On a rainy evening at the Zurich Diamond League on Thursday, no records were broken but quite a few scores were settled. 

The excitement of the 2024 season continued as American athletes came away with several statement wins.

Yared Nuguse came up big in the 1,500m, Sha’Carri Richardson ran down Julien Alfred in the 100m, Grant Holloway ran an unexpected sub-13 in the high hurdles and Kenny Bednarek pushed Letsile Tebogo to the line.

Warholm Withdraws, Dos Santos Fails to Finish in Bizarre 400m Hurdles Race

The showdown between two of the “big three” hurdlers was not meant to be. 

World record holder Karsten Warholm tweaked his hamstring in a 100m exhibition race against Mondo Duplantis on Wednesday evening. Though he appeared trackside for his main event, he withdrew and did not compete.

Alison Dos Santos, the bronze medalist in Paris, didn’t fare much better and did not finish. 

Frenchman Clement Ducos had an incredible start and by the time the field reached the 250m mark, Dos Santos stopped running and stepped off the track.

Ducos faded badly and the race was won by Jamaican Roshawn Clarke in 47.49.

Shafiqua Maloney Takes a Big Risk, Mary Moraa Prevails in Women’s 800m

The women’s 800m was predicted to be a battle between Mary Moraa, Georgia Bell, Jemma Reekie and American Addy Wiley, who had run two extremely fast middle distance times in lower-ranked European meets.

But the biggest development in the race was Shafiqua Maloney, a 1:57.59 runner from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, going out hard and tracking the pacer aggressively. 

The pacer, Angelika Sarna, went out in 55.60. 

The 20-year-old Wiley attempted to bridge the gap between the pack and Maloney, who started to fade by the 600m mark, but instead it was Moraa took control of the race. 

There was a slight chance that Wiley could have passed her, but Moraa won out. The final placings were Moraa in 1:57.08, Bell in 1:57.94, and Wiley in 1:58.16.

Sha’Carri Gets (Some) Olympic Redemption

The Zurich Diamond League featured a well-composed Sha’Carri Richardson, who overwhelmed Julien Alfred over the final 20 meters to earn payback after a loss in the Olympic final in Paris.

Richardson beat Alfred 10.84 to 10.88, setting up a potential matchup in the Diamond League final in Brussels. 

Though a win here does little to alleviate Sha’Carri’s stinging silver medal finish in Paris, it’s a positive sign that her late season training is going well.

Grant Holloway Gets Back to Winning

Holloway erased any doubt of an Olympic slump in the 110mH. 

The defending champion avenged a fluke loss last week and ran a surprising 12.99 in wet conditions. 

Half of the final in Brussels may feature Americans, but Holloway will be the man to beat.

Kenny Bednarek almost upsets Letsile Tebogo

In a 200m showdown billed as Tebogo vs America, it was Kenny Bednarek who ran a huge PB of 19.57 in his quest to take down Olympic gold medalist. 

Bednarek came up a bit short, as Tebogo held him off with a 19.55. 

Bednarek tied Justin Gatlin as the fifth-fastest American of all time.

Yared Nuguse Defeats a Sick Jakob Ingebrigtsen

The 1,500m in Zurich was likely Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s last chance to break the world record on the circuit this season. 

But it was the American Yared Nuguse the third-place finisher in the Olympic final, who came up big. 

Nuguse’s winning time of 3:29.21 didn’t set any records, but it will build confidence heading into the Diamond League final and the possibility of a late-season 1,500m record attempt. Ingebrigtsen was second, Cole Hocker was third and Josh Kerr was fifth. 

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