Stockholm Diamond League - Bauhaus Galan - Event by Event Preview
Field events will be among the highlights at the Bauhaus Galan on the new CONICA’Conipur Vmax Track in the Olympic Stadium in Stockolm. Scandinavian stars Armand Duplantis and Karsten Warholm will be the stand-out names in the men’s pole vault and in the men’s 400 metres hurdles respectively. The most exciting competitions are the men’s discus throw with world champion Kristjan Ceh, Olympic champion Daniel Stahl and European champion Mykolas Alekna and the women’s long jump that features Olympic world champion Malaika Mihambo, European champion Ivana Vuleta, European indoor champion Jazmin Sawyers and European Indoor silver medallist Larissa Iapichino.
Men’s pole vault:
World record holder Armand Mondo Duplantis will put on a show in front of his home fans in the magical atmosphere of the Bauhaus Galan. Duplantis won four times in the Swedish capital in 2018 with 5.86m, in 2020 with 6.01m, in 2021 with 6.02m and in 2022 with a meeting and a Diamond League record of 6.16m. In last year’s edition Mondo jumped higher than anyone else had ever done outdoors. A few weeks after the Stockolm meeting Duplantis improved his world record to 6.21m at the World Championships in Eugene. Last March he raised his record by one cm to 6.22m at the Clermont Ferrand meeting.
Armand Duplantis: “I am pleased to get a seasonal best last week and I feel good jumping at the moment. I am where I want to be at this point. The most important thing tomorrow will be to take a win but there is extra pressure on me to deliver in front of the home crowd. The weather may interfere. Dry would be good and it looks like the rain might stop before the meaty important part of the competition, which is good news”.
Duplantis will take on Ernest Obiena, who won the world bronze medal in Eugene with 5.94m becoming the first athlete from the Philippines to reach the podium at the World Championships and jumped over the 6.00m barrier for the first time in Bergen. Obiena beat Duplantis for the first time with 5.91m in Brussels.
Renaud Lavillenie is coming back to Stockolm, where he won in 2016 with 5.73m on a rainy condition. The 36-year-old French veteran competed in 72 Diamond League meetings and won 33 competitions of the series. He won seven consecutive Diamond Trophies between 2010 and 2016. Lavillenie is like a “second father” to Duplantis. Last winter Duplantis set his latest world record at the meeting organized by Lavillenie in Clermont Ferrand.
The strong line-up also features Norwegian pole vaulters Sondre Guttormsen, European indoor champion with 5.80m in Istanbul and NCAA indoor champion in Albuquerque with 6.00m this year, and Pal Haugen Lillfosse, European outdoor bronze medallist in Munich 2022 with 5.75m, Thiago Braz Da Silva, Olympic champion in Rio de Janeiro 2016 with 6.03m and Olympic bronze medallist in Tokyo, two-time Commonwealth Games champion Kurtis Marshall from Australia, who finished second to Duplantis in Hengelo with 5.81m and in Ostrava with 5.90m, and Ben Broeders, Belgian record holder with 5.85m and fifth placer at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade 2022.
Men’s 400 metres hurdles:
Olympic champion and world record holder Karsten Warholm will return to Stockolm for the first time since the 2020 edition, when he missed Kevin Young’s previous world record by nine hundredths of a second with 46.89 in the men’s 400 metres hurdles. The meeting record was improved last year by Allison Dos Santos, who clocked 46.80 last year.
Warholm improved Young’s record at the 2021 Bislett Games in 2021 with 46.70. One month later the Norwegian star became the first hurdler to break the 46 seconds in the 400m hurdles setting the world record with a phenomenal 45.94 in the Olympic final in Tokyo. Last year Warholm won his second consecutive European title in Munich in a championship record of 47.12.
Warholm started his 2023 outdoor season with a win at the Bislett Games in Oslo in a Diamond League record of 46.52, the second fastest time of his career. Apart from Warholm’s world record, only Raj Benjamin and Alison Dos Santos ran faster than the Norwegian hurdler in Oslo with 46.17 and 46.29 respectively.
