Doha, May 17 (UNI) India’s Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra breached the elusive 90-metre mark for the first time in his career with a stunning 90.23m effort at the Doha Diamond League on Friday night, but was denied victory in dramatic fashion by Germany’s Julian Weber, who unleashed a world-leading 91.06m in the final round.
Chopra, the Tokyo 2020 gold medallist and reigning World silver medallist, had set the tone early with the landmark throw—making him only the second Indian to achieve the feat after Shivpal Singh’s 90.10m in 2019 (under wind-aided conditions). The 26-year-old raised his arms in triumph after the throw, celebrating a major personal milestone.
But Weber, the 2022 European champion, saved his best for last, sending down a huge sixth-round throw to eclipse Chopra’s mark and claim his first Diamond League win of the season. Two-time world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada finished third with 85.34m.
The meet, third on the 2025 Diamond League calendar, saw several world-leading performances and Olympic rematches across track and field.
Jamaica’s Tia Clayton blazed to a world lead of 10.92 seconds in the women’s 100m, beating a strong field that included the returning Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who finished fourth in her first competitive race since 2022. Fraser-Pryce, a three-time Olympic gold medallist, was warmly welcomed back to the circuit.
Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, the reigning Olympic champion in the men’s 200m, held off a fast-finishing Courtney Lindsey of the USA by just 0.01 seconds, clocking 20.10 to Lindsey’s 20.11 in a thrilling finish.
In field events, Molly Caudery of Great Britain continued her fine form, clearing 4.75m to win the women’s pole vault ahead of a stacked field that included Olympic champions Katie Moon and Sandi Morris of the USA. Italy’s Roberta Bruni and Moon shared second with identical clearances of 4.63m.
Jamaica’s Rasheed Broadbell secured victory in the men’s 110m hurdles with a time of 13.14s, while the USA’s Shelby McEwen avenged his Paris Olympic defeat by clearing 2.26m to win the men’s high jump ahead of New Zealand’s Hamish Kerr (2.23m).
Kenya’s distance runners reigned supreme once again, with Reynold Cheruiyot taking the men’s 5000m in 13:16.40, Faith Cherotich winning the women’s 3000m steeplechase in 9:05.08, and Nelly Chepchirchir topping the women’s 1500m in 4:05.00.
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