MacFarlane defends Doha title

Australian steeplechase champion Donna MacFarlane defended her title at the Qatar Super Grand Prix in Doha, clocking the second fastest time in the world this year in the process.

The win, her second-successive World Athletics Tour victory, comes just two weeks after the passing of her long-time coach and mentor Max Cherry.

The 30-year-old MacFarlane defeated Kenyan duo Ruth Nyangau and Eunice Jepkorir in 9 minutes 31.47 seconds in 3km event - a time only bettered this year by her own 9:29.93 at the Australian titles in Melbourne in February.

"This was not an easy win. With two laps remaining there was a group of seven athletes still in contention. I kept my focus and was able to increase my speed over the last lap," said the mother of two, who will arrive back home in Hobart for Mother's Day.

Cherry, 81, died of a heart attack on April 28 and his passing was felt heavily by MacFarlane, who has enlisted the support of Tasmanian Institute of Sport coach Peter Fortune to oversee her Olympic preparations.

In victory, MacFarlane remembered one of the most important pieces of advice her late coach told her about running right through the line.

"I approached the final water jump at the same time as Nyangau and used everything I had left to sprint to the line," she said.

In other Australian results in Doha, Vicki Mitchell finished 11th in the steeplechase in 10:14.50, and Melissa Rollison did not finish.

Sarah Jamieson returned to the track for her first race since September last year, finishing 9th in the 1500m in 4:10.82 behind Romania's Liliana Popescu, who won in 4:05.52.

In the men's 1500m, Queensland's Mitch Kealey recorded his second Olympic B-qualifying time in finishing 11th in 3:38.69.

Kealey, whose personal best is the 3:37.65 he recorded in the Sydney Grand Prix in February, was involved in a fast race, with the first five all recording times under 3:34. The winner was Moroccan Abdalaati Iguider in 3:33.27.