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This is Stuart Weir’s second piece on the Silesia DL meeting, which happened on August 25, 2024.
100h
There were so many significant events in the Silesia Diamond League that it may seem invidious to choose one – but I will! The women’s 100-meter hurdles were everything that one might have expected and more. Intriguingly, 16 athletes were vying for a place in the final. The field included the 2024 Olympic Champion, the 2023 World Champion, and six Paris Olympic finalists.
The first semi was won by Danielle Williams in 12.37, the second by Ackera Nugent in 12.30. The qualifying time for the final was 12.56, which unfortunately excluded local favorite Pia Skrzyszowska. The final saw Keni Harrison run 12.52 for eighth place. The winner was Ackera Nugent in 12.29 from Grace Stark in 12.37, World Champion Danielle Williams third in 12.38, and Olympic Champion Masai Russell fourth in 12.40. Remarkable times for a routine Diamond League.
Nugent, who reached the Olympic final but failed to finish, commented on her victory in Poland: “This is my first year of competing as a professional, and I feel grateful to just be able to compete against these great ladies. I am just getting used to running on the circuit. Coming here to compete against all the best in the world, on the one hand, I did not expect to win; on the other, I knew I just had to execute well and do everything that was under my control. I do not know what is to come for me next season; I just want to have confidence in what I am doing and let things take their turn”.
I exchanged messages with Danielle Williams about how she could run 12.37 and 12.38 in the same afternoon and still not win. She replied: “The hurdles landscape has been changed drastically.”
With a 100m hurdles race in Rome and Zurich, places are still at stake in the Diamond League final in Brussels.
Interview with Ackera Nugent available at https://diamondleague.virtualmixedzone.com/interview/ackera-nugent-womens-100m-hurdles/
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