Final Countdown | Zurich Diamond League Preview

The world’s premier athletics series is reaching its crescendo at pace, with four Australians making an appearance at the penultimate Diamond League meet of the year.  Olympic champion Nina Kennedy spearheads the nations chase as she gets set to build on her seven-strong winning streak.

Australian viewers can tune in live via Stan Sport.

Women’s Pole Vault
September 5, 1:30am AEST

Fresh off another Diamond League victory in Rome, Olympic champion Nina Kennedy (Paul Burgess and James Fitzpatrick) returns to the world famous Zurich Hauptbahnhof for the indoor street-style contest, held a day before the main Diamond League action.

A field reminiscent of the Olympic final, the Australian powerhouse will take on Paris 2024 medallists Katie Moon and Alysha Newman, who stand as her main threats, but will also need to outperform Angelica Moser, who with a season’s best of 4.88m, will have the support of a home crowd behind her.

Her favourite event on the Diamond League circuit, Kennedy competed at the meet last year, soaring to 4.91m to break her own Australian record. Can she do it again?

Women’s High Jump
September 6, 2:30am AEST

Australia’s two global medallists Nicola Olyslagers (Matt Horsnell) and Eleanor Patterson (Alex Stewart) are set to fire in Zurich, with the pair ready to continue showing off Australia’s strength in the discipline ahead of the Diamond League finals in Brussels.

While many athletes struggle to maintain peak form after a major championship, Patterson has bucked the trend, recently clearing a season’s best of 1.96m in Lausanne. With another world class performance and increasing confidence, there is no doubt that the Leongatha product can find herself on the podium once more.

Olyslagers, the second highest jumper in the world this year, brings her own blend of determination and potential to the field. Despite acknowledging that her jumps at the Lausanne Diamond League were technically challenging and not quite at her Paris level, the silver medallist remains a strong threat in Zurich, where anything could happen.

Up against the pair will be Olympic champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh, who last week fortnight mustered up a best of 2.03m – equal to Olyslager’s season’s best – as well as Iryna Gerashchenko who shared the bronze with Patterson in Paris.

Men’s 3000m
September 6, 3:15am AEST

Olympic finalist Stewart McSweyn (Nic Bideau) will stretch his legs over 3000m in Zurich, with the Australian record holder set to show his strength over the distance alongside a cast of 14 distance runners.

Having run two of his best ever times over the distance this year, McSweyn will be set up for success, eyeing off his second international podium finish this year.

McSweyn’s 7:29.46 achieved at the Paris Diamond League is his third fastest performance of all time across the distance and makes him the third fastest athlete on paper - rivaling that of hometown favourite Dominic Lobalu (7:29.46) and Jacob Krop (7:28.83), setting up for a fast pace race that could see him near his Australian record of 7:28.02.

Men’s Pole Vault
September 6, 3:18am AEST

The big guns of Men’s Pole Vault are back in action for another contest, with no less than five six-metre vaulters in action in the Swiss city.

Australia’s global medallist Kurtis Marschall (Paul Burgess and James Fitzpatrick) will continue his season in Zurich, having not yet reached his peak after an ankle injury sustained at the Australian Athletics Championships this year. With a season’s best of 5.85m produced at the Olympic Games, the Adelaide-born vaulter will look to get closer to the 5.95m that won him bronze at the World Athletics Championships last year and see him come closer to the podium finish he desires.

World record holder Mondo Duplantis (SWE) takes flight once more after twice breaking the world record in the past month, and while the top spot will be taken by the once in a generation great, Marschall will be hunting for silver or bronze against the likes of Paris silver medallist Sam Kendricks and Christopher Nilsen, both from the USA, Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis who hit the six-metre barrier this year, plus French pair Thibaut Collet and Renaud Lavillenie.

Men’s 1500m
September 6, 5.27am AEST

Australian record holder Olli Hoare (Dathan Ritzenhein) is set to immerse himself amongst the depths of global middle distance running one last time before the Diamond League final,

Headlined by world number one Jakob Ingebrigsten (NOR), the field of 16 also includes the likes of Olympic medallists Cole Hocker (USA), Timothy Cheruiyot (KEN) and Josh Kerr (GBR), with nine athletes hitting the 3:30 mark so far this season.

With a season’s best of 3:31.07, Hoare is seeded 11^th in the field but with a proven history of grit, anything is possible for the Commonwealth champion amid the field.

By Sascha Ryner, Athletics Australia
Posted: 3/9/2024