Online Reporter
ZIMBABWEAN sprint star Makanakaishe Charamba will line up against some of the world’s fastest athletes when he competes at the prestigious Lausanne Diamond League meeting in Switzerland today.
The Diamond League is one of the premier athletics competitions on the global calendar, bringing together the world’s leading performers based on their form and results throughout the season.
Charamba heads into the meeting in strong form after producing the fastest 200m time by a Zimbabwean this year. The talented sprinter clocked 19.88 seconds, making him the second-fastest Zimbabwe-born athlete over the distance in 2026 across competitions held in both Africa and the United States.
The 23-year-old is no stranger to competing on the biggest stages in world athletics. He reached the 200m final at the 2024 Olympic Games and followed that achievement by advancing to the semi-finals of the 2025 World Athletics Championships.
Today’s race presents another major test of his credentials as he goes up against a high-quality field featuring some of the sport’s biggest names.
Charamba enters the event ranked fifth in the Diamond League standings and appears well placed to secure a spot in next month’s Diamond League Final.
South Africa’s Sinesipho Dambile tops the rankings with 28 points, while Botswana sprint sensation Letsile Tebogo sits second on 22 points. American star Kenneth Bednarek occupies third place with 16 points.
Mena Reynier is fourth with 14 points, while Charamba has accumulated 13 points, leaving him in a strong position to qualify for the season finale. However, he will still be eager to collect valuable points in Lausanne and during another meeting scheduled for the weekend.
Meanwhile, several of athletics’ biggest stars are also set to compete as the Wanda Diamond League resumes in Lausanne.
Among the headline acts are Switzerland’s Audrey Werro, pole vault world record-holder Armand “Mondo” Duplantis, Kenya’s Olympic and world champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi and American hurdler Masai Russell.
The programme begins with the city event on the shores of Lake Geneva today before the main Athletissima meeting at the Pontaise Olympic Stadium tomorrow.
Duplantis returns to Lausanne for the eighth time fresh from clearing 6.15m to claim his fourth successive European pole vault title in Birmingham. The height also stands as the Athletissima meeting record, which he set in Lausanne in 2024.
The Swedish superstar is expected to face strong competition from Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis, who recently won European silver, and Australia’s Kurtis Marschall, who handed Duplantis his first defeat in nearly three years when they met in Stockholm in June.
Home favourite Werro will also be aiming to continue her remarkable season. The Swiss middle-distance runner moved to third on the women’s all-time 800m list after clocking 1:53.98 in Stockholm before improving further to 1:53.80 in Paris later in the season.
She recently captured the European title in Birmingham ahead of Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson and Femke Bol.
Werro and Bol renew their rivalry in Lausanne, where they will also face Kenya’s world champion Lilian Odira, who claimed victory at the Diamond League meeting in Eugene.
Beyond the battle for victory, athletes will be chasing qualification for the Diamond League Final in Brussels.
For Werro, the stakes are even higher as she seeks to defend her Diamond League title. Success in Brussels would also guarantee entry into events at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship, making the Diamond League Final a crucial target for many competitors.
The men’s 800m is expected to be one of the highlights of the meeting, with Wanyonyi returning to the venue where he produced his stunning 1:41.11 performance in 2024, a time that ranks joint second on the world all-time list.
The Kenyan star is still searching for his first Diamond League 800m victory of the season despite setting a world 1 000m record of 2:11.83 in Monaco last month.
His challengers include Canada’s Marco Arop, the current world leader and winner in Paris, as well as American Brandon Miller, who claimed victory at the London Diamond League.
In the field events, Italy’s Andy Díaz Hernández will also attract attention in the triple jump.
The world indoor champion recently soared to fourth on the all-time world list after producing a remarkable 18.15m leap at the European Championships and will be looking to maintain that momentum in Lausanne in his first competition since that performance.
SportsReporter/worldathletics.org
