2021 Weltklasse Zürich Women: Sidorova joins the 5 meter club as Thompson-Herah stays hot; Hodgkinson and Jeruto win
by LetsRun.com
September 9, 2021
The 2021 Wanda Diamond League season came to an end tonight in style as the 2021 Weltklasse Zürich track and field / athletics meeting was held in front of packed crowd at the Letzigrund. The highlight of the meet from a LetsRun.com perspective were the 1500 races which get their own recap: 1500m Thrillers: Cheruiyot Turns the Tables on Ingebrigtsen, Faith Kipyegon Still on Top
Below we recap the women’s action for you, where $30,000 went to each winner, starting with the mid-d and distance races. Our men’s recap is here: 2021 Weltklasse Zurich DL Final Men’s Recap: Americans Sweep the 100, 200, & 400, Emmanuel Korir Backs Up His Olympic Title, & Mondo Clears 6.06m.
Full 2021 Zurich DL results are here.
Women’s 800: Keely Hodgkinson closes out incredible season with first DL win — and first DL title
SIx days ago in Brussels, Keely Hodgkinson ran too much unnecessary distance over the final 200 meters and wound up second behind Natoya Goule by .07. Tonight, Hodgkinson stayed on a straight line over the final 100 and earned her first DL victory — and first DL title — in 1:57.98.
As in Brussels, Goule asserted herself and led through 400 (57.6) and 600 (1:28.6). But this time, Hodgkinson was stronger and ran a shorter line over the final 100, pulling away late to earn her first career DL victory in 1:57.98 on the Diamond League’s biggest stage.
Goule looked to have second sewn up behind her, but American Kate Grace would not give in, staging a late charge and nipping Goule at the line as both women were credited with a time of 1:58.34.
Results
1 HODGKINSON Keely GBR 1:57.98
2 GRACE Kate USA 1:58.34
3 GOULE Natoya JAM 1:58.34
4 REEKIE Jemma GBR 1:58.61
5 NAKAAYI Halimah UGA 1:58.89
6 ALEMU Habitam ETH 1:59.48
7 BISSET Catriona AUS 1:59.66
8 HOFFMANN Lore SUI 2:00.25
9 LINDH Lovisa SWE 2:00.84
YARIGO Noélie BEN DNF
Quick Take: What an incredible season for Keely Hodgkinson
Much has been written about what Athing Mu has accomplished this year at the age of 19, but it’s worth remembering that the second-best 800 runner this year, Hodgkinson, is also just 19 years old. This year, Hodgkinson has won the Euro indoor title, the British title, an Olympic silver, the Diamond League title, and has broken the British record (1:55.88). That’s a career year for someone of any age, let alone a teenager.
The most impressive part: Hodgkinson is still going strong well into September. You would not fault a young athlete for wearing down late in a season, but Hodgkinson has shown no ill effects, as her run today was one of her best races of the season.
Quick Take: What a year for Kate Grace
Grace could have really used the win today as the bye to Worlds next year will be crucial — few countries are stronger in an event than the US is in the women’s 800. But outleaning Goule for second against a great field is another terrific result in what her Team Boss teammates have dubbed the “Summer of Kate.”
At an age (32) when most 800 runners are past it, Grace just put together one of the best, most consistent years of her career. After never breaking 1:58 before this year, she did it four times in a seven-week span, won a Diamond League, and finished second in the DL final. That has to be considered a successful season, even if she didn’t make the Olympic team.
Women’s steeple: Norah Jeruto wins it to stay undefeated in steeples in 2021
The pacing in tonight’s Diamond League final was supposed to be hot, with pacer Fancy Cherono tasked with coming through 2k in 5:52 — 8:48 pace for the full 3k. That didn’t materialize, however, as Cherono hit 1k in 3:00.23, and the pace slowed even more once Cherono stepped off. By 2k (6:08.10), any chance of a fast time was off, but the race for the win was shaping up to be a good one as seven women remained in contention.
