Nicola Olyslagers soared back to her world champion best at the Zurich Weltklasse meeting, but even the Australian high jump great was eclipsed on a spectacular night when two world records were smashed.
Alison dos Santos shattered the world mark in the men’s 400m hurdles, breaking a five-year old mark of 45.94, while Masai Russell blazed to a world record in the women’s 100m hurdles, clocking 12.09sec to eclipse the previous mark of 12.12.
The most prestigious Diamond League meeting, which has long had the reputation of being the “two-hour Olympics” because of its quality, even looked as if it might deliver a third world record on the night as pole vault aces Armand Duplantis and Emmanouil Karalis both had a crack at 6.32 metres.
Amid this landmark fare, Olyslagers may have been just a bit-part player but after a disappointing season in which she lost her Commonwealth title to teammate Eleanor Patterson, she roared back to her best form with a season’s best 2.02 metres to win by two centimetres from Ukrainian Iryna Gerashchenko.
Patterson and Ukraine’s Olympic champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh both cleared 1.96m and had to settle for fourth and joint-sixth places respectively.
Olyslagers revealed afterwards her victory had been down to ditching a new run-up which she finally decided at the weekend wasn’t working.
“It took me some time to reflect,” she said after another disappointing outing in Poland at the weekend. “I decided it does not work, so within four days, I had to try to relearn in my head what I did last year to jump my lifetime best 2.04m here.
“When I felt the track, I knew it was the same feeling as last year in the street meet. After I cleared two metres at the first attempt, I knew I was in shape. It was amazing.”
Among other excellent Australian performances, Cam Myers got involved in the shake-up in the 3000m, clocking 7:27.97, but ending up pipped in the denouement by American duo Parker Wolfe (meeting record 7:27.43) and Graham Blanks (7:27.92).
“It was a tough race, the people out there are strong competitors,” Myers said. “I knew it was going to be a good test, but in the end Parker was just better than me, that’s how it goes.”
Jess Hull, fifth in 1:58.24, tested her speed out in a lightning 800m won in dazzling fashion by Swiss heroine Audrey Werro, who clocked a world-leading 1:53.70.
Torrie Lewis was second in a non-Diamond League 200 metres, clocking just outside her season’s best in 22.66sec behind Swiss winner Fabienne Hoenke (22.53).