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Lausanne: Emmanuel Vanioni nearly broke David Rudisha’s 800m world record in the Lausanne Diamond League on Thursday, a mixed night for the Olympic champion returning to competition after the Paris Games.
Wan Yongyi repeated her stunning form in the French capital to finish just 0.20 seconds off the world record of 1 minute 40.91 seconds set by Rudisha when he won gold at the 2012 London Olympics.
The Kenyan runner will get another chance at the next elite event in Silesia, Poland, on Sunday. Other Olympic champions who won included Letesile Tebogo of Botswana, who won the 200m title in an impressive 19.64 seconds.
The 21-year-old, who won the men’s 200m gold in Paris – his first for his country – admitted he hadn’t trained for eight days before heading to Lausanne and was jubilant upon his return to Gaborone.
“For me, the most important thing is that even with an achievement like the Olympics, at the end of the day you still have to keep running and keep the form you’ve had throughout the season,” he said.
Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece won the long jump with a score of 8.06 meters, and Yaroslava Mahuchik of Ukraine won the women’s high jump with a score of 1.99 meters.
Retaliation for ingredients
It wasn’t all good news for the newly crowned Olympic champions, however, as Grant Holloway, Cole Hawke and German shot putter Yemisi Ogunleye all failed to reach the Swiss podium and continue their good form from the Paris Games.
Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen got at least some revenge in the 1500m when he beat Hawke, a former favorite for gold in Paris who started too fast and finished fourth.
“It’s been almost two weeks since the Paris Olympics, so there’s been plenty of time to recover,” Ingebrigtsen said of his 3:27.83 win. “A lot of it was mental for me, getting home, taking a few days off, and then getting back to work. Tonight was a great answer to that.”
Perhaps the biggest upset came in the men’s 110m hurdles, when Olympic champion and three-time world gold medalist Holloway was beaten to second place by Jamaica’s Rashid Broadbear in 13.10 seconds.
“After a good performance at the Olympics, it’s challenging to keep the same pace, but I will focus on learning from this race so I can run better next time,” Holloway said.
“Once you’ve reached your goal it can be difficult to keep going but I’m ready to defend my world title. As long as I can improve it’s a good sign.”
Double Circle Joy
One of the most exciting events of the season was undoubtedly the men’s 800m, where four athletes ran below 1:42 for the first time in an Olympic final. In Lausanne, Kenya’s Wanyonyi once again did not disappoint, winning in an incredible 1:41.11. This is the second fastest time ever, tied with Denmark’s Wilson Kipketer.
With the help of Wavelength Technology and two front-runners, Vanione gritted his teeth and persevered to the finish line, and it seemed that Rudisha’s once untouchable record would be broken in the near future.
However, Wanyonni will not rest on his laurels and will head straight to Poland for Sunday’s Diamond League round, while also competing in the finals in Brussels next month.
“I’m very happy to have run a world-leading time in Lausanne today,” said Wanyonni. “My body was in great shape. I stood up and ran here and told my body ‘you have to do something for me, I need to run really fast’.”
Gabriel Touard of France, who finished third behind Wanyonni and Canadian world champion Marco Arop, said he did not think Rudisha’s record would stand for long.
“When you see the wavelength of light ahead, it’s really not far away,” he said. “I think it will be broken in Silesia or Brussels.” Another Swiss City Games champion was Femke Boll, who won the title just 12 days after the last track and field event at the Stade de France.
The Dutchwoman won the 400m hurdles in 52.55 seconds, making up for her bronze in Paris behind record-setting runners Sydney McLaughlin-Levron and Anna Cockrell.
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