Diamond League: Dani Samuels impresses in discus in Shanghai as Justin Gatlin wins 100m

AUSSIE discus star Dani Samuels threw a season best but it was American sprinter Justin Gatlin who stole the show at the Diamond League in Shanghai.

Justin Gatlin powers to victory in Shanghai.

AUSSIE discus star Dani Samuels threw a season best but it was American sprinter Justin Gatlin who stole the show at the Diamond League in Shanghai.

Gatlin, who has twice served bans for doping, was unbeaten at 100m and 200m in 2015 until he faced an out-of-form Usain Bolt in the world championships in Beijing last August.

Bolt, the Olympic champion, won both the races, but Gatlin showed in Shanghai that he was gearing up to challenge the Jamaican again at the Rio Games in August.

Gatlin led from the start and won in 9.94 seconds with Qatar’s Femi Ogunode, the quickest over 100m this year with 9.91 in Florida last month, finishing second in 10.07.

“I came out here to execute and I know being an Olympic year, it is a long season and my coach and I have a plan,” Gatlin said.

“He is training me like Mike Tyson to knock out the opposition and keep swinging.”

Samuels - the 2009 world champion - threw 67.77m to finish second behind Croatia’s Sandra Perkovic (70.88). Fellow Aussie Zoe Buckman was 11th in the 1500m while Madeline Hills failed to finish in the 3000m steeplechase. Hamish Peacock was fifth in the javelin.

Olympic and world men’s 800m champion David Rudisha had a disappointing outing as he fell behind in the home stretch and finished fifth with Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich snatching an unlikely win in 1:45.68.

American Aries Merritt, the Olympic 110m hurdles champion, was disqualified for a false start as Omar McLeod produced the year’s first sub-13 second performance to take his second Diamond League win this season.

In the pole vault, American Sam Kendricks set a personal best to beat world record holder and Olympic champion Renaud Lavillenie and world champion Shawn Barber in a major upset.

Originally published as Diamond League: Dani Samuels impresses in discus in Shanghai as Justin Gatlin wins 100m