On a night when rain glazed the track and breath showed in the air, the Lausanne Diamond League 2025 delivered a drama that blended grit with grace. Stars arrived to sharpen form before Zurich and Tokyo, then the weather asked harder questions. Some answered with career-defining poise, others learned vital lessons they will carry into the weeks ahead.
The evening’s heartbeat pulsed through three storylines that framed the meet, a Jamaican sprinter seizing momentum, a Kenyan prodigy tested over two laps, a new Kenyan steeplechase force stepping into the light.
- Oblique Seville outduels Noah Lyles again in raw conditions,
- Josh Hoey snatches the men’s 800m from Emmanuel Wanyonyi,
- Doris Lemngole claims a breakthrough steeplechase win.
Seville sprints clear as Lyles absorbs a second sting
Oblique Seville refused to blink in the rain, tearing through the men’s 100m in 9.87 and finishing ahead of Olympic champion Noah Lyles, who clocked 10.02 in a photo finish with Ackeem Blake. It was Seville’s second victory over Lyles this season, after his 9.86 win in London where Lyles ran 10.00 and Zharnel Hughes took third in 10.02.
For Seville, the Lausanne win was about belief. “Running 9.87 in those conditions shows I can go much faster, anywhere in the world. That’s a good time. I’ve beaten the Olympic Champion twice, in London and here, and that gives me a lot of confidence heading into the championships,” he said, pointing to a Jamaican mission to reclaim the men’s global 100m crown. The context is unmistakable, Justin Gatlin in 2017, Christian Coleman in 2019, Fred Kerley in 2022, and Noah Lyles in 2023 have owned recent titles, a stretch the Jamaican now aims to interrupt.
Lyles took the setback with the pragmatism of a seasoned champion. He cited a poor reaction to the gun, not surprise, as the difference.
“No, I mean I expected to do the same thing. So, I can’t say that I’m surprised. I mean, he’s a fantastic runner,” Lyles said in a video shared by Citius Mag, adding that fast times are possible in bad conditions and that he simply gave himself too much to do after the start.
The American has now absorbed three straight Diamond League defeats this season, with two coming at the hands of Seville. He turns to the Zurich Final before Tokyo, where he will defend both the 100m and 200m with Kishane Thompson and Seville looming in the blue riband sprint.
Wanyonyi checked by Hoey as two-lap script flips late
Emmanuel Wanyonyi, the Olympic 800m champion and meeting record holder in Lausanne from 2024, looked set to lock in another victory before the race turned in the closing meters. Josh Hoey surged late for a maiden Diamond League win in 1:42.82, with Wanyonyi second in 1:43.29 and Spain’s Mohamed Attaoui third in 1:43.38.
The early cadence belonged to Britain’s Guy Learmonth, with Wanyonyi tracking in second and Max Burgin poised in third. By 600 meters, Marco Arop pressed, then Hoey gathered momentum and moved into the fight. When the finishing straight arrived, the American found a gear the field could not match, a decisive move that left Wanyonyi a stride short.
This track has been kind to the Kenyan. On this surface last year he ran 1:41.11, the fastest time of 2024, a mark that tied him for second on the all-time list and placed him within sight of David Rudisha’s 1:40.91. Wanyonyi remained grounded pre-race, noting that Rudisha went sub 1:42 almost eight times, while he has done it five, a nod to the consistency required to chase history. He is already confirmed for the Diamond League Final in Zurich on 27 to 28 August, a stage set for a confident response.
Lemngole announces herself with a composed steeple masterclass
In the women’s 3000m steeplechase, Kenya’s Doris Lemngole turned a sodden evening into a statement of intent, claiming her first Diamond League victory in 9:16.36. Ethiopia’s Sembo Almayew took second in 9:20.39 and the USA’s Olivia Markezich finished third in 9:20.73.
There was composure, then acceleration, then control. Lemngole, a 23 year old student-athlete with Alabama’s Crimson Tide, read the race with maturity on her debut in Lausanne. She tracked the leaders through the early phases, then at 800 meters she made the decisive move to the front, opening daylight by 1600 and stretching to the 2000 meter split in 6:10.81, a stride pattern that never cracked.
The significance runs deeper. Lemngole recently earned a historic call-up to Kenya’s Tokyo World Championships squad after finishing second at national trials in 9:24.69, behind Olympic bronze medalist Faith Cherotich who ran 9:09.44. She will line up with Cherotich and NCAA double champion Pamela Kosgei, turning Kenya’s steeple group into a formidable trio.
Her collegiate résumé has the weight of a veteran. She won the 2024 Outdoor NCAA steeplechase title, the 2024 NCAA Cross Country crown, the 2024 NCAA Indoor 5000m, and added another Outdoor steeple title, then set a collegiate record of 8:58.15 at the NCAA Championships. The USTFCCCA named her Lance Harter Collegiate National Athlete of the Year for Cross Country in 2024, a distinction that now meets a rising professional arc.
