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Audrey Werro remained undefeated this year in the 800-meter race in Lausanne, but it was a close call. Cheered on by the crowd, the Swiss runner held off Femke Broeders-Bol until the very end to win in 1’55’’33 at the 51st edition of Athletissima, which featured four meet records—including Rai Benjamin’s in the 400-meter hurdles (46.67 seconds), and by three Swiss podium finishes in the Diamond League events. It was a successful evening, especially given the cool temperatures (17–18 degrees).
Audrey Werro felt Broeders-Bol’s breath on the back of her neck. The Swiss runner took off at a blistering pace right behind the pacemaker, passing the 400-meter mark two seconds faster than Jarmila Kratochvilova had during her world record run in 1983. The second lap was difficult. Initially threatened by the Ethiopian Saida Tseyahe (3rd in 1’56’’92), the runner from Fribourg had to dig deep to hold off Broeders-Bol (2nd in 1’55’’41). The Dutch runner, in her first season competing at this distance, set a Dutch record and came closer than ever to Werro, who in the process snatched the meet record from Keely Hodgkinson. Will Werro be able to defend her Diamond League title at the final in Brussels in early September?
Angelica Moser came very close to securing a second Swiss victory on this chilly evening. The two-time European champion lost by a hair in the pole vault to American Hana Moll, the junior world champion, who claimed her first Diamond League (DL) victory by clearing 4.84 meters on her third attempt. Moser failed twice at that height and finished second with 4.74 meters, her fifth DL podium finish of the season! Katie Moon (USA) settled for third place with 4.64 meters.
Long jump king Miltiadis Tentoglou (GRE) lived up to his reputation to dominate the competition with a jump of 8.24 meters. Simon Ehammer, who had been trailing far behind for much of the competition, surpassed himself on his fifth attempt, landing at 8.13 meters and securing a strong second-place finish.
What a race by Rai Benjamin! The Olympic and world champion in the 400-meter hurdles was competing in his first—and only—race of the season over the low hurdles, after focusing on the flat 400 meters in recent months. It was a sensational return for the second-fastest man of all time: after 160 meters, starting from lane 6, he had already overtaken the two runners ahead of him. At the finish line, he clocked 46.67 seconds, a meet record. Benjamin came within 0.19 seconds of Alison dos Santos’ world-leading time (WL) for the year. “I was incredibly rusty because it was my first 400-meter hurdles race of the season, but I’m happy with the result,” he said. This event was not designated as a DL race.
Masai Russell is closing in
In the 100-meter hurdles, Masai Russell blasted through the race in 12.27 seconds, breaking the meet record held by Jasmine Camacho-Quinn by 0.07 seconds and, in the process, posting the world’s second-best time of the year and her sixth victory on the track. The American, who clocked 12.14 seconds earlier this season, is not far off Tobi Amusan’s world record (12.12 seconds). European champion Nadine Visser (NED) finished second in 12.42 seconds, and Alaysha Johnson (USA) third in 12.49 seconds. World champion Ditaji Kambundji (SWI) finished sixth with a time of 12.71 seconds.
Marco Arop did not reap the rewards of his generosity in the men’s 800-meter race. The Canadian world champion set a blistering pace in the wake of the pacemaker, building a lead of up to 5 meters. But he was overtaken on the home stretch (4th), in a race won by Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi (1’42’’19), ahead of Djamel Sedjati (ALG) in 1’42’’31 and Brandon Miller (USA) in 1’42’’55.
In the 400-meter hurdles, European champion and Breakthrough Athlete of the Year Emma Zapletalova of Slovakia dominated from start to finish to win in 52.41 seconds, her fourth victory of the season in track and field. American Anna Cockrell, who finished second in 53.15 seconds, was overtaken in a race that saw Paulien Couckuyt set a Belgian record of 53.28 seconds.
Olympic champion Haruka Kitaguchi has regained her form after a lackluster season so far in the javelin throw. With a throw of 64.90 meters, the Japanese athlete finished ahead of the field’s top performer, Colombia’s Flor Denis Ruiz Hurtado (64.29 meters).
The top javelin throwers put on a thrilling contest. The world No. 1 this year, Rumesh Pathirage of Sri Lanka, emerged victorious with a throw of 88.14 meters, ahead of his longtime rival Neeraj Chopra of India (88.05 meters) and Anderson Peters (GRN) with 86.61 meters.
The 5,000-meter race kept the crowd on the edge of their seats. Neither the MPM nor the meet record was even close to being broken, but the Pontaise crowd was treated to a great tactical race, initially led by the American squad headed by Parker Wolfe and Nico Young, then by the Africans, and finally by Birhanu Balew of Bahrain, who was unstoppable in the closing stretch. The year’s No. 1 finisher won in 12:57.55, ahead of Wolfe and Young. Swiss record holder Dominic Lobalu, the only European in the field, finished 8th (13:00.73).
A Tragedy for Shericka Jackson
World champion Pedro Pichardo was on the edge of his seat until the very end of the triple jump. The Portuguese athlete celebrated a prestigious victory with a jump of 17.44 meters, 1 cm better than Yasser Mohammed Triki (ALG). Italy’s Andy Díaz Hernández took third place with a jump of 17.20 meters.
The highly anticipated 200-meter showdown between Shericka Jackson (JAM)—the second-fastest woman of all time—and the American runners came to an abrupt end. After getting off to a strong start, the Jamaican athlete was injured coming out of the turn—apparently in the thigh—before collapsing on the track and being carried away by medical staff. It was a tragic turn of events for the four-time world champion, who had returned to top form this spring after two fairly difficult seasons. American Kayla White took advantage of the situation to claim her first victory in the DL (22.28 seconds), ahead of four-time European champion Amy Hunt (GBR) and Nigeria’s Favour Ofili (same time).
The men’s 200-meter race marked a winning return for Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo (BOT), who clocked 19.87 seconds, while European bronze medalist Timothé Mumenthaler (SWI) finished sixth in 20.39 seconds.
Bahraini runner Winfred Yavi put on a spectacular show alongside her Kenyan rival Faith Cherotich in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. At the halfway point, Yavi was about ten meters behind the pacer, who was setting the pace for the meet record. But after a series of magnificent final laps, she crossed the finish line 20 meters ahead of the pacer in 9’00’’04, smashing the Athletissima record.
The Swiss athletes went on to claim three more podium finishes in non-Diamond League events: in the 4×100-meter relay, with the beaming Géraldine Di Tizio-Frey, Fabienne Hoenke, Léonie Pointet, and Salomé Kora (Switzerland I), who took first place in 42.91 seconds, ahead of Portugal (43.40) and… Switzerland II, which finished third in 43.45 seconds, as well as by Jason Joseph, who placed third in the 110-meter hurdles in 13.29 seconds (won by Jamal Britt of the U.S. in 13.13 seconds).