Five Diamond League trophies for Kenya as curtains come down in Zurich

Kenyans gave dominant performances on the final night of the Wanda Diamond League 2021 season reaping big in Zurich with five diamond trophies coming home. 

It was a repeat of the Olympic Games in most races with the highlight being the 1500m races. Olympic 5000m and 10,000m champion Sifan Hassan taking on fellow Tokyo gold medalist Faith Kipyegon in the women’s 1500m was a race with the makings of an all-time classic. 

Eyes were on the two who remained in third and fourth just behind the pacesetters. Kipyegon assumed the lead on the bell, with Hassan hanging on her shoulder. Hassan unsuccessfully attempted to upstage the two-time Olympic gold medalist with 50m to go but Kipyegon would not concede as she crossed the line in 3:58.33 for her second trophy after 2017. 

“I knew it would be a tactical race today," Kipyegon told World Athletics. “I was confident that in the last lap I could do better and it worked.” Hassan declared Kipyegon was “really one of the greatest athletes” but vowed to keep challenging her. 

“Today was my last race of the season and I wanted to give everything, and I did that and I am happy about it," Hassan said before warning: “Next year, I will train my speed and I will be amazing.” 

Close finishes were the order of the evening as the men’s 1500m followed an eerily similar script. World champion Timothy Cheruiyot and the Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen were locked in epic battle as the former gained a measure of revenge in Zurich for losing in the Tokyo Games. 

Cheruiyot employed the same tactics as his compatriot Kipyegon, forcing Ingebrigtsen to chase him from the bell. He tightened the screws gradually until he entered the home straight and lit out for home. 

Like Hassan, Ingebrigtsen had the strength to challenge in the straight but not to draw ahead. Cheruiyot hung tough and took the glory and his fourth Diamond League trophy in 3:31.37 while the youngster finished in 3:31.45. Cheruiyot said he felt better than he had at the Olympics, after nursing a hamstring injury through the season, and added that his focus now was on successfully defending his world title in Oregon next year. 

“That is my target now, but I need to work out because I know Ingebrigtsen is going to continue to get better," he said. 

Meanwhile, the women’s 3000m steeplechase was decided at the final water jump. Kenyan duo of Norah Jeruto and 2015 world champion Hyvin Kiyeng took the lead with 250m to go and dashed stride for stride towards the water. 

But while Jeruto took the barrier smoothly, Kiyeng landed awkwardly in the water and lost all momentum. That was all Jeruto needed to take the victory. She raced away to win in 9:07.34, more than a second ahead of Kiyeng (9:08.55), who only just held off the USA's Olympic silver medalist Courtney Frerichs (9:08.74) for second place. 

Jeruto, who missed the Tokyo Olympic Games because she is in the process of changing her national allegiance to Kazakhstan, revealed exceptional late-season form at the Diamond League meeting in Eugene last month, where she clocked the third-fastest time in history (8:53.65). She carried that to Zurich and was again too strong for her competitors as she claimed her first Diamond League Trophy. 

“At the last hurdle I felt my body move, so strong, so I tried, I kicked and it worked," she said. 

The Kenyan contingent completed the steeplechase double as Olympic bronze medalist Benjamin Kigen triumphed over Olympic champion Moroccan Soufiane El Bakkali, a result that will go down exceptionally well in his native land where national pride was dented when the Moroccan snapped Kenya’s Olympic winning streak in this event in Tokyo. 

But it was not without drama as Kigen stuttered and almost stumbled at the last hurdle. However, his lead was big enough to overcome that momentary lapse and he was able to hold off the charging El Bakkali to win in 8:17.45. 

“On the home straight I felt Soufiane coming strong behind me, but I struggled and I fought," Kigen said. “Normally I am not so strong on the last 100m, but I made it.” 

El Bakkali, returning after a fall in Paris 12 days ago, finished second in 8:17.70 but was furious that he had left his run too late.

A good night for the Kenyan team became exceptional as Olympic champion Emmanuel Korir maintained his supremacy in the 800m, triumphing in 1:44.56 from his teammate Ferguson Rotich (1:44.96) and the USA's Clayton Murphy (1:45.21).

Additional reporting by World Athletics