Paul Chelimo Becomes Second American to Win Diamond League 5,000 Meters

By Adam Kopet

Paul Chelimo did something Saturday only one other American had done before. He won a Diamond League 5,000-meter race, this time on the first day of the London Diamond League meeting.

The 5,000 meters suffered from poor early pacing, as the pacer set opening laps of 67 seconds, reaching the first kilometer in 2:44.58. The chance of seeing a sub-13-minute race was gone.

But the slow early pace only heightened the tension as the race moved into the latter stages. With two laps to go, there were still 17 athletes in the lead pack with Ethiopia's Muktar Edris in the lead.

At the bell, Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha moved to the front with a strong bid for the win, getting a gap that neared five meters on the back straight. But it was Chelimo who worked to bridge the gap.

Coming off the final turn, Chelimo made his final bid, kicking past Kejelcha to win in 13:14.01. Kejelcha faded slightly in the final meters, falling to third. Edris finished second in 13:14.35. Kejelcha ran 13:14.39.

The leader-to-leader final lap was run in 52.52, meaning Chelimo closed faster than that in his final lap.

The last American to win a Diamond League 5,000 race was Ben True in 2015 at the now-defunct adidas Grand Prix in New York. The annual Diamond League series began in 2010.

RESULTS

Sam Kendricks won the men's pole vault, clearing 19-5 (5.92m). France's Renaud Lavillenie finished second, while wearing the France Soccer World Cup kit, with a 19-2.75 (5.86m). Armand "Mondo" Duplantis finished third, also with a 19-2.75 clearance.

In the men's 400 meters, it was not Qatar's Abderrahman Samba, who had made the move to the flat race in London, but another Qatari athlete, Abdalleleh Haroun, who won in 44.07. Paul Dedewo was second in a personal-best 44.43. Samba finished fifth in a personal-best 44.62.

With Samba's absence in the 400-meter hurdles, Norway's Karsten Warholm returned to the winner's circle in the same stadium where he won last year's IAAF World Outdoor Championships. Warholm ran a personal-best 47.65.

In the women's 400-meter hurdles, Shamier Little won by the narrowest of margins over Janieve Russell of Jamaica, 53.95 to 53.96.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce continued her comeback from missing 2017 to give birth. The Jamaican won the 100-meter final in 10.98 over Dezerea Bryant in 11.04.

Ronnie Baker led five other men under 10 seconds in the men's 100 meters. He won in 9.90. Great Britain's Zharnel Hughes was second in 9.93. Christian Coleman was a late scratch from the prelims.