Jacory Patterson has been so successful this season that he quit working overnights for UPS. He still delivered something special on Thursday.
Patterson won the Diamond League Final men’s 400m in Zurich in 43.85 seconds — lowering his personal best for a third time in 2025.
On top of that, Patterson’s victory opened up an additional, fourth individual 400m spot on the U.S. team for the World Track and Field Championships in Tokyo (Sept. 13-21, airing on NBC Sports and Peacock).
That will be filled by Vernon Norwood, who was fourth at the Toyota USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships won by Patterson on Aug. 2.
JACORY PATTERSON BREAKS 44! 🔥
— FloTrack (@FloTrack) August 28, 2025
USA’s Jacory Patterson wins the men’s 400m in a personal best 43.85 #ZurichDL & #DiamondLeague coverage presented by @FleetFeetsports and @tracksmith pic.twitter.com/BnGDeVBLb0
Norwood and Brittany Brown, who won the Diamond League Final women’s 200m, earned what are in essence the last two spots on the U.S. team for worlds, though USA Track and Field has yet to announce the full roster.
In the last race of Thursday night, Noah Lyles overtook Letsile Tebogo of Botswana in the men’s 200m — 19.74 to 19.76 — in a rematch of the Olympic 200m, where Tebogo won and Lyles took bronze while slowed by COVID-19.
Lyles was already guaranteed spots on the 2025 world team in the 100m and 200m as defending world champion in both from 2023.
ON. THE. LINE @LylesNoah catches Olympic champ @tebogo_letsile_ in the finish metres of the final race of the night 🫨
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) August 28, 2025
Lyles clocks 19.74 for the win and his 5th #DiamondLeague trophy in the 200m 💎 pic.twitter.com/pDL32j5C73
Norwood missed out on the original three-man world team in the individual 400m, though he was still ticketed for Tokyo as part of the 4x400m relay pool.
But Diamond League Final winners in Zurich on Wednesday and Thursday added an extra world spot for their countries, so long as an athlete from that same country didn’t win the 2023 World Championship in the event to already earn a wild card spot.
Norwood was third in Thursday’s Diamond League Final, then quickly went over to the victorious Patterson.
Norwood said he will thank Patterson with a gift.
“I can’t say on camera, but he’s going to be very happy,” Norwood told Citius Mag.
Norwood, 33, will become the oldest American to officially run the men’s 400m at a global championship (indoor or outdoor). Antonio Pettigrew did so at an older 33 in 2001, but was later disqualified for doping.
The only older American woman to do so was Allyson Felix, who took bronze at age 35 at the Tokyo Olympics.
Norwood made his global championship debut a decade ago, reaching the 400m semifinals at the 2015 Worlds in Beijing while also earning 4x400m relay gold.
His best individual 400m finish was fourth at the 2023 Worlds. He was part of Olympic 4x400m relay gold-medal teams in Tokyo and Paris.
Patterson goes into his first global outdoor meet holding three of the world’s five fastest times this year.
“The goal was just to have a healthy season,” Patterson told Citius. “Now, it’s go and win worlds.”
In the women’s 200m, the Olympic bronze medalist Brown got the win in 22.13, five hundredths ahead of Brit Dina Asher-Smith.
That came after she placed fourth at nationals, one thousandth of a second behind Olympic gold medalist Gabby Thomas.
“After trials, I was kind of down,” she told Citius after Thursday’s victory. “But this morning, I remember thinking how awesome it is to have a second opportunity. Most people don’t get a second opportunity.”
Brown needed to win the Diamond League Final to get on the world team, or have countrywoman Anavia Battle win. Battle already made the world team by placing runner-up at nationals.
Brown also underwent surgery for endometriosis eight months ago.
The other Americans to win Diamond League Final titles in events without a world spot at stake: Christian Coleman (100m), Cordell Tinch (110m hurdles), Valarie Allman (discus), Katie Moon (pole vault) and Joe Kovacs (shot put).
Frenchman Jimmy Gressier edged American Grant Fisher in the men’s 3000m — 7:36.78 to 7:36.81. That meant that American Cooper Teare, who wasn’t in the race, was denied a world team spot in the 5000m by three hundredths of a second.
Teare was fifth at nationals and in line for the world team spot if Fisher, who was second at nationals, earned the U.S. a fourth world spot in the event by winning the Final.
Drew Hunter, who was fourth at nationals, has neither the qualifying time nor a high enough world ranking to be eligible for worlds.
Two American stars who also missed out on worlds were Olympic 1500m bronze medalist Yared Nuguse (seventh on Thursday) and world indoor 800m champion Josh Hoey (eighth).
