Perhaps no sport has excelled in pandemic times quite like athletics. Following the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics, as pole vaulters retreated to the confines of their back yards and distance runners raced separated by continents, track and field returned with gusto in 2021, managing against all odds to produce one of the sport’s all-time great seasons.
Elaine Thompson Herah and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce embarked on a rivalry for the ages, setting the second and third fastest times ever over 100 metres and backing those performances up as the spotlight fell on the women’s sprints. Sifan Hassan and Letesenbet Gidey jockeyed for records in the distance events. The 400 metre hurdles basked in the sun as Karsten Warholm edged Rai Benjamin to break the longstanding world record in the men’s event, while Sydney McLaughlin, Dalilah Muhammad, and the newcomer Femke Bol tore down barriers for the women. And out in the field, Ryan Crouser in the shot and Yulimar Rojas in the triple jump sailed past their competition.
As the Diamond League season drew to a climax, Brussels served as a tasty appetiser. Established favourites and newcomers alike shone under the lights of King Baudouin Stadium, as Armand Duplantis, Michael Cherry, and Francine Niyonsaba set new meeting records. That left the Weltklasse Zürich, which for the first time would take place over two days and play host to all 32 track and field disciplines.
More than glory was at stake as the best in the world descended on the financial capital of Switzerland. Based on their tally of points over the course of the season, the top eight athletes in each event now stood on the threshold of a bumper prize fund, with the winners in Zurich pocketing cheques worth $30,000. Winners would also receive Diamond League trophies and a free pass to the 2022 World Athletics Championships.
The first day of the Weltklasse Zürich took place on the Sechseläutenplatz, the city’s main square, which since its completion in 2014 has sat comfortably on the east bank of the Zurich River. For the sake of the afternoon’s two distance events, meet organisers had constructed the world’s largest temporary track, stretching round three banked bends over a long course of 560 metres.
In the women’s 5000 metre race, Francine Niyonsaba kicked ahead of the pack to complete a remarkable end to the season. An 800 metre specialist who has been forced to move up to the distance events owing to rules around differences of sexual development, the Burundian athlete set world leads and national records in Paris and Brussels before brushing past Hellen Obiri and Ejgayehu Taye in Zurich. For Obiri, the 2017 and 2019 world champion over 5000 metres, the race marked one final flourish on the track, as she turns her attention to the road ahead of next season.
In the men’s event, Berihu Aregawi emerged as the surprise victor, kicking from the front as the pre-race favourite Yomif Kejelcha fell back to finish in fifth position. Meanwhile the field events fanned out in patchwork fashion across the Sechseläutenplatz. Ryan Crouser scored another meeting record in the shot, and two big jumps from Ivana Španović carried her past Khaddi Sagnia in the final rounds of a nip and tuck long jump competition. But the real treat for those locals who thronged the square, stopping off on their way home from work or laden down with bags full of shopping, came in the sprightly figures and soaring forms of the women’s high jump.
Nicola McDermott and Yaroslava Mahuchikh led the early going, as the in-form Kiwi and the talented young Ukrainian registered clean cards beyond a height of two metres. But Mariya Lasitskene, the imperious Russian who at one point sustained a 45-meet undefeated streak, recovered from a couple of early failures to make 2.03 the new benchmark. Mahuchikh managed to clear the height, and while she and McDermott just fell short of new outdoor bests, Lasitskene prevailed at 2.05 to set a new world lead and meeting record.
If Lasitskene captured the attention of the crowd out on the streets, her compatriot Anzhelika Sidorova was the star of the show the following night as the Weltklasse Zürich stepped inside Stadion Letzigrund. With the reigning Olympic champion Katie Nageotte failing to register a mark, Sidorova performed a solo masterclass in the women’s pole vault competition. The silver medalist in Tokyo scored a new personal best and world lead at 4.96, then went clear on her third and final attempt at 5.01 to become only the third woman in history to reach beyond five metres.
A result of the steady improvement which saw Sidorova become world champion in 2019 before coming tantalisingly close at the Summer Olympics, a momentous night in the pole vault went up a notch when Armand Duplantis also achieved a meeting record in the men’s discipline. Pushed at least some of the way by Sam Kendricks and Timur Morgunov, the Swedish starlet consolidated victory at 5.98 then sailed clear at 6.06, on this occasion falling narrowly short at 6.19 after three attempts to better his own world record.
The second day of action started with a splash out on track, as Marileidy Paulino dived over the finish line in a desperate attempt to continue her winning run over 400 metres. But the pre-race favourite had to settle for scratched knees and second place, as Quanera Hayes held on down the straight for victory. The win was doubly important for the American athlete, who will get to skip the highly competitive United States trials thanks to her free pass for next year’s World Championships.
In the men’s event, Kirani James and Michael Cherry tumbled over the finish line for a photo finish. Unusually for athletics, the man who fell first won out, as Cherry’s flailing arms and plunging torso carried him to the narrowest margin of victory. Then in the women’s steeplechase, Hyvin Kiyeng landed up to her knees in the final water pit, leaving Norah Jeruto to storm away down the home straight. The result marked a strong end to the season for Jeruto, some recompense after she failed to make the Kenyan team for the Tokyo Olympics.