Warholm is happy to be back fit after last year’s injury.
Karsten Warholm: “Of course I did not like being injured but it has probably made me appreciate the sport a bit more. I worked hard when I came back and to take the European Championships victory was not a bad season. I am really looking forward to competing at the Olympic Stadium in Stockolm again. I am very keen to win back the stadium record after Dos Santos stole it from me. I started well in Oslo, but I think I can go faster if the conditions are good and maybe that could tomorrow. There are always a lot of people, who create a nice atmosphere and I feel very comfortable there. I have trained well all winter, and I think I have prepared as well as possible for 2023. I am looking forward to getting started with the competition”.
Last March Warholm clinched his second consecutive European Indoor gold medal in the 400 metres in 45.35 in Istanbul. In that race Carl Bengstrom won the bronze medal in 45.77 one year after claiming the world indoor bronze medal in Belgrade.
Warholm will renew his rivalry against Bengtrom in the 400 metres hurdles on the track of the Stockolm Olympic Stadium. Bengstrom set his PB of 48.52 in the 400 metres hurdles at the Diamond League meeting in Eugene last year. The Swedish record is still held by Sven Nylander, who clocked 47.96 when he finished fourth at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
Carl Bengstrom: “Karsten is the best in the world of all time. Beating him in the Stockolm will be tough, but I see this race as an inspiration. I want to make it an advantage. The goal is to push Karsten. It will be fun to meet him”.
Italy’s Alessandro Sibilio has made a successful comeback from a serious injury which sidelined him from last year’s season. Sibilio won at the Geneva meeting with 48.23 and at the European Team Championships in Chorzow with 48.14 improving the event record held by Warholm. Sibilio set his lifetime best with 47.93 in the Olympic final in Tokyo becoming the second fastest Italian hurdler in history behind Fabrizio Mori.
Wilfried Happio also performed well this year finishing third behind Warholm in Oslo in 48.13, the second fastest European time. The Frenchman won the European under 20 title in Grosseto 2017 beating Sibilio. Last year he finished fourth at the World Championships in Eugene in 47.41 coming close to Stephane Diagana’s national record by 0.02 and won the European Championships in Munich behind Warholm.
The list also features Rasmus Magi from Estonia, seventh at the Olympic Games in Tokyo with 48.11, Ludvy Vaillant from France, fourth in Oslo in 48.59, and Yasmani Copello from Turkey, Olympic bronze medallist in Rio de Janeiro 2016 and world silver medallist in London 2017.
Men’s discus throw:
Six throwers with a PB over the 70 metres will line-up in a star-studded competition in Stockolm. World champion Kristjan Ceh will clash against Olympic champion Daniel Stahl and European champion Mykolas Alekna.
Ceh won the first two Diamond League competitions of the season in Doha with 70.89m and in Rabat with 70.32m. The Slovenian thrower threw a PB of 71.86m at the Memorial Heino Lipp in Johvi beating Stahl, who also threw over the 71 metres with 71.45m. In this competition the Slovenian threw beyond the 70 metres barrier three times in one series. Stahl produced the best ever mark for a runner-up finish.
Ceh leads 3-1 in his head-to-head clashes against Stahl this year. The Swede has the lead in all their lifetimes clashes with a record of 15-13.
Kristjan Ceh: “It’s windy and the wind is always welcome. I think the conditions will be good. The field is very good. We have three men over the 71 metres. It will take a lot to win for sure but I am confident”
Stahl won three editions of the Stockolm Diamond League meeting in 2019 with 69.57m, 2020 with 69.17m and 2021 with 68.64m. This year The Swedish thrower beat Ceh at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku with 70.38m.
Daniel Stahl: “I am excited to throw in my hometown against a strong field, so it’s going to be a crazy competition. The atmosphere will be mighty as usual. I have recently changed my coach. I am enjoying the sport now. I hope to be able to continue for many more years. I hope to keep throwing far for as long as possible”
Stahl and Ceh are ranked fourth in the world all-time list behind Jurgen Schult (74.08m), Virgilius Alekna (73.88m) and Gerd Kanter (73.38m).
