A good turnout for the media event with local Gulf State media and terrestrial TV. This is your writer’s first return since 2019 World Champs. I had been to the DL since 2011 and also was at the 2010 World Indoor and 2019 World Outdoor. Media coverage from Europe and US has not returned. DL meets are on tight budgets, and no support for media in Doha, which was one of the ways many media could afford to visit the event. 
The meet looks fantastic; more to come. 

DOHA PRESS MEET & NEWS

DOHA (QAT): “The most important thing is that Doha is famous for 90m throws, and hopefully, tomorrow will be a great result for all,” said Neeraj Chopra at the Doha press conference, hinting that a big throw might be up his sleeve. He also talked about competing against the best. “It always helps to have good competitors. It is my first competition of the season, and Jakub [Vadlejch] has already thrown 88m so I think tomorrow will be a great competition,” said Chopra.DOHA (QAT): Fred Kerley, who proposed a one-on-one race against Marcell Jacobs last month, was asked if serious contacts have taken place on the possible clash and who would win. “I will definitely win. If it happens, I will win. Will he show up? I don’t know, Kerley said. When asked if their first head-to-head race since the Tokyo 100m Olympics final in 2021 would be at the World championships, he said “Hopefully sooner”. One possible venue is the Diamond League meeting in Rabat on May 28.

DOHA (QAT): Faith Kipyegon named Laura Muir as the athlete she would most like to race against. She was also asked whether she could target Genzebe Dibaba’s world record on. “That’s a really difficult question. Let me see what happens tomorrow,” Kipyegon said, “If I wake up healthy [and] the weather is good, I will go to the track and see what is possible.”

DOHA (QAT): “I’m very much a competitor, so I love challenging races,” Dina Asher-Smith said as she faces a high-quality line-up led by Shericka Jackson and Sha’Carri Richardson. Asked who she would potentially want to face in a one-on-one race, Asher-Smith chose Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. “I really like racing, Shelly,” she said, “I really enjoy racing against her, mainly because I really like her race model compared to mine. It’s like a training exercise.”

DOHA (QAT): Pace times for the Doha Diamond League include: 2:06 through 800m in the women’s 1500m, 6:00 through 2000m in the women’s 3000m steeplechase, 50.5 through 400m in the men’s 800m and 2:30 through 1000m and 5:30 through 2000m in the men’s 3000m.

DOHA (QAT): The 2023 Wanda Diamond League starts at 18:00 local time (GMT+3), and the main program will kick off at 19:00 local time and will be streamed on the Wanda Diamond League YouTube page. The live stream will not be available in territories where the local broadcasters hold the broadcast rights.

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