Aussie Yual Reath soars in Diamond League high jump
Australian high jumper Yual Reath has bounced back superbly from an injury scare and just been pipped for what would have been a maiden Diamond League triumph in Morocco.
Star New Zealander Hamish Kerr claimed the victory on countback with 2.25m.
Reath, 25, and Italy's Marco Fasinotti cleared the same height on Sunday (Monday AEST) but were forced to share second place as the Kiwi had gone over 2.25m at the first attempt.
American duo Shelby McEwen and JuVaughn Harrison, both global medallists, finished outside the podium places in Rabat.
"I'm happy with that. It's been a long build- up, things have been delayed but I'm slowly getting better with each competition," said Ballarat-based Reath, who hit back hard following a setback at last week's Seiko Golden Grand Prix in Japan.
"Back in Tokyo, I scissored two metres; next minute I looked at my leg and I had ripped through my ankle.
"I had to get 20 plus stitches, it must have been my spikes once I landed on the bag.
"I told the first aid 'strap it up, I'm finishing this competition'. It was a lot of mental work because I could still feel it, but I had to keep going."
Rising Australian middle-distance star Jude Thomas set a personal best of three minutes 33.35 seconds to finish 10th a physical men's 1500m.
It was less than half a second outside the qualifying mark for September's world championships in Tokyo.
Sarah Billings was seventh in the women's 1500m and Stawell Gift winner Bree Rizzo (11.43) was last in the women's 100m on her Diamond League debut.
Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo's sprint double bid fell apart as he finished last in the 100m and retired from the 200m.
Botswana's Tebogo clocked 10.43, with South Africa's Akani Simbine winning the 100m race in 9.95, his third Diamond League victory of the season.
In the men's 800m, Botswana's Tshepiso Masalela celebrated his 26th birthday in style, dominating the race to win in a world-leading 1:42.70, comfortably ahead of Britain's Max Burgin and Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya.
American Jacory Patterson produced a late surge to edge South Africa's Zakithi Nene and win the men's 400m in 44.37.
Kenyan Beatrice Chebet ran almost alone to win the women's 3000m in 8:11.56 - the second fastest time in history behind Wang Junxia's 8:06.11 in 1993.
"I am so, so happy. I wasn't trying to set a world record. I just came to run my personal best, and that's what I did," Chebet said.
With Reuters.
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