Virgilius Alekna’s son Mykolas set his PB and the third best performance in the world this season with 71.00m in Berkeley last April. Mykolas won the European gold medal in Munich beating Ceh with 69.78m last year.
Ceh won last year’s edtion of the Bauhaus Galan with a meeting record of 70.02m becoming the first athlete to throw over the 70 metres in the history of the Swedish meeting. There is a good chance a new meeting record could be set this year with the help of a good wind.
The fourth thrower in the field with a PB beyond the 70 metres is Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Simon Petterson, who won the Swedish Championships in Norkoeping with 70.42m.
Men’s high jump:
Olympic champion Gianmarco Tamberi from Italy and world indoor champion Sanghyeok Woo will lead the men’s high jump line-up.
Tamberi won the past two editions of the Diamond League final in Zurich in 2021 and 2022 clearing 2.34m both times.
The men’s high jump will be held in the Stockolm Diamond League for the first time since 2015 when US Jacorian Duffield surprisingly won with 2.32m ahead of Mutaz Barshim, who finished second with 2.29 on countback over Tamberi.
Tamberi, who is now coached by former Italian high jumper Giulio Ciotti, shared the Olympic gold medal with his friend Mutaz Barshim in Tokyo with 2.37m and the European outdoor gold medal in Munich 2022 with 2.30m. The Italian 31-year-old jumper started his 2023 season with a win at the European Team Championships in Chorzow with 2.29m beating Thomas Carmoy on countback helping Italy win this event for the first time in history.
Gianmarco Tamberi: “I started the season late to give me time to get ready, working hard in the shadows and building my relationship with my new coach Giulio Ciotti. It was a difficult decision to split with my father, who was my previous coach, but it was the smartest. I am more confident, more motivated and a big reason why I am performing well”
Reigning world indoor champion Sanghyeok Woo will also line up in Stockolm. Woo made a major breakthrough in 2021 when he finished fourth at the Olympic Games in Tokyo with 2.35m. The South Korean jumper set an indoor PB of 2.36 in Hustopece a few weeks before winning the world indoor title in Belgrade with 2.34m. He went on to win the world silver medal at the World Championships in Eugene with 2.35m behind Barshim. He won his first Diamond League competition in Doha in 2022 with 2.33m.
Another consistent performer is Andiy Protsenko, who won two bronze medals at the World Championships in Eugene with 2.33m beating Tamberi on countback and at the European Championships in Munich last year. The 35-year-old Ukrainian jumper won the Diamond League Trophy in Zurich in 2019.
The line-up will feature Belgium’s Thomas Carmoy, European Indoor bronze medallist in Torun 2021, Hamish Kerr from New Zealand, world indoor bronze medallist in Belgrade 2022 with 2.31m, Douwe Amels from the Netherlands, European Indoor champion in Istanbul 2023 with 2.31m, Brandon Starc from Australia, Diamond League champion in 2018 with 2.33m and Commonwealth Games champion in Gold Coast in the same year. The focus of Swedish fans will be on Melwin Lycke Holm, the son of 2004 Olympic champion Stefan Holm, who won five editions of the Stockolm meeting. Melwin won the Swedish Championships in Norkoeping last year with his PB of 2.18m. Stefan Holm is involved in the athletics world as a coach of youth and junior athletes and is a writer for the official Bauhaus Galan website.
Women’s long jump:
The women’s long jump features five athletes with a PB over the 7 metres mark. Reigning Olympic and world champion Malaika Mihambo from Germany will take on European outdoor champion and four-time Wanda Diamond League champion Ivana Vuleta from Serbia, Maryna Bekh Romanchuk from the Ukraine, Jazmin Sawyers from Great Britain and Larissa Iapichino from Italy, who won the gold and silver medals respectively at the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul 2023, world silver medallist Ese Brume from Nigeria.
