ZURICH — Team USATF caps a stellar year of track and field with eight Diamond League titles in Zurich. Olympic medalists Valarie Allman, Fred Kerley, Michael Cherry and Kenny Bednarek highlight the second day of Diamond League finals following Ryan Crouser and Maggie Ewen shot put titles on Wednesday. Only two nations, Croatia and Cuba, had ever previously boasted Diamond League champions in the women’s discus, but with her opening throw of 66.48m/218-1 Olympic champion Valarie Allman was well on the way to expanding that elite group to include the United States. After two fouls, Allman put her fourth round throw out to 65.53m/215-0 and then unleashed a huge 69.20m/227-0 in the next round to extend her lead to almost two meters and cap off a dream season that saw her take Olympic, Diamond League and Olympic Trials titles. Her mark was the fourth best in U.S. history behind only three of her own previous efforts, and her victory sealed her No. 1 ranking for 2021. Overcoming a strong start by Ronnie Baker, Fred Kerley closed like a freight train to win the men’s 100m in 9.87, with Baker third in 9.91 and Trayvon Bromell fourth in 9.96. Kerley became the first man ever to win a Diamond League title at 100m and 400m, adding the dash trophy to the one-lap title he claimed in 2018. Mike Rodgers finished seventh in 10.23. Pressing hard through the first half of the women’s 400m to establish a solid lead, Quanera Hayes held on down the stretch to win in 49.88, just .1 off her lifetime best as she upset OIympic silver medalist Mariliedy Paulino of Dominica, who was second in 49.96. Kaylin Whitney placed eighth in 51.19. Completing a fantastic streak of races in the men’s 400m, Michael Cherry won his fourth straight one-lapper with a dive at the finish to edge Tokyo bronze medalist Kirani James of Grenada. Cherry had to make up ground on James after the first 200m and made a strong move around the final bend to lead slightly into the stretch. The two men were virtually side by side until the final meter, where Cherry had the best lean to clock 44.41 with James at 44.42. Vernon Norwood also had a strong finish to take fourth in 44.84. Gaining a measure of revenge on the Tokyo gold and bronze medalists, Devon Allen got out to an early lead and held on to win the men’s 110m hurdles in a season best 13.06, just .004 ahead of Ronald Levy of Jamaica. Allen, who was fourth behind bronze medalist Levy and gold medalist Hansle Parchment at the Tokyo Games, is the first U.S. winner of the Diamond League title in the 100m hurdles since 2015. Daniel Roberts was fourth in 13.31. The final track event of the meet was a rematch of the top two finishers from Tokyo in the men’s 200m, and Kenny Bednarek flipped the tables and sped away to win in 19.70 to beat Canada’s Andre De Grasse, second in 19.72. It was the 11th wind-legal sub-20 second clocking of the year for Bednarek, improving on his own record. Kerley was third in 19.83, with Josephus Lyles fifth in 20.13 and Norwood seventh in 20.46. An honest early pace of 57.11 through the first lap saw most of the field still in contention on the final turn in the women’s 800m. Boxed in with 200m to go, Kate Grace moved skillfully through heavy traffic on the homestretch and outleaned Natoya Goule of Jamaica by .001 to take second in 1:58.34. The men’s 800m saw Clayton Murphy place third in 1:45.21 and Isaiah Harris was sixth in 1:45.70. In their four previous meetings this season, Shamier Little had finished second to Femke Bol of the Netherlands in the women’s 400m hurdles. As in prior races, the duo again went out very quickly, with Little holding a slight lead through the first five hurdles. Bol pulled even on the turn and then finished better off the final barrier to stay undefeated against Little, winning in 52.80 with the American second in 53.35. Nnenya Hailey was sixth in 55.06. All six men in the pole vault safely navigated 5.83m/19-1.5, but it would prove to be the final height cleared by Chris Nilsen and KC Lightfoot, and the American pair finished fifth and sixth. Two-time world champion Sam Kendricks was one of three contestants to clear 5.93m/19-5.5, going over on his second attempt for a season best, but he missed twice at 5.98m/19-7.5 and once at 6.03m/19-9.25 to end up second behind world record holder and Olympic champion Armand Duplantis of Sweden. In the women’s 3,000m steeplechase, American record holder and Tokyo silver medalist Courtney Frerichs was content to settle into the middle of the pack that went through the first kilometer in 3:00.23, and the pace eased off a bit for the second kilometer, which was passed in 6:08.10. At the bell, Frerichs was sixth and struggling to stay in contact, but she charged forward over the final 200m to take third in 9:08.74. In the men’s race, Hillary Bor placed seventh in 8:24.81. While the focus of most women’s 1,500m fans was on the battle up front between Faith Kipyegon of Kenya and Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands, the winners of three golds between them at the Olympics, Josette Norris ran a smart tactical race to place third in 4:00.41, just off her PR of 3:59.72. Helen Schlachtenhaufen finished well to take fifth in 4:02.30. Norris has improved her personal best by more than 11 seconds in 2021, moving to No. 9 on the U.S. outdoor all-time performer list. A lifetime best of 12.62 gave Payton Chadwick a fourth-place finish in the women's 100m hurdles, two places ahead of Gabbi Cunningham, who clocked 12.79. Tejyrica Robinson was ninth in 13.70. In the women’s 100m, Javianne Oliver was sixth in 11.02. In other action, Donald Scott was sixth in the men’s triple jump with a best of 16.22m/53-2.75 and Dezerea Bryant was seventh in the women’s 200m in 22.99. Tokyo gold medalist Katie Nageotte had three misses at her opening height of 4.57m/15-0 in the women’s pole vault. Click here for full results. On-demand video is available on Peacock TV.