Marileidy Paulino stamped her authority as the best female 400m runner in the world for 2023 when she destroyed a talented field to win the one-lap sprint at the Diamond League finale in Eugene, Oregon on Sunday.

The 2023 world champion ran a fast 49.58s to add the Diamond League trophy to her world championship gold medal in what has been an incredible season in which she lost only once all year.

Paulino was almost a second clear of the fast-improving Polish athlete Natalia Kaczmarek, who clocked 50.38 for second place. Lieke Klaver of the Netherlands was not far behind in 50.47.

Jamaica’s Candice McLeod, who looked good for a podium finish after 300m faded to fourth in 50.76 with world championship bronze medallist Sada Williams of Barbados clocking 51.07 for fifth. Aliyah Abrams of Guyana was eighth in 51.97.

Tajay Gayle finished second in the long jump at the Diamond League finale in Eugene, Oregon on Sunday during a keenly contested event that saw the top-two tied in terms of distance achieved.

Gayle, the 2023 World Championships bronze medallist, soared out to a distance of 8.22m but had to settle for the runner-up slot to Switzerland’s Simon Erhammer, who also achieved a mark of 8.22 but won on the countback against the 2019 world champion.

Erhammer had additonal marks of 8.12m, 8.10 and 8.06m when compared to the Jamaican, who other best jumps were 8.08m and 8.06m.

Finishing third was Japan’s Yuki Hashioka, who jumped a season-best 8.15m.

Laquan Nairn of the Bahamas failed to break the 8m barrier, finishing seventh with a best of 7.27m.

 

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