- Simon Ehammer jumps to third place at Weltklasse Zürich with 7.98 m.
- Mujinga Kambundji cannot compete in the strong field over 100 m.
- Ditaji Kambundji is disqualified, but still runs under protest. Jason Joseph disappoints again.
- The women’s 4x100m relay celebrates a superior victory.
Long jump men: Ehammer on the podium thanks to strong first attempt
At the Olympics he narrowly missed out on a medal, coming fourth, but at Weltklasse Zürich Simon Ehammer was able to make it onto the podium again. The 24-year-old took third place in the long jump thanks to a strong first attempt of 7.98 m. He had already achieved third place at the Athletissima in Lausanne two weeks ago. After his podium jump, Ehammer made four invalid attempts in a row in the Letzigrund before landing at 7.94 m on his last jump.
The competition was won by Wayne Pinnock from Jamaica (8.18 m) ahead of the Greek Miltiadis Tentoglou (8.02 m). At the Olympic Games in Paris, Tentoglou had won gold ahead of Pinnock.
100 m women: Kambundji beaten – successful Olympic revenge
At the Athletissima, Mujinga Kambundji sprinted onto the podium in the 100 m. At Weltklasse Zürich, the 32-year-old from Bern was unable to keep up with the fastest. Kambundji crossed the finish line in wet and cold conditions in Letzigrund after 11.14 seconds and left only one athlete behind him in 8th place.
Sha’Carri Richardson successfully took revenge for the Olympic race. The American, who won silver in Paris, won in 10.84 seconds thanks to a strong finish, ahead of Olympic champion Julien Alfred from the Caribbean island of St. Lucia (10.88). Dina Asher-Smith from Great Britain came in third.
100 m hurdles women: Ditaji Kambundji runs under protest
Ditaji Kambundji was disqualified from the 100 m hurdles race because of a false start. The 22-year-old competed in the race anyway – but was allowed to start under protest. Kambundji had no chance and finished 8th and last. Her time was not counted, however. “In the end, it was just about being able to run here,” she said afterwards. She will miss the season finale in Brussels (13/14 September).
The victory went to Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, the bronze winner from Paris. The Puerto Rican won in 12.36 seconds ahead of Cyréna Samba-Mayela (FRA) and Olympic champion Masai Russell from the USA.
100 m hurdles men: Joseph disappointing again
Jason Joseph, like at the Athletissima in Lausanne, was unable to get going. The 25-year-old from Basel crossed the finish line in 9th and last place. After the race, Joseph seemed a little confused: “I just can’t bring my training performance into the competition. That’s a shame. Because everything is there to run faster.”
With his time of 13.60 s, Joseph was also slower than two other Europeans. While European champion Lorenzo Simonelli (ITA) finished 8th, Sasha Zhoya (FRA) managed a personal best to take second place. He was 11 hundredths slower than Grant Holloway (USA), who gave his competitors no chance despite a cautious start.
4×100 m women: Switzerland dominates victory
The Swiss women’s sprint relay team provided a successful conclusion. Salomé Kora, Sarah Atcho-Jaquier, Léonie Pointet and Mujinga Kambundji won comfortably with a time of 42.55 seconds ahead of the Dutch quartet (43.46).
