Keely Hodgkinson beaten into second by Odira in Eugene
Olympic 800 meters champion Keely Hodgkinson defeated her second straight Diamond League race by finishing behind Lilian Odira in the Eugene race.
The Kenyan athlete, the last world champion in the distance, passed the Briton at home and won in one minute 56.19 seconds.
This was Odira’s best performance this season; Hodgkinson crossed the line second in one minute 56.73 seconds, well short of the British record set by Audrey Werro in Stockholm in June.
This was also well short of the record of one minute and 53.28 seconds set by Czech athlete Jarmila Kratochvilova in 1983.
But that never seemed like a realistic goal in Oregon; Hodgkinson came into the race severely injured in both knees following a bad fall and had a difficult start as a result.
It has been a mixed season for Hodgkinson, who was forced to withdraw from the 400m final at the British Athletics Championships last month because he felt “a bit of pain”.
The 24-year-old is racing at a shorter distance with the aim of improving his first lap speed and challenging the 800m world record this summer.
Meanwhile, Britain’s Georgia Hunter Bell lowered her personal best in the women’s mile with a time of four minutes, 18.52 seconds, but this time was only good enough for eighth place.
Laura Muir faded in the closing stages to take a distant 10th place in the race won by American Nikki Hiltz, who timed her sprint to perfection to edge Kenyan Dorcus Ewoi and world record holder Faith Kipyegon.
World champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden won the women’s 100 meters race in 10.78 seconds, while Sha’Carri Richardson came second with 10.79 and British Dina Asher-Smith came ninth.
19-year-old American junior sprinter Tate Taylor made his Diamond League debut with a personal best of 19.75 seconds and won the men’s 200 meters ahead of Olympic gold medalist Letsile Tebogo.
In the men’s 100 meters, Nigerian Kayinsola Ajayi beat world champion Oblique Seville with a time of 9.84 seconds, while American Christian Coleman came third.
