Fresh from their success at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing last week, Europe’s athletes had another night to remember in the first of this year’s Diamond League finals at the Weltklasse in Zurich on Thursday.
A superb evening of track and field ended with six European athletes winning the Diamond Race in their events, with hope of more glory from the second finals night in Brussels next Friday. Each winner received a Diamond Trophy and a prize of $40,000 (US).
Malachowski has just enough
Poland’s Piotr Malachowski had to pull out all the stops to win the Diamond Race discus title for the third time as he retained his crown by just two points (21) in a dramatic event from his countryman Robert Urbanek (19).
It did not start well for Malachowski who was fourth with his last throw to go, after his series of 56.39m, 59.77m, 59.67m, 60.80m and 63.10m.
But then in the final round he launched the discus to 65.04m to secure second place behind Urbanek who had reached 65.78m with his fifth throw.
Having won the Diamond Race in the first year of the competition in 2010, Malachowski could celebrate again on the back of winning the world title for the first time in Beijing.
Rutherford leaps to more success
What a time it has been for Great Britain’s long jumper Greg Rutherford, who secured the full set of major outdoor golds in Beijing and confirmed his status as the event’s leading competitor with victory here at the Letzigrund Stadium to win the race (21) from American Marquis Dendy (10).
On the night Rutherford beat Dendy on countback as both finished on 8.32m - the Briton jumping that distance in the fifth round.
And the champion reaffirmed his constant drive for success when he told the BBC: 'After the World Championships people were saying 'we're going to take him in Zurich’. My competitors think I don't want it as much as them but I want it more.'
Even though she finished runner-up in the Diamond Race, it was another great night for Serbian long jumper Ivana Spanovic as she increased her national record from the 7.01m in Beijing to 7.02m. It brought her victory but she was second overall (12) behind the USA’s Tianna Bartoletta (20).
Spotakova makes it a fourth Diamond
Beijing was a major disappointment for Barbora Spotakova, the Czech Republic’s javelin world record-holder, as she failed to make the cut in the final.
But she made up for that in style in Zurich, the scene of one of her greatest triumphs last year when she won gold at the European Athletics Championships.
Spotakova had been in total command of the Diamond Race and won her fourth title by a long margin, with 19 points from South African Sunette Viljoen (7).
On the night, the fourth round brought the winning distance as Spotakova (64.31m) beat Canada’s Elizabeth Gleadle (62.70m) and Germany’s newly-crowned world champion Katharina Molitor (62.43m).
As in Beijing, Molitor saved her furthest throw until last but this time it was not enough.
Greek pole vaulter Nikoleta Kiriakopoulou is celebrating her first Diamond Race success after defeating the two women who beat her in Beijing, Cuba’s world champion Yarisley Silva and Brazil’s Fabiana Murer.
Kiriakopoulou (24) won the race from Murer (14) and sealed the trophy by clearing 4.77m with her first attempt as Murer and Silva finished joint second (4.72m).
It has been a year to remember for Kiriakopoulou, who took the national record to 4.83m in Paris in July, a height which remains top of the European Athletics’ rankings.
Hejnova finishes in style
Zuzana Hejnova could not have hoped for a better summer after her return from injury and she added the Diamond Race to her world championship gold with another impressive performance that said everything about her.
As the race hit the home straight, Czech Republic's Hejnova had too much in reserve for the rest, moving away over the last two hurdles with her outstanding strength to win (54.47) from Denmark’s Sara Slott Petersen (54.57) and Georganne Moline (54.89) of the USA, to take the Diamond Race (22 points) by 10 points from Jamaica’s Kaliese Spencer, who was fourth on the night (55.29).
Round two of the shot put proved telling for Germany’s Christina Schwanitz as her effort of 19.91m was enough for victory from American Michelle Carter (19.12m) and Hungary’s Anita Marton (18.42m).
It was the first time Schwanitz has won the Diamond Race, and she did so with 26 points from Carter (13).
Even though he did not win the Diamond Race, Russia’s world champion Sergey Shubenkov triumphed on the night in the 110m hurdles with another superb performance.
Shubenkov brought his Beijing form to Zurich (13.14) to defeat American David Oliver (13.30) and Cuba’s Orlando Ortega (13.30).
Kszczot defeats Rudisha
Two non-Diamond League events also brought great European victories.
Poland’s Adam Kszczot has glorious memories of last year's European Athletics Championships in Zurich where he won 800m gold - and this time as he triumphed, he beat Kenya’s prolific David Rudisha, the world record-holder.
In Beijing, Kszczot finished second behind Rudisha and now went one better with a powerful finish as the Kenyan made his move on the outside.
Kszczot won in 1:45.55 from Algeria’s Taoufik Makhloufi (1:45.62) and Ethiopian Mohammed Aman (1:45.83) with Rudisha fourth (1:45.91).
Thirteen months on from the glory of his European 400m hurdles gold on a noisy night at the Letzigrund, Switzerland star Kariem Hussein once more treated his supporters to victory (49.16) from Estonia’s Rasmus Magi (49.37) and Ireland’s Thomas Barr (49.79).