Cold winds spoiled most track events at the Diamond League on Thursday but the American thrower and Norwegian middle-distance runner stood out in the men’s events

In the shot put the Olympic champion Ryan Crouser opened with a 22.81m meeting record to effectively kill the first part of the competition but ended with a 22.64m to win the ‘final three’ part too.

In between he also managed throws of 22.70m, 22.46m and 22.44m, which meant he had the best five throws of the competition.

The winner, who often conducts interviews wearing a cowboy hat and who has been one of the most dominant overall athletes of 2021, said: “I feel I executed it technically and I’m really pleased with my performance.”

Olympic bronze medallist Tomas Walsh was a clear second best with a 22.05m second round throw then a 22.10m in the final which he hoped would put pressure on the American. It didn’t work out that way, however.

Filip Mihaljević was third with an earlier 21.37m but a mere 20.36m in the final three round.

“I was really happy with tonight. I feel like I executed it technically and I’m really pleased with my performance.” @RCrouserThrows on his shot put victory and cowboy hat. pic.twitter.com/JPRWyiyVzf

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) August 26, 2021

The men’s 3000m saw a win for a tired Olympic 1500m champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who was denied a fast time by the cold winds.

Erik Sowinski led through the opening kilometre bang on the target 60-second laps with a 2:29.71. Fellow pacer Vincent Kibet and the ever game Stewart McSweyn were the only initial takers but they were joined by Ingebrigtsen, who was surprisingly not followed by anyone else as he pushed on to catch the leading trio with a 59.0 circuit from 600m.

Kibet took over and maintained a similar pace with a third lap of 60.13 and 60.81 as the trio were well clear of the pack.

The Australian McSweyn took over (2000m in 5:02.25) but the wind clearly took a toll as he ran a 62.47 and 62.41 to take him to the bell. The Norwegian looked content to sit in as the pace slowed and they were caught by a bold move from the pack by Ethiopian Olympic 10,000m fourth-placer Berihu Aregawi, who shot by the leading duo down the final backstraight.

Ingebrigtsen easily followed but did not have his usual change of pace down the final straight and only got past in the last 30 metres to win in 7:33.06 with a 27.5 last 200m and 57.3 last circuit.

He said: “The race started as expected. McSweyn had told me that he would push the pace. I wanted to start at a moderate pace but I knew that we could not let McSweyn go. It was a really tough race, but I was very motivated to take the win.”

Aregawi, who had been four seconds down at 2000m and ran a 2:26.9 final kilometre, was second in a PB 7:33.39 with McSweyn holding on for third in 7:35.06.

Birganu Balew of Bahrain was fourth in 7:36.94 with Olympic 10,000m champion Selemon Barega fifth in 7:37.62 and double world 5000m champion Muktar Edris sixth in 7:40.30.

Britain’s Andy Butchart failed to finish after being a tailed off last at halfway in 3:57.7.

The talk of Olympic 400m hurdles champion Karsten Warholm attacking the 44.33 European 400m record of Thomas Schönlebe from 1987 was made to look rather optimistic and unrealistic as he finished a well beaten fourth in 45.51, a time not much faster than his hurdles record in Japan.

He certainly went for it though and was around 33 seconds at 300m and in contention for the win but his fast start and the strong winds meant he did not finish with his usual flourish.

He said: “It was heavy. The conditions and my body didn’t respond the way I wanted. The last 100m everyone was coming up. It is not the position I was hoping for. But it is what it is. It shows that it is difficult to come back after the Olympics. I hope that in Zürich I will be better prepared.”

“It was heavy. I was hoping for more but that’s the way it is. My body was more tired than I thought.”@kwarholm on his flat 400m and time of 45.51. #LausanneDL ?? pic.twitter.com/G0dJm7ObrF

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) August 26, 2021

The non-Diamond League event was won by American Wilbert London in 45.17 from Isaac Makwala’s 45.20. Liemarvin Bonevacia was surprisingly first European in 45.41.

