Lobalu and Mumenthaler Fail to Finish in the Top Ranks

Dominic Lobalu competed in the 5000 meters in Oslo for the first time this season. However, with a time of 13:08.78, he fell well short of his goal of breaking the Swiss record of 12:50.87 minutes. By the halfway point, Lobalu was already several seconds behind his usual pace. Although he managed to pick up the pace toward the end, he still missed the top spots.

Training had actually gone well, Lobalu said in an SRF interview after the race. “My legs felt good today.” He didn’t know why he still hadn’t been able to deliver in the race. “I have a lot of questions about why it didn’t work out today. That’s never happened to me before.” Addisu Yihune secured the victory with a time of 12:47.62 minutes, ahead of Birhanu Yemataw Balew and Andreas Almgren

Mumenthaler with season’s best

Timothé Mumenthaler, who started immediately before Lobalu, finished 5th in the 200-meter race at the Diamond League meeting. On the outside lane, the Geneva native posted a season-best time of 20.58 seconds. “It was okay,” he told SRF afterward. He said he had slowed down toward the end.

Letsile Tebogo secured the victory. The Botswanan won convincingly with a time of 19.84 seconds, with Sinesipho Dambile and Jereem Richards rounding out the podium. Meanwhile, Gout Gout had to settle for a disappointment. The 18-year-old Australian had to make do with 6th place and a time of 20.60 seconds, after having run 19.67 seconds back in the spring.