Richardson beats Alfred in 100m as Olympians shine

Sha’Carri Richardson, an American world champion, avenged her Olympic defeat to St Lucia’s Julien Alfred by winning the women’s 100m final at the Diamond League meeting in Zurich.

 

Alfred won her country’s first Olympic medallist, earning gold in Paris while Richardson finished second, with the St Lucian also winning the 200m.

 

However, American Richardson won in Switzerland in 10.84 seconds against a strong field on Thursday.

 

Dina Asher-Smith of Britain, who did not make the Olympic final, finished third, with compatriot Daryll Neita coming in seventh.

 

Letsile Tebogo, Botswana’s Olympic champion, won the men’s 200m final in 19.55 seconds, with Americans Kenneth Bednarek and Erriyon Knighton finishing second and third, respectively.

 

The highly anticipated men’s 1500m race lived up to expectations with a thrilling finish as Olympic bronze medallist Yared Nuguse defeated the in-form Jakob Ingebrigtsen to claim victory.

 

American Nuguse finished one spot ahead of Ingebrigtsen, as he did in Paris, with Olympic champion Cole Hocker in third.

 

Britain’s world champion Josh Kerr, who earned Olympic silver, finished fifth.

 

In the women’s 800m, Georgia Bell, Britain’s Olympic 1500m bronze champion, finished second behind Kenya’s Mary Moraa, with Jemma Reekie of Great Britain finishing fourth.

 

Armand Duplantis, Sweden’s Olympic champion, continued his strong all-around form by winning the men’s pole vault.

 

Success for the Swede came after he won a 100m exhibition race against 400m hurdler Karsten Warholm on Wednesday.

 

The penultimate Diamond League meeting before next week’s two-night final in Brussels also saw Kenyan double Olympic champion Beatrice Chebet run a world-leading pace of 14 minutes and 9.52 seconds in the women’s 5,000 metres.

 

Chebet was not the only gold medallist from Paris who appeared on the night. Yaroslava Mahuchikh, Ukraine’s Olympic champion and world record holder, won the high jump, American Ryan Crouser won the shot throw, while his countrymen Grant Holloway won the 110m hurdles in an astonishing 12.99 seconds.