A week out from track and field’s Diamond League Final in Zurich, some of the biggest stars of the sport were in action in Lausanne on Wednesday for the penultimate leg of the 2025 campaign.
It was a famous meeting that went ahead with many events held in the rain. Three South Africans were involved in the action – Akani Simbine (100m), Prudence Sekgodiso (800m) and Jo-Ane van Dyk (javelin).
Oblique Seville won the men’s 100m, beating Olympic champion Noah Lyles for the second time in a month. The Jamaican was really impressive, winning in 9.87sec. Lyles was declared second in a photo finish in 10.02, ahead of Ackeem Blake (also 10.02).
Simbine was fourth in 10.05.
Sekgodiso had raced behind Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson and when the pacemaker stepped aside after the first lap, these two pulled clear of the field down the back straight.
Hodgkinson went through 600m in 1:25.58 before kicking away to a convincing win in 1:55.69, smashing a meeting record that had stood since 2002. Sekgodiso, second at the top of the home straight, faded in the last 50m and crossed the line in sixth in 1:58.76. All nine women dipped under two minutes in the wet.
Van Dyk, the Olympic silver medallist, produced a best distance of 58.89m on her second attempt to finish second in the javelin, behind Adriana Vilago (62.83m).