Following the highs of Eugene and Lausanne, where Elaine Thompson Herah and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce recorded the second and third fastest sprints of all time over 100 metres, there would be no head-to-head in Zurich as Fraser-Pryce withdrew a few days prior to competition. Still Thompson Herah had to keep her wits as she surged to another meeting record in a time of 10.65, with Dina Asher-Smith registering a season’s best in second. Ajla Del Ponte finished third in front of an eager home crowd, and there were personal bests for Daryll Neita and another local favourite in Mujinga Kambundji as five women raced inside eleven seconds.
Most of the big names were present and correct in the men’s 100 metres, as Canada’s Andre De Grasse faced off against the American trio of Fred Kerley, Trayvon Bromell, and Ronnie Baker. While Baker and Bromell stormed out of the starting blocks, it was Kerley and De Grasse who came through for a close-fought one-two, with Kerley continuing his stellar run of form in a winning time of 9.87.
Towards the end of the evening many of the same athletes returned to the track for the 200 metres. Asher-Smith, Neita, and Kambundji pulled double duty but were forced to watch on as Christine Mboma won in a time of 21.78, the new world junior record proving just enough to see off a personal best from Shericka Jackson. In the men’s race, Kenny Bednarek built up a big lead round the bend and managed to hold on despite a late charge from De Grasse.
One of the performances of the night came in the 100 metre hurdles, an event dominated this year by Jasmine Camacho-Quinn even as the Puerto Rican athlete has preferred to conduct her affairs from America. Absent again in Zurich, instead it was Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan who set one of the fastest times of the season, with her mark of 12.42 a new area record for Africa. Nadine Visser established a new Dutch national record as she clocked a time of 12.51 in second place.
The 110 metre hurdles got off to a rocky start as the home favourite Jason Joseph jumped the gun, resulting in an early disqualification. Devon Allen squeezed out Ronald Levy in a photo finish with both athletes running season’s bests, though Allen will not be a guaranteed presence at the World Championships next year as the automatic spot for the United States remains with the reigning world champion Grant Holloway.
Over the longer course, the Karsten Warholm show suffered a delay as two false starts earned Yasmani Copello disqualification from the 400 metre hurdles. When the race finally got underway, Warholm went out with all of his usual vigour, and though he was chased round the bend by Alison dos Santos and Kyron McMaster, eventually the Norwegian strode away to secure a comfortable victory.
In the women’s race Femke Bol was back after a brief foray over the flats, renewing her rather lopsided rivalry with Shamier Little. The American, one of the fastest athletes of all time in her own right, has been forced to act in the role of pacemaker and training partner on the Diamond League circuit, pushing the young Dutch athlete to a slew of personal bests. It was the same story in Zurich, with Bol running away after the final barrier to win the race in a time of 52.80 for a new meeting record.
A stacked field in the women’s 800 metres saw the likely contenders bunch up behind Natoya Goule. Hovering on her shoulder was the Olympic silver medalist Keely Hodgkinson, who pulled away down the straight, while Kate Grace just managed to pip Goule on the line for second. In the men’s event Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich signalled his intent by moving out past Marco Arop, but it was Emmanuel Kipkurui Korir who had the legs despite the rugged form as he raced to the finish.
Benjamin Kigen stole a big lead in the men’s steeplechase, and despite stuttering over the last barrier, Soufiane El Bakkali was too far back to make up the ground, with the Olympic champion having to settle for second at the end of a slow race. That left the 1500 metres, where a couple of celebrated rivalries served as the centrepiece of the night’s distance running.
Sifan Hassan may have completed an unprecedented treble at the Tokyo Olympics, with two golds and a bronze from her three distance events. Over the 1500 metres however, Faith Kipyegon continues to have her number, routinely rising to the occasion courtesy of her sprint finish. The same held in Zurich, where Hassan tucked in behind before succumbing to the speed of her keenest rival. In the men’s race, Jakob Ingebrigtsten looked tired at the back end of a long season, hanging valiantly onto the coattails of Timothy Cheruiyot as the Kenyan held on for a narrow margin of victory.
In the meantime Yulimar Rojas was skipping through records in the field, the charismatic Venezuelan continuing to excel at the end of an extraordinary season in the sandpit. After setting a new meeting record of 15.27 in the first round of the triple jump, Rojas saved her best until last with a final leap of 15.48. And in similar fashion, Pedro Pichardo had already secured victory in the men’s event before a sixth round jump of 17.70 added extra embellishment.
In the javelin, success for Christin Hussong and Johannes Vetter served to quell some of the disappointment both athletes suffered at the Olympics. Daniel Ståhl needed just a couple of throws to cement his status in the discus, while Valarie Allman produced a winning spin of 69.20 to sweep past her competitors.
Then it was left to Gianmarco Tamberi to rouse the crowd, as the gold medal winner from Tokyo saw off the challenge of Andriy Protsenko and Ilya Ivanyuk in the high jump competition. Already a fan favourite owing to his flowing hair and spirited personality, Tamberi achieved world renown in Tokyo when he embraced Mutaz Barshim after the rivals and friends agreed to split the gold medal. In Zurich, the Italian athlete sailed over a final height of 2.34 as the camera called cut on a memorable athletics season.
