No one would have blamed Conseslus Kipruto if he dropped out of his race on Thursday. Running any race with one shoe is bad. But doing it in the steeplechase is a dealbreaker.  

The nightmare scenario struck for Kipruto less than two laps into the 3,000m race when his left shoe came loose. His response? Kick it off and keep running. 

The world and Olympic champion remained in the race and placed himself right in the main pack among the best steeplers in the world. The pace was manageable for the field and Evan Jager, Soufiane El Bakkali, Chala Beyo and the rest of the field remained in a close contact. With 500 meters remaining, El Bakkali, the only man to break eight minutes this year, made contact with Beyo and the two exchanged words. 

It was another bizarre moment in a race that was being run with the looming thought of….can Kipruto actually win this race with one shoe?

Early in the men's steeple at #ZurichDL, Kipruto is down a shoe pic.twitter.com/mPLuMO2ATe

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) August 30, 2018

On the backstretch of the final lap, the race was down to El Bakkali and Kipruto. Jager was firmly in third and wasn’t able to keep up with the acceleration in pace. With 100 meters remaining El Bakkali led and was one burst away from gliding to victory. But Kipruto responded, drawing closer to El Bakkali as they approached the final barrier. Kipruto made up time over the hurdle and overtook El Bakkali in the final strides, winning by .04. 

No Shoes... No Problem #DiamondLeague pic.twitter.com/sxjn2hXsUu

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) August 30, 2018

His final time of 8:10.15 was far from his personal best and the Diamond League title is an honor that doesn’t compare to his Olympic and World Championship medals. But this was a legacy race for Kipruto. World titles and sub-8-minute performances can be misremembered, but nobody will forget the time they saw a guy with one shoe run and jump faster than the best in the world.

“I have big pain. I am injured because I lost my left shoe. That was a mess. But it motivated me to fight as hard as I could,” Kipruto said after the race. 

This foot just won a Diamond. @Diamond_League @KipConseslus pic.twitter.com/VjB7xgKpSi

— Michel Boeting (@one4onesports) August 30, 2018

Noah Lyles moved into elite company with his performance in the men’s 200m. The 21-year-old ran 19.67, blasting away from the field in the final 100 meters to win the Diamond League championship for the second year in a row. Lyles is only the second man in history to break 19.70 four times in one year. The other? Usain Bolt. 

Turkey’s Ramil Guliyev ran 19.98 for second place--his first race since his breakout 19.76. But this event remains the property of Lyles. 

He also has a monopoly on the pre-race intro. 

.@LylesNoah is ready for this #DiamondLeague final pic.twitter.com/BaTTZgd23j

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) August 30, 2018

Obiri Outsprints Hassan; Semenya Goes Wire-To-Wire

The fast pace never materialized, but instead, the women’s 5000m morphed into a scintillating race. There were six women with a chance at the win with four laps remaining. The world record tempo that was asked for had long since slowed and the pre-race favorites were winding up for a final push. 

With three laps left, Genzebe Dibaba was dangling off the back--suffering the same fate she did in Rabat when she couldn’t hang with the escalation in pace. Sifan Hassan, Hellen Obiri, Sebere Teferi, Agnes Tirop and Caroline Kipkirui all looked strong as they entered the final 600 meters. 

Obiri pushed down on the throttle with 300 meters left and tried to escape the chase pack. Only Hassan was able to follow. 

When they entered the final 100 meters, Hassan was on Obiri’s shoulder and looked poised to pass. But Obiri bared down and found enough to hold off Hassan, crossing the line in 14:38.39. Hassan, who will drive to Brussels tonight for tomorrow’s 1500m final, ran 14:38.77. Dibaba was unable to claw back into contention and took sixth. 

Caster Semenya extended her epic winning streak in the women’s 800m, dominating the field in 1:55.27. Semenya took the lead from the gun and was never challenged. 

She passed 400 meters in 56 seconds and 600 meters in 1:26. Her mark ties her fourth-best time ever in the event and puts a cap on a season where she broke 1:56 four times. Ajee Wilson ran 1:57.86 for second and Natoya Goule was third in 1:58.49. Francine Niyonsaba, a fixture behind Semenya in most meets, was sixth in 1:59.11. She hasn’t finished lower than third in an 800 since July 11, 2015.  

.@caster800m dominates once again in 1:55.27, wins 3rd consecutive #DiamondLeague crown in the women's 800m. Ajee Wilson 2nd in 1:57.86 pic.twitter.com/SKB7ypmtCO

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) August 30, 2018

The men’s 1500m didn’t deviate from the rest of 2018 with Timothy Cheruiyot taking his sixth Diamond League victory of the year. After opening splits of 54.7 and 1:52.77, the pace slowed as the rabbit steps off the track and Cheruiyot went to the front. 

On the backstretch, he was challenged by Elijah Manangoi (the only man who has beaten him this year), but Cheruiyot never relinquished the lead. He stormed down the final 100 meters to win in 3:30.26. Manangoi held on for second in 3:31.16 and Ayanleh Souleiman took third in 3:31.24. 17-year-old Jakob Ingebrigtsen was a late scratch. 

Ta Lou’s Win Streak Ends, Walsh Sets Diamond League Record

In the 100m, Murielle Ahoure spoiled Marie Josee Ta Lou’s undefeated season in the event. Ahoure grabbed the lead early in the race and held on for a win in 11.01. Dina Asher-Smith took second, while Ta Lou had to settle for third in 11.10. 

There was another surprise in the men’s 400m. Pre-race favorite Steven Gardiner looked to be in control of the race before he broke stride with 100 meters remaining and eventually pulled up limping. In his absence, Fred Kerley ran 44.80 to take the win. Nathan Strother was second in 44.93. 

Dalilah Muhammad ended the Diamond League season on top in the women’s 400m hurdles. The 2016 Olympic champion ran 53.88 to beat Shamier Little’s 54.21. The men’s 400m was a nail-biter with Kyron McMaster out leaning Karsten Warholm for the win in 48.08.

Kyron McMaster wins the men's 400mH #DLFinal in 48.08 over Karsten Warholm...or does he? #SoClose pic.twitter.com/3ucuCVNXTJ

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) August 30, 2018

Tomas Walsh set a Diamond League record of 22.60m in the shot put. The mark was a Diamond League record and carried him to victory in a competition where Darrell Hill and Ryan Crouser also broke 22 meters. 

Caterine Ibarguen of Colombia jumped 14.56m to take the triple jump and complete the first step of her triple jump/long jump Diamond League two-day double. Mariya Lasistskene jumped 1.97m to win the high jump. Yuliya Levchenko took second with a clearance of 1.94m. 

Katerina Stefanidi prevailed over Sandi Morris in the women’s pole vault. Stefanidi cleared 4.87m before three misses at 4.92m. Morris missed at 4.87m and passed on her next two attempts. Like Stefanidi, she was unsuccessful at 4.92m. 

Tatsiana Khaladovich and Andreas Hofmann won the women’s and men’s javelin, respectively. Luvo Manyonga led a 1-2 finish for South Africa in the men’s jump. Mayonga jumped 8.36m in the sixth round to beat out Ruswahl Samaai who had a best jump of 8.23m.