Kenya's 20-year-old Olympic gold medalist Emmanuel Wanyonyi produced the best performance of a frenzied night of athletics on Thursday (22nd) when he won the 800 meters in 1 minute 41.11 seconds at the Wanda Diamond League meet in Lausanne.
The time moved him into second place on the all-time list, but just missed the world record of 1 minute 40.91 seconds set by his compatriot and inspiration David Rudisha at the 2012 London Olympics.
Another treat for the packed Stade Olympique de la Pontaise was Jacob Ingebrigtsen's revenge victory over Cole Hocker, the American who had cost him the 1500m title in Paris. Another notable upset for an Olympic champion was Grant Holloway's rare defeat in the 110m hurdles.
But other events saw impressive victories from Ukraine's Yaroslava Makhchik in the women's high jump, Greece's Miltiadis Tentoglou in the men's long jump and Botswana's 200m gold medallist Letsir Tebogo.
Wanyonyi's time was exactly the same as the previous world record set by Denmark's Wilson Kipketer in 1997.
Four of the five riders who followed him in Paris took part in non-Diamond League races, and Wang Yeon-hee's world-leading performance was also a Diamond League record.
The pacesetters completed the 400 metres in 49.32 seconds, just slower than the required 49.20, with Wanyonyi a few steps behind. The Olympic champion held off the challenge of Canada's world champion Marco Arop, who clocked 1:41.72, with third place going to France's European champion Gabriel Tual in 1:42.30.
“I'm very happy to achieve the world's best result today in Lausanne,” said Wanyoni. “I was really happy with the reaction of the crowd and I'm looking forward to a good result in Silesia.”
Ingebrigtsen again came out strong in the 1500m, finishing 10 metres ahead in 3:27.83, one of five meet records.
The 2021 Olympic 1,500m champion, who took major consolation from winning gold in the 5,000m in Paris, took the lead at the bell as the second pacemaker was dismissed, with Hocker and U.S. teammate Hobbs Kessler close behind.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen wins the 1500 metres in Lausanne (©Chiara Montesano)
But by the time the three rounded the final corner, the Norwegian had built up a five-metre lead, which he doubled by the time they crossed the finish line, with Hocker taking second in 3:29.85 and Kessler third in 3:30.47.
“It's been almost two weeks since Paris so I've had plenty of time to recover,” Ingebrigtsen said. “Tonight's race gave me some good answers and I'll try to build on this result for next Sunday's race and the rest of the season.”
Tebogo returned to competition in impressive fashion, winning the 200m in an easy time of 19.64 seconds on the wide, gentle curves typical of the track.
America's Erion Knighton finished next in 19.78 seconds, with Olympic 100m bronze medalist Fred Curley coming in third in a season's best time of 19.86 seconds.
The day before, Tebogo had admitted with a smile that he hadn't trained for eight days…
“The race today in Lausanne was great for me and it will be great for me to come back here again next year,” he said.
Holloway was defeated by Jamaica's Olympic bronze medalist Rasheed Broadbell, who pumped his fist in victory after taking first place in 13.10 seconds. Holloway came in second in 13.14 seconds, while Broadbell's compatriot and 2021 Olympic gold medalist Hansl Parchment took third in 13.23 seconds.
Mahucic won the high jump with 1.99m, beating 2022 world champion Eleanor Patterson of Australia, who cleared a season's best of 1.96m to beat teammate and world indoor champion Nicola Olli-Lagers (1.92m).
Similarly, Tentoglu did not need to cover a record-breaking distance to win the long jump, as his 8.06 metres in the final round was enough to beat Olympic silver medallist Wayne Pinnock by five centimetres.
Record of the meeting between Weltage and Boll
Ethiopia's Dilibe Weltegee ran a flawless race to win the 3,000m in a course record and personal best of 8:21.50, followed by Kenya's Janeth Chepngetich in 8:23.48. Tsigye Gebreselama (8:24.40) and Elise Kuranyi of the United States (8:25.10) were third and fourth respectively in personal bests.
