by Alfonz Juck
Evan Jager, photo by PhotoRun.net
Evan Jager will be running the 5000 meters in Zurich. We wish him luck! I will have to watch it on TV. Weltklasse is one of my favorite meets. I like to stay at the Ibis, and walked by the hookah bars about a mile away from the Ibis hotel during my nightly walks. The Movenpick hotel is the headquarters, and the pressers are a bit unusual, but the meeting is, well, amazing. Great crowd, fantastic races, and a fun Chinese place just behind the stadium, opened late after track meetings.
WELTKLASSE NEWS (materials from the meet media office)
ZURICH (SUI): Weltklasse will be again World Class pure. 14 champions of the Rio Olympic Games are heading the illustrious entry lists for the IAAF Diamond League final at Weltklasse Zürich this Thursday. 16 Diamond Trophies, which include prize money of 40 000 USD each, will be awarded. The new champions will line up against 26 Olympic medallists, 10 reigning world champions and 16 champions of the recent European Athletics Championships in Amsterdam. The impressive Weltklasse Zürich entry lists suggest another edition of «Olympic Games in one night» and a unique athletics experience for 25 000 stadium visitors.
ZURICH (SUI): The Weltklasse 200m women is a sparkling gem in the 2016 programme of events: New Olympic champion Elaine Thompson (Jamaica), world champion Dafne Schippers (Netherlands), Allyson Felix (USA), and Veronica Campbell-Brown (Jamaica) have won a total of as many as 25 titles at Olympic Games and world championships, including twelve in individual events.
ZURICH (SUI): US Kendra Harrison, 100m hurdles record holder, has left a very strong impression in the IAAF Diamond League meetings this summer. The American won as many as five of her races. After missing out on the Olympic Games, she triumphed again in Lausanne and Paris, and is considered the top favourite for the race on Thursday.
ZURICH (SUI): World record holder Renaud Lavillenie has also already forged an uncatchable margin in the Diamond Race. He will be the first athlete to win the trophy for the seventh consecutive time in Zurich. “Mister Diamond League” is about to make athletics history: No pole vaulter has ever been able to steal the Diamond League crown from him so far. In addition, the French Olympic silver medallist is ready for a rematch with Olympic champion Thiago Braz. The star-studded field also includes Olympic bronze medallist Sam Kendricks, Piotr Lisek and Jan Kudlicka and 2015 World champion Shawn Barber.
ZURICH (SUI): Despite her quote after Paris World record about ending the season Ruth Jebet will compete in Zurich women steeple. It will be interesting to see, whether she can run a similar time in Zurich, and whether she will be able to defend her lead in the Diamond Race against Olympic silver medallist and world champion Hyvin Kiyeng.
ZURICH (SUI): The women’s 800m race will feature another all-star cast. Switzerland’s European indoor champion Selina Büchel, who placed ninth in Rio, will be running against the eight Olympic finalists. It will be a perfect opportunity for the 25-year-old athlete to prove that she belongs with the world’s best. Lining up next to her will be Olympic champion Caster Semenya, who will be running her first race since the Olympic final.The Zurich Trophy, a women’s 4x100m relay race, will conclude the night at Letzigrund Stadium. The Swiss national record holders will run against teams from the USA, Jamaica, Ukraine, and Germany.
ZURICH (SUI): Last year the men’s pole vault stunned the spectators at Zurich Main Station. This year, the world’s best female pole vaulters will take centre stage at the special Weltklasse Zürich arena. Swiss star Nicole Büchler and Greece’s Olympic champion Ekaterini Stefanidi are all set to put their skills on show at an extraordinary venue on Wednesday. Some 2000 spectators will get to cheer and to gasp at Zurich Main Station. And the athletes will no doubt also treat them to some goose bumps during their breathtaking airshow at the unique temporary arena. All of the 450 seats have been sold.
