2019 IAAF World Championships

Can Amos And Hassan Stay Hot? | London DL Preview

Can Amos And Hassan Stay Hot? | London DL Preview

Sifan Hassan and Nijel Amos look to follow-up their big Monaco runs, while Morgan McDonald makes his pro debut in a stacked men's 5000m in London.

Jul 19, 2019 by Kevin Sully
Can Amos And Hassan Stay Hot? | London DL Preview
With the USATF Championships just a week away, the American representation is lower at this week’s Diamond League in London. But the fields are still stout as the season continues its escalation toward the World Championships. 

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With the USATF Championships just a week away, the American representation is lower at this week’s Diamond League in London. But the fields are still stout as the season continues its escalation toward the World Championships. 

Here are the top events to watch:

Men’s 800m

Nijel Amos will try to further tighten his grip against a stacked field. Last week, Amos ran to a 1:41.89, the fastest mark in the world since 2012 and the second-best time of his career. Waiting for him in London are Emmanuel Korir, Ferguson Cheruiyot, Wyclife Kinwamal, Adam Kszczot and Marcin Lewandowski. 

Cheruiyot was second to Amos in Monaco, running a lifetime best of 1:42.54. But Korir should provide the best competition for Amos. At this meet last year, Korir ran a PR of 1:42.05. Amos wasn’t in that race (he ran a 1:42.14 in Monaco, which was the same week as London). On paper, this should be a rivalry, but it has yet to materialize. Does it begin to take shape in London?

Women’s 400m

Another Salwa Eid Naser/Aminatou Seyni battle is on tap. It’s a fascinating match-up and one that absolutely nobody predicted at the beginning of the year. Seyni, the hard closer from Niger, ran 49.19 in Lausanne and nearly upset Naser. Simply put, Naser doesn’t lose to people not named Shaunae Miller-Uibo so to see her have to dig deep to respond to Seyni’s move on the homestretch was surprising. It took Naser running the second-best time of her career, 49.17, to get the win. 

I don’t think we can count on the times being as fast in London, but these two should be close again. 

Men’s 5000m

Hagos Gebrhiwet just ran 26:48 to win the Ethiopian 10,000m trials on Wednesday. Is he going to flex his muscles and run another race on Saturday? That seems like a lot of running. 

Rhonex Kipruto has never run a 5000m on the track, but he dropped a 26:50 10,000m in bad weather in Stockholm. His strength is definitely at the longer distance thus far in his career, though that’s probably because he hasn’t had many chances at the shorter races. He has the profile of somebody who is going to be good at whatever he tackles. 

Jakob Ingebrigtsen is approaching the race from the opposite direction. The 18-year-old reeled off tremendous 1500m/mile races this summer--fourth at Pre, second in Lausanne, second in Monaco. In the last two, only the currently unbeatable Timothy Cheruiyot has finished ahead of him. 

London will mark the first post-collegiate race for Morgan McDonald. The Wisconsin star has run fast races in Europe before, but this is his first as **four-time NCAA champion Morgan McDonald**. His workload was relatively light during the outdoor season and the Badgers coaching staff’s focus on keeping him fresh should pay dividends now. 

Women’s 1500m

Faith Kipyegon returned from maternity leave and dropped a 3:59 to win the Prefontaine Classic. The win put her at the top of the women’s 1500m rankings. 

But there are no easy women’s 1500m races in the Diamond League. In London, Laura Muir will be racing in front of a home crowd. Muir was a close second to Kipyegon at the Prefontaine Classic and most recently lowered her personal best in the 800m to 1:58.42. Konstanze Klosterhalfen returns to the 1500m after a hugely successful detour into the 3000m at Pre. There, Klosterhalfen ran 8:20.07, a gigantic personal best and the eighth-best time in history.  It’s hard to see how a performance like that doesn’t translate into something quick in the 1500m. 

After those three there isn’t much drop off, Rababe Arafi, Axumawit Embaye, Winnie Nanyondo and Guduf Tsegay have run under four minutes this year. Gabriela Debues-Stafford of Canada has run 4:00.46 and was third in the Monaco mile in 4:17.87.

Women’s 100m

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is a 10.7 runner in 2019. Any talk of her 10.73 at the Jamaican trials being a one-off was put to bed when she dropped a 10.74 in Lausanne on her way to a huge victory. 

Her early season is so good that sprint analyst Ato Boldon thinks she’s capable of breaking into the 10.6s--a statement he didn’t think was possible at the beginning of the year. In London, she’s lining up against the usual crew of Marie-Josee Ta Lou, Dina Asher-Smith, Blessing Okagbare and Dafne Schippers among others. Her main rival (and training partner) Elaine Thompson is entered in the 200m. 

Fraser-Pryce’s biggest challenge now is keeping this form for the next two months until the World Championships. That’s not an easy task. 

Men’s Mile

Without Timothy Cheruiyot, this race is up for grabs. Charlie Da’Vall Grice ran a three-second personal best in Monaco, running 3:30.62 to finish fourth. He leads a strong British group in this race that includes Josh Kerr, Chris O’Hare and Jake Wightman. 

With Jakob in the 5000m, Filip is the only Ingebrigtsen in the 1500m. He was seventh in Monaco. 

Samuel Tefera set the world record indoors in the 1500m, but has struggled outdoors. He took eighth at the Prefontaine Classic and sixth in Lausanne. Nick Willis will also be looking for some momentum. He was at the back in Prefontaine before running 3:37 to take fourth in the Sunset Tour meet. 

Women’s 5000m

Sifan Hassan is fresh off her mile world record and will get a chance to see some of the best women in the world in the 5000m. Hassan hasn’t yet settled on her schedule for the World Championships so these results could factor into the ultimate decision. 

Hellen Obiri has a personal best four-seconds better than Hassan (14:22 to 14:18), but Hassan took her apart in the Prefontaine Classic 3000m, where Obiri took sixth. In all, it hasn’t been a great outdoor season for Obiri. She won the opener in Doha, but fell and took 12th in Stockholm and was sixth at Stanford. Agnes Tirop won that 5000m in Stockholm and her personal best of 14:24 puts her toward the front of the field. The British will be looking to see how Laura Weightman follows up her 4:17 mile in Monaco.