Lausanne: Van Niekerk, Lavillenie, Schippers And Swiss Stars Competing

Starting with the athlete who ran what was perhaps the most incredible race of the last Olympic Games in Rio, Wayde Van Niekerk. The South African, who broke Michael Johnson’s 400m world record in Rio running blind from lane eight, has chosen the Lausanne event to compete in his first 400m in Europe this summer. He will run only one other 400m before the World Championships in London. It will be an extraordinary opportunity for the Lausanne spectators to see this exceptional athlete who is currently the only sprinter in history to have PBs under 10 seconds in the 100m, under 20 seconds in the 200m and under 44 seconds in the 400m.

There is no need to introduce more the world record holder in the pole vault Renaud Lavillenie. Gold medal winner at the London Olympic Games and 9 times at the World and Europeans indoor and outdoor championships, Lavillenie is the only athlete in history to have won the Diamond Race on seven occasions. The French returns to the jumping area where he’s already triumphed 4 times. A stadium where he feels "like home", but where he still chasing the stadium record.

Dafne Schippers will run the 200m, an event where she is the defending World (2015) and European (2014) champion. The Dutch sprinter is yet to add a victory on the Pontaise track to her record, as she was defeated in the 100 m (2014) and in the 200 m (2015). She will certainly aim at filling this gap this year. She will face multiple Swiss champion Mujinga Kambundji and the young local athlete from Lausanne Sarah Atcho, the new Swiss U23 indoor record holder in the 60 m and 200 m.

Swiss athletes well-represented Other Swiss athletes will appear in one of the 16 events on the program. Selina Büchel who brilliantly defended her European indoor title in Belgrade, will participate in the 800m. Following her spectacular 400 meter indoor season with a new personal best (51.46), which earned her rank 3 in the world indoor rankings at the end of the winter, Lea Sprunger will return to the 400m hurdles, the discipline where she won the bronze medal at the last European championships in Amsterdam. She will compete against the world’s top class of the event.

On the men’s side, Kariem Hussein will also contest this same event. Finally, the local public will be delighted to see the talented Geneva long racer Julien Wanders (21 years) who will try to qualify for the World Championships in London in the 5000m. Following his Swiss U23 records in the 10000 m road race and in the half Marathon, taking the records from Swiss greats Markus Ryffel and Viktor Röthlin respectively, this is a performance he should be able to achieve. To follow the tradition, the 4×100 m relay UBS Women’s Trophy with the national team will close the meeting.