Zurich DL: Beijing Deja Vu As Ayana Topples Dibaba, Kiprop Mocks 1500

Zurich DL: Beijing Deja Vu As Ayana Topples Dibaba, Kiprop Mocks 1500

Sep 3, 2015 by Lincoln Shryack
Zurich DL: Beijing Deja Vu As Ayana Topples Dibaba, Kiprop Mocks 1500



Ethiopians Almaz Ayana and Genzebe Dibaba went blow-for-blow in the Zurich 3K tonight

RESULTS

With the 2015 World Championships in the books, all that remains for this track season are the final two Diamond League meetings, where big payouts are awarded for the season-long winners of the prestigious series. The first of the two season-ending events was tonight in Zurich, with many of last week’s heroes stepping back on the track to fight for cash after battling for medals in China. 

The Diamond League awards points to the top finishers at each of the 14 meets during the season, and whoever has the highest tally in each event by season's end is awarded a nice $40K payout. Several of those checks were doled out tonight in Zurich.
 
Here’s what went down in Switzerland:

Women’s 3,000m - Ayana Takes Down Dibaba Again, Dibaba Still Wins DL

Less than a week after torching 1500 world record Genzebe Dibaba with a 8:20 final 3K in the World Championships 5,000m, Ethiopian Almaz Ayana was at it again as she ran away from her speedy countrywoman in the Zurich 3K on Thursday night in 8:22.36. The race was expected to be an assault on the 8:06 world record as Ayana’s final 3K in Beijing was a top ten all-time mark by itself for the distance, but a 2:49 opening kilometer threw that notion out the window. 
 
The 24-year-old Dibaba, who won 1500 gold in Beijing in dominating fashion, but came up short of double gold as she was 3rd in the 5K final, was 2nd tonight in 8:26.54. For the second consecutive race, Dibaba had no response when Ayana pushed the pedal down on the tempo, looking still fatigued after running five races over a nine day span at Worlds. Nonetheless, Dibaba’s finish tonight was still good enough to give her the Diamond Race title in the 3K/5K event as her 16 total points was still better than Ayana’s 14. It’s a nice consolation prize for Dibaba, who looks entirely worn down at this point in her season. 
 
Dibaba was expected to become the first woman to win double gold in the 1500/5K after setting the 3:50.07 1500 world record in Monaco, and also beating Ayana handily in the Paris Diamond League 5,000m. However, the 23-year-old Ayana took advantage of Dibaba’s tired legs in Beijing and did the same tonight in Zurich by controlling the pace before finally breaking her fellow Ethiopian in the last two laps. 
 
Ethiopia’s Senbera Teferi completed a sweep of the top three of the Zurich 3K, as she was third tonight in 8:34.32. Teferi was the silver medalist in the 5,000m in Beijing, as she caught an exhausted Dibaba right before the finish. 
 
After a disappointing 11th place finish in the 1500m final in Beijing, American Jenny Simpson was 4th tonight in 8:34.43. 

Men’s 1500m - Kiprop Comes From Behind AGAIN In Kiprop-esque Style

The men’s 1500m in Zurich was the perfect ending to a strange season in this event, as 3-time world champion Asbel Kiprop once again ran from the back of the pack early on but managed to glide away from the field in the final 100m en route to a 3:35.79 victory. Kiprop kept with his theme this season of jogging at the back for the majority of the race before turning it on in the last lap, and his finish tonight was like deja vu from last week in Beijing as the Kenyan simply looks unbeatable right now. 

Asbel Kiprop won in classic Kiprop style, coming from behind to win in Zurich and capture the Diamond Race crown

The 26-year-old showed no interest in going with the early 55-second 400m and 1:55 800m pace up front, instead looking entirely bored as he sat in 10th entering the bell lap. The Kenyan was finally prompted to move by Norway’s Henrik Ingebrigtsen, who made a hard push at around 500m to go, which Kiprop only began to cover at 350m to go.
 
Entering 200m to go, Kiprop had moved up to 4th while Ingebrigtsen was showing the effects of his hard move before the bell. Once again, the lanky Kenyan would ride his untouchable wheels to yet another victory, this time with a 53-second final lap. His victory tonight in Switzerland and the $40K prize should go nicely with his gold medal from last week, which left Kiprop just one world title shy of the most all-time.

Stop us if you've seen this before. Here is Kiprop (in yellow) entering the last lap

Entering 2016, there is no doubt who the favorite will be in Rio. Asbel Kiprop simply cannot be beat right now. 

Kiprop's fellow Kenyan Elijah Manangoi duplicated his second place finish from the Beijing final with his 3:36.01 runner-up showing in Zurich. 

