Emmanuel Wanyonyi wins the 800m in Zurich (© Matthew Quine)
Kenya’s 20-year-old Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi produced the top performance of a towering night of athletics at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Lausanne on Thursday (22) as he won the men’s 800m in 1:41.11.
That moved him to joint second on the world all-time list, tantalisingly adrift of the world record of 1:40.91 set by his compatriot and inspiration David Rudisha at the London 2012 Olympics.
Among the other delights for a packed crowd at the Stade Olympique de la Pontaise was a revenge victory for Jakob Ingebrigtsen over the US runner who dispossessed him of his 1500m title in Paris, Cole Hocker. There was another notable reverse for an Olympic champion as Grant Holloway suffered a rare defeat in the 110m hurdles.
But elsewhere there were masterful victories for Olympic gold medallists Yaroslava Mahuchikh of Ukraine in the women’s high jump, Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece in the men’s long jump and Botswana’s 200m champion Letsile Tebogo.
Wanyonyi’s time exactly matched the then world record set by Denmark’s Wilson Kipketer in 1997.
In a non-Diamond League race that included four of the five men who followed him home in Paris, Wanyonyi’s world-leading run was also a Diamond League record.
The pacemaker had taken the field through 400m in 49.32, a shade off the requested 49.20, with Wanyonyi a couple of paces behind him. The Olympic champion held off the challenge of Canada’s world champion Marco Arop, with the latter clocking 1:41.72 and third place going to France’s European champion Gabriel Tual in 1:42.30.
“I’m so happy to have run the world lead today in Lausanne,” said Wanyonyi. “I really loved the crowd and I hope for the best in Silesia.”
Ingebrigtsen reasserted himself in lordly fashion in the 1500m as he finished 10 metres clear in 3:27.83 – one of five meeting records set.
The 2021 Olympic 1500m champion, who earned the enormous consolation of a 5000m gold in Paris, led at the bell as the second pacemaker dropped off, with Hocker and US teammate Hobbs Kessler close behind him.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen wins the 1500m in Zurich (© Chiara Montesano)
But as the trio made their way round the final bend, the Norwegian managed to create a five-metre lead that had doubled by the time he crossed the line, with Hocker coming through for second place in 3:29.85 and Kessler finishing third in 3:30.47.
“It´s been almost two weeks since Paris so there was plenty of time to recover,” Ingebrigtsen said. “Tonight´s race gave me good answers and I´m looking forward to building on this for my next race on Sunday and the rest of the season.”
Tebogo returned to action in awesome fashion, winning the 200m with apparent ease in 19.64 on the uniquely broad and gentle bend of this stadium.
He was followed home by USA’s Erriyon Knighton in 19.78, with Olympic 100m bronze medallist Fred Kerley finishing third in a season’s best of 19.86.
The day before, Tebogo had confessed with a smile that he had not trained for eight days…
“It was a great race for me here today in Lausanne, to be able to return here the following year is very cool to me,” he said.
Holloway was beaten by Jamaica’s Olympic bronze medallist Rasheed Broadbell, who raised his fist in triumph after hitting the line first in 13.10, with Holloway second in 13.14 and Broadbell’s compatriot Hansle Parchment, the 2021 Olympic champion, third in 13.23.
Mahuchikh triumphed in the high jump with 1.99m, beating Australia’s 2022 world champion Eleanor Patterson, who cleared a season’s best of 1.96m to beat teammate and world indoor champion Nicola Olyslagers (1.92m).
Similarly, Tentoglou didn’t need to produce any record-breaking distances to win the long jump, his final-round effort of 8.06m being sufficient to win by five centimetres from Olympic silver medallist Wayne Pinnock.
Meeting records for Welteji and Bol
Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji ran a perfectly judged race to win the 3000m in a meeting record and personal best of 8:21.50, with Kenya’s Janeth Chepngetich following her home in 8:23.48. Tsigie Gebreselama (8:24.40) and USA’s Elise Cranny (8:25.10) set PBs in third and fourth respectively.
