World bronze medalist Daniel Roberts opened the Olympic season with back-to-back Diamond League 110m hurdles wins over the reigning Olympic champion.
Roberts, a 26-year-old from Georgia, clocked 13.11 seconds last Saturday in Xiamen, China, and then 13.12 this Saturday in Suzhou the first two Diamond League meets of the year.
Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Hansle Parchment of Jamaica was third and sixth in both races.
Roberts, with the world’s two fastest wind-legal times so far this year, is standing out in one of the U.S.’ deepest events on the track.
DIAMOND LEAGUE: Full Results
The field for June’s U.S. Olympic Trials will likely also include three-time reigning world champion Grant Holloway (who didn’t enter the first two Diamond Leagues but has raced domestically), 2022 World silver medalist Trey Cunningham, two-time Olympic finalist Devon Allen and Cordell Tinch, who ranked tied for third in the world in 2023 by best time.
The top three at trials make the team for the Paris Games.
Also Saturday, Louisiana-raised Swede Mondo Duplantis won the pole vault, then took three unsuccessful tries at breaking the world record for a ninth time. Duplantis raised the record last Saturday to 6.24 meters. The next person to break the record will be the first person to clear 20 feet, 6 inches.
Brit Daryll Neita won the 200m in 22.62 seconds with American Sha’Carri Richardson taking third in 23.11. Richardson, the world 100m champion, also took 200m bronze at last August’s worlds in a personal-best 21.92.
Richardson is among the favorites for June’s Olympic Trials, along with world silver medalist Gabby Thomas.
In Saturday’s 100m, South African Akani Simbine overtook 2019 World champion Christian Coleman to win in 10.01. Coleman followed in 10.04, then 2022 World champion Fred Kerley in 10.11.
In 2023, Coleman tied world champion Noah Lyles and Brit Zharnel Hughes for the world’s best time over the year at 9.83.
Olympic gold medalist Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico won the 100m hurdles for a second consecutive week. She clocked 12.63 seconds, though Nigerian Tobi Amusan, the world record holder, was right with her. But Amusan was listed as disqualified for an earlier false start. She ran the restarted race under protest.
In the discus, Olympic gold medalist Valarie Allman won for a second consecutive Saturday over a field including 2023 World champion Laulauga Tausaga-Collins, 2022 World champion Feng Bin of China and Cuban Yaime Pérez, who two weeks ago launched the world’s farthest since July 1989. Allman threw 69.86 meters on Saturday and ranks second in the world this year by best throw.
Two-time world champion Chase Jackson took the shot put with a 20.03-meter throw, the world’s first throw over 20 meters outdoors this year. Jackson topped a field that included Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Gong Lijiao, who was fourth at 19.61.
The track and field season continues with the USATF Bermuda Grand Prix, live Sunday on NBC, NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app and Peacock from 4-6 p.m. ET.
The next Diamond League meet is May 10 in Doha, live on Peacock.