Ivana Vuleta was crowned Diamond League champion five times in 2014, 2016, 2017, 2021 and 2022 and won 16 competitions on the circuit. She won three times in Stockolm in 2013, 2016 and 2021. The Serbian star won the world indoor title with 7.06m in front of her home fans and beat Mihambo by three cm in the European Championships in Munich with 7.06m in 2022 and the European Indoor bronze medal in Istanbul 2023.
Mihambo is aiming to win the Diamond League title she last won in 2019. The German jumper won the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo with 7.00m and the world title in Eugene with 7.12m.
Sawyers won the European indoor gold medal in Istanbul with 7.00m beating Iapichino, who broke the Italian Indoor record with 6.97m to win her first major medal at senior level.
Iapichino won her first Diamond League competition in her home city Florence with 6.79m and finished second at the European Team Championships in Chorzow with 6.66m.
Beck Romanchuk won the world silver medal in Doha with 6.92m, the European indoor title in Torun 2021. In the past two years she also focused on the triple jump winning the world indoor silver medal in Belgrade and the European outdoor title with her PB of 15.02 in Munich 2022.
Brume was a solid performer on the global stage winning the Olympic bronze medal in Tokyo, the world silver medal in Eugene with 7.02m and the world indoor silver medal in Belgrade 2022.
Another 7 metres performer is Brooke Bushkuehl from Australia, who who set an Oceanian record of 7.13m and finished fifth at the World Championships in Eugene 2022.
The Swedish fans will cheer on 2021 European indoor silver medallist Khaddi Sagnia and Tilde Johansson, who won the European Under 20 silver medal in Boras 2019 behind Iapichino.
Women’s discus throw:
Sandra Perkovic returns to Stockolm. Perkovic is the biggest winner in the history of the Diamond League among women. She won six Diamond League Trophies for six years in a row between 2012 and 2017. She is the only woman to have won all Diamond League competitions in one season twice in 2013 and 2016. In her previous appearances at the Bauhaus Galan meeting she won three times in 2012, 2014 e 2016. In her career the Croatian star won the Olympic Games twice, the World Championships twice and the European Championships six times.
Sandra Perkovic: “I hope to have another ten years in this sport. Every day in training is enjoyable. It’s a great honour to compete here. There is nothing more beautiful in life than to do the job you love the most”
Perkovic will renew her rivalry against Olympic champion Valarie Allman, who won the last two editions of the Diamond League Finals in Zurich in 2021 and 2022. The US star won the first two Diamond League competitions of the 2023 season in Florence (65.96m) and Paris (69.04m). Allman set the world seasonal lead with 70.25m in San Diego last April and threw over the 70 metres barrier six times in her career.
Jorinde Van Klinken will be seeking her second Diamond League win of her career after finishing first at the Bislett Games in Oslo ahead of Allman and Perkovic with 66.77m. Van Klinken also won the NCAA title in Austin with 65.55m for the Oregon Ducks in a very busy June. The Dutch athlete won the bronze medal at the European Championships in Munich in the shot put and finished fourth in the discus throw at the World Championships in Eugene.
The line-up also features German throwers Christin Pudenz, Olympic silver medallist in Tokyo and winner at the European Team Championships in Chorzow this year, Claudine Vita, European bronze medallist in Munich and Shanice Craft, European bronze medallist in Berlin 2018, and French 43-year-old veteran Melina Robert Michon, Olympic silver medallist in Rio de Janeiro 2016 and third at the European Team Championships in Chorzow with 64.21m.
Women’s 200 metres:
Former 200 metres world champion Dina Asher Smith from Great Britain will be looking for her fifth win in Stockolm after claiming three victories in the 200 metres in 2016 in 22.72, in 2019 in 22.18 and 2022 in 22.37 and one in the 100 metres in 10.93. The British star clocked seasonal best times of 10.98 in Doha and Oslo and 22.57 in Paris.
