The Letzigrund Stadium in Zurich hosted a sensational night of track and field, where world records fell and the capacity crowd of 25,000 witnessed elite performances. World Athletics President Sebastian Coe remarked that the intensity of the penultimate Diamond League meet of the season felt like watching the Olympic Games.
Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos delivered a standout performance in the men’s 400m hurdles, clocking 45.80 seconds to eclipse the previous world record of 45.94 seconds held by Norway’s Karsten Warholm since the Tokyo Olympics. A confident Dos Santos noted his strong form throughout the season, while Warholm, who finished second, described the competition as a “crazy event.”
In the women’s 100m hurdles, American Olympic champion Masai Russell set a new world record of 12.09 seconds, surpassing the 12.12-second mark established by Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan at the 2022 Eugene world championships. Both Dos Santos and Russell were awarded $80,000 each for their record-breaking achievements.
The pole vault competition provided another highlight as Armand “Mondo” Duplantis secured victory in a historic showdown. The Swedish star cleared 6.25 metres, narrowly outperforming Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis, who achieved a personal best of 6.20 metres. Both athletes attempted a world record height of 6.32 metres, marking the first time in history that two vaulters cleared the 6.20-metre threshold in the same event. Karalis described the experience as “nuts.”
Local favorite Audrey Werro electrified the crowd in the women’s 800 metres, finishing with a time of 1:53.70—the third-fastest in history—as she neared Jarmila Kratochvilova’s 1983 world record. Femke Bol finished second in the race. Meanwhile, in the men’s 800 metres, Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi held off Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati to win in 1:41.76. Wanyonyi, who remains focused on David Rudisha’s world record, stated, “When I see the world records being broken, I know my time will come. There is time for everything.”
The men’s 1,500 metres saw US Olympic champion Cole Hocker claim victory in 3:31.71, finishing ahead of Kenya’s Phanuel Kipkosgei Koech, while Jakob Ingebrigtsen placed fifth in his return from Achilles surgery. In the women’s 400m hurdles, Anna Cockrell won with a meet record of 52.13 seconds, edging out Dalilah Muhammad.
American Parker Wolfe set a new meet record in the 3,000 metres with a personal best of 7:27.43, shattering the 1986 mark set by Said Aouita by over five seconds. Additionally, American Kenny Bednarek recorded a world-leading time of 19.62 seconds in the men’s 200 metres, and Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers secured the women’s high jump title with a season-best clearance of 2.02 metres. The report also notes that the Swiss city’s Letzigrund Stadium had a raucous sellout 25,000 crowd and the still, balmy weather conditions helped no end for a heady night of athletics. The report also notes that “As soon as I knew I was coming here, I was excited. The report also notes that the track’s amazing,” the Brazilian added, the weather’s good. The report also notes that who vaulted a personal best of 6.20 metres, the United States-born Swede came under real pressure from Greek rival Emmanouil Karalis. The report also notes that with the star attraction Switzerland’s own Audrey Werro, the icing on the cake came in the women’s 800 metres. The report also notes that registering the third-fastest time ever in the two-lap race, 1:53.70, as she edged ever closer to Jarmila Kratochvilova’s Cold War world record of 1:53.28 set in Munich in 1983, werro also did not disappoint. The report also notes that thank you everybody!” the 22-year-old beamed. The report also notes that femke Broeders-Bol finished second as she continues to improve in her transition from the 400-metre hurdle in which she was twice a world champion.
