The following 16 Diamond Races will be concluded:
(30th August 2016)
Men:
100m
African champion Ben Youssef Meité (Côte d‘Ivoire) has a big chance to win the Diamond Trophy and the biggest triumph of his athletics career. The 29-year-old broke the 10-second barrier for the first time and went on to run four more sub-10 seconds 100m this year. He is leading the Diamond Race (16 points), in front of Michael Rodgers (USA, 13 points) and European champion Churandy Martina (Netherlands; 8 points). But the trio will have to watch out for the following two: Former world record holder and Olympic relay champion Asafa Powell has at least a theoretical chance to collect a second trophy after 2011. The Jamaican sprinter won his race in Lausanne in 9.96 seconds, and he will be going for another win in Zurich. And then there is his fellow countryman, 110m h Olympic champion Omar McLeod. He, too, has run the 100m in under 10 seconds. It will be interesting to see what he can do at Letzigrund Stadium.
400m
LaShawn Merritt could win the Diamond Race for the third time, after 2013 and 2014. He won bronze in Rio and all of his three IAAF Diamond League races. In Zurich, the American top favourite will be chased by Bralon Taplin (Grenada, seventh in Rio) and by Isaac Makwala (Botswana). Makwala could still win the trophy if he manages to close the gap of 12 points. The line-up also includes European champion Martyn Rooney (Great Britain) and European indoor champion Pavel Maslak (Czech Republic).
5000m
The 5000m entry list promises a gripping competition. The favourites for the Diamond Trophy are the Ethiopians Muktar Edris (30 points) and Yomif Kejelcha (22 points). Especially the 19-year-old Yomif Kejelcha, winner of the 2015 Diamond Race, is a contender to be reckoned with again: In Paris, he won the 3000m, breaking the U20 world record by running 7:28.19. But the two have to be on their guard as the field in Zurich features the likes of Olympic silver medallist Paul Chelimo (USA), bronze medallist Hagos Gebrhiwet (Ethiopia), 3000m SC Olympic silver medallist Evan Jager (USA), as well as 10000m Olympic silver medallist Paul Tanui (Kenya). The race will also be an opportunity for 41-year-old Bernard Lagat (USA) to bid his Zurich fans farewell.
400m hurdles
One of three European athletes in the field is local star Kariem Hussein, who delighted Swiss fans last year by winning the race in Zurich. Five out of eight Olympic finalists will be lining up next to him, including Olympic champion and Diamond Race leader Kerron Clement (USA) and silver medallist Boniface Tumuti (Kenya). 2012 Olympic bronze medallist Javier Culson (Puerto Rico) is still hoping to win the Diamond Trophy. He is just six points behind Clement, and catching up with him would maybe also help forget his false start in Rio.
Pole vault
World record holder Renaud Lavillenie will take Zurich as an opportunity for a rematch with Thiago Braz (Brazil), the new Olympic champion and current world leader (6.03m). Bronze medallist Sam Kendricks (USA), Piotr Lisek (Poland, fourth in Rio), and Jan Kudlicka (Czech Republic, fourth in Rio) complete the list of the top five performers at the recent Olympics. The entry list also includes European champion Robert Sobera (Poland). Lavillenie is leading the Diamond Race by an uncatchable margin and will collect the trophy for the seventh consecutive time. The French is the only athlete to have won all seven Diamond Races in the history of the IAAF Diamond League.
Triple jump
Olympic and world champion Christian Taylor has been dominating the triple jump this year. He won all of his four Diamond League competitions. With 40 points, the 26-year-old is on track for his fifth Diamond Trophy. After winning four competitions with jumps over 17.5 metres, and a world leading season’s best of 17.86m, any other outcome than a fifth consecutive win would come as a surprise. Chris Carter (USA), winner of the competition in Paris, and Alexis Copello (Cuba) are two of his strongest opponents. At the age of only 20 years, German talent Max Hess is to make his Weltklasse Zurich debut. He will try and challenge a field of very experienced athletes, which also includes world championship bronze medallist Nelson Evora (Portugal).