Femke Boll of the Netherlands was a bit disappointed after finishing third in the Olympic 400m hurdles final, but she got back into winning mode by overtaking early leader Rachelle Clayton halfway to the finish line to win in a meet record time of 52.25. Jamaica's Boll came in second in 53.32, one ahead of compatriot Janieve Russell (54.48).
Femke Boll wins the 400m hurdles in Lausanne (©Chiara Montesano)
Great Britain's Olympic silver medallist Matthew Hudson-Smith overtook early leader Busan Kebinatsipi around the final corner to win the 400m by a brilliant decision in 43.96 seconds, ahead of Zambia's Olympic bronze medallist Muzala Samukhonga, who clocked 44.06 seconds. Kebinatsipi came third in a personal best of 44.22 seconds.
Kenya's world champion Mary Mollaa comfortably won the 800m in a time of 1:57.91, while Great Britain's Olympic 1500m bronze medallist Georgia Bell came second in 1:58.53 ahead of compatriot Gemma Reekie (1:58.73).
Grenada's two-time world champion Anderson Peters produced a monumental performance in the javelin, setting a tournament record with 90.61 metres in the final round.
Germany's European Championships silver medallist Julian Weber threw 87.08m but a final effort from India's world champion Neeraj Chopra saw him drop to third place with a season's best of 89.49m.
Jackson and Asher-Smith make amends
American shot put world champion Chase Jackson exacted revenge after missing out on a place in the Olympic final with a dominant performance against a field that included Germany's Yemisi Ogunleye, who won gold in Paris as an unexpected surprise.
Jackson threw a season best of 20.64 metres, just four centimetres shy of the world record set by Canada's Sarah Mitton (third place with 19.52 metres). Ogunleye came in second with 19.55 metres.
Meanwhile, European champion Dina Asher-Smith, who missed the Olympic 100m final, won in a season's best time of 10.88. At the end of the night, she led the British 4x100m team to victory in a meet record of 42.03, ahead of Switzerland (42.16).
Puerto Rico's Jasmine Camacho-Quinn's remarkable consistency was on display again in the 100m hurdles, where the 2021 Olympic gold medalist won in 12.35 seconds, matching her season's best. USA's Grace Stark and Jamaica's Akela Nugent took second and third place, respectively, in 12.38 seconds.
Duplantis breaks his own tournament record
On the eve of the main event, just 16 days after defending his Olympic pole vault title with a ninth world record, Mondo Duplantis made a triumphant return to competition on Wednesday (21st) with a lift of 6.15m, improving his own meet record by five centimetres.
Mondo Duplantis at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Lausanne (© AFP / Getty Images)
The 24-year-old Swede provided the perfect ending to a competition played out in superb conditions at the unique venue in Ouchy on Lake Geneva.
“I love this,” he told the crowd afterwards, “I love jumping in front of you all. That's what today was all about. I hope you all enjoyed it.”
After fending off competitors including Olympic medallist Sam Kendricks of the United States and Emmanuil Karalis of Greece with a first-time jump of 6.00m, Duplantis won in dramatic fashion on his third try in front of a sold-out crowd.
Kendricks took second place with a first-time clear of 5.92 meters. Norway's Sondre Guttormsen took third with a season's best of 5.82 meters, a height also cleared by Australia's Curtis Marshall, world silver medallist Ernest John Obiena of the Philippines, and Karalis, who placed fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively.
Duplantis started off with a first-time clearance of 5.62 metres, before returning to the competition and enjoying further instant success with 5.82 metres, 5.92 metres and 6.00 metres.
After two misses at 6.15m it looked like he was past the peak of his sport, but he raised his level and provided an enthusiastic crowd with an unforgettable moment.
Renaud Lavillenie, who missed out on qualifying for the Olympics on home soil, matched his personal best this season with a jump of 5.72 metres, underlining the realism of his vow to compete in a fourth Olympic Games at Los Angeles 2028.
Mike Rowbottom of World Athletics
