Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse secured his fifth trip to the Diamond League Final after a strong performance in the 200-meter race at the Weltklasse Zürich meet. De Grasse finished in 20.03 seconds, coming in behind Kenny Bednarek of the U.S. who set a world-leading time of 19.62 seconds, and South Africa’s Sinesipho Dambile who finished in 19.82 seconds. This race marked De Grasse’s return to the 200-meter event since his victory in Zagreb, Croatia, with a time of 19.95 seconds.
De Grasse, who holds the Canadian record of 19.62 seconds, won the Diamond League Trophy in 2023, becoming the first Canadian to achieve this since Dylan Armstrong twelve years prior. He will be aiming to become Canada’s first Diamond League champion since Sarah Mitton’s win in women’s shot put. The upcoming Final in Belgium will feature Dambile, Letsile Tebogo of Botswana, Bednarek, Makanakaishe Charamba of Zimbabwe, and other top contenders.
In another highlight of the meet, Alison dos Santos and Masai Russell set new world records in the hurdles, with dos Santos breaking the men’s 400m hurdles record with a time of 45.80 seconds, and Russell setting a new record in the women’s 100m hurdles with a time of 12.09 seconds.
The pole vault event saw a thrilling battle between Mondo Duplantis and Emmanouil Karalis, with Karalis challenging Duplantis’ dominance. Karalis set a new personal best of 6.20 meters, putting pressure on Duplantis who eventually won with a height of 6.25 meters. Karalis came close to breaking the world record at 6.32 meters, indicating a potential shift in the pole vault landscape.
The upcoming Diamond League Final and World Athletics Ultimate Championships will feature exciting matchups between Duplantis and Karalis, promising a showdown that could bring an end to Duplantis’ reign as the pole vault champion.