Karsten Warholm-Rai Benjamin Face-Off One For the Ages in Zurich

By Adam Kopet

The first leg of the Diamond League Final came to Zurich and the 16 Diamond League events did not disappoint.

RESULTS

The stakes were raised and that was readily apparent in the men's and women's 400-meter hurdles.

In the men's race, it was the first showdown involving Rai Benjamin and Norway's Karsten Warholm. Benjamin came into the race second on the world list this year at 47.16 and with a personal best of 47.00, equal to third all-time. Warholm entered the race as the world leader at 47.12 and as the reigning world champion.

Warholm started off fast, building a lead from the moment the gun went off. At halfway, he was clearly in the lead, but Benjamin, who used a more measured opening effort, was making up ground. The race was on.

As the pair came off the final turn, they were alone, the rest of the field out of picture. The time was going to be fast, but it was unclear just how fast that would be. Benjamin looked better between the hurdles, but Warholm was smoother going over them.

Coming down the home straight, Warholm held a slight lead, but it looked like Benjamin might have enough to overtake him. However, over the final 50 meters, and the final hurdle, Warholm found a final gear. He held on to win by half a meter.

It was hard to believe the time on the clock: 46.92. Then Benjamin's time came up as 46.98. For Warholm, it was a personal best, a European record, a world lead, a meet record and a Diamond League record. It also puts him second all-time behind Kevin Young's world record of 46.78.

For Benjamin, the race was a personal best by 0.02 seconds. And it left him once again equal to third-fastest ever.

The women's 400-meter hurdles seemed equal to the pre-meet hype of the men. It was a rematch of the 400-meter hurdles final at the USATF Outdoor Championships where Dalilah Muhammad smashed the world record in 52.20. Sydney McLaughlin, Ashley Spencer and Shamier Little were also competing, just like in Des Moines.

Muhammad was lightning quick over the first 100 meters, building a large early lead over McLaughlin, who was inside of her. However, as the athletes moved through the final bend, McLaughlin made up ground to the point where she was leading coming into the home straight.

From there it was all McLaughlin as she pulled away to win in 52.85. Little finished second in 53.86 and Muhammad was third in 54.13.

This was McLaughlin's second sub-53 clocking this season and the third of her career. More importantly, she won a Diamond League title at the age of 20.

The men's 800 meters too had an exciting finish. Nijel Amos of Botswana and the Oregon Track Club Elite had asked for a fast first lap, but his training partner Harun Abda went even faster, reaching halfway in 48.23. Amos managed to stay out in front, reaching 600 meters in 1:14.43, but the bear jumped on his back the final 100 meters.

Donavan Brazier, who held back from the fast early pace and appeared to be 30 meters down on Amos with 200 meters to go, stormed through the field and nipped Amos at the line. Brazier's time of 1:42.70 was a personal best and moved him up to second on the U.S. all-time performer list, only trailing American record holder Johnny Gray (1:42.60).

Amos held on for second place, running 1:42.98. Canada's Brandon McBride also used a strong final 200 meters to place third in a season's best 1:43.51.

Similar front-running tactics proved successful in the men's 5,000 meters as Uganda's Joshua Cheptegei ran away from the field and held off a late charge by Hagos Gebrhiwet of Ethiopia in the final stretch. Cheptegei ran 12:57.41 for a personal best. Gebrhiwet was second in 12:58.15.

Jaun Miguel Echevarria of Cuba jumped back into winning ways in the men's long jump. He opened with a leap of 28-4.50 (8.65m) to break the Diamond League record and set a wind-legal personal best. He won by a considerable margin as South Africa's Ruswahl Samaai and Jamaica's Tajay Gayle finished second and third with identical top jumps of 26-11 (8.20m).

In other field event action, Sam Kendricks prevailed in the pole vault with a third-attempt clearance of 19-5.50 (5.93m). Mondo Duplantis of Sweden finished second and Piotr Lisek of Poland and Cole Walsh finished tied for third, all with best clearances of 19-1.50 (5.83m). Without the clearance, Kendricks would have finished second.

Jamaica's Shanieka Ricketts had been leading the women's triple jump for much of the competition, but Venezuela's Yulimar Rojas jumped into the lead in the final round with a mark of 48-4.50 (14.74m). However, Ricketts responded in the final jump of the competition with a personal-best 48-11.75 (14.93m) to take the Diamond League title.

Back on the track, the women's 1,500 meters proved to be a strange race, tactically. After fast early running, the pace slowed severely once the pacemaker dropped out. Ethiopia's Genzebe Dibaba sat at the front, letting the pace slow as the rest of the field returned to the front pack.

The race saw a burning last lap with Sifan Hassan of The Netherlands and the Nike Oregon Track Club showing her quality. She completed her final circuit of the track in under 58 seconds to take the win in 3:57.08. Hassan's teammate from Germany, Konstanze Klosterhalfen, finished second in 3:59.02. Behind them was Gabriela DeBues-Stafford, who broke the Canadian national record in 3:59.59. Dibaba was fourth in 4:00.86.

The men's 100 meters might not have been blazing fast, but it was certainly entertaining. Reigning world champion Justin Gatlin held an early lead, but Noah Lyles used his 200-meter prowess to close well in the second half of the race to take the win in 9.98 into a slight headwind. China's Xie Zhenye came up for second in 10.04 and Jamaica's Yohan Blake came away with third in 10.07. Gatlin faded over the final 30 meters to finish fourth in 10.08.

The women's 200 meters, on the other hand, proved plenty fast as Shaunae Miller-Uibo of The Bahamas ran away from the field to break the Diamond League record in 21.74. Dina Asher-Smith of Great Britain was second in season's best 22.08. Jamaica's Elaine Thompson was third in 22.44, just ahead of reigning world champion Dafne Schippers of The Netherlands in 22.46.