Nothing short of a Meeting Record (MR) was expected from the reigning World and Olympic Champion in the men’s 400m, Wayde Van Niekerk at the Athlessima Meeting in Lausanne on Thursday, and the South African did not disappoint.
The 24-year old returned to Diamond League action, his first in 2017, by securing an emphatic victory in his event where he rendered another of Michael Johnson’s records extinct, the second within the space of a week!
Even more profound was the ease with which the South African ‘machine’ annihilated the rest of the field, setting a World Lead (WL), MR and Diamond League (DLR) of 43.62s to smash Johnson’s 21-year old record of 43.66s.
This comes against the backdrop of his World Record (WR) breaking feat at the IAAF World Challenge in Ostrava last week where he set a new record of 30.81s, bettering Johnson’s former WR of 30.85s.
Van Niekerk inspired a 1-2-3 for the African continent in Lausanne as the Botswana duo of Baboloki Thebe and Isaac Makwala raced to Personal Bests (PB) and Season’s Bests (SB) of 44.02s and 44.08s respectively, with USA’s Vernon Norwood finishing 4th with an SB of 44.47s.
It was a good outing for Africa at the Lausanne Diamond League as the Ethiopian duo of Genzebe Dibaba and Muktar Edris also put up brilliant performances, with both athletes shattering Meeting Records (MR) in their respective events to claim titles at the competition.
Though Genzebe competed in the 1 Mile which was a non-Diamond League event, the WR holder in the 1500m was still the cynosure of all eyes as she went solo in her quest to shatter the WR in the event, a feat which she was unable to accomplish.
Nevertheless, she was rewarded with a WL and MR of 4:16.05, which is also the 5th fastest time ever in the event. Kenyan Nelly Jepkosgei and Claudia Bobocea followed in 4:25.15 and 4:25.89 respectively. The multiple WR holder certainly looked impressive, and would be looking forward to defending her world title in London.
Her compatriot Muktar Edris was the man to beat in the 5000m where he upstaged the Kenyans to set up a 1-2 for Ethiopia. He dominated the event by storming to a WL and MR of 12:55.23, with teammate Selemon Barega following in 12:55.58. Uganda’s Joshua Kiprui Cheptegei was 3rd with a time of 12:59.83.
USA’s Justin Gatlin secured a second consecutive victory over South Africa’s Akani Simbine within the space of one week, storming to the men’s 100m title in 9.96s in a very tight race. Cote d’Ivoire’s Ben Youssef Meite was 2nd with an SB of 9.98s, while Simbine settled for 3rd in 9.99s.
Ivoirian Marie Josee Ta Lou gave World Champion Dafne Schippers a good run for her money in the women’s 200m, matching her stride for stride. However, the Dutchwoman sailed past with a few metres to go, clocking an SB of 22.10s.
Ta Lou’s hard work paid off, as the African Games double sprints GOLD medallist raced to a National Record (NR) of 22.16s in 2nd place, improving on her former NR and PB of 22.21s set at the 2016 Rio Olympics. USA’s Kyra Jefferson finished 3rd in 22.34s.
World Leader in the women’s 800m Caster Semenya was not in action in Lausanne. In her absence, reigning World Indoor Champion Francine Niyonsaba gave a good account of herself as she dominated the race, returning an SB of 1:56.82.
USA’s Charlene Lipsey was inspired to a PB of 1:57.38, while former World Champion Eunice Sum raced to an SB of 1:57.78. Sifan Hassan clocked a PB of 1:58.13 in 4th place.
World No.4 in the men’s 1500m, Ethiopia’s Aman Wote was the man to beat in the event as he defeated the Kenyan duo of Charles Cheboi Simotwo and Silas Kiplagat, after returning a time of 3:32.20. Simotwo set a PB of 3:32.59 to finish 2nd, while Kiplagat followed with 3:32.96.
It was a close race in the women’s 100m Hurdles, which resulted in some confusion, with Kristi Castlin being awarded the victory initially.
However, amends were made and Sharika Nelvis was declared winner with her SB of 12.53s, finishing ahead of Jasmin Stowers (12.57s) and Christina Manning who clocked a PB of 12.58s. Nia Ali and Castlin both returned a time of 12.61s.
The women’s 400m Hurdles didn’t quite turn out as expected. Considering that the lineup consisted of three of the six participants of the historic race at the US Trials, where the Top 6 finishers all went under 54s, the Lausanne Diamond League was meant to be an extension of that race, going by the quality of the field.
However, it turned out to be Ashley Spencer’s day, as the Rio 2016 Bronze medallist came through to take the win in 53.90s, while home girl Léa Sprunger clocked a PB of 54.29s to follow in 2nd place. Great Britain’s Eilidh Doyle was 3rd with an SB of 54.36s.
Perhaps Olympic Champion Dalilah Muhammad is yet to fully recover from the grueling final in Sacramento, and Did Not Finish (DNF). Beijing 2015 Silver medallist Shamier Little also wasn’t at her best, placing 5th in 55.10s.
