OSLO, June 10 (Reuters) - Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo ruined the Diamond League debut of Australian prodigy Gout Gout on Wednesday, instead sharing the spotlight with American teenager Cooper Lutkenhaus and Brazilian Alison dos Santos on a night of stellar performances in Oslo.
Much of the pre-race build-up had focused on the senior Diamond League debut of 18-year-old Gout, but Tebogo quickly asserted his authority in the men's 200 metres.
Blasting away from the young challenger and the rest of
the field, the Paris Olympic gold medallist eased over the line in a commanding 19.84 seconds, while Gout finished sixth in 20.60.
The victory followed Botswanan Tebogo's second-place finish at the Rabat Diamond League meeting on May 31.
"Today, we tried to do it differently," Tebogo said. "I was about to run the proper curve because in Rabat we did not run it. I do not know what I was up to but I just knew I had that last gear to push in and just get in that sub-20."
Tebogo offered advice on Gout's transition to senior competition.
"First and foremost, he should not get comfortable racing with the seniors. He still has a long way to go," Tebogo said. "He should by all means play with his age mates where he is a bit more comfortable because the more he runs, the more he pushes and the more injuries he is going to get."
Gout remained optimistic despite the sixth-place finish.
"There's definitely a lot more room for me to improve but I have plenty of time on my side. There's always pressure on me but all I do is try my best and keep focusing on just having fun," he said.
LUTKENHAUS WINS THRILLER
In the men’s 800 metres, 17-year-old Lutkenhaus upstaged current Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi in a thrilling tactical duel. Making his move at the 500-metre mark to pass the Kenyan leader in their first career clash, Lutkenhaus then withstood a fierce late charge from Wanyonyi on the home straight to win a photo finish in a world-leading one minute 42.08 seconds.
"It was a very tough race and I had to dive for the line to be sure of the win. I knew he (Wanyonyi) was on my shoulder and I was willing the line to come towards me," Lutkenhaus said.
"To beat the Olympic champion is awesome and it means a lot. I have not seen the grazes yet from my dive but I think they will hurt in the shower later."
The meeting concluded with a highly anticipated 400 metres hurdles duel between local favourite Karsten Warholm and Brazil's Alison dos Santos. The pair matched each other stride for stride until the home straight, where Dos Santos pulled away with a strong finish to secure a comfortable victory in 46.89 seconds, leaving Warholm to settle for second.
Ethiopia's Addisu Yihune held off a fierce late challenge from Bahrain's Birhanu Balew to win the men's 5,000 metres in a world-leading time of 12 minutes 47.62 seconds.
In the women's 100 metres, Saint Lucian Olympic champion Julien Alfred overcame a slow start to secure a comfortable victory in a wind-assisted 10.76 seconds, finishing ahead of Britain's Amy Hunt.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk; editing by Clare Fallon)
