Rising South African teenage talent Bayanda Walaza finished sixth in a hot men’s 100m event at the Prefontaine Classis in Eugene, Oregon, while Prudence Sekgodiso equalled her personal best, in a Diamond League meeting where double Olympic champion Beatrice Chebet became the first woman in history to run a sub-14 minute 5,000m.
The Kenyan stopped the clock at 13min 58.06sec. Elsewhere, meeting records, world leads and Diamond League records were broken in almost every throwing event on the programme.
The two South Africans involved were Walaza and women’s 800m world indoor champion Sekgodiso. There was a close finish in the women’s two-lapper, where Olympic silver medallist Tsige Duguma managed to hold off Sekgodiso, with just 0.06 separating first and second (1:57.10 to 1:57.16).
The time equalled Sekgodiso’s personal best set in Ostrava last month.
However, it was in the men’s 100m where bragging rights were up for grabs.
Fresh from becoming the sixth fastest man in history at the Jamaican nationals, Olympic silver medallist Kishane Thompson powered clear of his rivals after making a fast start.
The 23-year-old lost his form in the closing metres, but he had plenty in hand as he crossed the line in 9.85 seconds. Zharnel Hughes closed strongly to take second in a season’s best 9.91 ahead of Trayvon Bromell (9.94).
Walaza slowed slightly in the last part of the race to finish sixth in 10.04.