Noah Lyles, Gabby Thomas Among Four Americans To Win At Diamond League Opener

Noah Lyles of United States reacts after winning the mens 200 meters during the Wanda Diamond League Athletics Doha 2022 meeting on May 13, 2022 in Doha, Qatar. 

American women swept the shot put podium while Keni Harrison, Noah Lyles and Gabby Thomas added wins of their own as the Diamond League season opened Friday in Doha, Qatar.
In total, U.S. athletes recorded eight podium finishes in Doha, which marked the first of 14 stops on track and field’s premier global circuit. The strong U.S. showing comes a little more than two months before the world championships July 15-24 in Eugene, Oregon.
Chase Ealey led the way in a dominant U.S. performance in the women’s shot put. Coming off a silver medal at the indoor world championships in March, she won with a season’s best throw of 19.51 meters. Rounding out the podium were fellow Americans Maggie Ewen at 19.32 meters and Olympian Jessica Ramsey at 18.99 meters, while reigning Olympic silver medalist Raven Saunders was sixth at 18.71 meters.
In perhaps the day’s most hotly anticipated event, Lyles held off fellow American Fred Kerley to win the men’s 200-meter race by .03 seconds, with reigning Olympic champion Andre de Grasse of Canada not far behind.
Lyle, the Olympic bronze medalist and reigning world champion, won in 19.72. Kerley, who won a silver medal in the 100 at the Tokyo Games, finished second in 19.75. De Grasse and Trinidad & Tobago’s Jereem Richards each ran 20.15, though Richards was given the edge in the standings.
“I perform better under pressure, the crowd makes me excited,” Lyles said after, according to flash quotes provided by the organizers. “Actually, I feel good and satisfied about my position right now. My plan for the world championship is to win, to always win.”

Gabby Thomas of the United States looks on after the women's 200 meter dash during the Mt SAC Relays Elite Division & USATF Golden Games on April 16, 2022 in Walnut, California.

Thomas did some winning of her own in the women’s 200-meter, running a season-best 21.98 seconds to hold off Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson at 22.07. Thomas is coming off a bronze medal in the event in Tokyo, while Jackson won bronze in the 100 there. Dina Asher-Smith, the 2019 world champion from Great Britain, took third in 22.37.
Harrison claimed the other U.S. win in Doha, beating Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan by .01 seconds in the women’s 100-meter hurdles. Harrison, who won a silver medal in the event in Tokyo, clocked in at 12.43 seconds.
Rounding out the U.S. podiums in Doha, defending Olympic silver medalist Rai Benjamin finished in the same position in the men’s 400-meter hurdles. His season-best run of 47.49 seconds trailed only that of Brazil’s Alison dos Santos, the Olympic bronze medalist who ran a world-leading time of 47.24.
Among other notable results in Doha, two-time Olympian Hillary Bor took fourth in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, and 2019 world champion Donavan Brazier was sixth in the men’s 800-meter race.
The Diamond League series continues May 21 with a stop in Birmingham, England.