Ruswahl Samaai started off with a no-jump, but recovered to equal the leading distance at the Shanghai Diamond League on Saturday.
But the South African long jump champion was pushed into second place on countback with an 8.14m effort, which was equalled by Chinese star Xinglong Gao.
The difference between the two was the fact that Gao reached his distance with his second jump, while Samaai did it with his fifth attempt.
But the Paarl-born athlete is still the No 1-ranked long jumper in 2016, having won the SA title in Stellenbosch in April with a fantastic 8.34m, and he will still feel confident about his build-up to the Rio Olympics in August.
The major issue for Samaai on Saturday was the fluctuating wind, as he had three no-jumps out of six. “I am pretty happy with today. Okay, I lost on countback, but that is sport – you win some, you lose some. The bigger distances will come later in the season,” he told the Diamond League website.
While Samaai came second, veteran 400m hurdler LJ van Zyl came fourth against a star-studded field that included world champion Nicholas Bett of Kenya and world-class runners such as Americans Kerron Clement and Michael Tinsley.
Van Zyl, though, recorded his best time of the year so far of 49.13, eclipsing his 49.34 he ran in winning the SA title at Coetzenburg last month.
It is still relatively early in the season for the top athletes as they hope to peak in Rio in August, so the 30-year-old Van Zyl will be encouraged by his time. He went out fast, taking the lead in the first 200m or so, but coming to the home straight, Tinsley opened up and won convincingly in 48.90.
Poland’s Patryk Dobek was second in 49.01, while Bahamas athlete Jeffrey Gibson finished in third with 49.11. Bett, Clement and Javier Culson ended among the also-rans.
“I really wanted to execute that second bend and I felt that I did that quite well,” Tinsley said. “I was under a lot of pressure on the home straight and it was good that I managed to hold them off.”
The third South African at the meet, 800m Free State athlete Rynardt van Rensburg, tried to stay with the pack but couldn’t hold as a trio of Kenyans were just too quick. Van Rensburg came seventh in 1:46.69, but there was a major upset as world record-holder David Rudisha battled to get going and was reduced to fourth position in 1:46.24.
Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich took the honours in 1:45.68, followed by fellow Kenyans Robert Biwott (1:45.84) and Alfred Kipketer (1:45.93).
Some of the other highlights came in the men’s 100m hurdles, where Olympic champion Aries Merritt was one of two athletes to be disqualified for a false start. But that didn’t stop Jamaican Omar McLeod streaking to victory in 12.98. As expected, American Justin Gatlin won comfortably in the 100m in 9.94.
In the women’s 200m, Ivory Coast star Murielle Ahouré clocked a quick 22.72 to outlast Jamaican Veronica Campbell-Brown (22.82), while the Bahamas’ Shaunae Miller claimed victory in the 400m in 50.45.
Olympic champion Sandra Perkovic from Croatia pulled off a huge throw in the discus, delivering a world-leading distance of 70.88m for 2016.
The next Diamond League meeting is in Rabat on Sunday, May 22.
Selected results:
Men’s 100m
1 Justin Gatlin (USA) 9.94
2 Femi Ogunode (Qatar) 10.07
3 Michael Rodgers (USA) 10.10
Men’s 110m Hurdles
1 Omar McLeod (Jamaica) 12.98
2 Hasle Parchment (Jamaica) 13.12
3 Wenjun Xie (China) 13.34
Men’s 400m Hurdles
1 Michael Tinsley (USA) 48.90
2 Patryk Dobek (Poland) 49.01
3 Jeffrey Gibson (Bahamas) 49.11
4 LJ van Zyl (RSA) 49.13
Men’s 800m
1 Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich (Kenya) 1:45.68
2 Robert Biwott (Kenya) 1:45.84
3 Alfred Kipketer (Kenya) 1:45.93
7 Rynardt van Rensburg (RSA) 1:46.69
Men’s Long Jump
1 Xinglong Gao (China) 8.14m
2 Ruswahl Samaai (RSA) 8.14m
3 Fabrice Lapierre (Australia) 8.09m
Women’s 200m
1 Murielle Ahouré (Ivory Coast) 22.72
2 Veronica Campbell-Brown (Jamaica) 22.82
3 Anneisha McLaughlin-Whilby (Jamaica) 22.94
Women’s 400m
1 Shaunae Miller (Bahamas) 50.45
2 Stephanie Ann McPherson (Jamaica) 50.98
3 Natasha Hastings (USA) 51.10
Women’s Discus
1 Sandra Perkovic (Croatia) 70.88m
2 Dani Samuels (Australia) 67.77m
3 Denia Caballero (Cuba) 66.14m