LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND, August 22 — A dazzling pair of middle distance races highlighted the men’s side of the Athletissima Diamond League meeting, delighting a packed crowd of nearly 14,000 in La Pontaise Olympic Stadium. Emmanuel Wanyonyi gave the 800 World Record its closest scare since it was set 12 years ago and Jakob Ingebrigtsen got a measure of revenge against 1500 gold medalist Cole Hocker.
The first of those races wasn’t even a DL event, but organizers put together a boffo 2-lap field that included 5 of the top 6 Paris finishers, lacking only bronze medalist Djamel Sedjati. The rabbit missed the mark a bit — a 49.32 opener wasn’t bad but he lost track of the following runners and when exiting the track went right, forcing Marco Arop far out into lane 2 on the turn.
The Canadian silver medalist stayed wide onto the backstretch, allowing rival Emmanuel Wanyonyi to charge through on the inside as Bryce Hoppel followed in 3rd and Gabriel Tual in 4th. The Kenyan gold medalist showed off an even better finish than he had in the Olympics, sprinting away from Arop decisively to take the win in 1:41.11, a world leader that ties him with Denmark’s Wilson Kipketer for the No. 2 spot on the all-time list. Only three marks by David Rudisha, all WRs at the time, are ahead of Wanyonyi’s latest.
Arop finished in 1:41.72, and Tual outsprinted Hoppel on the stretch, 1:42.30–1:42.63. Hoppel would take little consolation in the No. 4 U.S. time ever.
Said the victor, “I’m so happy to have run that crazy time here.”
The 1500 came originally packaged as a Paris rematch, but in the end the only medalist on the line was Hocker. Ingebrigtsen, having learned from Paris, made sure to go out a tad more conservatively in order to be fresh enough to deal with Hocker’s sprint. Following a pair of rabbits none too closely as they passed the 400 in 55.21 and the 800 in 1:51.14, the Norwegian didn’t take over until the second rabbit dropped after 1000. On his heels was Olympic 5th-placer Hobbs Kessler with Hocker hanging back in 3rd.
Ingebrigtsen passed 1200 in 2:47.07 and Kessler stayed on him until the final turn, when he started slipping as Hocker charged forward. This time, Ingebrigtsen was more than ready, saving enough for a stunning homestretch kick that left the Americans well behind. He crossed in a meet record 3:27.83, more than 2 seconds ahead of Hocker’s 3:29.85. Kessler finished in 3:30.47, in front of Kenyans Raynold Cheruiyot (3:30.88) and Brian Komen (3:31.41).
“Tonight´s race gave me good answers and I´m looking forward to building on this for my next race,” said Ingebrigtsen.
Said Hocker, “Considering the overwhelming past two weeks, it was a solid race. Physically I felt comfortable, but mentally, it´s a new challenge being announced as Olympic champion. I felt the pressure.”
Sprinters only had the long ones on offer. Matthew Hudson-Smith came off the turn in the 400 in fine position but had to work to hold off the late charge of newcomer Muzala Samukonga. The Briton made it to the line in 43.96 with a stride to spare ahead of the Zambian’s 44.06. Collen Kebinatshipi of Botswana PRed in 3rd (44.22) ahead of Bryce Deadmon’s 44.37.
In the 200, the last men’s race of the night, Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo pulled himself past Erriyon Knighton in the final stages to take the win in 19.64 to the American’s 19.78. Fred Kerley, in only his second 200 of the season, ran 19.86 for 3rd ahead of Alexander Ogando (19.94).
The 110H featured the first defeat of the campaign for Grant Holloway. Starting in lane 6, the Florida alum got a solid start but it didn’t propel him to his accustomed lead. Battling silver medalist Daniel Roberts on his left and Tokyo winner Hansle Parchment on his right, he perhaps didn’t realize the challenge that bronze medalist Rasheed Broadbell posed in lane 3. The Jamaican finished fast to grab the win, 13.10–13.14, with Parchment 3rd in 13.23 and Roberts 4th (13.26).
Said Broadbell, “Even though I ran 13.10 here compared to 13.09 in Paris, the race felt better because I knew I had it after the last hurdle.”
Explained Holloway, “Coming off that high from the Olympics, it´s challenging to keep that same pace, but I’m focused on learning from this race to run better next time.”
