There were no medals on the line in the last Wanda Diamond League meeting before the final in Brussels on 13 and 14 September, but that mattered little to the Olympic bronze medallist from the USA as he swept past Ingebrigtsen halfway down the home straight to claim a famous victory in 3:29.21.
The 2024 edition of the Zurich Weltklasse also produced a bold but ultimately unsuccessful 5000m world record attempt from Beatrice Chebet, and featured a high-class women’s 100m hurdles, in which Olympic champion Masai Russell had to settle for third.
But on an evening of several upsets, Nuguse’s 1500m masterclass shone brightest of all.
His winning time (3:29.21) was immaterial. Like Jake Wightman in the world final in Oregon in 2022, Josh Kerr in last year’s world final in Budapest and his US teammate Cole Hocker in the Olympic final last month, Nuguse had managed to cook Ingebrigtsen’s metaphorical goose with a perfect piece of tactical execution.
To be fair to Ingebrigtsen, who finished second in 3:29.52, the world and Olympic 5000m had put his considerable reputation on the line despite having been hit by an infection since his stunning 7:17.55 world record over 300m in Silesia on 25 August.
The 2021 Olympic 1500m champion was in his customary pole position when the second pacemaker, Britain’s Elliot Giles, the new world road mile record holder, dropped out at the bell – with only Nuguse at his heels.
Kerr and Hocker were both out of striking range. Seizing his chance, Nuguse drew level as he came off the bend, then kicked to victory.
Hocker passed Kerr to claim third place in 3:30.46. The young Dutchman Niels Laros also finished strongly, snatching fourth spot in 3:31.23. The out of sorts Kerr was fifth in 3:31.46.
“I just tried not to make any wrong moves,” said Nuguse. “Getting a medal at the Olympics has given me more self-confidence.
“I hope to go for another win in Brussels. I really want that Diamond League trophy.”
When Gudaf Tsegay set her world 5000m record of 14:00.21 last year in Eugene, she passed 3000m in 8:26.03.
Chebet got there in Zurich in 8:25.77. The trouble was the Olympic 5000m and 10,000m champion had already been out on her own for two laps.
The effort took its toll as the Kenyan slowed to a world-leading 14:09.52 – still a meeting record by some distance, shattering compatriot Vivian Cheruiyot’s 14:30.10 from 2011.
“I really wanted to run the world record but the pacemaker dropped out earlier than planned,” Chebet lamented. “It was not easy after that.”
World 10,000m bronze medallist Ejgayehu Taye was a distant runner up in 14:28.76, with fellow Ethiopian Tsigie Gebreselama third in 14:39.05.
Tebogo holds off Bednarek
It was a considerably closer-run thing in the men’s 200m. Botswana’s Olympic golden boy Letsile Tebogo produced another of his grandstand finishes to pip Paris runner-up Kenny Bednarek by 0.02 in 19.55 (0.4m/s).
The silver lining for the US sprinter this time was a PB, 19.57, with US teammate Erriyon Knighton third in 19.79 and Fred Kerley fourth in 19.81.
The first three in the women’s 100m hurdles were the podium placers from Paris, but in reverse order.
Third in the French capital, the Puerto Rican 2021 Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn finished strongly to claim the victory in 12.36 (0.8m/s), with France’s Cyrena Samba-Mayela second again (12.40) and the surprise US golden girl Russell in third (12.47).
Russell’s fellow US high-hurdling Olympic champion Grant Holloway recovered from a sluggish start to win the men’s 110m event in 12.99 (-0.3m/s), setting a new record for sub 13 clockings.
The world champion took his tally to 12 in claiming victory ahead of France’s Sahsha Zhoya, who was second in a lifetime best of 13.10.
“To run 12.99 in these conditions is great,” said Holloway. “The main thing for me was to run the most sub 13s and now that I’ve done it, it’s surreal.”