Kimeli times it right as the 5000m turns into a chess match
Belgium’s Isaac Kimeli waited, watched, then fired. He claimed the men’s 5000m in 13:07.67 with a late burst that outfoxed the closing charge of USA’s Grant Fisher, who ran 13:08.51, and Mexico’s Eduardo Herrera, who stormed up for third in 13:09.50.
The race flowed through surges and counters. Kenya’s Jacob Krop showed early ambition, with compatriots Ishmael Rokitto and Edwin Kurgat biding time, while Fisher hovered near the sharp end after a season’s world lead of 12:44.09 in February. After 3000 meters Spain’s Thierry Ndikumwenayo seized control, Ethiopians Sime Megzebu and Bekele Haile poured forward, and Krop slipped from contention.
Into the bell lap, Fisher and Ethiopia’s Samuel Tefera pressed, then Kimeli unleashed a perfectly timed finish that broke the race apart. Kenya’s best finisher was Rokitto in fifth with 13:09.82, Kurgat took sixth in 13:09.91, and Dennis Kipkoech completed the top ten in 13:13.97. The winning time sat well outside the Lausanne meeting record of 12:40.45 set by Berihu Aregawi in 2023, yet Kimeli’s result resonated as his first Diamond League triumph since 2019 in Brussels.
Hodgkinson resets the record books in the women’s 800m
Keely Hodgkinson continued a polished return from injury with a commanding victory and a meeting record of 1:55.69, a mark that had stood for 23 years. She shook off South Africa’s Prudence Sekgodiso in the last 300 meters, then powered home while the clock testified to her form.
Behind Hodgkinson, Swiss talent Audrey Werro delivered 1:57.34 for second, and Britain’s Georgia Bell closed in 1:57.55 for third. It was the kind of performance that compresses the gap between a promising season and a championship run, and it gives Zurich and Tokyo a clear storyline to watch.
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Visser upsets Russell in a hurdles shake-up
Nadine Visser seized her moment in the women’s 100m hurdles, winning in 12.45 and outpacing Olympic champion Masai Russell, who ran 12.53. Ditaji Kambundji completed the podium, while world record holder Tobi Amusan finished a distant fifth.
The result rippled through the event’s pecking order, a reminder that a clean race in tricky conditions can still carve a path to victory. For Russell, it was a rare check during a strong season, and for Visser, it was a fourth Diamond League win that could be a springboard into the final weeks.
Brown finds a way in the women’s 200m
Reigning series champion Brittany Brown earned her first Diamond League win of the season with a 22.23 run that needed every ounce of composure. Favour Ofili closed fast for second in 22.31, and Marie Josée Ta Lou-Smith produced a season’s best of 22.37 for third.
Brown’s final 50 meters were a clinic in holding form when the lactic bites. She kept the cadence, protected the inside line, and carried confidence into qualification for next week’s final, a performance that felt timely and decisive.
Jaeger snatches the women’s 400m and Tinch breaks 13 in the highs
Norway’s Henriette Jaeger saved her best for the home straight, catching Lieke Klaver to win the women’s 400m in 50.09. Klaver had looked gone with 100 meters left, yet the line told a different story as she took second in 50.17 and Isabella Whittaker placed third in 50.63. World leader Salwa Eid Naser faded to fifth after a brave early push.
In the men’s 110m hurdles, Cordell Tinch dipped under 13 seconds, clocking 12.98 after breaking clear by hurdle three. Jamal Britt followed in 13.13 and Trey Cunningham in 13.19, a podium that underscored American depth in the sprint hurdles amid slippery footing.
Why Lausanne matters now and what comes next
The night felt like a lens, focusing the season’s themes. Seville’s steady rise, Lyles playing the long game, Wanyonyi learning and adjusting, Lemngole stepping into the senior spotlight, these arcs converged in the rain and will diverge again in Zurich.
For Wanyonyi, Zurich on 27 to 28 August offers a reset on familiar ground, a chance to reassert the rhythm that gave him 1:41.11 here in 2024. For Lyles, the final becomes a proving ground before Tokyo, where the double defense awaits with Oblique Seville and Kishane Thompson pushing the pace.
For Lemngole, Lausanne was not only a win, it was proof that her NCAA dominance travels. The Kenyan steeple group now looks deeper, with Faith Cherotich, Pamela Kosgei, and a newly minted Diamond League winner ready for the world stage. And for Isaac Kimeli, a first Diamond League win since 2019 arrives at just the right time, a reminder that patience and timing remain the 5000m’s most valuable currency.
Rain can flatten energy and blur ambitions, yet Lausanne cut through, etching fresh lines into a season that is gathering speed. The images endure, Seville confident in the cold, Lyles thoughtful in defeat, Wanyonyi recalibrating with purpose, Lemngole striding away alone. With Zurich up next and Tokyo looming, the night in Switzerland felt less like a detour and more like a compass.