The final round setup produced exciting field event action. In the javelin, bronze medalist Anderson Peters held the lead with his round 2 heave of 290-4 (88.49) with Julian Weber 2nd at 285-8 (87.08), and silver winner Neeraj Chopra 3rd with his 280-9 (85.58). Knowing he needed a little more to be assured of beating the world champion, Peters produced a meet record 297-3 (90.61) on his final throw. Weber couldn’t get close, but Chopra did. His 293-7 (89.49) wasn’t quite enough, though.
In the long jump, Jamaican Wayne Pinnock led into the final round with his 26-3½ (8.01). Miltiádis Tentóglou was only 3rd at 26-1¾ (7.97), with local favorite Simon Ehammer in between with his 26-2¾ (7.99). Until the final round, all of the jumps had faced the wind. In round 6, the winds shifted, along with the Olympic champion’s fortunes.
Tentóglou reached 26-5½ (8.06) on his final effort, a modest distance but enough on this day as neither of his rivals could improve their bests. Said the Greek, who also won the Tokyo21 and Budapest23 golds in the last round, “I had a streak, for over two years now, where I’ve never jumped less than 8m [26-3] in any competition, and I don’t want to lose that streak at this point.”
The previous night, nearly 5000 fans in the prestigious neighborhood of Ouchy delighted to watch Mondo Duplantis soar over 20-2 (6.15), the highest mark ever achieved outside of a stadium. He cleared the mark with little to spare on his third attempt. Sam Kendricks took 2nd with his 19-5 (5.92). Duplantis later noted the windy conditions precluded any WR attempts. “I need perfect conditions if I’m going to be able to jump the World Record again this year.”
LAUSANNE MEN’S RESULTS
200(0.9): 1. Letsile Tebogo (Bot) 19.64; 2. Erriyon Knighton (US) 19.78; 3. Fred Kerley (US) 19.86; 4. Alexander Ogando (DR) 19.94; 5. Jereem Richards (Tri) 20.10; 6. Joe Fahnbulleh (Lbr) 20.18; 7. Timothé Mumenthaler (Swi) 20.54; 8. William Reais (Swi) 20.75.
400: 1. Matthew Hudson-Smith (GB) 43.96; 2. Muzala Samukonga (Zam) 44.06; 3. Collen Kebinatshipi (Bot) 44.22 PR; 4. Bryce Deadmon (US) 44.37; 5. Charlie Dobson (GB) 44.53; 6. Vernon Norwood (US) 44.55; 7. Lionel Spitz (Swi) 45.82; 8. Eugene Omalla (Neth) 46.06.
Non-DL 800: 1. Emmanuel Wanyonyi (Ken) 1:41.11 PR (WL) (=2, =4 W) (24.5, 25.5 [50.0], 25.4 [1:15.4], 25.7) (50.0/51.1) (13.0);
2. Marco Arop (Can) 1:41.72 (24.3, 25.3 [49.6], 25.9 [1:15.5], 26.2) (49.6/52.1) (13.3); 3. Gabriel Tual (Fra) 1:42.30;
4. Bryce Hoppel (US) 1:42.63 (x, 4 A) (24.7, 25.5 [50.2], 25.9 [1:16.1], 26.5)(50.2/52.4);
5. Pieter Sisk (Bel) 1:43.48 PR; 6. Catalin Tecuceanu (Ita) 1:44.07; 7. Elliot Giles (GB) 1:44.32; 8. Mohamed Attaoui (Spa) 1:45.40;… rabbit—Ludovic Le Meur (Fra) (49.32).
1500: 1. Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Nor) 3:27.83 (56.1, 55.6 [1:51.7], 55.4 [2:47.1], 40.7) (13.3, 26.8, 54.5, 1:50.0);
2. Cole Hocker (US) 3:29.85 (x, 10 A) (56.6, 55.5 [1:52.1], 55.0 [2:47.1], 42.8) (14.5, 28.3, 56.2, 1:52.0);
3. Hobbs Kessler (US) 3:30.47 (56.3, 55.6 [1:51.9], 55.4 [2:47.3], 43.2) (15.0, 29.3, 57.1); 4. Raynold Cheruiyot (Ken) 3:30.88; 5. Brian Komen (Ken) 3:31.41; 6. Jochem Vermeulen (Bel) 3:31.74 NR; 7. Azeddine Habz (Fra) 3:31.89; 8. Stefan Nillessen (Neth) 3:32.16; 9. Isaac Nader (Por) 3:32.49; 10. Dominic Lobalu (Swi) 3:34.39 PR; 11. Stewart McSweyn (Aus) 3:34.80; 12. Olli Hoare (Aus) 3:36.03; 13. George Mills (GB) 3:36.80;… rabbit—Zan Rudolf (Slo) (55.21, 55.93 [1:51.14]).
