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Kara Winger goes out a winner in Wanda Diamond League finals in Zürich...


ZÜRICH, Switzerland--In front of a sellout crowd of 25000 at Letzigrund Stadium, Kara Winger (photo courtesy Wanda Diamond League) put a bow around her professional career, as the Skyview HS/Vancouver alum won the javelin Thursday night at the Weltklasse Zürich meet and the Wanda Diamond League title in the event.

With only six competitors in the Diamond League final, Winger took the lead in round one with a throw of 201-4 (61.36m), then improved to 209-4 (63.81m) after Australia's Kelsey-Lee Barber, the world champion from Eugene, briefly took the lead with a throw of 209-1 (63.72m).

There were no real improvements in rounds 3 and 4. That ended when Winger let fly a toss of 213-2 (64.98m) to seal the victory, along with the $30000 for winning the Diamond League first place check, the Wanda Diamond League trophy, and an automatic bye into next year's world championships in Budapest, should she choose to unretire.

Japan's Haruka Kitaguchi, who was the Wanda Diamond League points leader going into the finals, made a late charge in round 6, throwing her best of 208-6 (63.56m), but it wasn't enough to catch Winger and Barber.

Afterwards, Winger told reporters in the mixed zone, "I have to see how I feel but at this point, I do not change my decision about my retirement. I loved this one time season with my husband (Idaho alum Russ Winger) by my side."

"I felt like the entire stadium was with me. I felt like I had so many friends with me. The season was like - disbelief."

"I just wanted to have a good time and it turned out to be the best season of my life. I know it was absolutely everything and I am so grateful for what I did cause we worked really hard for this and I just cannot believe it. It was magic."

Here's Winger's post-meet interview:

On the track, Washington alum Gianna Woodruff of Panama, running out of lane 3, made a late charge to finish second in the 400 hurdles, running 53.72 to catch training partner and 2019 world champion Dalilah Muhammad, who ended up fading to fourth in 53.83.

Femke Bol of the Netherlands took the Diamond League title, winning in 53.03.

Courtesy of NBC Sports, here is Woodruff's race:

After Woodruff's race, Washington State alum CJ Allen finished third in the men's 400 hurdles, just missing his personal best, as he ran 48.21. Brazil's Alison dos Santos continued his winning ways, as the world champ from Eugene ran 46.98.

Josh Kerr of the Brooks Beasts and Great Britain finished sixth in the men's 1500, as he ran 3:31.85. Reigning Olympic champ Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway ran a world leading time of 3:29.02 to take the victory decisively.

Next year, the Nike Prefontaine Classic in Eugene moves from its usual spot in late May/early June as one of the first stops on the Wanda Diamond League circuit, and will host the Diamond League finals in September 2023, marking the first time the Diamond League finals will be contested outside Europe.

Complete results of the Weltklasse Zürich meet are available here.

ZAGS HOST EASTERN AND IDAHO AT WANDERMERE GOLF COURSE IN SPOKANE...

Friday, Gonzaga hosts both Eastern Washington and Idaho in the Gonzaga Duals at the Wandermere Golf Course in Spokane.

The women's 6k race gets underway at 6:30 pm, with the men's 8k going 30 minutes later.

Both GU teams entered the season ranked in the USTFCCCA top 25 for the first time in program history two weeks ago, with the men's squad at number 16 and women's at number 23. It's also the highest either team has been ranked to start the season. 

It remains to be seen how many of Gonzaga's top runners will compete, as they were held out of last week's Clash of the Inland Northwest meet hosted by Eastern Washington in Cheney.

The last time the Zags hosted a meet in Spokane was the 2015 West Coast Conference Championships at Plantes Ferry Sports Complex, where the women's squad won the conference championship and the men placed third. 

Gonzaga's meet preview is here, while Eastern Washington's is here.

The link to live results is available here.

NOTE: The Wanda Diamond League and the sports information offices of Eastern Washington and Gonzaga contributed to this report.

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