The first stop of the two-part Diamond League Finals took place in Zurich on Thursday, and the highlight of the night was Chinese shot putter Gong Lijiao who turned in a commanding performance to secure her third straight trophy at the season-ending event.  

The Chinese champion’s spectacular performance came ahead of the upcoming World Championship in Doha next month where Gong will launch her campaign to retain her status as the reigning world champion. 

Earlier, after American Chase Ealey took an early lead, Gong responded by tossing her fourth attempt 19.90 meters and then surpassed that with her sixth effort, which sailed 20.31 meters to break a meet record which had stood unbroken since 1985.  

That stellar throw helped Gong claim her third straight Diamond Trophy, while Ealey finished second and German Christina Schwanitz took the third place. 

Meanwhile, Gong's compatriot Lyu Huihui won the women’s javelin throw on Thursday night. Earlier, Lyu entered as the favorite in the event, and a throw of 66.88 meters on her third attempt sealed her first Diamond Trophy. Australia's Kelsey-Lee Barber was second, with the Czech Republic's Nikola Ogrodnikova finishing third. 

In a day of a slew of Chinese success, the men’s 100-meter sprint saw China’s Xie Zhenye coming second. Facing Jamaica’s 2011 world champion Yohan Blake, 37-year-old reigning world champ Justin Gatlin, and his fellow American Noah Lyles, the Chinese showed a phenomenal burst of pace and was able to grab the second spot behind an in-form Lyles, who won in 9.98 seconds. This was the 22-year-old American’s first Diamond Trophy while Xie, who clocked 10.04 seconds, was followed by Blake and Gatlin.