The 100 -meter Noah Lyles and Julien Alfred champions will go to the World Championship in Tokyo in two weeks in the back of impressive victories in the Finals of the Diamond League on Thursday.
Lyles and Alfred were only two of the elite of the cream of athletics that climbed to the top on a twinkling action at a Letzigrund stadium with exhausting tickets.
American Lyles became the first athlete of the track to win the final titles of Six Diamond League by producing a strong end to overcome the Botswana rival, Letsile Tebogo for the victory in the 200 male meters.
Lyles, the current world champion in the 100 and 200, followed Tebogo leaving the corner before staggering in his rival to cross the line in 19.74 and win for 0.02 seconds.
“Six consecutive, the most on the track!” Lyles said.
“That is quite good, I’m not going to lie. I saw Latsile leaning on the finish line and leaned on the finish line, but I knew I won. The most important thing is to get victories. I know that if I panicked I was not going to win. If you are tight so you have finished.”
Lyles had to settle for bronze in the 200 at the Paris Olympic Games, behind Tebogo and his American partner Kenneth Bedarek. But he said he feels ready to defend his two individual titles in the world of Tokyo next month.
“I know I’m fit, I can run all 200. I have the speed at the top of the end,” Lyles said.
Tebogo said that Lyles has become more humble since he beat the American in Paris.
“You have to let the legs make the talk, because the more you speak and you cannot try it, it means that you only talk, do not prove it to yourself,” said Tebogo.
“But for me, I don’t speak, I just let the legs do their thing. I think now, Lyles is humble. He knows what can happen in this sport. Today he wins today, tomorrow, he can lose it. I think that from Paris, he has been humble, he hasn’t been talking so much.”
Alfred, the 100 -meter Olympic champion, reached the victory in 10.76 in his first race in more than a month. He had retired from two meetings from the diamond league due to what the organizers said it was an injury.
“I am overcoming the questions about my injuries,” said Alfred. “It’s my first race in five weeks, so it’s a step forward for me. I’m not thinking about time.
“I feel that I want to add another gold in my collection. The season has been long, but when I compare myself now and at the beginning of the season, I am much more than before and also mentally, I am in the right place where I want to be.”
Tia Clayton de Jamaica was second in 10.84 and Dina Asher-Smith of Great Britain in third place in 10.94.
Twenty -six champions of the Diamond League were presented at the Letzigrund Stadium while the quality oozed at each step as refined athletes preparations for Tokyo worlds.
The athletes competed for points in the previous 14 meetings of the Diamond League in an attempt to qualify for the end of two days in Zurich. The winners were presented with a diamond -shaped trophy and a $ 50,000 check.
American Christian Coleman reproduced Akani Simbine in South Africa and the ackeem Jamaican Blake on the line to win the 100 men’s meters in 9.97. Simbine registered 9.98 and Blake 9.99.
“This victory feels incredible. Let’s keep winning,” Coleman said. “In the United States we have five, six types that should be in the final in Tokyo, so if I had the opportunity, I want to return home with a medal.”
American Brittany Brown won the 200 meters of women in the best 22.13 season, while Asher-Smith took second (22.18), and Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith, who was disqualified from the 100 for a false start, finished third.
Warholm ‘greedy’
Femke Bol of the Netherlands continued its domain in the 400 female obstacles, winning in a 52.18 meeting record to ensure its fifth general title of the Diamond League. Bol has won 30 consecutive races of the Diamond League, which date back to 2020.
“Another season of the undefeated diamond league,” said Bol. “It’s really great.”
Karsten Warholm from Norway, the world record holder and three times world champion, then expected the Bol feat, improving its 2019 brand with a new record of 46.70 seconds.
“That was my goal for this meeting,” Warholm said. “I am on the right path for Tokyo. I have three titles as world champions and I want more. I am greedy.”
Two loaded short obstacles races followed the path of the spells of Cordell American Cordell in shape for men of more than 110 meters and the Nugent Jamaican ackera (12.30 seconds) in the 100 m of women.
Tinch stressed his credentials as the favorite for Tokyo with a winning time of 12.92 seconds, matching the meeting record, and then world record, established by the double Olympic champion Roger Kingdom in 1989.
“This is consistency,” said Tinch, who established a world leadership of 12.87 in May. “Everything I have done this year has been the next great moment, every time I got into something, it is another great moment. And I am ready for next. I am ready to go to Tokyo and be great.”
Niels Laros moved away in the last 100 meters to easily win the 1,500 male in a Dutch record 3: 29.20, a perfect tuning for world championships for the 20 -year -old player.
“I know I have a good kick and confident that,” said Laros. “I’m excited. I’m going to Tokyo very confident. I’m dreaming of the podium.”
One of the most competitive events in the male circuit is 800m, with athletes that are increasingly approaching David Rudisha’s world record of 1: 40.91.
Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya faded in the local section in Zurich, but only managed to wait for the 1: 42.37, 0.05 seconds ahead of the Max Burgin of Great Britain, with the world champion of Canada Marco Arop taking third place.
There was a Swiss record of 1: 55.91 for Audrey Werro in the 800m of women.
Salwa Eid Naser de Bahrein surpassed Marileidy Paulino for the title of 400m female, winning in a record of 48.70 seconds, while the American jacería Patterson recorded a better personal brand of 43.85 seconds for the honors of a dump of men.
The outstanding performance in the field was a better and world leader of 91.51m by Julian Weber in Germany in La Javelina, with the world champion of India Neeraj Chopra ending second.
There was no such joy for the current Olympic and World Champion of Japan Haruka Kitaguchi, who achieved a better one of 60.72m for the sixth and last place in a competition won by Elina Tzengko of Greece (64.57).
