World champion Sally Pearson (Qld) won the Diamond League 100m hurdles in Zurich (SUI) in 12.52 (+0.2), which was her 18th consecutive win, while Mitchell Watt (Qld) added the long jump Diamond League crown to his Oceania record and world championship silver medal for 2011.
 
Pearson, who has remained unbeaten since the Continental Cup in Croatia last September, was joined on the start-line by four of her fellow world-championship finalists, all of whom were forced once again to watch the Oceania record holder from behind as Pearson led from start to finish.
 
Bronze medallist from Daegu, Dawn Harper (USA), finished runner-up to Pearson, while silver medal winner Danielle Carruthers (USA) came fifth. Phylicia George (CAN) crossed the line in third and Kellie Wells (USA) in fourth.
 
Pearson said: "It was a really exciting to be out here today and I am so glad that hadn’t lost motivation or enthusiasm after coming down from a massive run at the world championships.
 
“I am really proud of myself how I composed myself out there.”
 
“I’m really happy that I’ve been able to come here and back that (world championships) up. I was nervous about racing so soon after becoming world champion, but now I’ve proven that I can back it up after a massive race that I’ve had.”
 
With the hurdles not being part of the Diamond Race in Zurich, Pearson will have to wait until the final meet in Brussels on September 16 to wrap-up the Samsung Diamond League, after her 100m run in Rieti this weekend, where she is aiming for the national record.
 
She added: "If the Australian record falls then that's great but if it doesn't don't be too disappointed.
 
"There's house on the market on the Gold Coast and if it's still there when I get home I am hoping to go and buy it!"
 
The men’s long jump competition was below par in comparison to the final at the world championships in Daegu, where Watt won silver, with only one athlete to hit the eight-metre mark.
 
Ngonidzashe Makusha (ZIM) jumped 8.00m (0.0m/s) on his first attempt and nobody surpassed the mark for the remainder of the competition. The win took the world bronze medallist to second in the Diamond Race, behind Watt, who had won his three previous Diamond League competitions, which included a new Oceania record of 8.54m at the Stockholmmeet.
 
Watt only made two jumps, with his opening effort of 6.97m (-1.6m/s) being the better mark.  World champion Dwight Phillips (USA) leapt to 7.87m(-0.3m) in the fourth round to finish fourth in Zurich.
 
Watt said: “I felt pretty horrible out there today. I knew going into today I had already won the Diamond League but I wanted to jump better than that though.
 
“I looked into my diary today and it’s my 16th competition this year so it's been a long season but a good one. I won the Diamond League and have a world silver medal.
 
“This was also my first competition without GaryBourne (coach) so that was different too.
 
“The highlight of the season was probably Stockholm. Everyone had been talking about possibly jumping 8.50m since the world championships in 2009 so that was really good to do that.”
 
In the men’s 1500m Jeff Riseley (Vic) finished in ninth place in 3:39.45, while Kenya’s Nixon Kiplimo Chepseba won the race, and the Diamond League, in 3:32.74. World champion Asbel Kiprop (KEN) finished in seventh.

Athletics Australia

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