The men’s 800m saw Eugene winner Marco Arop add to his successes. The pacemaker took them through in 51.07 with the Canadian leading the pack a second back in 52.1.

The Canadian kicked away and was four metres clear at 600m in 78.48 and the Olympic champion Emmanuel Korir began to close but was unable to get closer than a metre as the Canadian won in 1:44.50 from the Kenyan’s 1:44.62 with the latter having run 25.7 for his final 200 metres.

The winner said: “It was great to get the win today. Not including the ‘rabbit’ I led from start to finish. I was a little concerned about going out too fast but I found the strength to finish well and get a good time.”

The ever consistent Olympic runner-up Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich was a distant third in 1:45.48, while Olympic bronze medallist Patryk Dobek was 10th and last in 1:50.60.

There were no Britons in the A race but Thomas Randolph won the B race in 1:47.52 with Charlie Da’Vall Grice third in 1:48.44. Randolph had been fourth at 400m in 53.8 and produced a 26.4 last 200m.

The wind may have slowed times in the 800m races but a 2.9m/sec tailwind should have helped in the 110m hurdles. Olympic bronze medallist Devon Allen won in 13.07 with Swiss athlete Jason Joseph excelling to take second in 13.11 and Pascal Martinot-Lagarde third in 13.17.

Olympic finalist Andrew Pozzi went well to halfway but faded in the second half to run 13.45 in seventh but he did get the scalp of Olympic champion Hansle Parchment who was eighth in 13.58 and virtually walked across the line.

The Jamaican said: “I hit a hurdle early and then was able to catch up with them, but then in doing that I began to run too fast to the hurdle and clipped another one. It’s my first race since the Olympics and it just wasn’t my day.”

The wind was even stronger in the men’s 200m – a whopping 3.2m/sec – and the race was won with an impressive last 100m by Tokyo runner-up Kenny Bednarek who won in 19.65 from Olympic 100m bronze medallist Fred Kerley who was a clear second in 19.77.

Olympic 400m champion Steven Gardiner finished strongly for third in 20.11.

Bednarek said: “I was really hoping to PR tonight as I know this is a fast track, but the wind was too strong. I didn’t feel the cold too much until we had the false start, then it started to affect me a bit. I will compete in Paris, then do a training camp in the USA before competing in Zurich.”

Olympic silver medallist Chris Nilsen won the pole vault on countback with a 5.82m leap from his American team-mate Sam Kendricks, who missed the Olympics due to a failed Covid test.

Nilsen had a perfect record until failing his three jumps at 5.92m while world champion Kendricks only cleared 5.82m at his second attempt.

Nilsen said: “My team and I have been working on trying to be consistently at 5.80m plus and I think we have achieved that. Normally when you jump that height you come in the top three. Tonight it clicked for me, the weather felt like home and I felt confident with my jumps.”

Olympic champion Mondo Duplantis had a rare off-day and after clearing 5.62m at the second attempt failed his three attempts at 5.82m and ended up fourth.

Johannes Vetter was only ninth in the Olympics but the javelin world leader at 96.29m is still the obvious world No.1 on quality of marks and he again dominated here in the absence of Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra.

READ MORE: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce goes No.3 all time at 100m in Lausanne

Vetter opened with a 84.51m and though he lost the lead to Olympic silver medallist Jakub Vallejch who threw 85.73m in the second round he regained it with a 88.54m third round.

He also threw 86.49m in the fifth round and won the final three round with a 86.34m.

Vetter said: “It went pretty well. We had a crazy headwind. I am really consistent, so I am proud and happy. It feels amazing to be back with the crowd, it feels like getting back to normal. Especially the last attempt, when the whole stadium is watching you. Next year I want to win the Worlds and Europeans.”

The Czech Republic athlete took second with a 79.10m final round as world champion Anderson Peters managed a 72.48m after an earlier 84.32m.

ANA competitor Ilya Ivanyuk won the high jump, which had been held the day before with a 2.30m leap with joint Olympic champion Gianmarco Tamberi only fifth with 2.24m.