Hamish Kerr has bounced back from the disappointment the World Athletics Championships to finish second in the men’s high jump at the Zurich Diamond League this morning.
In a tight battle with Olympic champion Mutaz Barshim, Kerr finished up with a clearance at 2.33m to come within 1cm of the national record he set in February. Barshim won the event with a clearance at 2.35m while world indoor champion Sanghyeok Woo of South Korea took third with 2.31m effort.
It comes after Kerr, the Commonwealth champion, cleared a best of 2.22m and was eliminated in qualification at the World Championships, but with this morning's efforts he also attained the Paris Olympic qualification mark.
"It’s been an interesting week," Kerr said.
"I went to Croatia with my girlfriend and had some recovery time, which was super nice, and I wasn’t quite sure how the energy levels would be going into Zurich.
Kerr finished second in the latest Diamond League event in Zurich with the second best effort of his high jump career. (Source: 1News)
"But I felt good warming up and everyone else was looking a bit tired because they competed in the [high jump] final earlier in the week at the World Championships, so I knew I had an energy kick on them.
"The heights just kept coming. I was in the groove and I wasn’t really thinking too much about each clearance just enjoying it."
Kerr said while he was "gutted" he didn't perform as well as he did this morning last week in Budapest, his latest performance has given him confidence with Paris now on the schedule.
"To be able to crack off an Olympic qualifier and get my best jump I’ve ever done outdoors after what has been a tough week shows I can dig deep," he said.
Sprinter Zoe Hobbs continued her stellar 2023 by placing seventh in the women’s 100m, recording a time of 11.14s.
The 25-year-old Kiwi, who finished just 0.01 shy of the qualifiers for the 100m final at the World Athletics Championships, was up against a world-class line-up in the final with world champion Sha’Carri Richardson seizing control in the latter stages to win with a time of 10.88.
Jamaican Natasha Morrison grabbed second in a photo-finish from her fellow Jamaican Elaine Thompson-Herah, the Olympic champion, as both were credited with a time of 11.00.
The other Kiwi in action tonight inside the Letzigrund Stadium, Sam Tanner placed 11th in the men’s 1500m, clocking 3:32.16.
In a rapid race, Tanner held a mid-pack position for much of the race and produced another consistent performance – within less then a second of his lifetime best of 3:31.24.
Victory went to American Yared Nuguse who edged world champion Josh Kerr of Great Britain by 0.02 to win in 3:30.49.
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