Zurich: Five things to look out for

Nina Kennedy has good memories of Zurich. In 2022, the Australian established herself among the pole vault elite when she won her first Diamond League title at the city's Sechseläutenplatz. A year later, she beat joint world champion Katie Moon with a personal best and Oceania record of 4.91m at the central train station. Now the outright Olympic champion, Kennedy returns to the train station on Wednesday evening hoping to claim a third successive victory at Weltklasse and cement her status as favourite for the Diamond Trophy. While Kennedy has already qualified for the final in Brussels, however, the remaining five spots are still up for grabs, with demand outstripping supply. Of those competing in Zurich, Angelica Moser, Alysha Newman, Sandi Morris and Roberta Bruni are currently on course to qualify, while Katie Moon, Eliza McCartney and Katerina Stefanidi are all hoping to break into the top six with a big performance. As the world's best enter last-chance-saloon at the station, it's not just a question of who wins. The difference between second, third and fourth place could also decide who catches the last train to Brussels. 

The pole vault is not the only event where the Road to the Final is going down to the wire. In the women's 100m hurdles, there are also still seven places up for grabs as we head into the final series meeting. Jasmine Camacho-Quinn heads to Zurich knowing that her spot is safe, while Jamaican star Ackera Nugent has also shot up the rankings with her victories in Silesia and Rome, and should qualify despite not competing at Weltklasse. For the rest of the field, there is still all to play for. Olympic champion Masai Russell and world champion Danielle Williams are currently on course to qualify, but they have plenty of talent breathing down their necks in Zurich. Devynne Charlton, Nadine Visser,and Keni Harrison all know that a victory or a big performance could see them break into the top eight and keep their dreams of the Diamond Trophy well and truly alive. 

Ahead of the Olympics, the men's 1500m was being billed as a two-way battle between Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Josh Kerr. Over the past few years, the two men have made little secret of their feelings towards each other, with fiery exchanges both on and off the track. As it turned out, neither of them prevailed in Paris, with gold instead going to the comparatively mild-mannered Cole Hocker of the USA. On Thursday, Ingebrigtsen, Kerr and Hocker will be reunited in one of the most eagerly anticipated Olympic rematches the Diamond League has ever seen. For Ingebrigtsen, who stormed to the 3000m world record in Silesia last month, it is a case of reasserting himself as the top dog in the distance events. For Kerr and Hocker, it's a chance to once again put a dent in the double Diamond League champion's supremacy. Whatever happens, expect fireworks. 

Julien Alfred was one of the undisputed superstars of the Paris Olympics, picking up St. Lucia's first ever gold with her stunning 10.72 in the 100m final, and beating US rival and title favourite Sha'Carri Richardson in the process. In Zurich, Alfred and Richardson go head to head again for the first time since the Games, and pride aside, the stakes are high for both women. Having picked up her first ever Diamond League win in Monaco in July, Alfred is currently seventh in the standings and on course to qualify for the final. Richardson, meanwhile, is down in 11th, and will know that she needs to beat either Alfred or Jamaica's Tia Clayton in Zurich to break into the top eight. It's an Olympic rematch, a battle of the best, and a potential season decider in the Diamond League all rolled into one. 

Since he made history with his 200m Olympic gold in Paris, Botswana's Letsile Tebogo has been unstoppable. He returned to Diamond League action with a rapid 19.64 in Lausanne, before following it up with a meeting record of 19.83 in Silesia and a statement 100m victory in Rome last Friday. After that victory, Tebogo revealed that he will shift his attention to the shorter distance next season, but for now, it is all about the 200m as he sets his sights on the Diamond Trophy. Having already qualified for the final, the pressure is off Tebogo when he goes up against Fred Kerley, Alexander Ogando and Kenny Bednarek in Zurich. Yet the Botswanan will no doubt be keen to make it four wins out of four before he turns his attention to Brussels.