After sprinting to Africa's first Olympic gold in the 200m at the Paris Games, Letsile Tebogo became a national hero in Botswana. Upon his return to Gaborone, around 80,000 people filled the streets to celebrate him, while 30,000 fans cheered him on at the national stadium. In Zurich’s Letzigrund Stadium, Tebogo faced a fierce challenge from Kenneth Bednarek, who had also competed in the Paris final. Tebogo edged past Bednarek in the final meters, winning with a time of 19.55 seconds, just ahead of Bednarek's personal best of 19.57.
In the highly anticipated 1500m event, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, fresh off his Olympic gold in the 5000m and a world record in the 3000m, had a chance to avenge his loss in the Olympic 1500m final. However, it was not to be. Although Ingebrigtsen set a fast pace early on, it was Yared Nuguse, last year's winner and Olympic bronze medallist, who took victory in 3:29.21. Olympic champion Cole Hocker finished in third, while Ingebrigtsen, unable to reclaim his dominance, had to settle for second place.
Pole vault sensation Mondo Duplantis once again captivated the Zurich crowd, following his victory in a 100m showdown with Karsten Warholm the previous evening. Despite feeling physically worn from his earlier efforts, Duplantis cleared 5.82m to triumph over Olympic silver medallist Sam Kendricks. With this victory, Duplantis maintained his unbeaten record for the year, adding yet another accolade to his already illustrious career.
In the long jump, Miltiadis Tentoglou, the reigning Olympic, World, and European champion, saw his winning streak broken. Jamaica’s Wayne Pinnock, the Olympic runner-up, outperformed Tentoglou with a leap of 8.18m, leaving Tentoglou in second place. Swiss decathlete Simon Ehammer thrilled the home crowd with his third-place finish, jumping 7.98m and securing his first podium finish at Weltklasse Zürich.
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