Men
100m
2016 winner Asafa Powell (JAM) plans to repeat his Weltklasse Zürich triumph of last year and run his 98th sub-10 second race in the process. No athlete has broken the magic barrier more often than him. Akani Simbine (RSA) and Justin Gatlin (USA) are this year’s fastest in the race (9.92). 35-year-old Gatlin is stepping on the Letzigrund track for the first time as a world champion. Both Simbine and Gatlin, as well as Ronnie Baker (USA) won an IAAF Diamond League race this summer. Alex Wilson, who improved his own national record to 10.11 in 2017, is Switzerland’s representative in the race. It will be his third IAAF Diamond League appearance in two months.
400m
On paper, Isaac Makwala (BOT) and Steven Gardiner (BAH) are the favourites in the 400m. Makwala has run the lap in 43.84 this year; his PB is at 43.72. After missing out on the world championship final due to a health issue, he will tackle the Zurich race with a “now more than ever” attitude, and may be hard to beat. Gardiner is the second athlete in the field to have run the 400m in less than 44 seconds. The athlete of the Bahamas took silver in London, his first medal at global championships, and he also won two IAAF Diamond League races. In addition, indoor world and European champion Pavel Maslák (CZE) is set to run fast in Zurich.
1500m
The entire London podium will be lining up for the men’s 1500m in Zurich. Elijah Motonei Manangoi (KEN) is not only a new world champion, but also the current world leader after clocking 3:28.80 in Monaco. Chasing him again will be runner-up in the top list, silver medallist, and fellow-countryman Timothy Cheruiyot and Norway’s Filip Ingebrigsten, third in London and one of few successful European athletes in the event at this time. Fans are also waiting to see what three-time world and Olympic champion Asbel Kiprop (KEN) can do after suffering a crushing defeat in London.
5000m
A major honour for Weltklasse Zürich: Mo Farah, one of the greatest athletes in the history of athletics, has chosen to bid his track career farewell in Zurich. Letzigrund Stadium is where Farah broke the 13-minute barrier for the first time in his career in 2010 and where he became double European champion in 2014. The four-time Olympic champion and six-time world championship gold medal winner will face strong opponents in his final track race, including Muktar Edris (ETH), who took 5000m gold in London. Edris is also the current world leader (12:55.23) and winner of two 2017 IAAF Diamond League races. Also among those chasing Farah once again will be Paul Chelimo (USA), world championship bronze medallist. The fastest five London finalists will all compete again on Thursday.
400m hurdles
Karsten Warholm (NOR) is the rising star of the 400m hurdles. The 21-year-old did not only win two IAAF Diamond League races this season, he also prevailed at the world championships. His London triumph over Yasmani Copello (TUR) and Olympic champion Kerron Clement (USA) took everyone by surprise. Both Copello and Clement will try to set the record straight in Zurich. Warholm should, however, also watch out for the likes of Kyron McMaster (USA), who got disqualified in the London heats, but is the only athlete with a sub-48 second result this year. And there is of course local hero Kariem Hussein, semi-finalist in London – and no doubt a crowd favourite at Letzigrund Stadium.
High jump
The season’s high fligher is Mutaz Essa Barshim (QAT). Undefeated throughout the summer, he won all IAAF Diamond League competitions he had signed up for and also took the world championship title in London. Two days ago, he went on to improve his own world leading performance to 2.40m in Birmingham. It goes without saying that he is the top favourite for the IAAF Diamond League final on Thursday night. Also in top form, however, is world championship silver medallist Majed Aldin Ghazal. In London he won the second medal for Syria in the championships’ history. Bohdan Bondarenko (UKR), two-time Olympic medal winner and 2013 world champion, would like to make up for his disappointing ninth place in London. Barshim (2.43) und Bondarenko (2.42) are placed second and third in the all-time best list.
Pole vault
Sam Kendricks (USA) has become a member of the prestigious 6m club this year. And the world leader and London gold medallist is the only athlete to have cleared the 6m barrier in 2017 – and thus no doubt the favourite for the Zurich final. He will be challenged by Piotr Lisek (POL) and Renaud Lavillenie (FRA), who won the silver and bronze medals in London. Lavillenie is also the world indoor record holder (6.16m), 2012 Olympic champion, and the winner of last year’s Weltklasse Zürich competition – a triumph he shared with Kendricks. As many as seven world championship finalists will compete in Zurich on Thursday. Local athlete Dominik Alberto looks forward to competing in this illustrious field of pole vaulters.
Long jump
World leader Luvo Manyonga (RSA) lived up to his role as a favourite in London and took the title masterfully. He also improved his personal best to 8.65m this year. If he can use his top form at Letzigrund Stadium again, his strongest opponents will face a strong challenge. The athletes chasing him include Jarrion Lawson (USA), world championship silver medallist, and bronze medallist Ruswahl Samaai (RSA). The athlete representing Switzerland is looking forward to a very special experience: Local club member Benjamin Gföhler (PB 8.13m) will be competing against the best jumpers in the world in front of his home crowd.
Javelin throw
Between 2000 and 2016, no athlete managed to throw the javelin further than 93m. This year, however, two Germans broke the spell, illustrating the staggering level at which the javelin throwers are currently competing. The new world champion and world leader Johannes Vetter outdid Olympic champion Thomas Röhler and also improved the German record to 94.44m. His new PB placed him in second position of the event’s all-time best list, where Röhler is placed third with 93.90m. Lying in wait seems to be Jakub Vadlejch (CZE), who missed the title in London by a mere 16cm. Seven London finalists will compete again this week. Vetter left nothing to chance as far as preparing for Thursday night, and travelled to Zurich to train at Letzigrund Stadium.