African 100 metres record holder Marie Josée Ta Lou from Ivory Coast returns to the track to run the 200 metres just two days after winning the 100 metres in Lausanne in 10.88 into a headwind of -0.8 m/s. The 34-year-old Ivorian sprinter also won two more Diamond League in the 100 metres in Florence in 10.97 and Oslo in 10.75 and finished third in the 200 metres in 22.34.
Darryil Neita will run her second 200 metres race of the season a few weeks after improving her PB to 22.23 in Bydgoszcz. Neita also dipped under the 11 seconds barrier twice with 10.97 in Savona and 10.98 in Oslo and finished second in Lausanne in 11.07.
The line-up is completed by Maboundou Koné, who helped Ivory Coast win the 4x100 relay in Lausanne in a national record of 42.23m, Jael Bestue, who clocked PBs of 11.14 in the 100 metres and 22.54 in the 200 metres.
Women’s 100 metres hurdles:
Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan will be competing for the third time this week in the women’s 100 metres hurdles after finishing third in Ostrava and second in Lausanne behind Jasmine Camacho Quinn with the same time of 12.47. Amusan is aiming to win her second race this season after finishing first at the Racers Grand Prix in Kingston in 12.57.
The Nigerian hurdler set the world record clocking 12.12 in the semifinal of the World Championships in Eugene before winning the final in a wind-assisted 12.06. She also won the past two editions of the Wanda Diamond League Finals in Zurich in 2021 in 12.42 and in 2022 in 12.29.
Tobi Amusan: “I am exhausted but I will get my rest and I will be ready to compete. I am running better and better. I have come here from Lausanne and I need to be race sharp before the World Championships”
Amusan will face Finland’s Reetta Hurske, who won the European Indoor gold medal in Istanbul in the 60 metres hurdles in a national record of 7.79. She also set the national outdoor record with 12.70 this year.
Last year’s European outdoor record holder Pia Skrzyszovska from Poland also showed her recent good form when she broke national indoor record in the 60 metres hurdles with 7.78 and won the European Team Championships in Chorzow with 12.77. Another solid performer is two-time European Indoor champion Nadine Visser from the Netherland, who finished second in a seasonal best of 12.71 in Hengelo.
Men’s 100 metres:
Multiple Olympic and world finalist Akani Simbine from South Africa leads the line-up in the men’s 100 metres with his seasonal best of 9.92 set at the National Championships in Potchefstroom. The former African record holder showed his good form recently when he finished second in Rabat in 9.99 and won in Ostrava in 9.98.
Simbine will chase his second consecutive win in the Stockolm Olympic Stadium after finishing first last year in 10.02.
Simbine will face Olympic 200 metres champion André De Grasse, who returns to the Stockolm where he won in 2017 with a wind-assisted 9.69.
Another Canadian sprinter in the field is Aaron Brown, who won the 4x100 world gold medal in Eugene teaming up with De Grasse and reached the Olympic Games and World Championships finals. Brown won the 200 metres at the Continental Tour meeting in Nairobi in 20.12 and set a seasonal best of 20.00 in Gaborone.
The line-up also features Reece Prescod from Great Britain, winner in the Hengelo Continental Tour Gold medal in Hengelo in 9.99 and in Savona in a wind-assisted 9.94, Raphael Bouju from the Netherlands, winner in the Geneva meeting in 10.02 and second at the European Team Championships in Chorzow, Jimmy Vicaut from France, former European record holder with 9.85, Abdul Sani Brown from Japan, seventh in the 100 metres at the World Championships in Eugene 2022 and world bronze medallist in the 4x100 relay in Doha 2019.
Women’s 1500 metres:
European champion and Olympic silver medallist Laura Muir will be seeking her first win at this year’s Diamond League this season over the 1500 metres after finishing second in Florence in 3:57.09. Muir returns to the Swedish capital where she won twice in 2019 and 2020 and finished second in 2018 in the 1500m.
