Burgin chases down the Olympic champion in Zurich while Georgia Hunter Bell sets personal best ahead of Tokyo

The second and final night of the 2025 Wanda Diamond League final delivered on all fronts at Zürich’s Letzigrund Stadium on August 28, defying gloomy forecasts and instead offering near-perfect conditions for a night that saw national records and personal bests be broken.

Among the many standout performances on a packed evening of athletics, the men’s 800m provided perhaps the most gripping finish. A thrilling three-man sprint to the line saw Kenya’s Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi retain his Diamond League crown by the narrowest of margins, clocking 1:42.37 to hold off a fast-closing Max Burgin.

The 22-year-old Brit, who had powered through the field from mid-pack, surged down the final straight in one of the most composed races of his career, only narrowly missing out on the win. His time of 1:42.42 was just six hundredths shy of his personal best (1:42.36) and served as a huge statement ahead of next month's World Championships in Tokyo.

“I went into this race approaching it similarly to how I did in Lausanne,” said Burgin. “I think I might have gone a touch early in Lausanne and blown up at the end. I think today, I know I didn't quite finish it off at the end but I think it was a much stronger finish and time.

"It's about learning how best to utilise the kick at the end in these sort of races. It's definitely something that is coming on. In these sorts of races, you always know there is going to be someone breathing down your neck. You just never know, so you need to push right until the end otherwise someone will catch you."

Canada’s Marco Arop, the reigning world champion, was also right in the mix — closing hard in the final metres but settling for third in 1:42.57 after a closely contested battle.

Great Britain’s success in the 800m wasn’t limited to the men’s event. In the women’s race, Georgia Hunter Bell delivered a strong performance to take second place behind Switzerland’s Audrey Werro. In a home-straight showdown that had the Zurich crowd roaring, Werro held off Hunter Bell’s charge to take the win in 1:55.91 — a Swiss national record — while Bell crossed just five hundredths behind in 1:55.96.

That run not only marked a personal best for Bell but also propelled her to third on the UK all-time list, behind Keely Hodgkinson and Jemma Reekie.

Having claimed Olympic bronze over 1500m in Paris, Bell recently made the decision to focus solely on the 800m at this year’s World Championships in Tokyo. After her race, she explained the rationale behind that decision.

"The main thing that stood out to me was that although the schedule permitted it, the reality was that the stadium [in Tokyo] is really far away and by the time I got through the 1500m final I probably wouldn't sleep that night because it's at 10pm. I'd probably survive the first round of the 800m but I'd be dead meat going into that semi-final where it is only top two to qualify."

The men’s 200m brought the night to a close with another dramatic finish, this time featuring a showdown between Noah Lyles and Letsile Tebogo. It was Tebogo who led off the bend and into the home straight, looking poised to snatch the win, but Lyles surged in the final metres to edge ahead at the line and secure his Diamond League title.

Lyles stopped the clock at 19.74 (-0.6), just clear of Tebogo’s 19.76.

The women’s 200m also delivered a high-stakes battle, with Brittany Brown producing one of the biggest wins of her career. The American held off Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith down the straight to claim victory in 22.13 (-0.4), with Asher-Smith close behind in 22.18.

For Brown, the win carried extra significance. As she had not previously qualified for the World Championships in Tokyo, this Diamond League title secures her a wildcard place on Team USA.

Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith finished third in 22.25, while Britain’s Amy Hunt placed sixth overall, clocking 22.61 in her first Diamond League final.

In the men’s 1500m, all eyes were on Yared Nuguse, who needed a win to secure a wildcard spot for the World Championships. But the American faded in the final lap, ultimately crossing the line in seventh with 3:30.84 — well short of what he needed.

Instead, the moment belonged to the Netherlands’ Niels Laros. The 19-year-old sensation ran with remarkable maturity, timing his move to perfection and pulling clear in the final metres to win in 3:29.20, breaking his own Dutch national record. Behind him, Kenya’s Reynold Cheruiyot (3:29.91) and Kipkosgei Koech (3:30.02) rounded out the podium in a hotly contested finish.

The women’s 1500m also came down to a final-straight battle, with Kenya’s Nelly Chepchirchir snatching victory in the closing strides from Australia’s Jessica Hull. Hull had hit the front early in the last lap but began to tie up visibly with metres to go, the lactic clearly setting in.

Chepchirchir pounced with a late burst, taking the win in 3:56.99, just ahead of Hull’s 3:57.02, while Linden Hall secured third in 3:57.44.

Another standout moment came in the men’s 3000m, where France’s Jimmy Gressier delivered a stunning finish. In a thrilling sprint to the line, Gressier unleashed a powerful last 200 metres to edge out Grant Fisher by just three hundredths of a second. Gressier crossed in 7:36.78, with Fisher narrowly behind in 7:36.81. Sweden’s Andreas Almgren completed the photo-finish podium, taking third in 7:36.82.

The 400m hurdles were expected to be won by Norway’s Karsten Warholm and the Netherlands’ Femke Bol — and both delivered in style. Warholm claimed the men’s title in a commanding 46.70, setting a meeting record and leaving the field behind.

Bol, too, dazzled the crowd, smashing the women’s meeting record with an impressive 52.18 with both athletes running with dominating leads.

The men’s 100m final produced a thrilling battle as Christian Coleman clinched the Diamond League title by the slimmest of margins. The 2019 world champion and 60m world record-holder clocked 9.97 (-0.4), just edging out Akani Simbine, who ran 9.98, and Ackeem Blake in 9.99.

In contrast, the women’s 100m was a more decisive race as St Lucia’s Julien Alfred made a powerful statement ahead of Tokyo. Her commanding 10.76 (0.3) victory marks one of the fastest times of the season — the Olympic champion has only run quicker once, with a 10.75 in Stockholm.

Tia Clayton finished second in 10.84, while Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith initially faced disqualification for a false start but was reinstated after running under protest, securing third place in 10.92. Dina Asher-Smith also competed in both the 100m and 200m, posting a solid 10.94 in the shorter sprint.

The longstanding rivalry between Salwa Eid Naser and Marileidy Paulino in the women’s 400m took a new turn in Zurich. Historically, Paulino had often edged out Naser, but this time it was the Bahraini star who claimed victory, crossing the line in 48.70 to shatter Jarmila Kratochvilova’s 43-year-old meeting record of 48.86.

Paulino finished second in 49.23, while Great Britain’s Amber Anning ran a season’s best 49.75 to place fifth.

On the men’s side, Jacory Patterson impressed by overcoming a highly competitive field, lowering his personal best from 43.98 to 43.85 as he took the win.

While most of the field events took place on the first night, the final evening still featured some memorable performances inside the stadium.

Mykolas Alekna and Valarie Allman once again proved themselves the undisputed rulers of the discus. Lithuania’s Alekna threw a best of 68.89m to claim his title, while the USA’s Allman secured her crown with a winning mark of 69.18m — both successfully defending the titles they won last year.

In the women’s javelin, Elina Tzengko claimed her first Diamond League victory, delivering a strong 64.57m throw to take the win.

The men’s javelin was marked by a stunning performance from Germany’s Julian Weber, who not only won but twice improved the world-leading mark. His best throw of 91.51m places him 14th on the all-time global list.

For the full results click here.