Sha’Carri Richardson was the first to claim the scalp of a newly-crowned Olympic champion, the world champion from the US turning the tables on the St Lucian who beat her to the 100m title in Paris, Julien Alfred.
Richardson produced a flying finish to claim 100m victory in 10.84 (0.1m/s). Alfred clocked 10.88 in second place, just 0.01 ahead of Britain’s European champion Dina Asher-Smith.
Ryan Crouser showed his class in the men’s shot, the Olympic and world champion and world record-holder from the United States making light of the conditions with another masterclass in consistency.
Four of his throws were beyond the 22-metre line, a best of 22.66m in round two being backed up by marks of 22.52m, 22.36m and 22.04m.
Italy’s European champion Leonardo Fabbri secured second place with 21.86m, while a 21.38m throw earned third spot for Payton Otterdahl ahead of his US colleague Joe Kovacs, the Olympic silver medallist having to settle for fourth with 20.90m.
Jamaica’s Wayne Pinnock, second in the men’s long jump in Paris, inflicted a first defeat of 2024 on Greece’s world, Olympic and European champion Miltiadis Tentoglou.
Pinnock’s second-round leap of 8.18m proved enough to resist a customary late rally from Tentoglou, whose best was a fifth round 8.02m. Simon Ehammer, Switzerland’s European bronze medallist, took third place with 7.98m.
The women’s high jumpers got the worst of the rain in the opening event on the programme. Yaroslava Mahuchikh and her rivals had to shelter under umbrellas but the Ukrainian Olympic champion and world record-holder weathered the conditions the best, failing twice at 1.93m before preserving her unbeaten 2024 record with a first-time success at 1.96m
Australia’s Olympic silver medallist Nicola Olyslegers, hitherto blessed with a clean card, had to settle for second place again, with 1.93m.
In the men’s javelin, Grenada’s two-time world champion Anderson Peters claimed a second Diamond League win of the season, his best of 85.72m eclipsing the 85.33m of Germany’s European champion Julian Weber.
Fresh from her 600m world best of 1:21.63 in Berlin on Sunday (1), world champion Mary Moraa of Kenya claimed a decisive 800m victory, pulling clear in the home straight and crossing the line in 1:57.08.
Britain’s Olympic 1500m bronze medallist Georgia Bell finished strongly to claim second place in 1:57.94, with Addison Wiley of the US third in 1:58.16, ahead of Britain’s world indoor silver medallist Jemma Reekie (1:58.49).
Duplantis defeats Warholm over 100m while Kennedy wins pole vault in Zurich
When the starting gun fired after all of the pre-race theatrics in front of the packed Letzigrund Stadion grandstand, there was only ever going to be one winner of the showpiece 100m head-to-head on the eve of the main Weltklasse Wanda Diamond League meeting in Zurich on Wednesday night (4).
“I’m not saying I’m going to kick your ass but I’ll give you a run for your money,” Mondo Duplantis had ventured when he laid down the challenge to Karsten Warholm during a training session ahead of the Monaco Diamond League last year.
The young Swede who has revised the pole vault world record 10 times now did more than give the fastest 400m hurdler of all time a good run after the pair discarded the boxing-style dressing gowns in which they entered the arena.
Duplantis proceeded to administer something of a backside-kicking to his Norwegian friend, flying out of his blocks and leading from gun to tape and crossing the line a decisive winner in 10.37 (0.1m/s) – yet another record, this time of the personal variety, 0.2 quicker than the personal best he recorded in high school in 2018.
Warholm clocked 10.47, 0.02 inside his six-year-old lifetime best.
“I’ve got to give it to Mondo – he beat me fair and square,” the three-time world 400m hurdles champion said. “He got out of the blocks really fast. It was a great race.”
The crowd packing the grandstand were greatly entertained. Among them was Fred Kerley, the 2022 world 100m champion from the US, who practised starts with Duplantis in preparation for the big Zurich showdown.
