Ohuruogu beaten again in repeat of London 2012 final

 

It was the same in the 1912 Olympic Stadium in Stockholm last night as it had been in the 2012 Olympic Stadium 12 days previously. When it came to the crunch in the women's 400m in the DN Galan Diamond League meeting, just as in the one-lap final in London, Christine Ohuruogu could not catch the American Sanya Richards-Ross.

The 28-year-old Briton gave it a go, blasting out a quick opening 200m, but this time she faded in the home straight instead of closing on Richards-Ross all of the way to the line. A close runner-up on home ground in London, Ohuruogu finished down in third in 50.77sec.

Richards-Ross was a good way clear of her, winning in 49.89sec. Amantle Montsho, the world champion from Botswana who was run out of the medals in London, claimed the runner-up spot in 50.03sec.

It was not the best of nights for the British athletes in action in the first Diamond League fixture since the Olympics closed. Indeed, Ohuruogu was the only one who managed a top-three placing.

Shara Proctor was fourth in the long jump with 6.68m. Olympic champion Brittney Reese of the United States finished down in ninth with 6.23m. It was that kind of night for some who had scaled Olympian heights in London.

Jenn Suhr, the newly-crowned Olympic pole vault champion, failed to register a valid mark. The American entered the competition at 4.55m and knocked off the bar with all three of her attempts. At least Holly Bleasdale made her presence felt but the 20-year-old did not hit any great heights. She finished a disappointing sixth in the Olympic final and she again struggled to get into her groove, taking three attempts to get over 4.31m and two to clear 4.46m. She proceeded to fail three times at 4.55m and finished down in seventh place.

Adam Gemili had a better evening. The 18-year-old sprinter did not get off to the best of starts in the men's 100m but he recovered to take fifth place in 10.22sec, backing up his Olympic semi-final appearance and easing the disappointment of his 4x100m relay disqualification. Ryan Bailey of the US was a clear winner in 9.93sec.

In all, there were 11 London Olympic winners in action and the first to come to grief was Felix Sanchez in the 400m hurdles. The surprise gold medallist in London, the 34-year-old from the Dominican Republic had to be content with second place in 48.93sec. He was beaten by the Olympic runner-up, Michael Tinsley of the US claiming victory in 48.50sec.

Welshman Rhys Williams, a semi-finalist in London, finished sixth in 49.93sec. His GB team-mate Laura Weightman was back in eighth in the women's 1500m, clearly feeling the effects of a draining Olympic campaign in which she got to the final. The Morpeth Harrier finished 5.10sec down on Maryam Jamal, the Olympic bronze medallist from Bahrain prevailing in 4min 01.19sec.

It proved to be a sparkling occasion for the most recent Olympic track and field champion. Valerie Adams claimed a diamond as a reward for a stadium record of 20.20m in the shot putt. The New Zealander is still waiting for the gold medal from the Games after being promoted from second place following the positive drugs test returned by Nadezhda Ostapchuk of Belarus. "When I get home, there's going to be a huge celebration, with four million people and 60 million sheep," Adams said.

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