The 2025 season draws to a close with wild cards to next month’s World Champs in Tokyo up for grabs
Georgia Hunter Bell, Morgan Lake, Amber Anning and Max Burgin are among the Brits in action at the Diamond League final in Zurich this week.
The two-day event on Wednesday and Thursday (Aug 27-28) is the 15th and final Diamond League of the season.
With the World Championships starting in just over two weeks, it offers a great form guide to what might happen in Tokyo. It also gives some athletes a last-minute chance to qualify for the World Champs via a wild card if they win their event.
For viewers in the UK Wednesday’s action is on BBC2 from 4.30pm to 6.30pm with Thursday’s events on BBC2 from 7-9pm.
Wednesday features five finals – all field events – in the Sechseläutenplatz town square in the Swiss city.
British high jump champion Lake faces world record-holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh – the Ukrainian aiming to win her fourth consecutive Diamond trophy – plus Australians Nicola Olyslagers and Eleanor Patterson.
Mondo Duplantis is aiming to win his fifth consecutive Diamond trophy in a year where he has improved his world record to 6.29m.
Chase Jackson of the United States is favourite to win the women’s shot put title but will face opposition from, among others, Jessica Schilder of the Netherlands and Sarah Mitton of Canada.
Joe Kovacs has won three Diamond trophies in the men’s shot in the past and after finishing fourth in the US Champs at the start of this month, he will be hoping to gain a wild card entry to Tokyo.
In the men’s long jump, Olympic long jump champion Miltiadis Tentoglou will be hoping for better conditions than the rain-soaked weather he faced in Lausanne a few days ago when finishing an underpar seventh.
On Thursday at the Letzigrund Stadium, Hunter Bell will be aiming to earn a Diamond trophy in the women’s 800m but faces a tough field with Tsige Duguma of Ethiopia and Audrey Werro of Switzerland.
Werro is sure to receive great support from her home fans and she is fresh from a PB of 1:56.29 when winning the Swiss title a few days ago.
The men’s 800m is even more stacked with Burgin aiming to improve his PB of 1:42.36 in a line-up that includes Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya, world champion Marco Arop of Canada and world indoor champion Josh Hoey of the United States, among others.
Niels Laros enjoyed an impressive win at the Diamond League in Brussels last week as the Dutch athlete flew past Phanuel Koech of Kenya coming into the home straight with American Yared Nuguse unable to match his finish.
In Zurich the trio face each other again with Nuguse aiming to earn a wild card entry to Tokyo.
Elsewhere, Noah Lyles and Letsile Tebogo will face each other in the 200m, while Femke Bol and Karsten Warholm tackle their specialist 400m hurdles.
Dina Asher-Smith is set for a busy night against Olympic champion Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia in the women’s 100m whereas Asher-Smith is joined by fellow Brit Amy Hunt in the 200m.
World indoor champion Anning goes in the women’s 400m with Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic among her rivals.
Jeremiah Azu takes on Americans Trayvon Bromell and Christian Coleman, among others, in the men’s 100m.
British discus record-holder Lawrence Okoye faces a line up that includes world record-holder Mykolas Alekna of Lithuania.
Hannah Nuttall is in a women’s 3000m field which is led by Hirut Meshesha of Ethiopia, while the women’s 1500m includes Jess Hull of Australia, Birke Haylom of Ethiopia and Sarah Healy of Ireland.
Timetable and results here.
