Diamond League: Eseme climbs to 100m second spot after elitist show in Rome.

This was during the fourth meeting of the 2025 competition which took place in Rome, Italy. It was held last Saturday June 6.

Eseme ran a season-best 9.99 seconds in the series, completing the race only behind the United States’ Trayvon Bromell who easily won the leg in 9.84seconds.

Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala ranked third in 10.01seconds while the United States pair of Brandon Hickin and Fred Kerley positioned fourth and fifth after respectively posting 10.04 and 10.06 seconds. 

Following the performance, Eseme moved from the third to second position on the general classification with 20points harvested across four legs. South Africa’s Akani Simbine leads the standing with 24points.

Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala stands closely on the third position with 20points. Fred Kerly of the United States sits fourth with just 10points while his compatriot Brandon Hickin closes the top five bracket with 9points. 

Eseme’s rise on the standing in the ongoing campaign is built on a steady ride that he has had in the competition this term. 

The reigning African Games 100m champion has been one of the most consistent athletes in the Diamond League since the current campaign flagged off with the Xiamen meeting in China on April 26. 

The athlete began the season with a sixth-place finish in Xiamen after doing the 100m series in 10.19 seconds.

He improved to post a more improved fourth-place ranking after the second leg in Shanghai in China on May 3 after racing the 1000m distance in 10.07 seconds. 

The sprinter retained fourth position after the Rabat meeting on May 25 after doing the series in 10.10 seconds.

The Diamond League is an annual global athletics competition that is sanctioned by the sport’s world governing body, World Athletics.

The competition is held across 14 preliminary one-day meetings before culminating with a 15th and final meeting which is organized across two days.

Each registered athlete participates in eight legs in each season of the competition and is given the opportunity to garner points that provides them with the chance to qualify for the finals. 

In the men’s 100m, the top eight athlete at the close of the season, based on the number of points harvested, qualify for the final. 

Eseme is looking forward to make his second successive appearance in the final of the competition. He made it to the final of the event in the men’s 100m series last year before ending up finishing the race sitting fourth on the general standing following the final in Brussels in Belgium. 

The 2023 La Francophonie Games champion is expected to use the ongoing Diamond League campaign to properly prepare for the forthcoming 2025 World Athletics Championships which takes place in Tokyo in Japan.

The 31-year-old will be making his fourth appearance in the competition after featuring in the 2019, 2021 and 2023 editions in Qatar, the United States of America and Hungary respectively. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3468 of Monday June 09, 2025