Seven champions were determined Wednesday on the first of a two-day Diamond League final in Zurich, Switzerland.
The shot put events kicked off the meet and were won by Americans Ryan Crouser and Maggie Ewen.
With a season’s best throw of 19.41 meters, Ewen earned not only her first season-ending Diamond League trophy but also the first Diamond League meet victory of her career. Portugal’s Auriol Dongmo was second at 18.86 meters and Sweden’s Fanny Roos third with a throw of 18.75.
The 26-year-old was fourth at the 2019 World Championships but just missed this year’s Olympic team, placing fourth at U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials by 0.03 meters.
Crouser, meanwhile, scored his ninth Diamond League victory since 2017 but first season title. He won all three meets he entered this year, setting meet records each time.
He set the world record of 23.37 meters when he won the Olympic Trials in June en route to his second consecutive Olympic gold.
Joe Kovacs, the 2019 World champion and two-time Olympic silver medalist, was second with a best of 22.29 meters. Serbian Armin Sinancevic, seventh in Tokyo, was third at 21.86, while New Zealand’s Tomas Walsh, who was on the past two Olympic and world championship podiums, finished a surprising fourth (21.61m) after winning three Diamond League season trophies.
Burundi long distance runner Francine Niyonsaba won her third 5000m Diamond League race in a row, running 14:28.98, ahead of Kenyan Hellen Obiri (14:29.68) — the two-time Olympic silver medalist at this distance — and Ethiopia’s Ejgayehu Taye (14:30.30).
Niyonsaba is the 2016 Olympic and 2017 World silver medalist at 800 meters, but moved up to the 5000m this year after World Athletics ruled her testosterone levels are too high to run distances between 400 meters and the mile.
She qualified for Tokyo in the 5000 and 10,000, but was disqualified in the 5000m heats for a lane infringement. She finished fifth in the 10,000m final.
Three-time women’s high jump world champion, and recent Olympic gold medalist, Mariya Lasitskene of Russia won her event with a world-leading jump of 2.05 meters. Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh tied her season’s best height of 2.03 meters, while Australian Nicola McDermott was third, switching orders on the podium with Mahuchikh from Tokyo, at 2.01 meters.
Sweden’s Thobias Montler jumped 8.17 meters for the second Diamond League long jump win of his career, followed by American Steffin McCarter (8.14) and South African Ruswahl Samaai (7.99). None of the Tokyo Olympic medalists were competing.
With no Olympic medalists entered in women’s long jump either, Serbian Ivana Spanovic won her fourth Diamond League meet of the season, jumping 6.96 meters. Swede Khaddi Sagnia was second with 6.83, followed by Ukraine’s Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk at 6.75.
Ethiopian Berihu Aregawi won the men’s 5000m title after just missing out on the Olympic 10,000m podium this summer. He ran 12:58.65, ahead of Bahrain’s Birhanu Balew (13:01.27) and Kenyan Jacob Krop (13:01.81).
Twenty five Diamond League titles will be determined on Thursday.
OlympicTalk is on Apple News. Favorite us!
