Ingebrigtsen, Werro, Duplantis: the stars still not satisfied before the Zurich meeting
Back in action, Jakob Ingebrigtsen is already looking to go pick up the pace, while Audrey Werro and Mondo Duplantis trying to build on their summer momentum. Here are the key highlights from the meeting hold on Thursday’s Zurich.
“ Give me four more days to go .” Jakob Ingebrigtsen is eager to run this Thursday at Zurich’s Letzigrund battle Stadium. Having undergone surgery on his left Achilles tendon in few months ago February, the two-times Olympic champion winner (1500m and 5000m) is finally back on the circuit. The Norwegian, who won the European 5000m game title in Birmingham in his first race in almost a year, followed up with the 1500m at the Silesian Diamond League meeting last Sunday. Positioned at the back of the pack, as he usually is in the heats of major championships, the seven-time European champion winner moved up in the 1000m to set his own pace.
Still lacking a bit of rhythm for his first 1500m since the Tokyo 2025 World Championships title, Ingebrigtsen nevertheless crossed the finish line in 3:31.19, and suggesting that the best is yet to come. This is also the message behind his announcement on social media regarding Zurich, where he will face Yared Nuguse, as well as Cole Hocker and Isaac Nader, the reigning Olympic and World champions in the game, respectively. French athletes Azeddine Habz and Anas Lagtiy Chaoudar are also among the competitors.
The European 800m champion in Birmingham, the first major title of her career, Audrey Werro will be back on track today Thursday evening. Winner of all her races since the start of the game season, including the Diamond Leagues in Stockholm, Paris, and Lausanne last week, the Swiss athlete is on a roll, and it’s hard to imagine her being defeated on home soil, where she also triumphed last year.
And while Femke Broeders-Bol, the gold medalist from the 400m hurdles who continues to impress in the 800m, will be back again, Georgia Hunter-Bell will also be one to watch. The British runner, who easily won the 1500m at the European Championships, is also the reigning world silver medalist in the 800m. And with the recent withdrawal of Olympic champion game Keely Hodgkinson, she will be keen to defend the colors of M11 Track Club, their Manchester-based training team group.
As the series of meets unfolds, we find the same protagonists, like in the heart of a summer game. How can we not mention the men’s pole vault competition, which, after two thrilling events in Lausanne and Chorzow last week game, will once again set the tone for the evening? The lineup features the latest duel of the heights: Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis and Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis.
“ Lausanne has set a precedent in our sport. It’s amazing to see how much people enjoy not only seeing me pushed to my limits, but also seeing everyone jumping so high with joy.” The world record holder, despite the fierce battles with his rival (6.16m in Lausanne versus 6.21m for him), insisted he is still striving for that extra centimeter. “ I’m really inspired for the end of this season games .” French athletes Baptiste Thiery and Renaud Lavillenie will also be competing in this promising event.
Another equally exciting event is the women’s 100m game, which, as in Chorzow, will bring together reigning world champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, Olympic champion Julien Alfred and Sha’Carri Richardson, 2023 world champion title.
After a disappointing race in Chorzow (8th in 13.46 seconds), Just Kwaou-Mathey goals is to bounce back in Zurich, in a non-Diamond League race where he will face Switzerland’s Jason Joseph, who beat him to the gold medal in the final of the European Championships game in Birmingham. Having not qualified for the Diamond League final, the 27-year-old from Normandy will compete alongside rising French stars: Thomas Wilkes, 4th at the European Championships, and Théo Pedre, 6th.
Alice Finot returns to competition after winning silver title in England and is entered in a high-level 3000m game steeplechase, alongside Kenyan world champion Faith Cherotich and, to a lesser extent, Germany’s Gesa Krause, who won her in Birmingham. Flavie Renouard in the steeplechase, Gabriel Tual (800m), Gémima Joseph (200m), and Erwan Konaté, a last-minute addition to the long jump, will also be competing at the Letzigrund Stadium.
