SWEDEN’S Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis and Australian Nicola Olyslagers secured impressive victories at the Diamond League finals during a dynamic city event in downtown Zurich.
Duplantis, who recently set his thirteenth world record with a 6.29 metre jump in Budapest, competed in one of six field events held at Sechselautenplatz opposite Zurich’s iconic opera house.
The American-born Swede had previously described pole vaulting as a “beautiful circus act” and the street atmosphere created a visceral vibe with temporary stands shaking from stomping feet and choreographed cheers.
“It was really cool, really amazing, I loved the atmosphere,“ said Duplantis.
“I’ve never done a street meet here. Compared to the stadium, it’s kind of the same but different. I like it, I think it’s super cool to be up and close to everybody.”
Duplantis claimed victory with a 6.0 metre clearance over Greek rival Emmanouil Karalis in perfect preparation for the September 13-21 world championships in Tokyo.
The six-man field quickly narrowed as American Sam Hendricks, Dutchman Menno Vloon, Australian Kurtis Marschall and French veteran Renaud Lavillenie all failed to progress.
Only Duplantis and Karalis successfully cleared 5.90 metres before the bar moved to 6.0 metres.
Karalis failed his first attempt at that height while Duplantis sailed over comfortably before the Greek athlete faced mounting pressure after a second failure.
With five thousand enthusiastic fans cheering and ‘Zorba’s Dance’ playing over the tannoy, Karalis finally cleared to extend the competition.
Both athletes failed at 6.10 metres, handing Duplantis the win on countback rules.
Ukraine’s Olympic champion and world record holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh renewed her rivalry with two-time world indoor champion Olyslagers in the women’s high jump.
Olyslagers cleared 2.02 metres first while Mahuchikh failed twice and skipped her third attempt.
The Australian then successfully cleared 2.04 metres before Mahuchikh requested the bar be raised to 2.06 metres.
Olyslagers had three failures at that height, leaving the Ukrainian with one opportunity to snatch victory.
Mahuchikh clipped the bar on her final attempt and settled for second place behind Olyslagers.
Britain’s Morgan Lake set a national record of 2.00 metres for third position on countback from Ukraine’s Yuliia Levchenko.
Swiss decathlete Simon Ehammer delighted home fans by winning the long jump with a leap of 8.32 metres.
Italian Mattia Furlani finished second just two centimetres behind the Swiss jumper while Australian Liam Adcock completed the podium with 8.24 metres.
The women’s pole vault, rescheduled as a city event due to predicted stormy weather, was won by American Katie Moon with a best clearance of 4.82 metres.
American athletes completed a podium cleansweep as Sandi Morris and Emily Grove finished second and third respectively, both clearing 4.75 metres.
Two-time world champion Joe Kovacs, who missed qualification for the Tokyo worlds, won the men’s shot put with a 22.46 metre effort on his fifth attempt.
The American finished well ahead of compatriot Payton Otterdahl (22.07 metres) and Jamaica’s Rajindra Campbell (21.87 metres).
“We absolutely love coming here for this street competition. There’s no better atmosphere,“ said Kovacs, who wished his US teammates well in Tokyo.
“I’m just happy coming out here and throwing a season’s best.”
Canada’s Sarah Mitton claimed the women’s shot put trophy with a best throw of 20.67 metres, finishing ahead of the Netherlands’ Jessica Schilder (20.26 metres) and American Chase Jackson (20.08 metres).
The remaining twenty six Diamond League champions will be crowned during Thursday’s extensive programme at Zurich’s Letzigrund Stadium. – AFP