Headline: British Athletes Face Tough Competition at Zurich Diamond League Meeting
British athletes Amy Hunt and Georgia Hunter Bell faced stiff competition at the Diamond League meeting held in Zurich on Thursday, finishing fifth and third in their respective events.
Hunt, who dominated the European Championships earlier this month with four gold medals, completed the 100 meters in 11.04 seconds, a race won by Olympic champion Julien Alfred with an impressive time of 10.70 seconds.
Meanwhile, Hunter Bell contested the women’s 800 meters but fell short of Audrey Werro, who achieved a personal best to win the event in one minute 53.70 seconds, just 0.42 seconds shy of the world record.
The night was marked by two remarkable world records. Brazil’s Alison dos Santos clocked a new best of 45.80 seconds in the men’s 400 meters hurdles, surpassing the previous record set by Karsten Warholm. In the women’s 100 meters hurdles, American athlete Masai Russell broke the previous record by finishing in 12.09 seconds, beating Tobi Amusan’s record from 2012.
Hunt encountered a challenging field as she sought to translate her continental success onto the world stage. Alfred, who remains unbeaten over the distance for nearly two years, demonstrated her strength by outpacing world champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, who finished second, with American Sha’Carri Richardson taking third place, just ahead of Hunt and Jamaica’s Tina Clayton.
“I was coming in here and not thinking too much about the time,” Hunt shared with the BBC. “To come fifth in that line-up – I think I had the slowest season’s best coming in and obviously very, very tired legs – I’m really happy with that.”
Despite the absence of Keely Hodgkinson, the women’s 800 meters featured a world-class lineup, with home favorite Werro nearly sprinting to victory ahead of Femke Broeders-Bol. Hunter Bell set a season’s best of 1:55.03.
In the men’s pole vault, Mondo Duplantis narrowly missed out on another world record attempt as he and Greek rival Emmanouil Karalis came agonizingly close to clearing 6.32 meters, which would have exceeded Duplantis’ previous best by a single centimeter. Nonetheless, the Swede secured victory with a successful vault of 6.25 meters, while Karalis achieved a personal best of 6.20 meters for second place.
British pair Amy Hunt and Georgia Hunter Bell had to settle for fifth and third respectively in strong fields at Thursday’s Diamond League meeting in Zurich.
Hunt, who won four gold medals at the European Championships earlier this month, clocked 11.04 seconds in a 100 metres won by Olympic champion Julien Alfred in 10.70sec.
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Hunter Bell could not match Audrey Werro, who lowered her personal best to win the women’s 800m in one minute 53.70sec, just 0.42 seconds short of the world record.
Two other world records were broken on an eventful evening. Brazil’s Alison dos Santos set a new best of 45.80 in the men’s 400m hurdles and American Masai Russell lowered the women’s 100m hurdles to 12.09.
Hunt faced a formidable test as she looked to take her continental dominance onto the world stage.
Alfred, unbeaten over the distance in almost two years, was highly impressive as she pushed world champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden into second place. American Sha’Carri Richardson was third with Hunt finishing behind Jamaica’s Tina Clayton.
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“I was coming in here and not thinking too much about the time,” Hunt told the BBC. “To come fifth in that line-up – I think I had the slowest season’s best coming in and obviously very, very tired legs – I’m really happy with that.”
Despite the absence of Keely Hodgkinson, the women’s 800m boasted a world-class field and home favourite Werro powered to victory ahead of Femke Broeders-Bol. Hunter Bell ran a season’s best of 1:55.03.
Dos Santos smashed Karsten Warholm’s previous world record of 45.94 and beat the Norwegian in the process. Russell’s time eclipsed the 12.12 run by Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan in 2012.
Mondo Duplantis missed out on another world record in the men’s pole vault as both he and Greek rival Emmanouil Karalis went agonisingly close to clearing 6.32m.
That would have beaten Duplantis’ previous best by a single centimetre but the Swede still triumphed with a vault of 6.25m. Karalis settled for second and a personal best 6.20m.
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