“I’m pretty fired up,” a jubilant Duplantis said. “Since the Olympics, I haven’t touched a pole in training, only blocks.
“I love to sprint. I think it’s the greatest thing ever. There’s no better feeling at all that compares to that split second before the gun goes off and you’re just there waiting for it. Everything just kind of releases when it happens. It’s like the biggest bundle of energy you could ever have.”
Warholm also had some expert help.
“I actually sent my block starts videos to Usain Bolt,” he revealed. “He said, ‘You shouldn’t walk out the blocks. You should push’.”
Having not pushed too swiftly on his way down the home straight on Wednesday, Warholm will have to wear a Sweden uniform in the 400m hurdles on the Zurich track on Thursday, a forfeit presented by Duplantis in the aftermath of his victory.
The night after his thrilling 100m win, Duplantis was happy to emerge from the wet with a victory in his specialist event, the pole vault.
Clear first time at 5.62m and 5.82m before failing three times at 6.02m, the Swede prevailed on countback. Sam Kendricks, the silver medallist behind him in Paris, also nailed 5.82m first time but the US vaulter paid the price for an initial blank at the opening height, 5.42m.
Duplantis was getting ready for his first vault – a 5.62m success – just as Warholm, his vanquished rival from the 100m head to head the night before was performing “a walk of shame,” as the Norwegian put it, in a yellow and blue Swedish uniform.
Sadly, the 400m hurdles world record-holder and world champion had to withdraw from his specialist event, having felt a hamstring pull in warm up, but still carried through with the forfeit for his loss on Wednesday night.
“I hope people will take this opportunity to make fun of me because it will never happen again,” Warholm declared, before parading in front of the grandstand to the strains of Abba’s Mama Mia.
In the absence of the former Olympic champion, Roshawn Clarke pipped Abderrahman Samba by 0.01 in 47.48.
Earlier on Wednesday evening – in a competition held Zurich’s cavernous Hauptbanhof, main train station – it took Nina Kennedy just 95 minutes to add a third successive victory in the Zurich Diamond League meeting to the growing list of successes in her little black book, less than half of the marathon pole vault final in Paris last month from which she emerged with Olympic gold.
A first-time clearance at 4.87m guaranteed the win for the Australian with the Midas touch in the prelude to Thursday’s main Weltklasse meeting but that was not the end of the drama.
While her fellow Olympic medallists Alysha Newman and Katie Moon both bowed out with best clearances on the night of 4.82m, the Canadian taking second place ahead of her US rival on countback, Kennedy had the bar raised to 4.95m after running through on an initial shot at 4.92m.
Her twin goals were the six-year-old Oceanian record of 4.94m, held by New Zealander Eliza McCartney, and the world lead of 4.92m belonging to Britain’s world indoor champion Molly Caudery.
Kennedy, who set an Australian record of 4.91m in the Hauptbanhof last year, dislodged the bar with her first attempt at 4.95m but the competition was temporarily held up when a fault was discovered with the uprights.
The joint world outdoor champion was allowed to re-take her first effort but was unsuccessful with that and with her remaining opportunity.
Still, as well as completing a Zurich hat-trick, Kennedy secured a fourth Diamond League win of the season – following victories in London, Monaco and Rome – and heads to next week’s final in Brussels on 13-14 September on a roll of seven successive victories in all competitions.
“I love Zurich so much,” said the 27-year-old, whose only previous failure was a first-time effort at 4.82m. “This is an amazing place to jump. I wanted to come here and jump 4.95 but unfortunately I didn’t. I don’t know about being unbeatable. These girls are pushing me. I had to work hard today.”
Newman, the Olympic bronze medallist, took second place courtesy of a second time clearance at 4.82m – just one centimetre shy of her Canadian indoor record.
Moon, joint world outdoor champion with Kennedy in Budapest last year, and runner-up to the Australian in Paris, needed three attempts.
Simon Turnbull for World Athletics
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