ZÜRICH, SWITZERLAND, August 27 — She’s been warning us all year that she had a World Record in her legs, but tonight in Stadion Letzigrund, Masai Russell delivered. With the crowd fever already amped up by Alison dos Santos’ 400H WR just 37 minutes earlier, Russell said, “I knew the track was hot.”
Her performance was absolutely perfect. In still winds — the official wind reading was 0.0 — Russell lined up in lane 5, with Nadine Visser to her right and Ditaji Kambundji to her left. Tobi Amusan, holder of the WR at 12.12, started in 3.
At the gun, the American got out amazingly well, clearing the first hurdle with Visser and Amusan already trailing. She continued to press, building an early lead. By halfway Visser hit her stride and narrowed the gap a little.
Russell never wavered. She pressed again, rebuilt her lead, and had a clear margin as she dove toward the line. The stadium electronics showed her at 12.09, slicing 0.03 off Amusan’s ’22 standard, as well as 0.05 off her own pending American Record from Xiamen in May.
Outwardly expressionless, Russell said that inside she was overcome with emotion. “I dreamed about this moment for so long, and then hearing the crowd, like this is the best place I could have ever imagined to break the World Record.”
Behind her, Amusan rallied for 2nd in 12.23, while Visser clocked 12.34.
Arguably, most of the fans in the Letzigrund were looking forward to another race, the 800, where the current virulent strain of “Audreymania” was expected to manifest. No question, European champion and world leader Audrey Werro was strongly favored by the Swiss fans.
From the start, though, the race didn’t quite go to script. In the first 200, Femke Broeders-Bol shook the race up by refusing to defer to the local hero. The Dutchwoman took the prime spot behind pacer Myrte van der Schoot. Werro settled into 3rd, with Commonwealth champ Georgia Hunter-Bell following.
The pacer hit 400 in 55.4, with Broeders-Bol at 55.8 and Werro at 56.0. Coming onto the backstretch, Werro swung wide to make her pass. She fought the Dutchwoman down the entire stretch; they passed 600 together in 1:25.3. Werro didn’t have quite enough room to smoothly cut in so she tried to force it. Broeders-Bol put her hand on Werro’s shoulder to keep from getting tripped up.
In the lead now, Werro still had plenty of speed to burn. She accelerated off the turn and roared to a commanding margin as she approached the line. Her Swiss record 1:53.70 is the No. 3 performance ever and the fastest in 43 years.
Broeders-Bol held off Hunter Bell and was rewarded with another Dutch record, 1:54.71, to move to No. 9 ever. The Briton finished in a near-PR 1:55.03.
“I achieved my goals for this year, so now everything is for fun,” said Werro. “As far as the World Record [which now sits just 0.42 ahead of her] is concerned, I saw the light, but there was a lot of movement during the race and it was not calm. But I still had enough energy at the end of the race to accelerate and to stay in the lead. Yes, it was tight for the WR; it was not meant for today.”
The first DL running event of the night had been the 400 hurdles. Could Anna Cockrell turn the tables on Emma Zapletalová, the Czech ace who was undefeated in 5 Diamond League races? It looked like that was the race Cockrell planned, as the American went out in a more measured, patient clip than she did in her last outing. She came off the turn even with Zapletalová at the eighth hurdle.
Then the unexpected: Zapletalová lost her step on hurdle 9 and fell off balance. With a complete loss of momentum, she dropped to an eventual 6th place. Cockrell stormed to the finish alone in a meet record 52.13, a world leader and the No. 2 time of her career.
“I have been waiting to put together that race,” said Cockrell. “It was just a matter of the strategy and the tactics… We just made some corrections. All season, I have been running some good races, but every race, there has been something that did not feel so good.”
The 100 brought together the two giants of the event this season, heretofore undefeated world champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and Olympic champion Julien Alfred. With Sha’Carri Richardson between them and steadily falling behind, the two raced down the stretch, Alfred appearing to hold the faintest of leads. They crossed the line together, both clocking 10.70.