Femke Bol of the Netherlands, somewhat dismayed at finishing third in the Olympic 400m hurdles final, got back into winning mode after overhauling early leader Rushell Clayton halfway down the finishing straight and winning in a meeting record of 52.25, with the Jamaican taking second place in 53.32, one position ahead of compatriot Janieve Russell (54.48).
Femke Bol wins the 400m hurdles in Zurich (© Chiara Montesano)
Britain’s Olympic silver medallist Matthew Hudson-Smith produced a finely judged 400m victory in 43.96 after overhauling early leader Busang Kebinatshipi around the final bend and finishing clear of the Zambian Olympic bronze medallist Muzala Samukonga, who clocked 44.06, with Kebinatshipi taking third place in a personal best of 44.22.
Kenya’s world champion Mary Moraa finished comfortably clear to win the 800m in 1:57.91, with Britain’s Olympic 1500m bronze medallist Georgia Bell taking second place in 1:58.53 ahead of compatriot Jemma Reekie (1:58.73).
Grenada’s two-time world champion Anderson Peters produced a monumental performance in the javelin, culminating in a final-round meeting record of 90.61m.
Germany’s European silver medallist Julian Weber threw 87.08m, but was pushed into third place by the last effort of India’s world champion Neeraj Chopra, who produced a season’s best of 89.49m.
Redemption for Jackson and Asher-Smith
USA’s world shot put champion Chase Jackson gained redemption after missing out on the Olympic final by producing a dominant performance against a field including the German athlete who won surprise gold in Paris, Yemisi Ogunleye.
Jackson threw a season’s best of 20.64m, just four centimetres shy of the world lead set by Canada’s Sarah Mitton, who finished third with 19.52m. Ogunleye claimed second place with 19.55m.
European champion Dina Asher-Smith, meanwhile, made up for missing out on the Olympic 100m final by winning here in a season’s best of 10.88. At the end of the night, she led off for a British 4x100m team that won in a meeting record of 42.03 ahead of Switzerland (42.16).
The extraordinary consistency of Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn came to the fore again in the 100m hurdles as the 2021 Olympic champion won in 12.35, equalling her season’s best, with Grace Stark of the United States and Ackera Nugent of Jamaica respectively second and third, both credited with 12.38.
Duplantis breaks own meeting record
On the eve of the main competition, and just 16 days after retaining his Olympic pole vault title with his ninth world record, Mondo Duplantis returned to action in majestic fashion on Wednesday (21) as he added five centimetres to his own meeting record with 6.15m.
Mondo Duplantis at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Lausanne (© AFP / Getty Images)
The 24-year-old Swede produced the perfect ending to a competition that took place in heavenly conditions at the matchless venue in Ouchy, on the shore of Lake Leman.
“I love this so much,” he told the crowd afterwards. “I love jumping in front of you guys. That was all I could do today. I hope you guys enjoyed it.”
After seeing off a field that included Olympic medallists Sam Kendricks of the United States and Emmanouil Karalis of Greece with a first-time vault of 6.00m, Duplantis produced his coup de theatre for a packed and appreciative crowd on his third attempt.
Kendricks took second place with a first-time clearance of 5.92m. Third place went to Norway’s Sondre Guttormsen with a season’s best of 5.82m – a height that was also cleared by Australia’s Kurtis Marschall, Philippines’ world silver medallist Ernest John Obiena and Karalis, who finished fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.
Duplantis started with a first-time clearance at 5.62m and returned to the proceedings for further instant successes at 5.82m, 5.92m and 6.00m.
After two failures at 6.15m, it looked as if he had passed the high point of his competition. But he raised his level to provide a fervent crowd with a moment to remember.
Renaud Lavillenie, who missed out on qualifying for the Olympics in his home country, underlined the realism of his vow to seek a fourth Olympic appearance at the 2028 Los Angeles Games as he equalled his season’s best of 5.72m.
Mike Rowbottom for World Athletics
