Stockholm: Musaeb Abdulrahman Balla made Qatar proud in Stockholm when he cruised home to victory in the 800m Men’s race IAAF Diamond League in Stockholm on Thursday.
On the other hand, Qatari star Barshim Mutaz Essa came second with a 2.29m jump in the Men’s high jump event.
Balla overcame Bube Andreas of Denmark to the second position while Rimmer Michael was third with 1:45.97.
For Barshim, the results consolidated his overall first position in the Diamond League rankings with 12 points to make him a hot contender for the top prize at the end of the season.
“I did some good jumps and I wasn’t too far from winning,” said the Qatari.
“Now, my main objective is to win the world title and to do that I have to improve technically,” added the star athlete.
In other races, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce swept to victory in 100m with a 10.93sec triumph which sent out a powerful message to her world championship rivals.
The Jamaican sprinter, who is the reigning Olympic and world champion, edged out Tori Bowie of the United States (11.05sec) and compatriot Natasha Morrison (11.22sec). Fraser-Pryce, 28, was running for the first time since setting the season’s best time in the sprint at Paris a month ago.
Her performance on Thursday was a resounding reminder to her rivals just three weeks away from the world championships in Beijing where she will be the defending champion. The Jamaican star is also the reigning world champion in the 200m and 4x100m relay.
“There will always be a lot of pressure to cope with. I am the defending champion so I will be the number one target,” she said.
“But I am not worried and I am looking forward to going to China.” Fraser-Pryce said she will now head for Japan for a training camp ahead of the August 22-30 world championships in the Chinese capital.
“There are still many things to work on – the start, the transition, the finish. I am not just going to sit around and wait.”
In the men’s 110m hurdles, Spain’s Orlando Ortega won in 13.18sec ahead of European champion Sergey Shubenkov of Russia (13.22sec).
Defending world champion David Oliver of the United States was third in 13.24sec.
Colombia’s Caterine Ibarguen registered her 28th successive women’s triple jump win and should be assured of the Diamond League title at the season finale in Brussels on September 11.
The 31-year-old won the Stockholm leg of the series with a best of 14.60m.
Kazakhstan’s Olga Rypakova (14.30m) was second with Kimberly Williams of Jamaica in third spot (14.22m).AGENCIES
