Yared Nuguse had the opportunity to join the club this time. In a night when the defending Olympic champions found it difficult to control the weather in Zurich, the third competitor in the Paris final emerged as the most recent opponent to pass Jakob Ingebrigtsen and win a noteworthy 1500m race on Thursday (5). In the final Wanda Diamond Leagu meeting before the final in Brussels on September 13 and 14, there were no medals up for grabs, but that didn’t seem to matter to the American Olympian who took home the bronze, as he easily overtook Ingebrigtsen halfway down the home straight to record a historic triumph in 3:29.21.
The 2024 Zurich Weltklasse also included a classy women’s 100-meter hurdles competition, where Olympic champion Masai Russell had to settle for third place, and a daring but ultimately futile attempt by Beatrice Chebet to set a world record in the event. But of all the upsets that night, Nuguse’s 1500m masterclass was the most impressive. His winning time of 3:29.21 made no difference. Similar to Josh Kerr in the world final in Budapest last year, Jake Wightman in the 2022 world final in Oregon, and his US colleague Cole Hocker in the Olympic final last month, Nuguse had successfully cooked Ingebrigtsen’s symbolic goose with a masterful tactical move.
To be fair, Ingebrigtsen, who came in second in 3:29.52, had risked his enormous reputation in the world and Olympic 5000m, even though he had been afflicted with an infection ever since setting a world record over 300 meters in Silesia on August 25 with a time of 7:17.55. With only Nuguse chasing him, the 2021 Olympic 1500m champion was in his usual pole position when the second pacemaker, Elliot Giles of Britain, the current world road mile record holder, pulled out at the bell. Hocker and Kerr were both too far away to hit. Nuguse grabbed his opportunity as he round the corner, drawing level before kicking his way to victory.
In 3:30.46, Hocker overtook Kerr to take third position. Niels Laros, a young Dutchman, completed with great effort as well, taking fourth place in 3:31.23. Kerr was out of sorts, finishing fifth in 3:31.46. Nuguse remarked, “I just tried not to make any bad moves.” “Winning an Olympic medal has increased my self-confidence.” “My goal is to win in Brussels once more.” I’m quite interested in the Diamond League trophy. Gudaf Tsegay ran a 3000m in 8:26.03 last year in Eugene, where she established a world record for the 5000m in 14:00.21. In 8:25.77, Chebet arrived in Zurich. The issue was that the 5000- and 10,000-meter Olympian had previously completed two laps by herself.
