A month after being edged at the finish line, Christian Coleman left no doubt on Thursday. He is the world’s fastest man this year, not to mention this Olympic cycle.
Coleman won the 100m at a Diamond League meet in Oslo in 9.85 seconds, breaking his tie with Noah Lyles and Nigerian collegian Divine Oduduru atop the 2019 world rankings. Neither Lyles nor Divine was in Thursday’s race, but neither of them has ever broken 9.86, either.
“I’m pretty excited about it. It was a good run and a pretty good time,” Coleman said, according to meet organizers. “Now I’ll look back at the video and critique it. It wasn’t ideal conditions but ... I executed better than in the last race.”
Lyles put Coleman’s 100m dominance to the test, beating him by .006 on May 18 in Coleman’s first race since Aug. 31. Both clocked 9.86 in Shanghai.
But Lyles is focusing on the 200m this season, while Coleman is bidding to race both the 100m and 200m at the USATF Outdoor Championships next month. The top three at nationals qualify for those individual events at worlds.
Coleman has progressed from being strictly a 4x100m prelim runner at the Rio Olympics to taking silver at the 2017 World Championships between Justin Gatlin and Usain Bolt. Then last year, Coleman came back from an early season hamstring injury to clock 9.79, the world’s fastest time since the Rio Olympics.
Full Oslo results are here. The Diamond League moves to Rabat, Morocco, on Sunday with live coverage on NBC Sports Gold.
In other events in Oslo, 19-year-old Sydney McLaughlin beat the reigning Olympic, world and U.S. champions to become the 400m hurdles favorite for next month’s USATF Outdoor Championships as well as the world championships.
McLaughlin, who in Rio became the youngest U.S. track and field athlete to compete at an Olympics in 44 years, rebounded from hitting the first hurdle and coming around the last curve multiple steps behind Dalilah Muhammad.
She passed the Olympic champion in the sprint off the last hurdle for her first career win over Muhammad in her Diamond League 400m hurdles debut.
McLaughlin’s time -- 54.16 and .19 faster than Muhammad -- was .02 slower than her domestic season opener, but she beat not only Muhammad but also U.S. champ Shamier Little and world champ Kori Carter.
“It wasn’t the cleanest race for me, but I came back strong, and that shows me where I am fitness-wise,” McLaughlin said, according to meet organizers. “It was a sloppy race, but I pulled through.”
World champion Emma Coburn took fourth in the 3000m steeplechase, 4.71 seconds behind Kenyan winner Norah Jeruto. Jeruto clocked 9:03.71, handing countrywoman and world-record holder Beatrice Chepkoech her first steeple loss since May 31, 2018.
Olympic champion Brianna McNeal was disqualified from the 100m hurdles for a false start. Another American, Christina Clemons, ended up winning in 12.69. McNeal has yet to race world-record holder Keni Harrison this season. They ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in the world last year -- Harrison in 12.36 and McNeal in 12.38.
World champion Johannes Vetter won the javelin but pulled out after one legal, 85.27-meter throw with a right adductor injury. He was competing for the first time since August after missing time with a left leg injury.
World champion Sam Kendricks won a pole vault duel with Swede Mondo Duplantis by clearing 5.91 meters. Duplantis, who turned pro after his freshman season at LSU, cleared 6.05 meters at the 2018 European Championships, matching the world’s best since 2001.
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