Top stars renew rivalry in Zurich ahead of global battle in Tokyo

Faith Cherotich in 3000m steeplechase during the World athletice championship trials 2025 at the Ulinzi Sports Complex. [Jonah Onyango, Standard] The world's track and field superstars are in Zurich, Switzerland for a grand finale of the 2025 Diamond League but the stakes are high this season. After 14 meets, athletics stars are facing off in a competition that comes just days to the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo and no one is ready to blink first. With the strongest fields assembled, head-to-heads and strong opposition is expected to be the order of the day. Athletics fans buckled up for the two-day winner-takes-it-all contest which started with the field events yesterday because they feel that it is a mini-world championship. Kenyan athletes who are tuning their tactics today ahead of the World Championships kicking off on September 13 include among others Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi, who will be flying the country's colours in the men's 800m, World bronze medallist Faith Cherotich (women's 3000m steeplechase, Timothy Cheruiyot (men's 1500m), Nelly Chepchirchir (women's 1500m) and Edmund Serem (men's 3000m steeplechase). Expected tonight are not only the scintillating battles for Diamond League trophies and rich prizes but some debates have to be settled before the Tokyo World Championships. In the men's 800m for instance, world silver medallist Wanyonyi takes on big names among them defending champion Canada's Marco Arop. The Canadian star defeated Wanyonyi in the last edition of the World Championships in Budapest (2023) but the duo has not had fierce battles this season, in the Diamond League. Wanyonyi dictated the proceedings this season, triumphing in Oslo, Stockholm, Monaco and London while his main challenger tonight, Arop, finished second in London and fifth in Monaco and Lausanne. The unstoppable 21-year-old athlete won the men's 800m title in the 2023 and 2024 Diamond League finals, and will be looking to make it three in a row in Zurich. Statistically, Wanyonyi, who has lost just four of his 16 Diamond League races since 2022 stands tall in an event that has become the most fiercely competitive in athletics. Wanyonyi and Arop also face track athletes who have consistently been on the podium this season. Among them is Spanish Mohame Attaoui, the winner of the Paris meet and second-placed in Oslo. USA's Josh Hoey, another consistent figure in the 800m, and the winner of the Lausanne leg is competing in the final. All the three men selected to represent Kenya in the 1500m event in Tokyo are chasing glory in Zurich this evening. Former world champion Timothy Cheruiyot, the experienced man in the squad is leading Reynold Cheruiyot and youngster Phanuel Koech as they prove a point in what is likely to be a hot contest. They are facing podium finishers USA's Yared Nuguse, Niels Naros of the Netherlands, Narve Nordas (Norway) and Isaac Nader (Portugal) among others. Koech takes Zurich after a win in London while Timothy Cheruiyot prides of second positions in Silesia and Rome. Reynold Cheruiyot was second in Rabat. Nelly Chepchirchir and Susan Ejore, who are both in Team Kenya are the women to watch in the 1500m as they take on Olympic silver medallist Jessica Hull of Australia and Ethiopia's Tokyo-bound star Haylom Birke just to name a few. Four-time world champion Faith Kipyegon will not be defending her title. Cherotich and Edmund Serem are Kenya's flag bearers in the 3000m steeplechase, an event that has also been characterised by strong contests in recent years. While Cherotich faces Kenyan-born Kazakhs, former world champion Norah Jeruto, who was fourth in Doha and Eugene as well as Daisy Jepkemei who finished 8th in Doha, Serem looks to overcome challenges from Abraham Sime, a reserve in the Ethiopian squad to Tokyo and Isaac Updike of USA. Cherotich's main rival, Winfred Yavi of Bahrain was yesterday missing from the start list. The first day of the final saw five field disciplines held at a street event on Zurich's Sechselautenplatz, directly in front of the city's iconic opera house. The remaining 27 Diamond League champions will be crowned in the course of a bumper programme at the famous Letzigrund Stadium this evening. Olympic 100m and 200m champions Noah Lyles and Letsile Tebogo face off in the men's 200m, with Tebogo hunting a first ever Diamond League title and Lyles looking to win the trophy for a record-breaking sixth time. Olympic and Diamond League champion Julien Alfred also lines up in the women's 100m, while 800m star Emmanuel Wanyonyi and 400m hurdles ace Femke Bol will also be looking to defend their series titles.

Top stars renew rivalry in Zurich ahead of global battle in Tokyo

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