MARSCHALL CLEARS 5.72m IN MONACO

Kurtis Marschall (SA) has narrowly missed a personal best leap to place equal 6th in the men’s pole vault at Meeting Herculis in Monaco (MON) early this morning.

Competing at only his second IAAF Diamond League meet, Marschall missed his maiden leap at 5.45m before a second attempt clearance boosted his confidence. A 5.60m jump followed, then his final mark of 5.72m, just one-centimetre shy of his personal best from Lausanne (SUI) earlier this month.

Marschall’s result is his second best ever clearance alongside a 5.72m result in Cairns (Qld) last month and continues an impressive season for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games debutant that began with a qualifying performance for next month’s IAAF World Championships in Adelaide (SA) in February.

It also saw him claim the scalps of Olympic gold medallist Thiago Braz (BRA) and the reigning world champion Shawn Barber (CAN).

Not to be outdone in the women’s 100m hurdles was Sally Pearson (Qld), with the renowned hurdler clocking 12.68 (w: -0.2) to record the same time as Nia Ali (USA) before being edged out in the photo finish.

A tight race, Kendra Harrison (USA) took the win in 12.51 and was joined on the podium by Sharika Nelvis (USA, 12.52) and Danielle Williams (JAM, 12.58).

In other highlights from the IAAF Diamond League in Monaco (MON), world leads were set in all of the men’s 1500m and men’s and women’s 800m, with Elijah Manangoi (KEN, 3:28.30), Emmanuel Korir (KEN, 1:43.10) and Caster Semenya (RSA, 1:55.27) setting the tone for what will be impressive middle distance duels at the IAAF World Championships next month.

To view and download complete results from the IAAF Diamond League in Monaco (MON), please click here.