The World Indoor 1,500m finalist, Kieran Lumb of Vancouver, kicked off his outdoor season on the track with a 1,500m personal best at the Doha Diamond League on Friday evening in Qatar.
Lumb placed eighth in 3:34.41, shaving more than a tenth of a second off his previous best of 3:34.54 from last year. His time was just 0.9 seconds off the men’s Olympic 1,500m standard of 3:33.50.
“I felt good today and happy with how I executed,” Lumb told Canadian Running post-race. “I know if I keep competing well the times will come.”
This was Lumb’s first 1,500m race of the 2024 outdoor season, continuing his late success from last fall, where he set a Canadian record over 3,000m, won a Canadian XC title and finished fourth in the road mile at the World Road Running Championships in Latvia.
Lumb is one of 19 athletes currently sitting in an Olympic qualification spot on points for the men’s 1,500m. To solidify his spot, he would need to run the standard of 3:33.50 before June 30. Charles Philibert-Thiboutot is the only Canadian 1,500m runner with the Olympic standard.
Kenny Bednarek runs 200m world lead, Aaron Brown fifth
One of the most exciting races of the night came from American sprinter Kenny Bednarek in the men’s 200m. Bednarek continued his exceptional form from World Relays into Doha, winning the men’s 200m in a world-leading time of 19.67 seconds (+1.7 m/s) ahead of his U.S. 4x100m relay teammates Courtney Lindsey (20.01) and Kyree King (20.21).
World lead, @dldoha meeting record and personal best.@kenny_bednarek did not come to play! 🔥#DiamondLeague pic.twitter.com/AjTQHbeMCN
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) May 10, 2024
Canada’s Aaron Brown finished fifth in a season’s best time of 20.29 seconds. Brown already has the Olympic standard of 20.16 seconds in the 200m, which he achieved last year at the Brussels Diamond League.
To view the full results from Doha Diamond League, click here. The next stop on the Diamond League circuit is in Rabat, Morocco on May 19.
