Sha’Carri Richardson and Noah Lyles shine in Zurich, but rare defeat for Karsten Warholm

ZURICH – Sha’Carri Richardson and Noah Lyles were among a host of newly crowned world champions to transfer their winning form in Budapest into victory at the Diamond League meet in Zurich on Thursday.

But there was a first defeat in the competition in five years for Norway’s hurdler supreme Karsten Warholm, as Josh Kerr (1,500m), Gianmarco Tamberi (high jump) and Neeraj Chopra (javelin) were also pushed off the top of the podiums after success in the Hungarian capital in August.

Sprint queen Richardson scorched to victory in the blue-riband 100m, clocking 10.88 seconds to finish ahead of Jamaicans Natasha Morrison and Elaine Thompson-Herah in a photo finish at 11.00sec.

“I am feeling really good for being able to finish this season as fast as I can,” said the American, who won 200m bronze and was also part of the US team who won gold in the 4x100m relay in Budapest.

“Just knowing that my training has got me here – physically training, mentally training, emotionally training myself – to understand what it takes to finish an entire season and beyond the World Championships, everything has been for one, my mind, body and soul. Today, I felt like I executed and I felt good about my performance – my body felt very good afterwards, but obviously there is still room to improve.”

Lyles made no mistake in his favoured 200m, winning in 19.80sec after a strong bend that set him up perfectly for a home-straight charge to the line.

United States teenage teammate Erriyon Knighton finished second in 19.87sec with Briton Zharnel Hughes rounding out the podium (19.94sec).

“It is business as usual,” said Lyles, who won the sprint treble of the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay in Hungary. “Everybody wants to beat me and everybody wants the cake and the crown, but I am not giving it to them.”

Conditions at the Letzigrund Stadium were a far cry from the hot, humid weather in Budapest, with a noticeable drop in temperatures. “We did not have perfect conditions. It was pretty cold, but a win is a win,” Lyles added.

His 200m-winning female counterpart in Budapest, Jamaican Shericka Jackson, also dominated the women’s race, triumphing in 21.82sec. Norway’s Olympic and three-time world champion Warholm finished second to Kyron McMaster of the British Virgin Islands in the 400m hurdles.

Warholm, whose last Diamond League defeat came way back in September 2018 – also in Zurich and also to McMaster, set the meet record of 46.92sec in 2019, but was far off that as he clocked 47.30sec, three-hundredths of a second off the winner.

“The level is so high. I cannot have bad days any more. The World Championships were the most important, but of course I want to win everything,” he said.

McMaster added: “It’s always good beating the world champion. I’ve put down a statement ahead of the Paris Olympics.”

Britain’s Kerr, who outsprinted Jakob Ingebrigtsen to a memorable world 1,500m gold, finished second in 3min 30.51sec, just 0.02sec behind American Yared Nuguse.

Italy’s Tamberi (2.28m) could finish only fourth in the high jump won by Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim in 2.35m, while Chopra (85.71m) came second to Czech javelin thrower Jakub Vadlejch (85.86m).

Venezuela’s Yulimar Rojas, who won a fourth consecutive gold in Budapest with her last effort, caused no such drama in Zurich, winning the triple jump easily with a best of 15.15m.

Armand Duplantis was in similarly dominant form in the pole vault, the sole athlete to clear 6.00m, before making three attempts to better his own world record of 6.22m.

Greece’s Miltiadis Tentoglou (long jump), Bahrain’s Winfred Mutile Yavi (3,000 steeplechase) and Jamaican Danielle Williams (100m hurdles) also mirrored their winning ways from Hungary.
AFP, REUTERS