ZURICH — Olympic 100m champions Noah Lyles and Julien Alfred will arrive at the upcoming World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on September 13 full of momentum after impressive victories at the Diamond League finals.
The pair headlined a glittering race of athletics at a sold-out Letzigrund Stadium in Zurich, where 25,000 fans witnessed some of the sport’s biggest stars rise to the occasion.
Lyles powered through the final stretch to edge Botswanan rival Letsile Tebogo in the men’s 200m, clocking 19.74 seconds to claim a record sixth Diamond League title over the distance.
“Another record in the list. It is pretty nice to have that,” said Lyles.
“The most important is getting wins. I know if I panicked, I was not going to win. If you are tight you are done for,” Lyles added according to AFP.
Lyles said he would head to Tokyo “with a lot of energy. I will use that to my advantage”.
Alfred had earlier clocked 10.76sec for her win over 100m ahead of Jamaica’s Tia Clayton (10.84) in what was the perfect tonic before departing to the September 13-21 world championships in Tokyo.
“I feel like I want to add another gold in my collection,” she said. “I am much fitter than before and also mentally, I am on the right place where I want to be.”
Twenty-six Diamond League champions were unveiled at the Letzigrund Stadium as quality oozed through at every turn as athletes fine-tuned preparations for the Tokyo worlds.
One of the most competitive events on the men’s circuit is the 800m, with athletes edging ever nearer to David Rudisha’s world record of 1:40.91.
Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi faded in the home stretch in Zurich, but just managed to hold on for victory in 1:42.37, 0.05sec ahead of Britain’s Max Burgin, with Canada’s world champion Marco Arop taking third.
There were no surprises in the 400m hurdles as Dutch world champion Femke Bol improved on her own meet to 52.18sec, her 30th straight hurdles race victory on the Diamond League circuit.
“it’s crazy, another Diamond League season undefeated, it’s really cool!” said Bol.
Norway’s Karsten Warholm, the world record holder and three-time world champion, then nonchalantly repeated Bol’s feat, bettering his 2019 mark with a new meet record of 46.70sec.
“That was my target for this meeting,” said Warholm. “I’m on the right path for Tokyo. I have three titles as world champions and I want more. I’m greedy.”
Two loaded short hurdles races went the way of in-form American Cordell Tinch for the men over 110m and Jamaican Ackera Nugent (12.30sec) in the women’s 100m.
Tinch underlined his credentials as the favourite for Tokyo with a winning time of 12.92sec, equalling the meet record — and then world record — set by double Olympic champion Roger Kingdom back in 1989.
“It is about consistency,” said Tinch, who set a world lead of 12.87 in May.
“All I have done this year has been a next big moment, every time I get into something, it is another big moment. And I am ready for the next one. I am ready to go to Tokyo and be great.”
Dutchman Niels Laros ran a timely national record of 3:29.20 in the men’s 1 500m, which promises to be one of the most competitive events in Tokyo and there was a Swiss record of 1:55.91 for in-form Audrey Werro in the women’s 800m.
Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser trumped Marileidy Paulino for the women’s 400m title, winning in a meet record of 48.70sec, while American Jacory Patterson clocked a personal best of 43.85sec for the men’s one-lap honours.