Shot put
The shot put field boasts an all-star cast with the Top 7 from the Olympics consisting of the Olympic medallists (Ryan Crouser; USA, Joe Kovacs; USA, and Tom Walsh; New Zealand) and European champion David Storl (Germany). 2012 Olympic champion Tomasz Majewski (Poland), who is on his farewell tour, as well as his talented fellow countryman, U20 world record holder and U20 world champion Konrad Bukowiecki, who is determined to follow in Majewski’s footsteps, will compete in Zurich.
Javelin throw
Two years ago, newcomer Thomas Röhler grabbed the Diamond Trophy in a surprise win. This year, the young German returns to Zurich as Olympic champion, world leader (91.28m) and Diamond Race favourite. But the final will be tough. Röhler has collected 34 points, but Jakub Vadlejch (Czech Republic) is breathing down his neck after winning the competitions in London and Paris. Both of them will be facing strong opponents: The field includes five Rio finalists, former Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott (Trinidad & Tobago), European champion Zigismunds Sirmais (Latvia), as well as 2015 Diamond Race winner and world championship bronze medallist Tero Pitkämäki (Finland).
Women:
200m
Four of the best female sprinters of all times and the champions of the last four Olympic Games in one race! The newly-crowned double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson (Jamaica) will be facing silver medallist and world champion Dafne Schippers (Netherlands). In addition, there will be Allyson Felix (USA), who had taken the 200m title in London, and Veronica Campbell-Brown (Jamaica), who had won gold in 2004 and 2008. The line-up will be completed by European champion Dina Asher-Smith (Great Britain) and by Swiss national record holder and 100m European championship bronze medallist Mujinga Kambundji. Schippers is leading the Diamond Race by an uncatchable margin.
800m
Switzerland’s Selina Büchel versus all eight Olympic finalists and 2015 Weltklasse Zürich winner Eunice Sum (Kenya)! The event will be a hotly contested race, particularly when looking at it from Selina Büchel’s view. The European indoor champion missed the final in Rio, placing ninth. She plans to prove that she belongs with the world’s best, including Olympic champion Caster Semenya (South Africa), silver medallist Francine Niyonsaba (Burundi), bronze medallist Margaret Wambui (Kenya), world champion Maryna Arzamasova (Belarus), and European champion Nataliya Pryshchepa (Ukraine). Caster Semenya and Francine Niyonsaba will be the ones fighting it out for the Diamond Trophy: Caster Semenya is in the lead with 40 points. But it is a narrow margin, Francine Niyonsaba has collected 38 points.
1500m
The 11 top performers in the Diamond Race and nine of the Top 10 in the Olympic final have all signed up for a very distinguished Weltklasse Zürich 1500m. Top favourite for the race is Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon (Kenya). The 22-year-old won three out of her four Diamond League races this summer, but was defeated by Laura Muir in Paris a few days ago. The British runner impressed fans and opponents with a new national record and a world leading time of 3:55.22. Her brilliant run keeps her dream of winning the Diamond Trophy alive, as Faith Kipyegon leads the race by only eight points. Other stars in the field include Olympic bronze medallist Jenny Simpson (USA), 5000m silver medallist Hellen Obiri (Kenya), Poland’s European champion Angelika Cichocka, and 2015 Diamond Race winner Sifan Hassan (Netherlands).
100m hurdles
The IAAF Diamond League seems to be Kendra Harrison’s territory. She missed out on the Olympic Games because of one single defeat this season. But the American hurdler was never beaten in the most prestigious athletics series, over the course of which she collected five wins. Only 1.63 metres tall, Kendra Harrison used her impressive hurdling skills to set a new world record (12.20) in London. With a convincing lead by 22 points in the Diamond Race, she is no doubt the top favourite for the competition which will mark her debut in Zurich. Dawn Harper-Nelson (USA), who had taken the Olympic title in Beijing and won the past four Diamond Races, as well as world championship silver medallist and European champion Cindy Roleder (Germany) will make sure that Harrison’s task is not an easy one.
