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The women's 800m race proved to be a spectacle of speed and competition, with British Keely Hodgkinson, an Olympic and World silver medalist, storming to victory in a sensational British record time of 1:55.77.
2019 World 800m champion, Halima Nakaayi achieved her season-best performance in a promising performance at the Paris Diamond League on Friday evening.
Despite finishing in sixth place, Nakaayi's impressive time of 1:58.81 was almost a second better than her previous best time of 01:59.35 from Los Angeles in May.
The women's 800m race proved to be a spectacle of speed and competition, with British Keely Hodgkinson, an Olympic and World silver medalist, storming to victory in a sensational British record time of 1:55.77.
The level of competition was exceptional, as nine out of the 11 runners in the race achieved sub-two-minute finishes, highlighting the exceptional talent and depth of the field.
Making her fourth appearance of the season, Nakaayi demonstrated her strength and tenacity throughout the race.
She stayed within touching distance of the podium midaway through the race, but was beaten to the finish line over the final 100m dash.
It is still work in progress for Nakaayi and her new coach, Tim Rowberry – who also handles Sifan Hassan. The two have worked together for less than six months, but there is considerable improvement.
And Rowberry believes it is still only a matter of time, telling the Daily Monitor on Wednesday; “The process of getting things right with a new coach/athlete dynamic takes time.”
“We’re testing in every race with different tactics so we can go back to training and keep adapting,” he added.
Prior to the race, Nakaayi expressed her eagerness to continually improve and achieve favourable results, and her performance in France helps build momentum as she continues her build up to the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
Nakaayi broke the elusive two-minute barrier at the Los Angeles Grand Prix, securing a commendable second-place finish with a time of 1:59.35.
Last week, she continued her impressive streak with a third-place finish of 1:59.40 at the Janusz Kusociński Memorial in Chorzów, Poland, marking her third consecutive podium placement.
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