Six things to note in Rabat
I watched the early season games of the diamond leagues on TV as the athletes moved around Asia and Africa before reaching Europe. Six athletes caught my eye in Rabat.
1 Shaunae Miller-Uibo
Great to see Shaunae back to work The 2016 and 2020 Olympic gold medalist in the 400 is now 32 and a mother of two. I was privileged to be at the stadium to see the finals of both Olympic games, as well as the four outdoor and two indoor world medals he won. The highlight was watching him run the World Relays in his native Bahamas, where he is a hero. In Rabat, he seemed to get off to a slow start in the 200 and never made it the distance, finishing fourth in 22.42. Great to see him back in action, certainly better come this season.
2 Joe Kovacs
Joe is often overshadowed by Ryan Kreuser, but is a two-time world champion and has also won three Olympic and two World Championship silver medals.
Kovach “I wish I knew how many Diamond League wins I have, but no, I don’t. (19, Joe). My wife and I just built a training facility and I would like to put up posters on the walls with all the special results. So maybe I should start counting them because I’m so thankful for each and every one of them. My first year started on the diamond and my first win was in the 201 league. You can’t repeat what you’ve done in a healthy body, so this result shows that I’m able to adapt, that I’m doing it as a proud dad, it’s crazy to me.
Once he explained to me how his wife’s training works. “I just do what my wife says. It makes my life easier.”
3 Nina Kennedy
It was great to see Nina Kennedy back in action. The 2023 world champion (tied for first with Katie Moon) and 2024 Olympic champion missed the entire 2025 season with injury but won her fourth straight event, three in Australia, with a 4.80.
Kennedy Then he said: “I’m so happy that I have almost two years off. The way we won today was really amazing. I don’t think the girls were expecting that. I felt comfortable with the long approach. that’s what exercise is for, you work on your body, you smile. day, so I didn’t do any more jumps, I’m unloading accordingly, given that the intensity is very high at the beginning of the season, so I’ll definitely be sore tomorrow.
4 Laura Muir
Laura Muir was fifth in the 1500m in 4:00.77 in his first international race of the season. I had seen him win the Banister Mile at Oxford earlier in the year. Laura, now 33, has had a glittering career highlighted by an Olympic silver medal at the 2021 Olympics. He also won world indoor and outdoor medals, as well as 7 European golds (in indoor and outdoor games). I’ve had the privilege of watching him beat them all, and I’ve never met a nicer, more cooperative athlete. The highlight of 2026 will be the second Commonwealth Games in his native Scotland, in fact Glasgow, the city where he graduated as a vet.
5:00 Matt Hudson-Smith
Matt Hudson-Smith was second in the 400m, which included Olympic champion Quincy Hall. Matt was second behind Jacory Patterson in 44.25.
Matt said: “It’s good to be back. I’ve had a lot of niggles, but it’s a great opener. Now I have to build on that for the rest of the season. Last year was a bit of a rough year. I was juggling the birth of my daughter and then this year I had some family issues that made me miss the World Relays.”
6 Audrey Verreau
Vero won the 800m, breaking Caster Semenya’s 2016 meet record of 1:56.56. Vero, who is 22 and was last year’s European Young Female Athlete of the Year, has fallen off her early season form but will have her work cut out for her to challenge Keely Hodgkinson at the European Championships in the summer.
His assessment was as follows. “I feel really good and I was very surprised with my finishing time because it’s still early in the season and it’s very close to my PB. It’s a great way to start the season. Last year I moved up from the junior arena to the senior level. I learned a lot of things and now I can put them into practice. I don’t know if I would limit myself to where I would do it. and the mental side, it’s been nine months since I’ve been a professional athlete and I don’t have any more classes on the side.”
