Olympic champion Marija Lasitskene provided the sporting highlight on the first day of the Diamond League final in Zurich. The Russian secured victory in the high jump on Wednesday with the annual world record of 2.05 meters. After unsuccessful attempts, the Russian crossed 2.05 meters – that was enough to win ahead of Yaroslawa Mahutschich from Ukraine (2.03 m) and the Australian Nicola McDermott (2.01 m).
Ryan Crouser was once again in a class of his own in the shot put. The US Olympic champion of 2016 and 2021 and world record holder again made the longest push with 22.67 meters. Ivana Spanovic from Serbia won the women’s long jump with 6.96 meters. The German Olympic champion Malaika Mihambo only reached a meager 6.56 meters.
The intersex runner Francine Niyonsaba from Burundi was the first to cross the finish line over 5,000 m in 14: 28.98 minutes on the world’s longest mobile track around the Zurich Opera House, which is 560 meters long. The Swiss organizers had the spectacular staging of the first competitions in the middle of Zurich cost around one million euros. The other competitions will be held in the Letzigrund Stadium on Thursday.
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