The Italian capital Rome played host to the fourth Diamond League meeting of 2019, last Thursday. More British superstars were challenging themselves early in the season and testing their recent block of training. Unfortunately the Brits had to settle for second place as the opposition outclassed them on the night. It is a reminder that the 2019 World Championships will be hard fought.
Asher-Smith Frustrated but Realistic
Despite beating double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson in last week’s Stockholm 200m race, the Jamaican got revenge in the 100m. Asher-Smith flew out of the blocks and was leading through halfway, but in the last 20-30m Thompson stayed composed and relaxed to win by 0.05 seconds.
Post-race, Asher-Smith reflected that she always aims to win races but this was her best start to any track season. After all, she has only produced sub-11-second performances five times and knows that she can still improve over the closing stages of the race.
Muir Admits she can Run Faster
Unlike in Stockholm where Muir dominated the entire race, the 1500m field was much larger and more frantic from the start. Within the first 150m Muir had to hold off the pace to save herself from falling. This meant it took her longer to get to the front of the pack. By halfway she was in touching distance of the pair of Ethiopians, Dibaba and Tsegay. With 200m to go Muir took second place from Tsegay but could not overtake the current world indoor champion and current world record holder for 1500m.
Dibaba won by 2-3m but Muir should be proud – she was only a second behind her personal best. Post-race Muir admitted that she could run faster and that her training didn’t produce the results she feels she can. The important aspect is that the Scot has time to improve.
Pozzi Returns to Form
Andrew Pozzi also had to accept second place, achieving a season’s best of 13.29 in the 110m hurdles. More impressive though is Pozzi’s admission of his mental health issues and the recent life-changing decision to move to the southern Italian city of Formia with legendary sprint coach Santiago Antunez.
His pursuit of greater success has meant he has only just begun his journey to reinvent his technique and speed.
It was a night to remember for the second-place finishers as USA’s Noah Lyles, accustomed to winning sprints, couldn’t quite overtake his compatriot Michael Norman at the line. However, at this stage of the season coming second is vital, if only to spur athletes on to win gold when the time comes.
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