From Inside the Games
World champions Donavan Brazier and Nia Ali carried on where they left off in Boston today as they began their Tokyo 2020 season with dominant victories in the opening meeting of the World Athletics Indoor Tour – the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix.
Brazier, who won the world title in a United States record in Doha, finished nearly six seconds clear in the men’s 600m – last event of the night at the Reggie Lewis Center – in a meeting record of 1min 14.39sec, just shy of his own world indoor best time of 1:13.77 from last year.
“It feels great,” Brazier said after his first race since the World Championships.
“I’ve run at the Reggie Lewis Center four years straight now and I’ve come out with four wins.”
Ali was also getting into top-class action for the first time since victory in Doha, where she took gold in the 100m hurdles.
She had a tougher proposition than Brazier in her 60m hurdles, but responded in fine style to win in 7.94sec, her fastest indoor time since winning the 2016 world indoor title.
World indoor silver medallist Christina Clemons was second in 7.98.
In the women’s 1500m, Jessica Hull of Australia outsprinted Konstanze Klosterhalfen of Germany over the final 50 metres to win in 4:04.14, taking more than two seconds off the Oceanian indoor record.