Women
200m
Excitement is on the cards when two Olympic champions challenge the new world champion in the same race: Elaine Thompson (JAM) won both the 100m and 200m Olympic gold medal in Rio de Janeiro last year, while Shaunae Miller-Uibo became 400m Olympic champion. On Thursday night, they will be joined by two-time 200m world champion Dafne Schippers (NED), Marie-Josée Ta Lou (CIV), silver medallist in London, and Kyra Jefferson (USA), who has a better season’s best than the world champion. To the delight of all Swiss fans, Mujinga Kambundji will be lining up alongside them. The Swiss star missed the national record by only four hundredths of a second clocking a 22.42 at the national championships in the Letzigrund Stadium earlier this year. She will try to stand her ground against the international sprint top stars.
800m
Caster Semenya (RSA) and Francine Nyonsaba (BRI) split the wins of all 2017 IAAF Diamond League 800m races among themselves. Semenya prevailed four times, while Nyonsaba took to the top of the podium twice. Semenya is also both a world and Olympic champion. When it comes to the Weltklasse Zürich podium, however, Olympic bronze medallist Margaret Wambui (KEN) will want to have her say as well. In recent years, Switzerland’s Selina Büchel has firmly established herself among the world’s best 800m runners. In 2015, she set a new national record in 1:57.95, a more than presentable personal best, and this year, she managed to defend her European indoor title. She will get another opportunity to shine at top level on Thursday night.
100m hurdles
Sally Pearson had won world championship and Olympic gold in 2011 and 2012, but suffered a number of health problems in the following years. After returning to health and top form, she took the title again in London. The IAAF Diamond League final race will still be no walk in the park, as she will face fierce competition – from world championship silver medallist Dawn Harper-Nelson (USA), for instance, or from Jasmin Stowers (USA), the fastest among the participants this year with a season’s best of 12.47, who is determined to make up for missing out on the London world championships after failing to qualify at the US trials.
3000m SC
Led by Emma Coburn (USA), the American steeplers outshone their colleagues from East Africa for once. All eyes will be on the new steeple queen in Zurich. Hyvin Kyeng (KEN), bronze medallist in London, however, will focus on setting the record straight. And together with eight world championship finalists, Olympic champion and world record holder Ruth Jebet (BRN) will try to make Coburn’s first post-championship appearance as tough as possible. Celliphine Chepteek Chespol (KEN) is the world leader this year, clocking 8:58.78. Switzerland’s Fabienne Schlumpf, who broke the national record in June (9:21.65) and placed third in Oslo, has also qualified for the grand season finale in her home country.
Triple jump
A clash of the champions: Over the course of many years, Caterine Ibarguen (COL) dominated the triple jump, taking Olympic gold and two world championship titles. In London, however, Yulimar Rojas (VEN) took the crown from her. The 22-year-old athlete is also the current world leader with a season’s best of 14.96m, while Ibarguen has jumped to 14.89 so far. Ibarguen, on the other hand, won three out of four IAAF Diamonde League competitions. Olga Rypakova (KAZ), bronze medallist in London, is also one of the seven championship finalists, including the top four, to compete in the showdown at Letzigrund Stadium on Thursday night.
Javelin throw
At Weltklasse Zürich, Olympic champion Sara Kolak (CRO) will get her chance to make up for narrowly missing out on the podium in London, a disappointment for the current world leader (68.43m). It was world record holder Barbora Špotáková (CZE) who took the championship crown in London instead. Špotáková had won her first title in 2007 and then went on to triumph twice at Olympic Games in 2008 and 2012. Switzerland’s Géraldine Ruckstuhl set a new national record this year with 58.31m, and will be excited to face the world’s best throwers in Zurich. She is also the Swiss record holder in the heptathlon.
Shot put
World champion and world leader Lijiao Gong (CHN) is the obvious favourite for the Weltklasse Zürich shot put. Her season’s best stands at 20.11m, and she won all three IAAF Diamond League competitions she had signed up for. In Zurich, she will be challenged by her strongest opponents in London: silver medallist Anita Martón (HUN) and bronze medallist Michelle Carter (USA). Carter is also the reigning Olympic champion and the only other athlete to have won an IAAF Diamond League appearance.
Additional events:
400m hurdles
Two-time world champion Zuzana Hejnová (CZE) is the fastest athlete in the field with a season’s best of 54.18. Sara Slott Petersen (DEN), 2016 Olympic silver medallist, will be one of four world championship finalists to compete in Zurich this week. Among them is of course Lea Sprunger, who placed fifth in London, the most successful achievement by a Swiss athlete in an individual event at this year’s championships. Eilidh Doyle (GBR), also a finalist in London, is no doubt looking forward to return to Letzigrund Stadium, the arena in which she became European champion in 2014. And the second Swiss athlete lining up for the 400m hurdles, Zurich’s Petra Fontanive, will create some lasting memories in her farewell race, when challenging Sprunger and her international colleagues for the last time.
4x100 m
The Zurich Trophy, a 4x100m relay race, will once again conclude the Weltklasse Zürich programme. The crowd will be rooting for the Swiss team who placed fifth at the world championships in London – a result for the Swiss athletics history books – and also set a new national record in 42.50. Two of the successful quartet, Mujinga Kambundji and Sarah Atcho, will compete and face the four strongest nations of London again.
