At the Weltklasse Zurich athletics meeting, the Swiss are among the stars – Sport

For the Swiss athletics stars, the Letzigrund is also about qualifying for the Diamond League final in Brussels.

The Swiss athletics aces are now making the leap into the fields of Weltklasse Zürich even without the nationality bonus. A quintet is not only looking ahead to the meeting in Letzigrund on Thursday evening, but also to the final in Brussels.

What was unthinkable a decade ago now seems to be a reality at Weltklasse Zürich. With Angelica Moser, Mujinga and Ditaji Kambundji, Simon Ehammer and Dominic Lobalu, a quintet should have enough points after the meeting to start in the highly-prized Diamond League final of the best eight in the world in just over a week.

There has never been such a close-knit Swiss team. It reflects the upswing of a team that returned from the European Championships in Rome with 9 medals.

Ditaji Kambundji has to deliver at Letzigrund

Pole vaulter Moser was able to book her ticket to Brussels early on. The European champion collected most of her points in Marrakesh, Morocco, where she won a Diamond League meeting for the first time, and in Monaco, where she came second with a Swiss record (4.88 m).

The two Kambundji sisters also regularly make it to the finals in their disciplines at major global events or return from European Championships with medals. Mujinga Kambundji got the necessary points in the 200 m in Xiamen and Suzhou. The European champion is set to compete in Brussels in this discipline. However, the Olympic sixth-place finisher will only be able to compete in the 100 m with a huge exploit.

Hurdler Ditaji Kambundji is still benefiting from a strong start to the season. In addition to the points in China, her victory at the Diamond League meeting in Doha in mid-May is also important. The European Championship runner-up in Rome will have to deliver again at Weltklasse Zürich to avoid falling out of the top 8 in the rankings.

Ehammer in Zurich is the driving force, Lobalu is missing

A year ago, Ehammer won the Diamond League final in Eugene (USA) as a long jumper – and made it a Swiss first. Nothing now stands in the way of his participation in Brussels. The third-place finisher at the European Championships in Rome is currently third in the Diamond League rankings and can no longer be pushed out of the final field in Zurich.

Dominic Lobalu is also allowed to travel to Belgium, provided his health allows it. The European champion will be absent in Zurich due to a Covid illness. The runner, who has been eligible to compete for Switzerland since May, is seeded in the 5000 m in Brussels.