By the bell, six remained, including American Courtney Frerichs, but Frerichs wouldn’t last much longer up front. Ethiopian Olympic trials champ Mekides Abebe made the first major move, taking the lead from Norah Jeruto, but Jeruto answered on the back straight as she and Olympic bronze medalist Hyvin Kiyeng passed Abebe and turned it into a two-woman race with 200 to go.
Jeruto and Kiyeng entered the final water jump side by side, but Kiyeng had an awful, momentum-halting landing, giving Jeruto the gap she needed, which she maintained to the finish line to win in 9:07.33. Kiyeng struggled home over the final 100, with Frerichs using a huge final 200 to try to overhaul her, but Kiyeng fought hard and held onto second in 9:08.55 with Frerichs just behind in 9:08.74.
Results
1 JERUTO Norah KEN 9:07.33
2 KIYENG Hyvin KEN 9:08.55
3 FRERICHS Courtney USA 9:08.74
4 ABEBE Mekides ETH 9:09.59
5 CHESPOL Celliphine Chepteek KEN 9:10.26
6 YAVI Winfred Mutile BRN 9:12.41
7 CHEMUTAI Peruth UGA 9:20.16
8 CHEPNGETICH Rosefline KEN 9:21.67
9 KRAUSE Gesa Felicitas GER 9:32.69
10 KIRUI Purity KEN 9:38.56
CHERONO Fancy KEN DNF
Quick Take: Norah Jeruto is the best steepler in the world and it’s a bit ridiculous that she can’t compete at global championships
Norah Jeruto has run three steeples this year against the best steeplers in the world and has won all three fairly comfortably, in the process running the #1 (8:53.65) and #4 (9:00.67) times in the world this year. She is, quite clearly, the best women’s steepler in the world.
Yet she was not allowed to compete at the Olympics because she has not completed the transfer of allegiance process from Kenya to Kazakhstan. We understand why World Athletics instituted their stricter transfer of allegiance rules, but it makes no sense why Jeruto hasn’t been approved to represent Kazakhstan yet. She no longer has a Kenyan passport, has been competing at the Kazakh champs since 2019, and hasn’t represented Kenya internationally since 2016. It’s time to let the best steepler in the world compete at the biggest events in the world.
Quick Take: What has happened to Peruth Chemutai?
Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai was one of the biggest surprise champions of the Tokyo Olympics as she ran a national record of 9:01.45 — a six-second pb — to stun the field. Yet before and after the Olympics, she has been totally ordinary. She ran just 9:43, 9:22, and 9:33 in her three steeples before Tokyo and has finished 7th in both of her Diamond Leagues since Tokyo — 9:10 in Eugene, 9:20 tonight. Chemutai said she had been battling an Achilles injury coming into the Games but it’s unclear what the issue is now.
Does that mean Chemutai’s Olympic title was a fluke? In the context of this season alone, you could make that argument. But you also can’t fake your way into 9:01 shape — the clock doesn’t lie. And given Chemutai’s youth — she’s still only 22 and was 5th at the 2019 Worlds as a 19-year-old — she should have more success in her future.
Sprints
Women’s 100: Elaine Thompson-Herah runs 10.65 to set record for most sub-10.7’s
Elaine Thompson-Herah capped a historic season by dominating the field to win the Diamond League 100m title tonight in 10.65. Brit Dina Asher-Smith, whose Olympics were derailed by a hamstring tear, showed she is regaining form nicely as she ran 10.87 for second, just .04 off her pb. But no one was stopping Thompson-Herah over the second half of this race.
Thompson-Herah has now run 10.54, 10.61, 10.64, and 10.65 this year. That gives her the most sub-10.7’s in a single season — and the most in a career as well.
