Morgan Lake made history by becoming the first British woman to clear two metres in the high jump as she finished third at the Diamond League Final in Zurich.
Lake soared over the mark at the first attempt to become the 86th woman in history to achieve the landmark height. The 28-year-old, whose previous personal best of 1.99m was set in February 2023, was visibly emotional after surpassing the significant 2.00m barrier with just over a fortnight until the start of the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
"I was so in the moment,” said Lake, “and then as soon as I cleared it I was just so emotional because it is something I've wanted to do my whole life.
“I'm so, so happy. I was like 'I'm going to enjoy it and just jump as high as I can'.
“It just shows me what I'm capable of if I just believe in myself." Australia's Olympic silver medallist Nicola Olyslagers claimed the Diamond League trophy with a best leap of 2.04m to defeat Olympic and world champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh (2.02m).
After three consecutive first-time clearances at lower heights, Lake required all three attempts to continue in the competition at 1.97m. But in a world-class line-up, with the rounds passing by quickly at the temporary venue hosting Wednesday's field event finals in the centre of Zurich, the Briton maintained that momentum to fulfil a lifetime ambition.
Having jumped 1.90m for the first time at the age of 16 in 2013, Lake admitted that she had believed she would jump two metres each year since. While it has not proven quite so straightforward, breaching that frontier before the World Championships will inspire belief that she can achieve a first global podium following her fourth-place finish in Budapest two years ago.
"The main thing between now and Tokyo is to keep the body healthy and don't try and change too much," said Lake.
"I think I could have jumped 2.02m with my two-metre jump, so it's just trusting my coach and what we're doing and do the same again, really." Meanwhile, Swedish pole vault star Armand Duplantis warmed up for his bid for a third consecutive world title by securing his fifth straight Diamond League trophy.
The double Olympic champion took victory with a first-time clearance over 6m - winning on countback after Greece's Emmanouil Karalis required three attempts to surpass that mark, before both failed at 6.10m. The 25-year-old was some way off his scintillating best, having broken the world record for the 13th time with a clearance of 6.29m earlier this month - the third time he has improved the mark this year.
"It's really special, I shouldn't take it for granted,” Duplantis said.
“Five in a row is crazy and time goes so fast, so I just need to enjoy it. I'm a human being at the end of the day, I don't break records every time.
“I can jump really high sometimes and I can feel bad sometimes. I felt somewhere in between and sometimes that is what the day gives you."
Reigning world champion Katie shot-putthe United States claimed the women's pole vault title with a best jump of 4.82m, whilst Switzerland's Simon Ehammer leapt 8.32m to win the men's long jump on home soil, with American Joe Kovacs and Canada's Sarah Mitton winning the men's and women's shot put finals respectively - as the first six trophies were handed out.
The two-day winner-takes all Diamond League Final is contested by the athletes who amassed the most points across this season's 14 regular series meetings, with the action in Zurich concluding with 26 finals today.
