It was a glorious night for European athletes at the Weltklasse in Zurich on Thursday as seven of the continent’s stars were crowned winners of the Diamond Race at the first IAAF Diamond League final of the summer.
For Renaud Lavillenie, he secured the title for an amazing seventh time, the only athlete to win their event in every year of the competition.
Unprecedented!
— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) September 1, 2016
Renaud Lavillenie collected a record seventh Diamond Race Trophy in Zurich tonight. pic.twitter.com/f5OC3OeoPx
The French pole vault star received his trophy from IAAF President, Sebastian Coe, in front of a full house at the Letzigrund Stadium which saw Croatia’s discus thrower Sandra Perkovic win her fifth and Spanish high jumper Ruth Beitia earn her second title.
They were joined by first time winners in the Netherlands’ Dafne Schippers (200m), Great Britain’s Laura Muir (1500m), Serbia’s Ivana Spanovic (long jump) and the Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch (javelin).
Their triumph comes with the added bonus of automatic selection for next summer’s IAAF World Championships in London.
Lavillenie is so happy
He did not have to win, he just had to be there but Renaud Lavillenie was determined he would be the champion with a victory.
In the end he had to share the pole vault glory on the night with American Sam Kendricks, both men finishing with 5.90m after failing to clear 6.01m. In the process, though, Lavillenie finished ahead of the man who beat him to Olympic gold, Brazil’s Thiago Braz (who was third with 5.84m).
At 29, the French star remains such a force in the event, even if this has been a summer without a gold medal from either of the major championships.
'I am very proud and very happy,' said Lavillenie, who won five times during the series of meetings. 'The Diamond Race is a very special trophy because you have to be on top several times throughout the year. You have to struggle to stay on top.'
Final standings: 1. Renaud Lavillenie (FRA) 72 points, 2. Sam Kendricks (USA) 50, 3. Piotr Lisek (POL) 15.
Perkovic's final hurrah
It is now five in a row for Sandra Perkovic, and she added spice to her success with victory on a night where she consistently increased her distance.
The Croatia discus thrower led all the way after opening with 64.23m which she followed with 66.57m. After a third round foul, she reached 67.98m before another foul but then she ended with the best of them all, 68.44m, as she beat France’s Melina Robert-Michon (63.91m) and Cuba’s Denia Caballero (62.80m).
It has been a golden year for Perkovic, who won her fourth successive European crown in Amsterdam before retaining her Olympic title.
She won at all seven Diamond League appearances this season and she said: 'After Rio, this was the best shape I have had the entire season and I thought I could throw even further but I am very happy I won the Diamond Race.'
Final standings: 1. Sandra Perkovic (CRO) 80, 2. Melina Robert-Michon (FRA) 28, 3. Denia Caballero (CUB) 24.
Party time for Spanovic
Five wins to her name and the Diamond race champion by a long way, Serbia’s Ivan Spanovic added to her amazing run of her success in Zurich.
This time, though, she could not do enough for a victory on the night after leading with what proved to be her best effort, 6.93m from round one. That saw her stay in front until round four where American Brittney Reese then reached 6.95m to relegate Spanovic to second, with Russia’s Darya Klishina in third (6.63m).
But after European gold in Amsterdam and bronze in Rio, Spanovic was now the Diamond Race winner for the first time and she said: 'It means a lot to me because I was very angry I could not produce a bigger jump at the Olympic Games. I still have two more meetings but then I will have a big party because this has been my most successful year.'
Final standings: 1. Ivana Spanovic (SRB) 68, 2. Brittney Reece (USA) 36, Lorraine Ugen (GBR) 22.
Beitia out on her own
Two years on from winning the European title for the second time in Zurich, Spain’s Ruth Beitia completed her amazing season by retaining her Diamond Race crown.
She claimed victory with 1.96m as she beat the USA’s Inika McPherson, who shared second on countback at 1.93m with Sweden’s Sofie Skoog.
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Beitia was in front before the event, with her biggest threat being St Lucia’s Levern Spencer but she finished back in eighth on 1.90m and the glory went to Spain.
How Beitia enjoyed the night, then raising the bar to 2.02m, and though she could not clear that, it did not matter.
Beitia won at five Diamond League meetings and said: 'It has been a wonderful year for me, with the gold medal at the European Championships and Olympic Games. And now tonight…I am most happy.'
Final standings: 1. Ruth Beitia (ESP) 61, 2. Levern Spencer (LCA) 25, 3. Sofie Skoog (SWE) 20.
Schippers runs her best of the year
With three wins in the Diamond League, Dafne Schippers was so close to making it four in a brilliant 200m, one of the races of the night.
She was just pipped to victory by the Olympic champion, Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson, in a repeat of the result from Rio.
But it was so close, as Thompson won in 21.85, a Diamond League record, from Schippers in a season’s best of 21.86 with American Allyson Felix in third (22.02) and Great Britain’s European champion Dina Asher-Smith in fourth (22.38).
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Schippers looked in command on the bend in lane five with Thompson in six and she was still in front with 40m left but gradually the Jamaican edged closer and won it on the line.
But it was still an evening of celebration for Schippers who said: 'I feel good and this is very special for the Netherlands. This time is good, a season’s best, and for the world championships (where she is the defending champion), I will have to work on everything in the 200m: start, curve, execution, speed and finish.”
Final standings: 1. Dafne Schippers (NED) 48, 2. Elaine Thompson (JAM) 30, 3. Dina Asher-Smith (GBR) 16.
Proud to win the Diamond League ! And happy with my race yesterday!! Unexpected fast time! pic.twitter.com/Fh4nsTecd5
— Dafne Schippers (@dafneschippers) September 2, 2016
Muir makes her mark
What a summer it has been for Laura Muir - and now she has the honour of being the first Briton to be selected for next summer’s home world championships after securing the Diamond Race.
Five days on from breaking the British record in Paris with her victory in 3:55.22, the world lead, it looked like Muir was set for a second successive triumph. But on the line, after she had made a break with 90m left, American Shannon Rowbury came through to snatch the win on her inside.
She triumphed in 3:57.78 from Muir (3:57.85) with the Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan in third (3:58.43).
Yet the key was the position of Kenya’s Faith Kipyego, who could also have taken the Diamond Race, and she ended up back in seventh (4:01.86).
Muir, who won twice at these meetings, was the champion and said: 'This is amazing. I never expected anything like this. This is big for me.'
Final standings: 1. Laura Muir (GBR) 40, 2. Faith Kipyegon (KEN) 36, 3. Shannon Rowbury (USA) 23.
I did it!!!!!! Diamond League Champ 2016 pic.twitter.com/hXLenM0tJJ
— Laura Muir (@lauramuiruns) September 1, 2016
Vadlejch savours his success
After finishing eighth in the Olympic final, Jakub Vadlejch regained his superb form in the Diamond League to win the javelin with his third victory of the series.
And he did so by beating the Olympic champion.
Vadlejch made a slow start in the final field event of the evening, opening with 82.12m as Germany’s Rio gold medallist Thomas Röhler took the lead with 86.56m. That looked like it could be the throw to win the event, but the Czech Republic star had something outstanding left.
After an 84.93m and then a foul, Vadlejch delivered brilliantly with 87.28m in the fourth round and the title was his, as Röhler finished second on the night with German teammate Julian Weber in third (84.29m).
'I am enjoying this moment,' said Vadlejch. 'Although it is a small satisfaction for the Olympics…with tonight’s throw, I would have made the podium.'
Final standings: 1. Jakub Vadlejch (CZE) 50, 2. Thomas Röhler (GER) 46, 3. Julian Weber (GER) 15.
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