Weltklasse Zürich stars top off 2025 season in Tokyo

A race for the history books by Ditaji Kambundji

Bern’s 23-year-old Ditaji Kambundji sprinted to world championship gold in the 100m hurdles, delivering the greatest performance of her career so far. She had already impressed fans and experts a couple of weeks earlier, when she placed second at Weltklasse Zürich. As is the case with many Swiss top athletes, her career began in the UBS Kids Cup, during which she got to take her first athletics steps at Letzigrund Stadium. Today, she is a Weltklasse Zürich ambassador and an example for the success stories that start out with of the youth sport project and take young talents to international success. Her world championship title – the very first one for a female Swiss athlete – is impressive evidence for how purposeful projects for young athletes, perseverance, and top performances come to fruition on the world scene.

Wanda Diamond League champions shape world championships

Held just before this year’s world championships went underway, the Wanda Diamond League Final had been an opportunity for top athletes to present themselves in the best possible light. Throughout the entire season, the stars had been competing in 15 meetings on four continents, treating fans to exciting athletics action. In Tokyo, they confirmed their status and form.

US sprint star Noah Lyles secured the gold medal in the 200m after winning his sixth Diamond Trophy at Letzigrund Stadium. Femke Bol defended her 400m h world championship title and extended her impressive Diamond League winning streak to 30 races. And at the age of only 21, Emmanuel Wanyonyi (800m) claimed another crown after winning Olympic gold and his third Wanda Diamond League title.

In the jumps, five out of eight titles went to Wanda Diamond League champions, including Mondo Duplantis (pole vault), Nicola Olyslagers (high jump), Katie Moon (pole vault), Leyanis Pérez-Hernández (triple jump), and Hamish Kerr (high jump). Two throwing events were dominated by the Wanda Diamond League champions Valarie Allman (discus throw) and Jessica Schilder (shot put).

First time gold medal winners Cordell Tinch (110m h), Faith Cherotich (3000m SC), and Jimmy Gressier (3000 m and 10000 m respectively) concluded their best seasons so far in a convincing manner.

Taking revenge

Some stars of the athletics championships had been defeated at Weltklasse Zürich and were out for revenge in Tokyo. Surprise 1500m winner Isaac Nader, for instance, had come in last in the Zurich race, but was obviously able to draw the correct conclusions for the world championship final. And Busang Collen Kebinatshipi is a new double world champion (400m and 4x400m) after merely placing seventh at Weltklasse Zürich.

A taste of the future

The Tokyo world championships have shown again that succeeding in the Wanda Diamond League often translates into world championship triumph. More than half of the 2025 Wanda Diamond League champions were able to win a medal in Japan, 13 of them even claimed a title.

To watch rising star and former UBS Kids Cup finalist Ditaji Kambundji become a world champion was an extraordinary highlight, both for us at Weltklasse Zürich and for the entire Swiss athletics community. Her success is inspirational for future generations of athletes and a highlight in a season that was filled with unique athletics moments.

After celebrating her triumph and four additional top eight athletes, including Simon Ehammer (4th, long jump), Angelica Moser (5th, pole vault), Audrey Werro (6th, 800m), and Jason Joseph (8th, 110m h), we agree with the very positive summary delivered by the head of high-performance sport at Swiss Athletics and former UBS Kids Cup project manager Philipp Bandi. And together, we are looking forward for the great things to come.