Wind: +0.6 m/s
1 THOMPSON-HERAH Elaine JAM 10.65
2 ASHER-SMITH Dina GBR 10.87
3 DEL PONTE Ajla SUI 10.93
4 NEITA Daryll GBR 10.93
5 KAMBUNDJI Mujinga SUI 10.94
6 OLIVER Javianne USA 11.02
7 MORRISON Natasha JAM 11.10
8 TA LOU Marie-Josée CIV 11.22
Women’s 100 hurdles: Amusan wins a quick one
Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan just missed out on an Olympic medal this year, finishing 4th in Tokyo, but she ended the DL season on a high by running an African record of 12.42 to claim the DL title. She needed to go fast as the Netherlands’ Nadine Visser also ran a pb of 12.51 for second, with Olympic bronze medalist Megan Tapper third in 12.55.
Wind: +0.4 m/s
1 AMUSAN Tobi NGR 12.42 AR
2 VISSER Nadine NED 12.51 NR
3 TAPPER Megan JAM 12.55
4 CHADWICK Payton USA 12.62
5 SEMBER Cindy GBR 12.71
6 CUNNINGHAM Gabriele USA 12.79
7 KOZÁK Luca HUN 12.90
8 KAMBUNDJI Ditaji SUI 13.01
9 ROBINSON TeJyrica USA 13.70
Women’s 200: Mboma uses huge close to set world U20 record (again)
Tonight’s women’s 200 was very similar to every 200 Christine Mboma runs: after an ordinary turn, she turned on the jets over the final 50 and ran an extraordinary time to win. Mboma’s time of 21.78 was enough to take down Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson (who ran a pb of 21.81) and was a world U20 record — Mboma’s fourth of the year. Mboma, who is DSD, has now broken 22 seconds five times this year — which is five more than any other U20 woman in history.
Wind: +0.6 m/s
1 MBOMA Christine NAM 21.78 WU20R
2 JACKSON Shericka JAM 21.81
3 ASHER-SMITH Dina GBR 22.19
4 KAMBUNDJI Mujinga SUI 22.27
5 NEITA Daryll GBR 22.81
6 DOBBIN Beth GBR 22.88
7 BRYANT Dezerea USA 22.99
8 VAN HUNENSTIJN Marije NED 23.16
Women’s 400: Hayes goes out hard and holds on
American Quanera Hayes, the Olympic Trials champion, underperformed at the Olympics in Tokyo as she could only manage 50.88 in the 400m final, relegating her to seventh place. She hadn’t looked much better in her three post-Tokyo races either, running 51.06, 50.81, and 51.59, never finishing higher than third place.
But tonight, Hayes got out to an early lead by 200 meters and never relented. Even with Olympic silver medalist Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic — the pre-race favorite after wins in Lausanne and Paris — coming after her hard over the final 100, Hayes held on and took the win in 49.88 to Paulino’s 49.96.
Perhaps the biggest prize for Hayes was that tonight’s win clinched her spot on Team USA for the 2022 Worlds.
1 HAYES Quanera USA 49.88
2 PAULINO Marileidy DOM 49.96
3 WILLIAMS Sada BAR 50.24
4 MCPHERSON Stephenie Ann JAM 50.25
5 MCLEOD Candice JAM 50.96
6 KACZMAREK Natalia POL 51.00
7 KLAVER Lieke NED 51.09
8 WHITNEY Kaylin USA 51.19
Women’s 400h: Bol wins, as expected
With current and former world record holders, Sydney McLaughlin and Dalilah Muhammad absent, Femke Bol, the third fastest 400 hurdler in history, was favored to win here and delivered, holding off American Shamier Little to take the victory in a meet record 52.80 as Little ran 53.35.
Next up for Bol: a three-week vacation to Sardinia, then another week off before she starts training for 2022.
