Mondo Duplantis in action in Lausanne (© Diamond League AG 
Marta Gorczynska)
Mondo Duplantis cleared 6.21m to win a historic pole vault contest against Emmanouil Karalis who soared 6.16m during the Wanda Diamond League city event in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Thursday (20).
Sweden’s Duplantis improved his own meeting record of 6.15m and had no failures on his way to his latest record-breaking performance, but Greece’s Karalis offered him a strong challenge as he managed 6.16m – the second-best clearance of his career behind the 6.17m that places him second on the world all-time list behind Duplantis.
Only Duplantis himself has ever gone higher than his 6.21m in Lausanne and the two-time Olympic champion went on to attempt 6.32m – a mark that would have added another centimetre to his world record set in Uppsala in March – but he decided to call it a day after two tries at that height.
"I'm tired! But I feel really good, I feel really happy," said Duplantis. "That was such an amazing competition, everybody jumped so well, so I felt like I really had to step it up. I'm glad I jumped really well.
"That’s competition, that’s what we live for. I love to compete, I love competing against Manolo, especially when he is on his A-game like this. I just like to jump high. That's what I feel like I was made to do."
Competing in the city event held on the shores of Lake Geneva on the eve of the main Athletissima meeting, Duplantis and Karalis were still locked in battle as the bar reached 6.01m – both athletes having perfect scorecards up to that height. They both then passed at 6.11m.
Karalis, the world silver and Olympic bronze medallist, failed his first attempt at 6.16m and Duplantis soared into the lead as he managed it on his first try, adding a centimetre to his own meeting record from 2024. But Karalis responded by matching that new meeting record on his second attempt, clearing a height that only three athletes in history – Duplantis, Karalis and former world record-holder Renaud Lavillenie – have ever managed.
The bar went up to 6.21m, which Duplantis again cleared first time. Karalis had two attempts at that height before saving his last attempt for 6.26m and Duplantis was confirmed the winner when that was unsuccessful. Duplantis then had two attempts at 6.32m.
The epic pole vault competition saw three other athletes clear 5.91m – Kurtis Marschall finishing third, Sondre Guttormsen fourth and Chris Nilsen fifth on countback.
"It's been amazing. I always love competing here," said Karalis, who added 10 centimetres to the previous best ever non-winning mark. "Everyone jumped very well. It's always nice to put on a good show."
Werro and Benjamin set meeting records in stadium
Home star Audrey Werro was among the meeting record-breakers as attention turned to the main Athletissima meeting at the Pontaise Olympic Stadium on Friday (21).
The Swiss 22-year-old, who won the Diamond League title in Zürich last year, controlled the 800m race but faced a strong late surge by Femke Broeders-Bol. Werro won in 1:55.33 ahead of Broeders-Bol in 1:55.41, the latter a Dutch record that improved the 1:55.54 achieved by Ellen van Langen when winning the Olympic title in Barcelona in 1992 – a time that Broeders-Bol matched when finishing third at the recent European Championships behind Werro.
Werro stayed a few strides back as the pacemaker went off hard, passing halfway in 55.3. Ethiopia’s Saida Tsehaye moved up between Werro and Broeders-Bol but Broeders-Bol charged down the home straight, almost catching Werro at the line. Tsehaye was third in a PB of 1:56.92. Werro and Broeders-Bol next meet at the Diamond League meeting in Zürich, where they will be joined in a stacked field by Keely Hodgkinson, Georgia Hunter Bell and Lilian Odira.
Audrey Werro holds off Femke Broeders-Bol in the 800m in Lausanne (© Diamond League AG 
Marta Gorczynska)
Olympic and world champion Rai Benjamin returned to the 400m hurdles like he had never left, winning the non-Diamond League race in 46.67 – the fourth-fastest time of the season – to break a meeting record set by Edwin Moses in 1981. Benjamin turns his attention back to the 400m flat – his focus for the season so far – in Silesia on Sunday.
