U.S. sweeps Oslo 100m hurdles; former World champ sprinter hurt

By Nick ZaccardiJun 9, 2016, 7:45 PM EDT

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The U.S. depth in the 100m hurdles was evident in a sweep at a Diamond League meet in Oslo on Thursday.

Brianna Rollins, Dawn Harper-Nelson and Jasmin Stowers took the top three spots, but it’s likely at least one of them will not make the Olympic team.

That’s because of Keni Harrison, who wasn’t in Oslo but ran the second-fastest 100m hurdles of all time at the Pre Classic on May 28. Harrison clocked 12.24 seconds in Eugene, Ore., two weeks ago and owns the world’s four fastest times this year.

The top three in the Olympic Trials final on July 8 will make the Rio team.

The 2013 World champion Rollins, ranked No. 2 in the world this year, won in Oslo in 12.56 seconds into a slight headwind. Harper-Nelson, who finished first and second at the last two Olympics, was second in 12.75 in Oslo, followed by Stowers in 12.79.

Olympic champion Sally Pearson of Australia was last in 13.14 as she continues to return from a yearlong injury layoff.

Full Oslo results are here.

Also in Oslo, Canadian Andre De Grasse won the 100m in 10.07 seconds with a small tailwind behind him. De Grasse, 21, shared bronze at the 2015 World Championships in a personal-best 9.92 seconds but hasn’t been close to that form early this season.

“Next should be definitely a sub-10 seconds,” De Grasse said, according to the IAAF.

De Grasse beat a field in Oslo that didn’t include his Worlds podium mates Usain Bolt, Justin Gatlin and Trayvon Bromell.

Instead, the Canadian surged past a hobbled, 40-year-old Kim Collins for the victory. Collins, the 2003 World champion, grimaced as he limped across the finish line with a left groin cramp, according to his social media.

Dutch World champion Dafne Schippers won the women’s 200m in 21.93 seconds, the fastest time in the world this year. Schippers, a former heptathlete, is expected to challenge U.S. Olympic champion Allyson Felix for gold in Rio.

World silver medalist Elaine Thompson of Jamaica was a distant second to Schippers in Oslo in 22.64.

World 1500m champion Asbel Kiprop of Kenya remained undefeated in 1500m or mile races since May 30, 2015, winning a mile event in 3:51.48, .56 ahead of countryman and World 1500m silver medalist Elijah Manangoi. Olympic 1500m champion Taoufik Makhloufi of Algeria was third in 3:52.24.

In the 400m hurdles, surprise World champion Nicholas Bett of Kenya finished sixth, continuing a slow early season. Bett became the first Kenyan Olympic or World champion in a race shorter than 800m last year, when he also struggled early in the season.

U.S. Olympic team contenders Michael Tinsley and Kerron Clement were third and fourth behind Turkish winner Yasmani Copello.

World champion Joe Kovacs won the shot put with a 22.01-meter throw against a field that did not include top rival David Storl of Germany.

Olympic champion Renaud Lavillenie cleared 5.80 meters to win the pole vault over World champion Shawn Barber of Canada, who cleared 5.73.

The Diamond League continues in Stockholm next Thursday, the final meet of the series before the U.S. Olympic Trials that begin July 1.

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At the French Open, a Ukrainian mom makes her comeback

By OlympicTalkMay 31, 2023, 12:02 PM EDT

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Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, once the world’s third-ranked tennis player, is into the French Open third round in her first major tournament since childbirth.

Svitolina, 28, swept 2022 French Open semifinalist Martina Trevisan of Italy, then beat Australian qualifier Storm Hunter 2-6, 6-3, 6-1 to reach the last 32 at Roland Garros. She next plays 56th-ranked Russian Anna Blinkova, who took out the top French player, fifth seed Caroline Garcia, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 on her ninth match point.

Svitolina’s husband, French player Gael Monfils, finished his first-round five-set win after midnight on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. She watched that match on a computer before going to sleep ahead of her 11 a.m. start Wednesday.

“This morning, he told me, ‘I’m coming to your match, so make it worth it,'” she joked on Tennis Channel. “I was like, OK, no pressure.

“I don’t know what he’s doing here now. He should be resting.”

FRENCH OPEN DRAWS: Women | Men | Broadcast Schedule

Svitolina made at least one major quarterfinal every year from 2017 through 2021, including the semifinals at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2019. She married Monfils one week before the Tokyo Olympics, then won a singles bronze medal.