1 BOL Femke NED 52.80
2 LITTLE Shamier USA 53.35
3 RYZHYKOVA Anna UKR 53.70
4 TKACHUK Viktoriya UKR 53.76
5 WOODRUFF Gianna PAN 54.50
6 HAILEY Cara Nnenya USA 55.06
7 RUSSELL Janieve JAM 55.74
8 SPRUNGER Lea SUI 55.87
Field Events
Women’s pole vault: Sidorova joins the 5-meter club
The performance of the day on the women’s side belonged to Russia’s Anzhelika Sidorova, the Olympic silver medallist, who clinched the win by three clear bars and then cleared a fourth, 5.01m, on her final attempt. That made Sidorova just the third woman ever to clear five meters outdoors, joining Yelena Isinbayeva (5.06) and Sandi Morris (5.00). Jenn Suhr (5.03) also cleared five meters indoors.
Sidorova stunned herself with the performance saying:
“I think this is really the right place to jump high, but coming to the stadium, I did not feel like it was coming today. I think we are all a bit tired already after a long season and in the warm up I did not feel 100 percent ready for a jump over 5m. I just wanted to do some jumps and did not think of a perfect technique and perfect conditions. I still cannot believe I got the 5 m barrier today. I really like jumping here because I have become an European champion here….Now I can go for vacation with a good feeling. I just need some time to understand what I did today.”
1 SIDOROVA Anzhelika ANA 5.01
2 STEFANIDI Katerina GRE 4.77
3 ŠUTEJ Tina SLO 4.67
4 BRADSHAW Holly GBR 4.67
5 ZHUK Iryna BLR 4.47
NAGEOTTE Katie USA NM
Women’s Discus: Allman adds DL title to Olympic crown
American Valarie Allman took the lead early, going out to 66.48m on her first attempt, and went even farther in round five by hurling 69.20, the fifth-best throw of her career, to take the win.
1 ALLMAN Valarie USA 69.20
2 PERKOVIĆ Sandra CRO 67.22
3 PÉREZ Yaimé CUB 64.83
4 CABALLERO Denia CUB 62.21
5 CÁ Liliana POR 61.92
6 TOLJ Marija CRO 57.79
Women’s Javelin: Hussong wins
Christin Hussong made it a German sweep in the javelin as she threw 64.20m in round three to take the lead and 65.26 in round six to clinch the victory.
1 HUSSONG Christin GER 65.26
2 BARBER Kelsey-Lee AUS 62.68
3 OGRODNÍKOVÁ Nikola CZE 61.54
4 ŠPOTÁKOVÁ Barbora CZE 61.43
5 MŪZE Līna LAT 60.18
6 ANDREJCZYK Maria POL 52.30
Women’s Triple Jump: Rojas wins with a meet record
World record holder and Olympic champ Yuliam Rojas of Venezuela dominated with three jumps over 15 meters, with her best of 15.48 — a meet record — coming in round #6. Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts, the Olympic 4th placer, took second with a best of 14.64.
1 ROJAS Yulimar VEN 15.48 +0.3
2 RICKETTS Shanieka JAM 14.64 +1.3
3 WILLIAMS Kimberly JAM 14.47 +1.3
4 MAMONA Patrícia POR 14.33 +1.9
5 LAFOND Thea DMA 14.10 +0.3
MINENKO Hanna ISR NM
Women’s Long Jump (Results only – event was Wed)
1 ŠPANOVIĆ Ivana SRB 6.96 +0.2
2 SAGNIA Khaddi SWE 6.83 +0.8
3 BEKH-ROMANCHUK Maryna UKR 6.75 +0.4
4 SAWYERS Jazmin GBR 6.74 +0.9
5 MIHAMBO Malaika GER 6.56 +0.8
6 MIRONCHYK-IVANOVA Nastassia BLR 6.53 +0.2
Women’s Shot Put (Results only – event was Wed)
1 EWEN Maggie USA 19.41
2 DONGMO Auriol POR 18.86
3 ROOS Fanny SWE 18.75
4 EALEY Chase USA 18.49
5 THOMAS-DODD Danniel JAM 18.38
6 DUBITSKAYA Aliona BLR 18.34