Kenneth Rooks takes a hard fall in Silesia Diamond League steeple...
In Chorzów, Poland, there may have been a bit of a post-Olympic let down for the three athletes with Washington ties competing at the Kamila Skolimowska Meeting, the twelfth stop on the season-long Wanda Diamond League tour.
Olympic steeplechase silver medalist Kenneth Rooks of Walla Walla started out in the middle of the pack, trying to replicate the strategy that put him on the podium in Paris, but finished in seventeenth place.
About four laps into the race, Rooks fell hard on the barrier past the start line and stayed on the ground for a few moments, before getting up to resume the race, clutching his arm.
The College Place HS and Brigham Young University grad ran 8:35.19, as Olympic champion Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco won in a photo finish over Amos Serem of Kenya, with both credited with a time of 8:04.29.
According to a text from BYU coach Ed Eyestone, Rooks was taken to a local hospital for x-rays for a possible broken shoulder and/or clavicle.
UPDATE (3:15 pm Pacific, 8/25): In a text sent by Kenneth's mother Judy to publisher Paul Merca, she said that the x-rays showed that there were no breaks or dislocation of the (right) shoulder. Examination of the head and chest area showed no damage, but they will follow up upon his return to the USA.
In the pre-program portion of the meet before the start of the television window, Seattle resident Nia Akins was tenth in the women's 1000 meters in 2:38.30, as Nelly Chepchirchir of Kenya won in a world leading time of 2:31.34.
Washington State University grad Maribel Caicedo finished fifth in the first of two qualifying heats in the women's 100 meter hurdles, running 12.85.
Caicedo did not advance to the finals, which was won by Jamaica's Ackera Nugent in a meet record 12.29.
The highlights of the meet were two world records set by Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the men's 3000, and by Sweden's Mondo Duplantis in the men's pole vault.
With perfect pacing, Ingebrigtsen, the Olympic champion at 5000 meters, took down the old world record of 7:20.67 set by Kenya's Daniel Kamen in 1996, running 7:17.55, leaving Ethiopia's Berth Aregawi (7:21.28, national record), and Yomif Kejelcha (7:28.44) in his wake.
It was just another day and another world record for Olympic champ Duplantis, as he set his third world record of the season, this time clearing 20-6.5 (6.26m), adding a centimeter to his previous world record of 20-6 (6.25m) set in winning the Olympic title in Paris a few weeks ago.
The Wanda Diamond League tour moves on to Rome for Friday's Golden Gala Pietro Mennea meet, before the final two stops in Zürich and Brussels.
In Tampere, Finland, Waleed Suliman of the Brooks Beasts won the men's 1500 at the Motonet Tampere Grand Prix, continuing his strong second half.
After the pacemaker led the field through 800 meters in 1:56.47, Suliman took the victory in 3:35.74, holding off fellow American John Reniewicki, who ran 3:36.00, and Ireland's Luke McCann, who was third in 3:36.80.
Former Washington Husky Wilma Nielsen of Sweden finished seventh in the women's 800, running 2:02.66, as American Sage Hurts-Klecker won in 1:59.07.
NOTE: The Wanda Diamond League, the Kamila Skolimowska meeting, and the Motonet Tampere Grand Prix contributed to this report.
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