Michael Norman Breaks the 200-Meter Meet Record at the Rome Golden Gala

By Adam Kopet

The Diamond League shined in Rome for the fourth stop on the 2019 circuit. The Italian President Sergio Mattarella was on hand for this year's Rome Golden Gala.

Headlining the meet was the showdown between Noah Lyles and Michael Norman in the 200 meters. This was their second meeting since the pair raced to fourth and fifth as high school seniors at the 2016 Olympic Trials, just missing qualifying for the Olympic Games.

RESULTS

Coming into this race, both Lyles and Norman were world leaders. Lyles owns the world lead in the 100 meters at 9.86 seconds, after beating Christian Coleman in Shanghai. Norman opened his season with a 400-meter world lead at the Mt. SAC Relays in 43.45.

Competing in the Italian capital, Norman got off to the better start. Hard running through the turn left Lyles trying to make up ground on the leading Norman. Charging down the home straight, Lyles made up ground on Norman, but he ran out of real estate. Norman crossed the line the winner in 19.70. That was not only a personal best for the 21-year old, but a meet record and world-leading performance.

Lyles finished second in 19.72. It was his fastest 200-meter season debut in his career, but it was also his first loss at 200 meters since the 2016 Olympic Trials final. Lyles is expected to focus on the 200 meters next month at the USATF Outdoor Championships, the qualifying meet for the IAAF World Outdoor Championships. Norman is expected to focus on the 400 meters.

The men's 800 meters also featured a close finish between Donavan Brazier and Botswana's Nijel Amos. Amos, a member of the Oregon Track Club Elite, slotted in behind his training partner and in this case pacemaker, Harun Abda, reaching 400 meters right at 50 seconds.

With 200 meters to go, Kenya's Wyclife Kinyamal bolted into the lead, but his move was ill-fated. Coming off the final turn, Amos and Brazier were right on his heels and he had started moving backwards through the field.

Amos took over the lead on the home straight, but it was the hard-charging Brazier who just nipped Amos at the line, winning in 1:43.63 to Amos' 1:43.65. It was Brazier's fastest time since he won the 800 meters at the 2016 NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Championships.

Canada's Brandon McBride finished third in 1:43.90. Kenya's Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich was fourth in 1:44.11 and Clayton Murphy was fifth in 1:44.59. Kinyamal faded to sixth in 1:44.65.

Dalilah Muhammad continued her winning streak in the 400-meter hurdles this season. Her winning time of 53.67 was just off her world-leading time of 53.61. Shamier Little was second in 54.40.

Ethiopia's Genzebe Dibaba held off Great Britain's Laura Muir to win the women's 1,500 meters in 3:56.28. Muir was second in 3:56.73. Jenny Simpson finished fourth in a season's best 4:01.18. Elinor Purrier earned a five-second personal best with her seventh-place finish in 4:02.34.

The men's 5,000 meters went out at world-record pace in the early going. It was not a pace the top athletes could maintain, but the race remained fast. Ethiopia's Selemon Barega, the fourth-fastest man ever, showed his speed on the final lap to take the lead, but fellow countryman Telehun Haile Bekele was able to pass on the inside in the final meters to win in a world-leading 12:52.98. Barega finished just behind in 12:53.04.

In all, six men broke 13 minutes, including Canada's Mo Ahmed, who ran 12:58.16. However, that is still three seconds off the Bowerman Track Club record of 12:55.53, set by Chris Solinsky in 2010. Finishing in 10th and 11th were Justyn Knight of Canada and Ben True, running 13:09.76 and 13:09.81, respectively. Both earned the world and Olympic standards.

In the women's 100 meters, Jamaica's Elaine Thompson won the 100 meters in a world-leading 10.89. Great Britain's Dina Asher-Smith finished just behind in 10.94. Aleia Hobbs was third in 11.12.

On the field, Omar Craddock got a close win in the triple jump over Portugal's Pedro Pablo Pichardo. Pichardo took the lead on his opening jump with a mark of 57-3.75 (17.47m). Then in the second round, Craddock jumped out to a mark of 57-5 (17.50m) to take the lead. No one would better those marks as Craddock held on for the win. Donald Scott jumped a personal-best 57-2.25 (17.43m) to finish third.

In the women's horizontal jumps, Germany's Malaika Mihambo leaped out to 23-2.50 (7.07m) in the fourth round of the long jump to not only win, but cross the 7-meter barrier for the first time in competition. Colombia's Caterine Ibarguen finished second with a jump of 22-6.50 (6.87m). Brittney Reese led early with her first round jump of 22-1.75 (6.75m), but she could only improve to 22-2.25 (6.76m). Reese finished third.