{"id":3770,"date":"2026-08-26T13:25:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T13:25:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zurich.diamondleague.com\/?p=3770"},"modified":"2026-08-26T14:30:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T14:30:28","slug":"star-studded-line-up-at-letzigrund-stadium-eight-events-you-wont-want-to-miss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zurich.diamondleague.com\/en\/star-studded-line-up-at-letzigrund-stadium-eight-events-you-wont-want-to-miss\/","title":{"rendered":"Star-studded line-up at Letzigrund Stadium: Eight events you won\u2019t want to miss"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From Audrey Werro to Yaroslava Mahuchikh, Weltklasse Z\u00fcrich brings together the very best in athletics. With eight Olympic champions, ten reigning world champions and 15 European champions set to compete, fans can look forward to world-class action. Here are eight events you simply cannot afford to miss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What the stars had to say at the Weltklasse Z\u00fcrich 2026 press conference:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

\n \n Press conference relive\n \n \n <\/svg>\n \n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The race of all races over 800 m<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Audrey Werro<\/strong> (SUI) produced one of the most emotional moments of the European Championships in Birmingham at the beginning of August. First came the shock in the 800 m semi-final, when she was knocked to the ground following contact with another athlete and only advanced to the final after a successful protest. The next day, she bounced back in spectacular fashion, winning gold in a phenomenal final in which she held off Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson despite repeated attacks. All eyes will once again be on the newly crowned European champion from the canton of Fribourg on Thursday evening as she looks to defend her title at Letzigrund Stadium. Standing in her way will be European bronze medallist Femke Broeders-Bol<\/strong> (NED) and European 1500 m champion Georgia Hunter Bell<\/strong> (GBR). Everything is set for a fast race and a truly special highlight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olympic champion vs. world champion vs. European champion over 100 m hurdles<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ditaji Kambundji produced one of the biggest sensations in Swiss athletics history by winning the world title in 2025. Now she will make her first appearance in Zurich as world champion. Hampered by a thigh injury at the end of June, the 24-year-old from Bern is finding her stride again and recently finished fourth at the European Championships.She will need to take another step forward, with Olympic champion Masai Russell<\/strong> (USA), world record-holder Tobi Amusan<\/strong> (NGR) and European champion Nadine Visser<\/strong> (NED) all lining up. And there is another name to watch: the Swiss season lead belongs to a world-class heptathlete who is also entered. Annik K\u00e4lin clocked 12.60 in the heptathlon in Ratingen (GER), putting her firmly among the specialists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Triple gold meets quadruple gold<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Melissa Jefferson-Wooden<\/strong> (USA) and Amy Hunt<\/strong> (GBR) have something in common: at their most recent major championship appearances, both left as undisputed sprint queens. The American won 100 m, 200 m and 4×100 m gold at the 2025 World Championships, while the Brit went one better in Birmingham, claiming four European titles in the 100 m, 200 m, 4×100 m and mixed 4×100 m.The two will go head-to-head on the \u201cpiste magique\u201d, with Julien Alfred<\/strong> also expected to join the battle. The Saint Lucian is the Olympic 100 m champion and won the Diamond Trophy in Zurich in 2025. And Sha\u2019Carri Richardson<\/strong> (USA), the 2023 world champion, cannot be overlooked either \u2013 with a season\u2019s best of 10.77, she is the fastest athlete in the field this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mahuchikh vs. Olyslagers \u2013 the battle of the rituals<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The women\u2019s high jump will see a repeat of last year\u2019s showdown at Weltklasse Z\u00fcrich on Sechsel\u00e4utenplatz. Olympic and European champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh<\/strong> (UKR) will once again take on world champion and 2025 Wanda Diamond League champion Nicola Olyslagers<\/strong> (AUS). The clash is also a meeting of two entertaining pre-jump rituals. While the Ukrainian likes to wrap herself in a blanket or sleeping bag between attempts, the Australian never goes through a jump without meticulously documenting it by hand. Sleeping bag versus diary \u2013 which ritual will come out on top this time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will Simon Ehammer make it four?