American Robby Andrews was 8th in 3:38.78. 

Men’s 400m - LaShawn Merritt Wins, Kirani James Takes Diamond Race

After the deepest 400m race in history just a week ago in Beijing, LaShawn Merritt’s 44.18 winning time on Thursday in Zurich was understandable given the crazy fast World Championship final. 
 
South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk won gold last Wednesday in 43.48, making him the fourth fastest all-time and sending him to the hospital as his body completely shut down as a result of the blistering pace he set in Beijing. His time led three men under 44 seconds, as Merritt and Kirani James were 2nd in 3rd in 43.65 and 43.78, respectively. It was the first time in history that three men broke 44 in one race.  
 
The 23-year-old van Niekerk exploded off the line in Beijing with a 20.7 first 200m split, but today he was well back as this year’s silver medalist Merritt controlled the pace throughout and just hung on to beat James, 44.18 to 44.28. The 23-year-old James’ finish was good enough to secure the Diamond Race title. van Niekerk would settle for 3rd in 44.35. 
 
These three men will be the one’s to watch heading into next season, and the Olympic final in Rio could finally see Michael Johnson’s 43.18 world record go down. 

Men’s 3,000m Steeplechase - Top 9 From Beijing Final All Lose 

Thursday’s steeple was a good example of what not racing at Worlds can do for one’s freshness at the end of the season. 
 
While the top nine from last week’s Beijing final were all in Zurich for the Diamond League final, none of them would end up victorious tonight as Kenyan Paul Koech won a disappointingly slow race in 8:10.24. The 33-year-old Koech, who was only 9th in the Kenyan Trials, powered away from eventual Diamond Race winner Jairus Birech in the final 600m to win his first DL race in more than three years. 
 
Although the 22-year-old Birech was coming off a hugely disappointing 4th place finish in Beijing, the Kenyan got the job done tonight in Zurich by finishing runner-up in 8:15.64 to secure his 2nd straight Diamond Race title. The Kenyan has been dominant in the Diamond League for the last two years, but his inability to medal last week at Worlds shows the difference between paced efforts and tactical finals. The Kenyan is always the favorite in fast races, but he needs to sharpen up his tactical skills heading into an Olympic year in 2016.
 
Speaking of athletes who are still figuring out championship racing, American Evan Jager turned in a respectable third place finish tonight in 8:18.39 after falling short of the medals in Beijing. It’s interesting to note that Jager was easily third in Zurich ahead of last week’s world champion Ezekiel Kemboi (who was 4th tonight in 8:21.16) off a pace that was slower than the Beijing final. The American has struggled to figure out tactical races, and last week’s finish was a glaring example as he was 6th despite entering the championship with the second fastest time in the world this season (8:00.45). 
 
The difference for Jager in Zurich was that the first kilometer was 2:40, a full nine seconds faster than what it took out in Beijing. The slow pace to start at Worlds allowed the tactical genius Kemboi to win his 4th straight World title, even though the Kenyan continues to struggle in Diamond League races. Jager has figured out how to run on the circuit, as he does well off a steady pace but heading into the off-season before next summer’s Olympics, Jager will look to expand his repertoire to adapt to the change-of-pace nature of championship racing. 

Here were some other notable Diamond Race winners in Zurich:
 
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce continued her dominance of the women’s 100 with a commanding 10.93 victory tonight in Zurich. The Jamaican has now won nine consecutive 100m races.
 
Kenya’s Eunice Sum won an uneven women’s 800 in 1:59.14 after the field came through 400m in 56-mid. Sum easily won the Diamond Race title with 24 points a week after she was a disappointing third in Beijing. The 28-year-old was undefeated in 2015 outside of her loss at the World Championships. 
 
Alonso Edward of Panama won the very weak men’s 200m Diamond Race title, easily winning the final tonight in Zurich in 20.03. With neither world champion Usain Bolt or silver medalist Justin Gatlin really competing much in this event in 2015 outside of the World Championships, the door was left open for Edward, who was 4th in the Beijing final. 
 
Surprise world champion Sergey Shubenkov of Russia stayed hot in Zurich by taking the win in 13.14, but American David Oliver would secure the season-long title with his runner-up finish in 13.30. The prize is a nice pick-me-up for the 33-year-old American, who was a huge disappointment with his 7th place showing in Beijing.
 
400 hurdle world champion Zuzana Hejnova of the Czech Republic won the Diamond Race title with her 54.47 victory in Zurich.

The 2015 Diamond League season concludes on September 11th in Brussels, Belgium.