Svitolina played her last match before maternity leave on March 24, 2022, one month after Russia invaded her country. She gave birth to daughter Skai on Oct. 15.

Svitolina returned to competition in April. Last week, she won the tournament preceding the French Open, sweeping Blinkova to improve to 17-3 in her career in finals. She’s playing on a protected ranking of 27th after her year absence and, now, on a seven-match win streak.

“It was always in my head the plan to come back, but I didn’t put any pressure on myself, because obviously with the war going on, with the pregnancy, you never know how complicated it will go,” she said. “I’m as strong as I was before, maybe even stronger, because I feel that I can handle the work that I do off the court, and match by match I’m getting better. Also mentally, because mental can influence your physicality, as well.”

Svitolina said she’s motivated by goals to attain before she retires from the sport and to help Ukraine, such as donating her prize money from last week’s title in Strasbourg.

“These moments bring joy to people of Ukraine, to the kids as well, the kids who loved to play tennis before the war, and now maybe they don’t have the opportunity,” she said. “But these moments that can motivate them to look on the bright side and see these good moments and enjoy themselves as much as they can in this horrible situation.”

Svitolina was born in Odesa and has lived in Kharkiv, two cities that have been attacked by Russia.

“I talk a lot with my friends, with my family back in Ukraine, and it’s a horrible thing, but they are used to it now,” she said. “They are used to the alarms that are on. As soon as they hear something, they go to the bomb shelters. Sleepless nights. You know, it’s a terrible thing, but they tell me that now it’s a part of their life, which is very, very sad.”

Svitolina noted that she plays with a flag next to her name — unlike the Russians and Belarusians, who are allowed to play as neutral athletes.

“When I step on the court, I just try to think about the fighting spirit that all of us Ukrainians have and how Ukrainians are fighting for their values, for their freedom in Ukraine,” she said, “and me, I’m fighting here on my own front line.”

Svitolina said that she’s noticed “a lot of rubbish” concerning how tennis is reacting to the war.

“We have to focus on what the main point of what is going on,” she said. “Ukrainian people need help and need support. We are focusing on so many things like empty words, empty things that are not helping the situation, not helping anything.

“I want to invite everyone to focus on helping Ukrainians. That’s the main point of this, to help kids, to help women who lost their husbands because they are at the war, and they are fighting for Ukraine.

“You can donate. Couple of dollars might help and save lives. Or donate your time to something to help people.”

Also Wednesday, 108th-ranked Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis ousted three-time major champion Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3 in four and a half hours. Wawrinka’s exit leaves Novak Djokovic as the lone man in the draw who has won the French Open and Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz as the lone men left who have won any major.

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Marcell Jacobs still sidelined, misses another race with Fred Kerley

By OlympicTalkMay 31, 2023, 7:07 AM EDT

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Olympic 100m champion Marcell Jacobs of Italy will miss another scheduled clash with world 100m champion Fred Kerley, withdrawing from Friday’s Diamond League meet in Florence.

Jacobs, 28, has not recovered from the nerve pain that forced him out of last Sunday’s Diamond League meet in Rabat, Morocco, according to Italy’s track and field federation.

In his absence, Kerley’s top competition will be fellow American Trayvon Bromell, the world bronze medalist, and Kenyan Ferdinand Omanyala, the world’s fastest man this year at 9.84 seconds. Kerley beat both of them in Rabat.

The Florence Diamond League airs live on Peacock on Friday from 2-4 p.m. ET.

Jacobs has withdrawn from six scheduled head-to-heads with Kerley dating to May 2022 due to a series of health issues since that surprise gold in Tokyo.

Kerley, primarily a 400m sprinter until the Tokyo Olympic year, became the world’s fastest man in Jacobs’ absence. He ran a personal best 9.76 seconds, the world’s best time of 2022, at last June’s USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships. Then he led a U.S. sweep of the medals at July’s worlds.

Jacobs’ next scheduled race is a 100m at the Paris Diamond League on June 9. Kerley is not in that field, but world 200m champion Noah Lyles is.

The last time the reigning Olympic and world men’s 100m champions met in a 100m was the 2012 London Olympic final between Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake. From 2013 to 2017, Bolt held both titles, then retired in 2017 while remaining reigning Olympic champion until Jacobs’ win in Tokyo, where Kerley took silver.

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