{"id":384,"date":"2010-08-19T05:49:00","date_gmt":"2010-08-19T12:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=384"},"modified":"2010-08-19T05:49:00","modified_gmt":"2010-08-19T12:49:00","slug":"preview-zurich-diamond-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=384","title":{"rendered":"Preview \u2013 Zurich Diamond League"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Weltklasse has been one of the world\u2019s most elite competitions as far back as I can remember \u2013 and that\u2019s a long time! Often called, \u201cThe Olympics in a Day\u201d, the Weltklasse (Zurich) is known for some of the best field\u2019s every year even before the Diamond League, or Golden League, came along. This year\u2019s version will be no exception. Especially given that those in competition to become Diamond League champions in their events must compete in order to be eligible. <\/p>\n

With that being the case every event will be loaded and the competition fierce. However there are a few events that should stand out a bit from the rest:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Men\u2019s 200<\/td>\nWL: 19.56, Usain Bolt \u2013 JAM <\/td>\nBest Entry: 19.78, Yohan Blake \u2013 JAM <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

There will be no Usain Bolt or Tyson Gay with Bolt calling an end to his 200 season over a month ago, and Gay scheduled only for relay duty in Zurich. Nor will we see Walter Dix who narrowly defeated Gay in Gay\u2019s injury comeback race in Eugene. Still this race is an important one when it comes to the men\u2019s sprints. In his only 200 this season, Jamaica\u2019s Yohan Blake, dropped his PR from 20.60 all the way to 19.78. Since then he\u2019s improved his 100 PR as well (from 9.95 to 9.89). In Zurich he will face veteran Wallace Spearmon \u2013 19.93\/19.77w this season and a life time best of 19.65. With Gay and Bolt figuring to battle it out for the gold medal in Daegu, Zurich could go a long way towards telling us who could be in line for the bronze medal.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Women\u2019s Javelin<\/td>\nWL: 226\u2019, Mariya Abakumova \u2013 RUS <\/td>\nBest Entry: 226\u2019, Mariya Abakumova \u2013 RUS <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The world leader is in the field, but this event has become a battle between Olympic champion Barboa Spotakova (CZE) and new AR holder Kara Patterson (US). Spotakova is reported to be nursing a sore elbow. Patterson has been hot since winning the national championship and heading to Europe. Spotakova is leading the Diamond race, but Patterson still has a chance to win it all here. More importantly, Patterson has shown this summer that she is a legitimate medal threat in this event \u2013 an event that has become one of the few American bright spots on the field. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Men\u2019s 110H<\/td>\nWL: 12.89, David Oliver \u2013 USA  <\/td>\nBest Entry: 12.89, David Oliver \u2013 USA <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

If there\u2019s a track that cold be favorable for a hurdle record, Zurich could be the place. Three times the WR has been set in Zurich \u2013 Martin Laurer (13.56, 1959), Renaldo Nehemiah (12.93, 1981) and Roger Kingdom (12.92, 1989). And five times athletes have run under 13.00 here \u2013 Zurich has been kind to hurdlers. The weather forecast for Thursday in Zurich is sunshine and highs around 73 degrees. A solid run by David Oliver and we could see our third AR in the event this season \u2013 and a lowering of the WR. Oliver\u2019s season has been well documented. He\u2019s had no peers this year and is a leader for the Athlete of the Year crown this year in my opinion. This race could be the one to solidify that title. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Women\u2019s 1500<\/td>\nWL: 3:57.65, Anna Alminova \u2013 RUS <\/td>\nBest Entry: 3:57.65, Anna Alminova \u2013 RUS  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Simply put this is the deepest women\u2019s 1500 of the year. Savinova, Burka, Langat, Dobriskey, Lakhouad, Jamal and Americans Wurth Thomas, Pierce and Rowbury. All are present and accounted for, making this somewhat of a preview of Daegu. Obviously we have a year to go and a lot can happen in a year, but most of the principle contenders in Daegu will be circling the track in Zurich. Giving US forces a chance to see just how close we are and where we need to improve to get on the podium. Alminova has been the Alpha Female this season, and the rest of the field will be chasing after her. I would love to see one of the Americans slip into that top three \u2013 or at least be in smelling distance. I think that will happen.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Men\u2019s 5000<\/td>\nWL: 12:51.21, Eliud Kipchoge \u2013 KEN <\/td>\nBest Entry: 12:51.21, Eliud Kipchoge \u2013 KEN<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Another loaded event with all the top athletes on the clock in town to have a go. This includes the year\u2019s top 6 on the clock \u2013 Kenyan\u2019s Kipchoge, Chepkok and Kiptoo, and Ethiopian\u2019s Gebremeskel, Merga, and Bekele (Tariku). More importantly American\u2019s Chris Solinsky and Galen Rupp will have another chance to prove their position among the world\u2019s best. Solinsky has had an awesome season \u2013 perhaps the best ever on the clock for an American \u2013 setting an AR in the 10,000 meters and becoming #2 all time in the 5000. In Stockholm he ran with the Africans right up until the kicking began in earnest in the final 200 \u2013 the one area where he still needs a bit of work. Rupp will be looking to improve on his PR 13:10.05 and possibly join the sub 13:00 club. This race should give us an idea how close we\u2019re coming to being competitors in the distance events.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Women\u2019s 400<\/td>\nWL: 49.64, Debbie Dunn \u2013 USA  <\/td>\nBest Entry: 49.64, Debbie Dunn \u2013 USA <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Dunn took over the world lead with her US nationals win. Since then she\u2019s run under 50 seconds again in Lausanne. Russia\u2019s Tatyana Firova and Kseniya Ustalova became #2 and #3 on the yearly list when they took gold and silver at the European championships and ran sub 50. Neither, however, was able to overcome Allyson Felix last week in London. THAT will be the task in Zurich as Felix is attempting to win double diamonds this year \u2013 in the 200 and 400. Felix has always shown potential in the 400 and sports a 49.70 PR to prove it. She showed just how strong she is in London as she held off the late race challenges of Dunn and Firova with relative ease. Another win against the stacked  Zurich field \u2013 which also includes Jamaica\u2019s Williams-Mills and Williams as well as Montsho of Botswana and Russia\u2019s Antonina Krivoshapka \u2013 would send a message to the world that she just might be ready to take on a 200\/400 double in Daegu.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Weltklasse is as deep as ever this year, and the usually fast track will be accompanied by decent weather \u2013 a recipe for both outstanding competition and great results. This should be one of the best editions of the meet ever. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Weltklasse has been one of the world\u2019s most elite competitions as far back as I can remember \u2013 and that\u2019s a long time! Often called, \u201cThe Olympics in a Day\u201d, the Weltklasse (Zurich) is known for some of the best field\u2019s every year even before the Diamond League, or Golden League, came along. This […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa3DCY-6c","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=384"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}