They waited for official confirmation, and when it came, Alfred clapped her hands and jumped for joy. She had the win, the national record, and moved to sole ownership of the No. 10 spot on the all-time list.
“Running this fast is never easy,” said the winner, “Especially because getting out the blocks is always a challenge for me — I could be sleeping in that box all year. But I trust what I can do, and what I can’t do.”
Jefferson’s 10.70, the No. 4 time of her career, was 0.005 slower on the camera. Richardson finished 3rd in 10.97, ahead of Tina Clayton (10.98) and Amy Hunt (11.04).
A quick early pace in the steeplechase kept a trio of East Africans near the front, as Faith Cherotich took over from the pacesetter and went through 2K in 5:58.61. Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai followed, with Doris Lemngole running 3rd. Those three gapped the field handily, as Lexy Halladay led what looked like the second race.
On the last lap, Lemngole made her bid to get past Chemutai, and the two battled until they were nearly even with Cherotich at the final water jump. Cherotich’s superior technique got her out of the water first and she sprinted to the win in 8:55.82. Alabama-star-turned-pro Lemngole’s final dash was surprisingly fast, and she was little more than a tenth back in 8:55.94.
The Kenyan teammates embraced as Chemutai finished in 8:58.28 and Halladay got 4th with her 9:11.10.
The women’s pole vault was held the night before in the train station to a packed crowd. Hana Moll did not look like a world beater early on, needing three tries to make 14-9 (4.50) and three more to clear 15-3 (4.65). But a first-attempt clearance at 15-7 (4.75) put her in 4th behind Katie Moon, Sandi Morris and Tina Šutej.
Moll then cleared 15-11 (4.85) on her second try and the only person to join her over that bar was Switzerland’s Angelica Moser. The bar moved to a PR 16-¾ (4.90), and though Moll bumped it with her thigh going up and with the underside of her arm coming down, it stayed on. No one else had that kind of luck, and the youngest woman in the field (by 3 years) had her second DL win, 6 days after her first in Lausanne.
Moll explained, “I am so strong recently because of my mindset, just really focusing and working on what I have to improve. I have to stay healthy, stay strong and use bigger poles. This competition in the train station felt amazing.”
In the high jump, World Record holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh had a rough day, but with the way that Aussie Nicole Olyslagers performed, it really didn’t matter.
Seven women were still jumping at 6-6 (1.98). Olyslagers and Ukraine’s Iryna Gerashchenko got over on their first attempts. Marija Vukovic scored a national record for Montenegro with her third-try clearance. Mahuchikh missed once and passed.
At 6-6¾ (2.00), Olyslagers got over promptly, Gerashchenko on her second attempt, and Vukovic and Mahuchikh went out. The bar rose to 6-7½ (2.02) and Olyslagers claimed the win with her second-try clearance as Gerashchenko, with three misses, finished 2nd.
Olyslagers revealed that she had thrown out the approach she worked on all year. “Within 4 days, I had to try and relearn in my head what I did last year to jump 2.04 (6-8¼) here… After I cleared 2 meters with first attempt, I knew I was in shape.” She went on to give an Aussie record 6-8¾ (2.05) three solid shots.
ZÜRICH DL WOMEN’S RESULTS
100(-0.7): 1. Julien Alfred (StL) 10.70 NR (10, x W);
2. Melissa Jefferson-Wooden (US) 10.70 (AL) (x, =10 A);
3. Sha’Carri Richardson (US) 10.97; 4. Tina Clayton (Jam) 10.98; 5. Amy Hunt (GB) 11.04; 6. Brianna Lyston (Jam) 11.13; 7. Jonielle Smith (Jam) 11.14; 8. Zoe Hobbs (NZ) 11.18.
800: 1. Audrey Werro (Swi) 1:53.70 NR (WL) (3, 3 W) (26.4, 29.6 [56.0], 29.3 [1:25.3], 28.4) (57.70);
2. Femke Broeders-Bol (Neth) 1:54.71 NR (9, x W);
3. Georgia Hunter Bell (GB) 1:55.03; 4. Ageze Saida Tsehaye (Eth) 1:57.33; 5. Jessica Hull (Aus) 1:58.24; 6. Veronica Vancardo (Swi) 1:58.49; 7. Eloisa Coiro (Ita) 1:58.53.
