Canterbury high jumper Hamish Kerr has had the perfect warmup to the World Championships with victory at the Diamond League final in Zurich.
Kerr jumped 2.32m to beat Ukranian Oleh Doroshchuk by 2cm.
Kerr’s winning height was just a centimetre below his season best.
The Olympic champion had a few issues early on and missed at 2.22m before he found his form.
Kerr pockets $85,000 with the victory.
Hamish Kerr soars to new heights with Diamond League title. Watch on TVNZ+.
“Coming in, I was not sure what is coming, we were not sure with the weather and the conditions, so it was about trying to compete and I am glad I was able to do that and grab that win,” Kerr said afterwards.
“That is my first Diamond League overall victory so that means a lot for me and my career. I am very proud of what I did today.
“I had a few frustrating competitions but with my team, we made sure that I am in a good shape now and I am pretty confident about my jumping at the moment. And in Tokyo, I am pretty sure that I will jump good as well.”
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Sprinter Zoe Hobbs finished sixth in the women’s 100m.
Hobbs, who was the ninth qualifier, recorded a time of 11.09 seconds.
The race was won by Olympic champion Julien Alfred, of St Lucia, with a time of 10.76 seconds
On Thursday Tom Walsh finished fifth in the men’s shot put.
The World Championships start in Tokyo on September 13.