13.04. One surprise was Liu Xiang pulling out of the final after finishing first in his preliminary heat because of an injury. 

RANK ATHLETE NATION RESULT REACTION TIME
1
USA
12.93
=WL,MR
0.137
2
USA
13.06

0.166
3
USA
13.18
SB
0.153
4
USA
13.32

0.154
5
USA
13.39

0.149
6
USA
13.46

0.165
 
GBR
DNF



2.
 
The men's 400m hurdles were a bit of a disapointment as Bershawn Jackson, bronze medalist in Beijing, false started from his lane and was unable to compete in the race that included David Greene from Great Britain.  The two athletes have a history of some trash talking beginning in March when Greene called out Jackson's teammate, Olympic gold medalist LaShawn Merritt for testing positive in 2010.  Since Jackson failed to make the US Olympic team, it would have been interesting to see how the two hurdlers would match up in this race.  Check out the full story here

RANK ATHLETE NATION RESULT REACTION TIME DIAMOND POINTS DIAMOND RANKING
1
PUR
47.78
=WL
0.175
16
1
img
2
GBR
48.10

0.146
4
3
 
3
USA
48.43
SB
0.165
5
2
 
4
GBR
48.60
PB
0.186
 
 
 
5
DOM
49.68

0.184
1
7
 
6
USA
49.86

0.177
 
 
 
7
USA
50.28

0.134
3
4
 
 
USA
DQ
R 162.7
 
2
5




3.
 
The women's 1500 turned out to be more of a tactical race than expected.  With Morgan Uceny, Jenny Simpson, Shannon Rowbury, two-time world champion Maryam Yusuf Jamal, and Diane Cummin pacing for a 4 flat race, we were expecting something a bit faster.  Jamal came through with an easy win of 4:06.78 followed by a pack that seemed to fade quite a bit coming into the homestretch.  Simpson and Anna Pierce were the only women who had another gear heading into the line, coming through in a 4:06.78 for Jamal, 4:07.76 for Simpson, and 4:08.06 for Pierce. 

RANK ATHLETE NATION RESULT DIAMOND POINTS DIAMOND RANKING
1
BRN
4:06.78

4
3
 
2
USA
4:07.76

2
5
 
3
USA
4:08.06

1
8
 
4
GBR
4:08.19

 
 
 
5
USA
4:08.22

 
 
 
6
USA
4:08.63

 
 
 
7
GBR
4:08.83

 
 
 
8
AUS
4:10.49

 
 
 
9
AUS
4:12.82

 
 
 
10
KEN
4:13.56
SB
 
 
 
11
GBR
4:14.45

 
 
 
 
CAN
DNF





4.
 
The men's 100 meters was a performance to watch as Tyson Gay turned on the jets for the final to win in a 10.03.  He couldn't be beat in the last twenty meters as Ryan Bailey trailed behind him in a 10.09.  Gay is currently ranked 2nd in the diamond league behind Usain Bolt.  

RANK ATHLETE NATION RESULT REACTION TIME DIAMOND POINTS DIAMOND RANKING
1
USA
10.03

0.107
8
1
img
2
USA
10.09

0.174
2
4
 
3
JAM
10.13

0.156
2
4
 
4
JAM
10.15

0.144
 
 
 
5
USA
10.19

0.143
2
4
 
6
USA
10.19

0.155
 
 
 
7
CAY
10.25

0.152
 
 
 
 
SKN
DNS





5. 
The men's 5k was a heart-warming performance as hometown favorite Mo Farah delivered with a great kick in a time of 13:06 for the win.  Behind him was Collis Birmingham of Australia who held on for a personal best of 13:09.  

RANK ATHLETE NATION RESULT DIAMOND POINTS DIAMOND RANKING
1
GBR
13:06.04

8
1
img
2
AUS
13:09.57
PB
2
5
 
3
UGA
13:09.98

1
7
 
4
KEN
13:13.77

 
 
 
5
USA
13:15.91

 
 
 
6
KEN
13:23.05

 
 
 
7
AUS
13:23.85

 
 
 
8
MEX
13:35.44

 
 
 
9
AUS
13:37.35

 
 
 
10
JPN
13:43.43

 
 
 
11
UGA
13:45.29

 
 
 
12
ERI
13:50.96

 
 
 
 
KEN
DNF

 
 
 
 
KEN
DNF