USA’s Olympic champion Masai Russell maintained her win streak in the 100m hurdles, backing up her Diamond League victories in Monaco, Eugene, Xiamen and Shaoxing/Keqiao with another meeting record-breaking performance. She clocked 12.27 this time to beat Nadine Visser (12.42) and Alaysha Johnson (12.49).
Another meeting record fell in the 3000m steeplechase as Olympic champion Winfred Yavi ran a well-judged race, clocking 9:00.04 to easily hold off world champion Faith Cherotich who secured second place in 9:01.90. Marwa Bouzayani was third in 9:05.55.
Wanyonyi wins 800m battle
Kenya’s Olympic and world champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi won his first Diamond League 800m of the year, chasing down the fast-starting Marco Arop and holding off the fast-finishing Djamel Sedjati to triumph in 1:42.19.
Canada’s world leader and 2023 world champion Arop set off with intent, following the pacemaker as the 400-metre mark was reached in 48.86. Arop took over as the pacer stepped aside but he couldn’t hold on and was passed by Wanyonyi, Brandon Miller and Sedjati down the home straight. Wanyonyi followed his world 1000m record in Monaco to get a second Diamond League win of the year, followed by Sedjati in 1:42.31, Miller in 1:42.55 and Arop in 1:43.18.
Emma Zapletalová strode to her fifth Diamond League 400m hurdles win of the year, clocking 52.41 for the second-fastest time in the world this season behind her own world lead of 52.30 set in Doha. Anna Cockrell was second in 53.15 and Paulien Couckuyt was third in a Belgian record of 53.28.
Botswana’s Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo showed his strength in the final Diamond League track event of the evening, winning the 200m in 19.87 (-0.3m/s) ahead of Sinesipho Dambile (19.98).
There was a career-first Diamond League win for USA’s Kayla White in the women’s 200m. The world 4x100m champion finished clear ahead of world silver medallist Amy Hunt and Olympic finalist Favour Ofili, clocking 22.18 (0.3m/s) to their shared time of 22.32. There was disappointment for two-time world 200m champion Shericka Jackson as she pulled up off the bend and finished her race laid on the track.
The 110m hurdles was not a Diamond discipline but USA’s Jamal Britt still put on a show, winning in 13.13 (-0.5m/s) ahead of Kendry L. Menéndez in 13.20. World record-holder Ja'Kobe Tharp hit a barrier and jogged over the finish line in eighth.
Bahrain’s Birhanu Balew kicked to victory in the 5000m, leading the top six under 13 minutes to win in 12:57.55 – his fourth consecutive race under that 13-minute barrier. Parker Wolfe was second in 12:58.20 and Nico Young was third in 12:58.33.
Pathirage pips Chopra in javelin clash
Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage and India’s Neeraj Chopra both surpassed 88 metres in the javelin, world leader Pathirage winning with his third-round 88.14m to beat Chopra’s season’s best of 88.05m from the second round.
Japan’s Olympic champion Haruka Kitaguchi clinched her first Diamond League win of the year in the women’s event, throwing a season’s best of 64.90m to beat Flor Denis Ruiz Hurtado with 64.29m.
USA’s 2022 world U20 champion Hana Moll denied two-time world indoor medallist Angelica Moser a pole vault win on home soil, soaring 4.84m on her final attempt to get her first Diamond League triumph ahead of Moser who managed 4.74m. Olympic champion Nina Kennedy warmed up in Lausanne but withdrew ahead of the competition.
Olympic champion Miltiádis Tentóglou beat another home favourite in the long jump, leaping a wind-aided 8.24m (2.1m/s) to secure top spot ahead of Simon Ehammer with a best of 8.13m.
Pedro Pichardo won the triple jump by a single centimetre. The world champion soared 17.44m into a headwind in the second round and that remained enough to win – just – as Yasser Mohammed Triki responded with a wind-assisted 17.43m (2.7m/s) in the final round. Andy Díaz Hernández, who jumped 18.15m to beat Pichardo at the recent European Championships, was third this time with a 17.20m leap.
