Alison Dos Santos and Masai Russell set world records, while Armand “Mondo” Duplantis produced a historic pole-vault performance in a spectacular night of athletics in Zurich on Thursday that would have delighted World Athletics president Sebastian Coe.
“I expect the Olympic Games in two hours,” Coe said of his expectations for the penultimate Diamond League meeting of the season.
The Swiss city’s Letzigrund Stadium was packed with a raucous sell-out crowd of 25,000, while the warm, still conditions provided an ideal backdrop for a memorable evening of track and field.
Brazil’s Dos Santos was first to make history, clocking a sensational 45.80 seconds in the 400m hurdles to smash the previous world record of 45.94sec set by Norway’s Karsten Warholm when he won Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020.
“I have been showing great form throughout the season — that I am fast, I am strong,” said a confident Dos Santos, with Warholm finishing second and describing the event as a “crazy event”.
“As soon as I knew I was coming here, I was excited. The weather’s good, the track’s amazing,” the Brazilian added.
Russell then followed with another world record, the US Olympic champion winning the 100m hurdles in 12.09sec to eclipse the previous best of 12.12sec set by Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene.
Dos Santos and Russell will each collect $80,000 for their record-breaking performances.
The two world records were followed by a thrilling pole-vault competition, eventually won by double Olympic and triple world champion Duplantis.
The US-born Swede was pushed to the limit by Greek rival Emmanouil Karalis, who cleared a personal-best 6.20m.
Duplantis responded by clearing 6.25m for victory before both athletes attempted 6.32m in a bid to set a new world record.
It was the first time in pole-vault history that two athletes had cleared 6.20m in the same competition.
“It’s not every day two people go for the world record, so that was nuts,” said Karalis.
The night’s drama continued in the women’s 800m, where Swiss home favourite Audrey Werro thrilled the crowd by clocking 1:53.70, the third-fastest time ever recorded in the event.
The 22-year-old’s performance moved her within striking distance of Jarmila Kratochvilova’s world record of 1:53.28, set in Munich in 1983.
“It was crazy; I am very proud. Thank you, everybody!” Werro said.
Femke Broeders-Bol finished second as she continues her transition from the 400m hurdles, in which she is a two-time world champion.
“Being in a great event with a great time — amazing,” said the Dutch athlete.
Kenya’s world and Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi held off Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati in a thrilling men’s 800m.
Wanyonyi, who has compared the challenge of breaking David Rudisha’s world record of 1:40.91 to running a marathon in under two hours, again fell short of the mark.
He nevertheless clocked a world-leading 1:41.76 to take the victory, with Sedjati just 0.07sec behind.
“When I see the world records being broken, I know my time will come. There is time for everything,” Wanyonyi said.
US Olympic champion Cole Hocker, the reigning world champion over 5,000m, won a high-quality men’s 1,500m in 3:31.71, finishing ahead of Kenya’s Phanuel Kipkosgei Koech.
Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen finished fifth as he continued his comeback after undergoing surgery for an Achilles tendon injury.
Olympic silver medallist Anna Cockrell won the 400m hurdles in 52.13sec, breaking the meeting record set by Bol last year by 0.05sec. US teammate Dalilah Muhammad finished second.
American Parker Wolfe smashed the meeting record in the men’s non-Olympic 3,000m, running a personal-best 7:27.43 to improve on Moroccan legend Said Aouita’s previous mark from 1986 by more than five seconds.
There was another world-leading performance in the men’s 200m, with American Kenny Bednarek storming to victory in 19.62sec.
Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers, the world champion and two-time Olympic silver medallist, won the women’s high jump with a season’s best of 2.02m.
AFP
