Aug 28, 8:01 AM
Money, Muscle, and Broken Records at Letzigrund
A sold-out Zurich crowd witnessed world records fall as American depth dominated and Norwegian stars faltered.
Zurich’s Letzigrund Stadium offered the perfect backdrop for a night of athletic extravagance: warm weather, a sold-out crowd of 25,000, and generous prize cheques ready for distribution. World Athletics President Sebastian Coe set the tone early, declaring before the meet, I expect the Olympic Games in two hours. The evening delivered on that bravado, even if it meant a brisk reality check for some of track and field’s most celebrated names.
The headline act belonged to Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos, who obliterated the men’s 400-metre hurdles world record with a clocking of 45.80 seconds. The previous mark of 45.94 seconds had belonged to Norway’s Karsten Warholm since the Tokyo Olympics. Warholm could do little more than cross the finish line second, left to reflect on how quickly supreme dominance can vanish. Norwegian fortunes fared no better in the 1,500 metres, where Jakob Ingebrigtsen managed only fifth place as he continues a tentative return from Achilles surgery. American Cole Hocker claimed that victory comfortably in 3:31.71.
American hurdler Masai Russell provided the second record of the night in the women’s 100-metre hurdles, crossing the line in 12.09 seconds to clip Tobi Amusan’s 2022 mark of 12.12 seconds. For their trouble, both Dos Santos and Russell departed the Swiss financial hub with $80,000 bonus payments.
The stadium was equally captivated by an unusual spectacle in the pole vault. Double Olympic champion Armand Duplantis took victory at 6.25 metres, but was pushed to the brink by Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis, who cleared 6.20 metres. It was the first time two men cleared 6.20 metres in the same contest, with both eventually making failed attempts at 6.32 metres.
The home crowd found plenty to cheer about in the women’s 800 metres, where 22-year-old Swiss runner Audrey Werro produced the third-fastest time in history at 1:53.70, inching closer to Jarmila Kratochvilova’s 1983 record. Meanwhile, Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi took the men’s 800 metres in a world-leading 1:41.76, narrowly fending off Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati.
The rest of the program was largely an exercise in American efficiency. Kenny Bednarek took the 200 metres in 19.62 seconds, while Parker Wolfe set a meet record of 7:27.43 in the 3,000 metres. Australian Nicola Olyslagers rounded out the night by winning the women’s high jump at 2.02 metres.
Written by Thomas Nussbaumer thomas.nussbaumer@alpineweekly.com
