Christopher Morales Williams 5th at Diamond League Rabat in 400m outdoor season debut
Fellow Canadian Alysha Newman exits early from women's pole vault in Morocco
It was a Sunday of mixed results for Canadians Christopher Morales Williams and Alysha Newman at the fourth Diamond League professional track and field meet of the season.
Morales made his outdoor season debut in the men's 400 metres and finished fifth in 45.16 seconds in Rabat, Morocco, over one second slower than his 44.05 personal best.
The 20-year-old from Maple, Ont., set the PB last May 11 and had raced five times in the event at this time a year ago.
Morales Williams entered Sunday's race ranked 18th in the world. American Quincy Hall ranked third and was third in Rabat (44.90).
Last season, Morales Williams competed in two Diamond League events after winning an NCAA title during his sophomore season at the University of Georgia.
He placed sixth at both meets, in Monaco on July 12 and eight days later in London.
On Aug. 6, Morales Williams clocked 45.25 in the third and final semifinal heat of his Olympic debut in Paris.
World No. 16 Jacory Patterson of the United States, who won in 44.37 at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium. He ran a season world-leading 43.98 on May 3 in a second-place finish at the Grand Slam Track competition in Miramar, Fla.
"It feels great to be the fastest man of the year and race in my first Diamond League," Patterson said. "I worked hard, just as everyone else [did], that's it.
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"For sure, I can go much faster. It's still early in the season and I don't want to peak now."
On Sunday, Zakithi Nene of South Africa was second in 44.46.
WATCH | Full replay coverage of Sunday's Diamond League meet in Morocco:
Newman has glute injury
In women's pole vault, Newman retired from the competition for undisclosed reasons after her first attempt at clearing 4.35 metres. She jumped 4.20m on her second try to start the event.
"I felt really excited to jump yesterday but did something to my glute," she said, referring to the group of three muscles that make up the buttock area. "I took one attempt [at 4.35m] and called it [a day]. On my way home to get it looked at."
Nine days ago, Newman opened her outdoor season placing eighth (4.48m) in Doha, Qatar.
The 2024 Olympic women's bronze medallist holds the Canadian record of 4.85. In February, she was second (4.50m) at the World Athletics Indoor Tour meet in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
WATCH | Newman opens up about life lessons:
Last Sept. 14, Newman was third at the Diamond League Final in Brussels, matching her 2019 and 2017 results in the Belgium city.
American Katie Moon won Sunday with a 4.73m clearance after placing third in Doha on May 16. She missed all three tries at 4.80.
Watch all the action from every Diamond League event this season on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem. Click here for the full broadcast schedule.
"I felt better than in Doha. I am more focused and able to do better on the runway," she said. "Of course, I would have loved to jump higher because training goes really well. But I had some really good jumps today and I am executing better than ever in competition.
"I will go home for the next few weeks because of how long the season is. I want to break it up, I will come back for [the Meeting de Paris on June 20] and probably London [on July 19]."
Tina Sutej of Slovakia and Gabriela Leon of the U.S. each cleared 4.63 but Sutej was awarded second after missing four jumps to Leon's six.
Tebogo double sprint bid falters
Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo's Diamond League sprint double bid fell apart on Sunday as he finished last in the 100 metres and retired from the 200.
Botswana's Tebogo clocked 10.43 seconds, with South Africa's Akani Simbine winning in 9.95, his third Diamond League victory of the season.
However, 70 minutes after his 100m race, Tebogo did not even start in the 200m and American Courtney Lindsey, who finished second in Doha last month, claimed his first victory of the season with a time of 20.04 seconds.
WATCH | Victorious Simbine lone man to run sub-10 seconds in 100m:
Other results:
- In the men's 800m, Botswana's Tshepiso Masalela celebrated his 26th birthday in style, dominating the race to win in a world-leading 1:42.70, comfortably ahead of Britain's Max Burgin in second and Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya in third.
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Another American who produced a thrilling finish was 28-year-old Jonah Koech, knocking six seconds off his personal best to win the men's 1500 in 3:31.43, setting a meeting record.
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Kenyan Beatrice Chebet ran almost alone to win the women's 3000 in 8:11.56 — the second fastest time in history behind Wang Junxia's 8:06.11 in 1993.
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Netherlands' Femke Bol set a new meeting record in the women's 400 hurdles, winning unchallenged in 52.46 seconds.
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Jamaican Shericka Jackson also turned up the heat in the women's 100, running 11.04 seconds for her first win of 2025 after overcoming a slow start to beat U.S. pair Maia McCoy and Jacious Sears.
The next Diamond League meet is the Golden Gala in Rome on June 6.
WATCH: Shericka Jackson prevails in her 1st outdoor 100m race of 2025:
For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.
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With files from Reuters
