The world’s top athletics stars will return to a sold-out Letzigrund Stadium to delight fans and athletics experts on the occasion of Weltklasse Zürich 2024.
The first competitors in three events – 110m hurdles, shot put men, and high jump women – have been confirmed. And the announcement will have any athletics aficionado’s ears perk up.
In all three events, the very best representatives will be present.
The impressive line-ups include world champion Grant Holloway (USA) and Olympic champion Hansle Parchment (JAM) in the men’s high hurdles, world record holder, two-time Olympic and world champion Ryan Crouser (USA) and Joe Kovacs (USA, 2nd in the all time top list) in the shot put.
Also expected as well is Ukraine’s new world record holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh, who will be challenged by Australian high flyer Nicola Olyslagers and the young Serbian star Angelina Topić in the high jump.
110m hurdles: Holloway, Parchment – and Joseph
The 110m hurdles race will be a particularly exciting spectacle this year. World champion Grant Holloway, who has won almost all there is to win in his event (three world championship titles, two world indoor championship titles, the Wanda Diamond League trophy in 2022 in Zurich, and an Olympic silver medal in Tokyo) will “cross hurdles” with Jamaican Olympic champion Hansle Parchment.
Parchment is his only opponent who could him in a major competition in
recent years. The race will also feature world championship bronze medallist Daniel Roberts (USA), and Switzerland’s world championship finalist Jason Joseph.
A crowd favourite and a member of the country’s “Generation UBS Kids Cup”, Joseph won the Weltklasse Zürich 110m h last year, setting a new national record (13.08, now 13.07).
The GOATS in the shot put ring
The men’s shot put returns to Letzigrund Stadium after six years. The event’s “gladiators” include Ryan Crouser (USA), Joe Kovacs (USA), Leonardo Fabbri (ITA), and Tom Walsh (NZL). And when the “Greatest of all Time” clash, superb shot putting and more than one throw beyond the 23m mark are on the cards.
On paper, Crouser is the “measure of all things” in this event; his achievements include the current world record (23.56m), two Olympic titles, two world championship gold medals, and the 2021 Wanda Diamond League trophy he claimed in Zurich.
In 2022, however, it was fellow US-American Kovacs, who put his shot at 23.23m on Sechseläutenplatz, a result that positioned him in second place in the all time top list. The prestigious list also mentions European champion Leonard Fabbri, who is now among the top five athletes off all time.
The star-studded entry list for this year’s competition also includes Tom Walsh, 2017 world champion, two-time Olympic bronze medallist, and four-time Diamond League final winner (including at Letzigrund Stadium in 2016 and 2018).
Duelling for air sovereignty in front of the Letzigrund Stadium standing area
Yaroslava Mahuchikh made history in Paris last week. The 22-year-old Ukrainian cleared 2.10m and broke the world record, a record Stefka Kostadinova (ROM) had held for almost 37 years.
At Weltklasse Zürich, Mahuchikh will try to repeat her 2023 win and defeat the two Australian high flyers Nicola Olyslagers and Eleanor Patterson, as well as Serbia’s rising star and world U20 record holder Angelina Topić.
Mahuchikh’s world record jump was a feat for the history books.
As if inspired by having set a Ukrainian national record (2.07m) earlier, she soared to 2.10m at the Olympic final rehearsal in Paris. And it only took her one attempt.
The reigning world and European champion is considered a top favourite for Olympic gold, but Australians Olyslagers and Patterson will want to have their say on the day of the final.
Both Paris and Zurich will offer high jump competitions worth watching, for viewers at home and for the fans in the famous Letzigrund Stadium standing area, who will have a perfect view of the action.
