After Zurich Diamond League, focus shifts to grand finale in Brussels

Kenya's Mary Moraa celebrates after winning the Women's 800m final during the Zurich Diamond League at the Letzigrund stadium in Zurich on Thursday. [AFP]

After demolishing stellar women's fields, Beatrice Chebet and Mary Moraa stormed to phenomenal victories in Zurich, the last leg of the Diamond League series before the two-day grand finale set for the next Friday and Saturday.

In the process, the two glorious women fired warnings at the Thursday night catfights ahead of the final leg in Brussels, Belgium, as they won their races.

Chebet, a double Olympic Champion, won the women’s 5000m contest in a world lead while Moraa, the Olympic bronze medallist, managed another dance in Zurich.

An attempt to lower Ethiopian Gudaf Tsegay’s World Record in the women’s 5000m was on Chebet’s cards, but the women’s 10,000m fastest athlete had to postpone the mission, although she won the race in an impressive 14:09.52.

When Tsegay set her world 5000m record of 14:00.21 last year in Eugene, she passed 3000m in 8:26.03, and on Thursday evening in Zurich, Chebet crossed the mark in 8:25.77.

But she slowed down, eventually producing a meeting record.

“I really wanted to run the world record but the pacemaker dropped out earlier than had been planned… It was not easy after that,” Chebet said after the win.

World 10,000m bronze medallist Ejgayehu Taye was a distant runner up in 14:28.76, with fellow Ethiopian Tsigie Gebreselama third in 14:39.05.

Fresh from her 600m world best of 1:21.63 in Berlin on Sunday, Moraa, a reigning world champion, claimed a decisive 800m victory, blazing the track in the home straight and crossing the line in a stellar 1:57.08.

Britain’s Olympic 1500m bronze medallist Georgia Bell placed second in 1:57.94, with Addison Wiley of the US third in 1:58.16, ahead of Britain’s world indoor silver medallist Jemma Reekie (1:58.49).

World silver medallist Jacob Krop led Cornelius Kemboi to a 1-2 Kenyan finish in the men’s 3000m.

Former World Under-20 champion Reynold Cheruiyot finished sixth in an intriguing men’s 1500m competition which saw USA’s Yared Nuguse stun pre-race favorite Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who had smashed the 3000m World Record in Silesia.

Letsile Tebogo of Botswana also continued his winning streaks in Zurich, claiming victory in the men’s 200m in 19.55.

Next week’s final will end the journey for the world’s best athletes, who will have competed across 14 different cities and four different continents to earn their place at the season’s grand finale.

A number of Olympic champions have already booked their tickets to Brussels and are getting ready for the mouthwatering clashes from Friday. They include Bahraini-born Winfred Yavi and Moroccan Soufiane El Bakkali in the men’s and women’s 3000m steeplechase, Emmanuel Wanyonyi in the men’s 800m and Femke Bol in the women’s 400m hurdles among others.

The most lethal track star, multiple world-record breaker, Faith Kipyegon, has also booked her ticket, with the hopes of claiming her fifth Diamond Trophy in 2024.