2022 Final Diamond League in Zurich
The Weltklasse Zurich was final stop on the Wanda Diamond League as British athletes finished their track and field seasons at the Stadion Letzigrund. Jake Wightman, Keely Hodgkinson and Josh Kerr were three of the top British performers.
World 1500m champion Jake Wightman (handicap -7.5) was third in the men’s 800m which was won by Emmanuel Kipkurui Korir (KEN) in a tense battle for the line with Marco Arop (CAN).
Wightman, winner in Brussels last week, sat behind Gabriel Tual (FRA) as they headed down the backstraight on the final lap, but it was Arop who made the decisive move to hit the front with just over 200m to go. The European and Commonwealth medallist reacted to go with the Canadian, as did Korir, but the Briton could not go with their ferocious acceleration and eventually held on for third in 1:44.10, while Korir pipped Arop on the line in a world leading time of 1:43.26.
After being in contention for the victory at the bell, Laura Muir (handicap -3.4) ended the season with a fifth-place finish in the women’s 1500m in a race won by world champion, Faith Kipyegon (KEN).
Muir held the inside line behind Kipyegon for much of the race, and at the bell, she went with the move but there was a tear up down the backstraight as a handful of athletes battled for position. Brussels winner, Ciara Mageean (handicap -2.9) and Freweyni Hailu (ETH) captured the slipstream behind the world champion and finished second and third respectively. Muir crossed the line in a time of 4:02.31.
After a summer that has seen her win the European title, as well as world and Commonwealth silver, Keely Hodgkinson (handicap -3.3) was fifth in the women’s 800m as the race was won comfortably by Mary Moraa (KEN). The Briton held that position for much of the contest and as the pace stepped up with 200m to go, Hodgkinson could not go with the move but did pick off Anita Horvat to come home fifth in a time of 1:59.06.
In a fast men’s 1500m won in a world leading time of 3:29.05 by Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR), British duo Josh Kerr (handicap -7.0) and Jake Heyward (handicap -7.0) were sixth and ninth respectively.
As the Norwegian dominated the contest, the rest of the field were left to jockey for position behind, and it was Kerr who hit the bell in fourth position in a battle with Kenya’s Abel Kipsang. As the lap unfolded, Kerr was eventually overhauled by Australian duo of Ollie Hoare and Stewart McSweyn so he ended the three and three quarter laps in sixth in 3:31.85, while Heyward finished with a time of 3:34.27.
On Wednesday evening, Amy-Eloise Markovc (handicap -2.9) took on the 5000m around a temporary circuit near the shores of Lake Zurich, and she clocked a time of 15:28.24 for eighth position overall. The race was won by Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet in 14:31.03.