Despite saving something for the finish, Jamaica’s Natoya Goule was pipped by a well-timed late sprint from the United States’ Hanna Green during their 800-metre Diamond League meeting in Paris on Saturday.
Green would win in 1:58.39 seconds, just ahead of Goule, who breached the finish line in 1:58.59.
Uganda’s Winnie Nanyondo was third in a season’s best 1:58.83, while the Ukraine’s Olha Lyakhova’s season’s best of 1:59.13 was only good enough for third.
Goule, known for running from the front and trying to stay strong, has
been working on her sprinting this season and has changed tac on a few occasions, including today, when she tracked the United States’ Raevyn Rogers down the final 100 metres, circling her and driving toward the tape.
Nanyondo made her move at the same time as Goule, but the dimunitive runner proved stronger, only to see Green time her run on the outside of a fairly close pack, to take the race by a step.
The United States’ Kate Grace would finish fifth in a season’s best 1:59.33, while Rogers, the leader with 100 metres to go, failed badly to end sixth in 1:59.50.