Summit of the world’s fastest women
When the fastest women on the planet step in the starting blocks in Zurich, all eyes of the athletics world, and maybe even beyond, are on them. The 100m race on 5 September will be a summit of leading sprinters, including Olympic champion Julien Alfred and Olympic silver medallist Sha’Carri Richardson, and it will include a duel of Europe’s sprint queens Dina Asher-Smith and Mujinga Kambundji.
60m world champion Alfred stormed to 100m gold in the Paris rain and then went on to claim silver in the 200m. The athlete from Saint Lucia defeated world champion and runner-up Richards (USA) both surprisingly and convincingly. Richardson, who had won in Zurich in 2023, took the Olympic title in the Olympic 4x100m. Dina Asher-Smith (2nd/GBR) and Mujinga Kambundji (8th/SUI) were both supporting their own relay teams, after claiming the European titles in the 100m (Asher-Smith) and the 200m (Kambundji) in Rome earlier this summer. The Olympic experience of Europe’s sprint queens in Paris, however, were not as comparable.
Kambundji to challenge world indoor championship successor
100m European champion Asher-Smith failed to reach the prestigious 100m final, while two-time 200m European champion Kambundji was able to repeat the feat in the most competitive event of the sport.
Clocking exactly the same time as in Tokyo in 2021, the athlete from Bern was able to shine again, placing sixth among the fastest women in the world. At Letzigrund Stadium, where her road to international fame had begun at the European championships ten years ago, the nine-time medallist at international events hopes to get a similarly good start as in in the final at the Stade de France. She knows, that the “magic track” of Zurich suits her. After all, it is where the crowd favourite managed to set a new national record at the Swiss championships two years ago. On 5 September, she will face the world’s fastest women, including Julien Alfred, who succeeded her as a world indoor champion in 2022.
Which stars are set to compete at Letzigrund Stadium on 5 September? All competitors confirmed for Weltklasse Zürich 2024 are listed here.
