Jeff Hollobaugh

THOUGH THE FIELD lacked a Grant Holloway — a victim of unhappy negotiations — the hurdles final perhaps gained in that more than a few of the contenders saw a clear path to victory without the Olympic champion on the line.

SOMETIMES IT ONLY TAKES one jump. Leyanis Pérez had wins at three Diamond League meetings this season — Eugene, Stockholm and Monaco — but a 5th place in the Olympics left her hungry. Here, with Paris champion Thea LaFond absent, the Cuban came out on top in her battle with silver medalist Shanieka Ricketts of Jamaica, as well as Jasmine Moore, the bronze medalist.

IT'S AN OFT-USED cliché in sports, “putting it all together,” but there is no better description of how Kenny Bednarek upset the

THE ONLY Paris medalist in the triple jump, Pedro Pichardo bounced out to 56-6½ (17.23) on his first attempt. As it turned out, he could have stopped there and still flown home with his third Diamond League title. At the end of that first round, his closest pursuer was Germany's Max Heß, who had been 7th in the Olympic final. He opened up with a 55-2¾ (16.83).

ONE CENTIMETER can make all the difference. Specifically in the case of the men's javelin, it made an $18,000 difference.

AFTER HER DISMAL 100 on day 1, Sha'Carri Richardson opted to pull out of the 200. Not that Brittany Brown was worried. The OT runner-up and

September 16, 2024 by Jeff Hollobaugh SINCE HER BRONZE MEDAL in Paris, Puerto Rico's Jasmine Camacho-Quinn has been unbeatable in the hurdles.

WHILE THE 1500 PACERS were given some ambitious instructions — 2:04 for 800 and 2:36 for 1000 — the race was not a WR chase. That much was clear at 300, when heavily favored Faith Kipyegon, undefeated for more than 3 years, didn't hang with the rabbits and was passed by Ethiopian teen Birke Haylom.

THE PENULTIMATE event of the DL Final, the men's 800, generated plenty of potential WR buzz, an excitement encouraged — and perhaps undone — by a blazing first lap. “I think we went out a bit too hard,” admitted Marco Arop, who failed in his attempt to keep Emmanuel Wanyonyi from repeating as DL titlist.

THOUGH SHE WON the '19 title, the DL Final has not really been Sydney McLaughlin's thing in recent years, particularly in her specialty, the 400H. Instead, that has been Femke Bol territory, and the Dutchwoman had won every post-pandemic title. To do so again, she would have to beat Anna Cockrell, who had earned the Paris silver ahead of her.