110H(-0.1): 1. Rasheed Broadbell (Jam) 13.10; 2. Grant Holloway (US) 13.14; 3. Hansle Parchment (Jam) 13.23; 4. Daniel Roberts (US) 13.26; 5. Lorenzo Ndele Simonelli (Ita) 13.26; 6. Cordell Tinch (US) 13.34; 7. Sasha Zhoya (Fra) 13.37; 8. Jason Joseph (Swi) 13.78.
Field Events
PV(8/21, street): 1. Mondo Duplantis (Swe) 20-2 (6.15) (18-5¼, 19-1, 19-5, 19-8¼, 20-2 [3]) (5.62, 5.82, 5.92, 6.00, 6.15 [3]); 2. Sam Kendricks (US) 19-5 (5.92) (17-6½, 18-1¼, 18-5¼, 18-9¼, 19-1, 19-5, 19-8¼ [xxx]) (5.35, 5.52, 5.62, 5.72, 5.82, 5.92, 6.00 [xxx]); 3. Sondre Guttormsen (Nor) 19-1 (5.82); 4. Kurtis Marschall (Aus) 19-1 (5.82); 5. EJ Obiena (Phi) 19-1; 6. Emmanouíl Karalís (Gre) 19-1; 7. Thibaut Collet (Fra) 18-9¼ (5.72); 8. Renaud Lavillenie (Fra) 18-9¼; 9. Jacob Wooten (US) 18-5¼ (5.62); 10. Chris Nilsen (US) 18-1¼ (5.52); 11. Valentin Imsand (Swi) 17-6½ (5.35).
LJ: 1. Miltiádis Tentóglou (Gre) 26-5½ (8.06) (f, 24-11¾, 25-10, 25-2¾, 26-1¾, 26-5½) (f, 7.61, 7.87, 7.69, 7.97, 8.06); 2. Wayne Pinnock (Jam) 26-3½ (8.01) (25-½, 25-1¾, 25-6¼, 26-3½, 25-10¾, 25-9¼) (7.63, 7.66, 7.78, 8.01, 7.89, 7.85); 3. Simon Ehammer (Swi) 26-2¾ (7.99) (f, 26-2¾, 25-2½, 26-0, 26-¾, f) (f, 7.99, 7.68, 7.92, 7.94, f); 4. Tajay Gayle (Jam) 26-0 (7.92); 5. Filip Pravdica (Cro) 25-10¾ (7.89); 6. Mattia Furlani (Ita) 25-10¼ (7.88); 7. Carey McLeod (Jam) 25-8 (7.82); 8. Jeremiah Davis (US) 25-7¼ (7.80); 9. Jarrion Lawson (US) 25-2¾ (7.69); 10. Anvar Anvarov (Uzb) 25-¾ (7.64).
JT: 1. Anderson Peters (Grn) 297-3 (90.61) (283-4, 290-4, 286-9, 284-1, 269-9, 297-3,) (86.36, 88.49, 87.40, 86.59, 82.22, 90.61,); 2. Neeraj Chopra (Ind) 293-7 (89.49) (269-4, 273-0, 272-9, 270-2, 280-9, 293-7) (82.10, 83.21, 83.13, 82.34, 85.58, 89.49); 3. Julian Weber (Ger) 285-8 (87.08); 4. Artur Felfner (Ukr) 273-7 (83.38); 5. Genki Dean (Jpn) 272-11 (83.19); 6. Julius Yego (Ken) 272-4 (83.00); 7. Jakub Vadlejch (CzR) 269-1 (82.03); 8. Andrian Mardare (Mol) 267-2 (81.44); 9. Lassi Etelätalo (Fin) 241-9 (73.68); 10. Edis Matusevičius (Lit) 240-2 (73.20).