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Simon Ehammer<\/strong> is undoubtedly one of the leading figures in Swiss athletics right now \u2013 and in two events no less. The Appenzell native is world champion and world record-holder in the indoor heptathlon and also holds the world-leading mark in the decathlon this year. At Weltklasse Z\u00fcrich, he will line up in the long jump as defending champion and European silver medallist.Can he push event king Miltiadis Tentoglou<\/strong> (GRE), the Olympic champion and newly crowned four-time consecutive European champion? And will the Greek superstar finally push the Swiss to his first eight-metre jump at Letzigrund on his fourth attempt at Weltklasse Z\u00fcrich?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olympic champion vs. world champion vs. European champion over 1500 m<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Almost every big name in the event will line up for the three-and-three-quarter laps. Cole Hocker<\/strong> (USA) is the 2024 Olympic 1500 m champion and 2025 world champion over 5000 m. He will be challenged by reigning Tokyo world champion Isaac Nader<\/strong> (POR) and the equally unexpected Birmingham European champion Stefan Nillessen<\/strong> (NED). And then there is Jakob Ingebrigtsen<\/strong> (NOR), who won European 5000 m gold in his comeback from a long-term Achilles injury just two weeks ago without a preparatory race, before returning to Diamond League racing in Silesia on Sunday after an absence of almost two years. High drama is guaranteed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next round of the hurdles rivalry of the year<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 2026, Alison dos Santos<\/strong> has arguably become Karsten Warholm<\/strong>\u2019s biggest nightmare. The Brazilian has already handed the Norwegian four painful defeats this season \u2013 three over the classic 400 m hurdles and one over the 300 m hurdles. The defeat in Oslo, Warholm\u2019s \u201cliving room\u201d, will surely have fuelled the Viking\u2019s desire to finally turn the tables on the 2022 world champion. Both hurdles stars are in top form. Just days ago at the Wanda Diamond League Meeting in Silesia (POL), they clocked 46.43 (dos Santos) and 46.52 (Warholm) \u2013 the sixth- and 11th-fastest times in history respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The kings of the skies aim high<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On paper, the men\u2019s pole vault looks like a straightforward affair. But after a three-year winning streak, Olympic, world and European champion Mondo Duplantis<\/strong> (SWE) suffered a rare defeat at his home meeting in Stockholm. Kurtis Marshall<\/strong> (AUS) and, later in the season, Sam Kendricks<\/strong> (USA) in London have managed to beat the superstar this year. At Athletissima Lausanne last Friday, Emmanouil \u201cManolo\u201d Karalis<\/strong> (GRE) produced the best-ever performance by a runner-up, clearing a height just five centimetres short of Duplantis\u2019 6.21 m. In doing so, the Swede set a \u201cSwiss record\u201d and a world record for a city event \u2013 no pole vaulter had ever gone higher on Swiss soil.Upon arriving in Zurich, Duplantis said that he could not retire one day without having set a world record at Weltklasse Z\u00fcrich. So what might that mean for Thursday evening?<\/p>\n\n\n

\n \n Start lists and events\n \n \n <\/svg>\n \n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From Audrey Werro to Yaroslava Mahuchikh, Weltklasse Z\u00fcrich brings together the very best in...","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":3792,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[99,96,93],"city":[],"class_list":["post-3770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-diamond-league-en","tag-wanda-diamond-league-en","tag-weltklasse-zuerich-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zurich.diamondleague.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zurich.diamondleague.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zurich.diamondleague.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zurich.diamondleague.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/90"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zurich.diamondleague.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3770"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/zurich.diamondleague.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3770\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3809,"href":"https:\/\/zurich.diamondleague.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3770\/revisions\/3809"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zurich.diamondleague.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zurich.diamondleague.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zurich.diamondleague.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zurich.diamondleague.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3770"},{"taxonomy":"city","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zurich.diamondleague.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/city?post=3770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}