The Lausanne Diamond League served up strong fields in front of 12,500 fans on a blustery night in Switzerland, with three of the five Australians in action climbing onto the podium as the Australian athletics resurgence rolls on.
Stewart McSweyn (Nic Bideau) clearly enjoyed donning the national colours at the Olympic Games, opting for a yellow singlet in his two races since – on this occasion reaping a third place finish over 3000m in a time of 7:35.06.
The King Island product loped to the lead in his usual manner, stalked by Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen as the two established a significant lead over the rest of the world-class field. It was a margin that could only be erased by Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi who finished in second place behind Ingebrigtsen.
McSweyn’s admirable front-running habits have earned him a reputation as one of the world’s most aggressive runners, playing to his strengths in the lead and ensuring his performance is reflective of his fitness.
Nicola McDermott (Matt Horsnell) marched on in her rich vein of form this season, clearing 1.95m to finish in third place as the Olympic podium featured in Lausanne in a different order.
The Olympic silver medallist was faultless at both 1.89m and 1.92m, before requiring all three attempts at 1.95m – demonstrating the challenge conditions present. Jumping with a smile on her face, fans were reminded of McDermott’s love and passion for the sport as the 24-year-old looks to raise her 2.02m national record before the season’s end.
1.98m proved to be a winning jump as Russia’s Mariya Lasitskene took out the event ahead of Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh.
It was a challenging night for Eleanor Patterson (Alex Stewart), who recorded a first attempt clearance at 1.85m before being unable to make her way over 1.89m.
Linden Hall claimed her second consecutive second place finish in the Wanda Diamond League, stopping the clock in 4:02.95 after a valiant effort in the lead to go with her 3:59.73 at the Eugene Diamond League last week.
The gutsy Australian glued herself to the back of the pacemaker before being left solo out in front, progressing through the bell with a lead of over 10-metres – one that only Ethiopia’s Freweyni Gebreezheber was able to cover over the final lap.
The performance will clinch valuable Diamond League ranking points for Hall, who hopes to secure a position in the Diamond League final in Zurich. A sixth place finish in the women’s Olympic 1500m suggests she is good enough.
The men’s 800m shaped up as an Olympic final rerun with eight of the nine Olympic finalists present, including Peter Bol (Justin Rinaldi). Clocking 1:47.49, Bol finished in ninth place as Canada’s Marco Arop paved his own fate out in front to be the first man across the line.
Bol moved away from his typically aggressive racing style in the 800m when heading straight to the back of the field in challenging conditions, before failing to make any in-roads late. The 27-year-old is entered in the Paris Diamond League on August 28.
The Diamond League features two more meetings in Paris and Brussels, before the final in Zurich where multiple Australians will hope to feature.
By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 27/08/2021
