Alison Dos Santos and Masai Russell each set a world record while Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis won a historic pole vault in a barmy night of track and field in Zurich on Thursday that would have more than appeased onlooking World Athletics president Sebastian Coe.
“I expect the Olympic Games in two hours,” Coe said of his expectations of the penultimate Diamond League meet of the season.
The Swiss city’s Letzigrund Stadium had a raucous sell-out 25,000 crowd and the still, balmy weather conditions helped no end for a heady night of athletics.
Brazil’s Dos Santos was first up, clocking a sensational 45.80 seconds to beat the previous mark of 45.94sec set by Norway’s Karsten Warholm when winning gold at the Tokyo Olympics.
“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 dubbing their discipline 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.
Then came Russell, the Olympic champion of the US timing 12.09sec to beat the previous best of 12.12sec set by Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan at the Eugene world championships in 2022.
Both Dos Santos and Russell will leave Zurich with a cheque each for $80,000 for having broken their respective records.
The world records were punctuated by a scintillating competition in the pole vault, eventually won by double Olympic and triple world champion Duplantis.
The US-born Swede came under real pressure from Greek rival Emmanouil Karalis, who vaulted a personal best of 6.20m.
Duplantis cleared 6.25m for victory, while both vaulters tried a possible world record 6.32m, in a truly thrilling showdown that gripped the stadium’s attention.
It was the first time in vaulting history that two athletes had gone beyond the 6.20m mark.
“It’s not every day two people go for the world record, so that was nuts,” said Karalis.
Werro edges nearer
The icing on the cake came in the women’s 800m, with the star attraction Switzerland’s own Audrey Werro.
Werro also did not disappoint, registering the third fastest time ever in the two-lap race, 1:53.70, as she edged ever closer to Jarmila Kratochvilova’s Cold War world record of 1:53.28 set in Munich in 1983.
“It was crazy, I am very proud. Thank you everybody!” the 22-year-old beamed.
Femke Broeders-Bol finished second as she continues to improve in her transition from the 400m hurdles in which she was twice a world champion.
“Being in a great event with a great time — amazing,” the Dutch athlete said.
Kenya’s world and Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi held off Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati for a nail-biting victory in the men’s 800m.
Wanyonyi has said that going for David Rudisha’s world record of 1:40.91 was like running a marathon under two hours, and it once again proved elusive as he timed a world lead of 1:41.76 for the win, Sedjati just 0.07sec adrift.
“When I see the world records being broken, I know my time will come. There is time for everything,” said Wanyonyi.
US Olympic champion Cole Hocker, the world champ over 5,000m, claimed victory in a high-quality men’s 1,500m in 3:31.71 ahead of Kenya’s Phanuel Kipkosgei Koech.
Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen came in fifth as he continues his return to the track after an Achilles tendon injury that required surgery.
Olympic silver medallist Anna Cockrell bettered Broeders-Bol’s meet record set last year by 0.05sec to win the 400m hurdles in 52.13sec ahead of US teammate Dalilah Muhammad.
American Parker Wolfe smashed the meet record in the men’s non-Olympic distance of 3,000m, clocking a personal best of 7:27.43 to better Moroccan Said Aouita’s previous best set in 1986 by more than 5sec.
And there was another world lead in the men’s 200m by American Kenny Bednarek, who won in some style in 19.62sec.
World champion and two-time Olympic silver medallist Nicola Olyslagers of Australia won the women’s high jump in a season’s best of 2.02m.
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