3000m SC
With her world record run in Paris (8:52.78), Ruth Jebet (Bahrain) took the women’s 3000m SC to a new level. How fast can she go in the Weltklasse Zürich race? Her pacemaker will be Stephanie Garcia (USA), who placed ninth at last years World Championships. In any case, she will have the opportunity to round off her incredible season with a Diamond Trophy. Olympic silver medallist and world champion Hyvin Kiyeng could be the one playing spoilsport: The Kenyan has collected only four points less than Jebet. Emma Coburn (USA), Beatrice Chepkoech (Kenya), and Sofia Assefa (Ethiopia) have all also placed in the top five of the Rio final and will try to challenge both Ruth Jebet and Hyvin Kiyeng in Zurich.
High jump
Spain’s Ruth Beitia is 37 years old, and her athletics career is flourishing for the second time. She won European gold in Amsterdam and then went on to take the Olympic title in Rio. She also triumphed at four out of her five Diamond League competitions. In Zurich, she will be facing tough competition, as the entry lists includes only Olympic finalists, including silver medallist Mirela Demireva (Bulgaria). In the Diamond Race, it is Levern Spencer (Saint Lucia, sixth in Rio), who could still snatch the trophy from Ruth Beitia.
Long jump
The entire Rio podium – champion Tianna Bartoletta (USA), Brittney Reese (USA), and Ivana Spanovic (Serbia) – will be trying to jump far at Letzigrund Stadium. Sosthene Moguenara (Germany) has also already managed to jump past the seven-metre barrier this summer. And Great Britain’s world championship silver medallist Shara Proctor and European championship silver medallist Jazmin Sawyers add even more long jump glamour to the prestigious field. The Diamond Race has been dominated by European champion Ivana Spanovic. The 26-year-old athlete competed at all six meetings so far. She won five times and placed second once. Her brilliant 56 points earned her an uncatchable lead.
Discus throw
Six competitions, six wins, 60 points! Sandra Perkovic has had a stellar IAAF Diamond League season. Since the Croatian star has not been beaten so far, the Diamond Trophy is hers already. Just like it was in the past four years. Competing at Letzigrund Stadium will bring back fond memories of the European Athletics Championships in 2014, when she both took the title and set a new national record (71.08m). And it is of course also the venue of her two wins at Weltklasse Zürich in 2012 and 2014. Will her winning streak continue? Not if the two other Olympic medallists, Melina Robert-Michon (France) and world champion Denia Caballero (Cuba) get their say. Germany sends the best of its great throwers: European championship silver medallist Julia Fischer, bronze medallist Shanice Craft, and world championship bronze medallist Nadine Müller.
Additional competitions in the international Weltklasse Zürich programme of events:
400m hurdles women
Sara Slott Petersen of Denmark first took the European title in Amsterdam and then Olympic silver in Rio. She is the top favourite for the race in Zurich, where the line-up features world championship silver medallist Shamier Little (USA) and six European stars, including European championship medal winners Joanna Linkiewicz (Poland) and Lea Sprunger (Switzerland), as well as Olympic finalist Eilidh Doyle of Great Britain.
4x100m women
Four nations that made it to the Olympic 4x100m final send teams to compete in the Zurich Trophy. They will be challenged by the Swiss relay squad, who set a new national record in in 42.87 at the European Athletics Championships in Amsterdam in July. Together with strong teams from the USA, Jamaica, Germany (fourth in Rio), and Ukraine (sixth in Rio), they will make sure that the night at Letzigrund Stadium ends with a spectacular highlight.
Pole vault women (at Zurich Main Station on 31 August)
<link http: zurich.diamondleague.com en news news-article detail nicole-buechler-to-challenge-olympic-champion-at-zurich-main-station external-link-new-window external link in new>Read more about Weltklasse Zürich at Zurich Main Station in our preview of the event.
