Racing in desert storm like conditions Thomas Barr produced another finely-timed run at the Diamond League meeting in Doha on Friday evening, nailing third place and taking some notable scalps in the process.
The first stop on the 2022 Diamond League tour, Barr was in world-class company on his season debut, including four Olympic finalists from Tokyo last summer. Here, bronze medal winner Alison dos Santos from Brazil upset silver medal winner Rai Benjamin of the USA, clocking a meeting record of 47.24 seconds despite the windy conditions.
Benjamin clocked 47.49 in second, then came Barr in 49.67, coming through on the inside lane two to overtake Kyron McMaster of the British Virgin Islands, who had finished fourth in Tokyo.
Also behind Barr in sixth was Yasmani Coppello from Turkey, running 50.30, who was sixth in Tokyo, and won bronze in Rio, where Barr finished fourth, just .05 behind.
Such were the windy conditions in Doha the pole vault was cancelled, Barr clearly pleased with his run, with two championships to aim for this summer – the World Championships in Oregon in July, and the European Championships in Munich in August, having won bronze in the previous edition in Berlin in 2018.
