The British quartet of Asha Philip, Ashleigh Nelson, Anyika Onuora, Desiree Henry set a national record of 42.21sec in the process, 0.03 faster than the record they had set on the same track in winning the European title earlier this month, when Jodie Williams ran instead of Onuora in the final.

It looked like a coming of age.

Jamaica's quartet of Carrie Russell, Beijing Olympic silver medallist Kerron Stewart, Schillonie Calvert, and Samantha Henry-Robinson took second place in 42.33 ahead of a top class US team of Tianna Bartoletta, Olympic 200m champion Allyson Felix, Jeneba Tarmoh and English Gardner

Earlier in the evening, Nelson had finished sixth in 11.20 and Stewart fifth in 11.19 in a 100m won by Jamaica's former Olympic 200m champion Veronica Campbell-Brown, who returned to action in March after winning an appeal against a doping suspension.

Campbell-Brown clocked 11.04 to win the Diamond Race.

World silver medallist Murielle Ahoure was second in 11.04, 0.02 ahead of Blessing Okagbare and 0.06 ahead of The Netherlands' European champion Dafne Schippers, who had a dreadful start.

The women's relay was preceded by a men's 100m that did not count towards this year's Diamond Race - the last counting race will be in the final IAAF Diamond League meeting in Brussels on September 5 - and featured two men back from doping suspensions this season in Jamaica's former world record holder Asafa Powell and former double world champion Tyson Gay of the United States.

Neither man made an impact, however, in a race won by Jamaica's Commonwealth champion Kemar Bailey-Cole in 9.96 ahead of Michael Rodgers of the United States in 10.05 and Britain's European champion James Dasaolu 10.06.

Powell was fourth in 10.07, with Gay eighth and last in an ignominious 10.35.

With athletes competing for double points in the Diamond Race in what was the series final, a total of 0.31 decided the fate of $40,000 (£24,000/€30,000) and the Diamond Trophy in the men's 5,000m.

That was the winning margin of Kenya's Caleb Ndiku over Ethiopia's Muktar Edris, who had narrowly beaten Ndiku in their previous Diamond League race in Stockholm, where Edris set a 2014 world-leading mark of 12min 54.83sec.

Ndiku's time here was far slower, 13:07.01, but it was the placing that was crucial as it took him past Edris in the overall Diamond Race and also past the leader, Ethiopia's Yenew Alimirew, who finished outside the points on the night, and was left on a total of 14 points, one less than Ndiku.

Christian Taylor of the United States provided another eye-catching performance in what was Patrick Magyar's final year as Weltklasse meeting director to secure the $40,000 prize and Diamond Trophy on offer to the highest points scorer in each discipline after seven rounds.

The Olympic champion began the evening trailing his US colleague Will Claye by two points, but snatched the pot with a final round effort of 17.51 metres, best of the night.

Thomas Roehler of Germany scooped the prize of the javelin Diamond Trophy and $40,000 with a first round effort of 87.63m in the season's IAAF Diamond League finale in Zurich ©Getty Images

Thomas Rohler of Germany secured the overall prize in a wide-open men's javelin Diamond Race, moving past the three joint-leaders - Ihab Abdelrahman, Tero Pitkamaki and Vitezslav Vesely - with a winning effort of 87.63m in the first round.

Keshorn Walcott, Trinidad and Tobago's surprise gold medallist at the London 2012 Games, was second with a national record of 85.77m.

The Diamond Race was also close in the men's 400m hurdles, but Taylor's US colleague Michael Tinsley, leading by just two points from Puerto Rico's Javier Culson, maintained his crucial advantage as he finished second to Cornel Fredericks of South Africa, who clocked a season's best of 48.25, with Culson third ahead of Switzerland's local hero and European champion Kariem Hussein, who ran a personal best of 48.70.

In the 100m hurdles, Dawn Harper-Nelson took the Diamond Trophy with victory in 12.58 over her successor as Olympic champion, Australia's Sally Pearson, who clocked 12.71, with Britain's European champion Tiffany Porter third in 12.72.

Dawn Harper-Nelson, the former Olympic 100m hurdles champion from the United States, offers a unique celebration of her success in the Diamond Race finale at Zurich
©Getty Images

Kenya's 800m world record-holder David Rudisha, whose season has been disrupted by injury, carried a lead into the Zurich finale but lost the Diamond Race to the man he beat at the London 2012 Olympics, Nijel Amos.

The Botswana athlete won in 1:43.77 ahead of Djibouti's world indoor 1500m champion Ayanleh Souleiman, who recorded 1:43.93, with Rudisha third in 1:43.96

Mariya Kuchina of Russia equalled her personal best of 2.00m in the women's high jump to earn her Diamond Trophy.

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