(best-ever mark-for-place: 2)
Non-DL 1500: 1. Ludovica Cavalli (Ita) 4:03.27; 2. Heather MacLean (US) 4:03.57; 3. Marta García (Spa) 4:03.86; 4. Lucia Stafford (Can) 4:04.12; 5. Linden Hall (Aus) 4:04.32 (3:15.57); 6. Weronika Lizakowska (Pol) 4:04.38.
St: 1. Faith Cherotich (Ken) 8:55.82 (5:58.61);
2. Doris Lemngole (Ken) 8:55.94 PR (9, x W);
3. Peruth Chemutai (Uga) 8:58.28; 4. Lexy Halladay-Lowry (US) 9:11.10; 5. Elise Thorner (GB) 9:11.41; 6. Gesa-Felicitas Krause (Ger) 9:12.27; 7. Lea Meyer (Ger) 9:13.50; 8. Olivia Gürth (Ger) 9:15.07 PR; 9. Gabbi Jennings (US) 9:16.54;… 12. Gracie Hyde (US) 9:20.75;… 14. Emma Coburn (US) 9:36.83.
100H(0.0): 1. Masai Russell (US) 12.09 WR, AR (old WR 12.12 Tobi Amusan [Ngr] ’22; old AR 12.14 Russell ’26);
2. Tobi Amusan (Ngr) 12.23; 3. Nadine Visser (Neth) 12.34; 4. Danielle Williams (Jam) 12.56; 5. Ackera Nugent (Jam) 12.69; 6. Pia Skrzyszowska (Pol) 12.70; 7. Ditaji Kambundji (Swi) 12.82;… dq—Alaysha Johnson (US).
400H: 1. Anna Cockrell (US) 52.13 (WL, AL);
2. Dalilah Muhammad (US) 53.16; 3. Rushell Clayton (Jam) 53.17; 4. Fatoumata Diallo (Por) 53.30 NR; 5. Gianna Woodruff (Pan) 53.79; 6. Emma Zapletalová (Svk) 54.07; 7. Amalie Hammild Iuel (Nor) 54.12.
Field Events
HJ: 1. Nicola Olyslagers (Aus) 6-7½ (2.02) (WL) (6-2¼, 6-4, 6-5 [2], 6-6, 6-6¾, 6-7½ [2], 6-8¾ [xxx]) (1.89, 1.93, 1.96 [2], 1.98, 2.00, 2.02 [2], 2.05 [xxx]);
2. Iryna Gerashchenko (Ukr) 6-6¾ (2.00) =PR; 3. Marija Vuković (Mont) 6-6 (1.98) =NR; 4. tie, Lamara Distin (Jam) & Yaroslava Mahuchikh (Ukr) 6-5 (1.96); 6. Eleanor Patterson (Aus) 6-5; 7. Angelina Topić (Ser) 6-4 (1.93); 8. Maria Żodzik (Pol) 6-4.
PV(8/26—Bahnhof): 1. Hana Moll (US) 16-¾ (4.90) PR (5, x A) (14-9 [3], 15-3 [3], 15-7, 15-11 [2], 16-¾) (4.50 [3], 4.65 [3], 4.75, 4.85 [2], 4.90);
2. Angelica Moser (Swi) 15-11 (4.85) (14-9, 15-3, 15-7 [2], 15-11 [2], 16-¾ [xxx]) (4.50, 4.65, 4.75 [2], 4.85 [2], 4.90 [xxx]); 3. tie, Katie Moon (US) & Sandi Morris (US) 15-7 (4.75); 5. Tina Šutej (Slo) 15-7; 6. Imogen Ayris (NZ) 15-7; 7. Emily Grove (US) 15-3 (4.65); 8. Eliza McCartney (NZ) 15-3.