Muir will face 17-year-old Ethiopian rising star Birke Haylom, who broke Zola Budd’s world under 20 record in the mile with 4:17.13, Clara Mageean from Ireland, Commonwealth silver medallist in Birmingham and winner at the Diamond League meeting in Brussels last year in 3;56.63, Olympic 800m fourth placer Diribe Welteji, second in Doha and winner in Ostrava in 3:58.38, Freweyni Hailu, fourth in the 1500m at the Olympic Games in Tokyo and at the World Championships in Eugene, and Linen Hall from Australia, sixth at the Olympic Games in 3:59.01.
Men’s 3000 metres steeplechase:
Olympic and world champion Soufiane El Bakkali from Morocco will chase his second Diamond League win in the 3000m steeplechase after clocking a national record of 7:56.68 on home soil in Rabat. The Moroccan athlete could target Lamecha Girma’s world record of 7:52.11. El Bakkali won in Stockolm in 2017. Last year he won the Diamond League final in Zurich.
The line-up also features Ethiopia’s Getnet Wale, fourth at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021 and at the World Championships in Eugene and second behind El Bakkali in Rabat in 8:05.15, Avinash Sable from India, Commonwealth Games silver medallist in a national record of 8:11.20, Lawrence Kemboi Kipsang from Kenya, who holds a PB of 8:11.28, and Fernando Carro from Spain, European silver medallist in Berlin 2018.
Women’s 5000 metres:
Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet will target her second Diamond League win on Scandinavian soil this summer after claiming victory in the 3000 metres in Oslo in 8:25.01. Chebet won the world silver medal in the 5000m in Eugene, the Commonwealth Games gold medal in Birmingham and the Diamond League Trophy in Zurich last year, and the World Cross Country gold medal in Bathurst in 2023.
Ethiopian 1500 metres specialist Axumawit Embaye will make her debut in the 5000 metres. Embaye won two world indoor silver medals in the 1500m in Sopot 2014 and Belgrade 2022 and set a 1500m PB of 3:58.80 in Rabat in 2022.
The other top names are Konstanze Klosterhalfen from Germany, European champion in Munich in 2022 and the world bronze medal in Doha 2019 in the 5000m, Karoline Grovdal from Norway, reigning European Cross Country champion and double European bronze medallist in the 10000m in Amsterdam 2016 and in the 3000 metres steeplechase in Berlin 2018, Tsigie Gebrselama from Ethiopia, world cross country silver medallist in Bathurst, Lemlem Hailu, world indoor champion in the 3000 metres, Jessica Hull from Australia, Oceanian record holder In the 1500m in 3:57.29 at the Golden Gala in Florence.
Men’s 800 metres:
Olympic and world champion Emmanuel Korir will be seeking his first win of the season in the 800 metres, which ends the programme of the meeting. The Kenyan athlete won the past two editions of the Diamond League final in Zurich.
The other top athletes in the line-up are Djamel Sedjati from Algeria, who won the world silver medal in 1:44.14 in Eugene and improved his PB to 1:43.40 in Paris, Andreas Kramer from Sweden, European silver medallist in Berlin 2018, Yanis Meziane from France, who improved his PB to 1:44.40 in Paris. Saul Ordonez from Spain, winner in Ostrava in 1:44.85. Gabriel Tual from France, seventh at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Men’s 3000 metres:
The line-up features home favourire Andreas Almgren, who broke the Swedish record in the 1500m in 3:32.00 in Oslo and finished second in the 5000m at the European Team Championships in Chorzow, Stewart McSweyn, Oceanian record holder with 7:28.02 in Rome in 2020, and in-form Luis Grijalva from Guatemala, who clocked 12:52.97 in Florence and 12:56.63 in Oslo.
Men’s 400 metres:
Nigeria’s Emmanuel Bamidele will run his first 400 metres since winning the NCAA outdoor title in the 400 metres in Austin in 44.24. Bamidele will go head-to-head against Matthew Hudson Smith, who won the world bronze medal in Eugene after improving Iwan Thomas’ British record with 44.35 at the Prefontaine Classic in the same Hayward Field venue and went on to win European gold medal in Munich.
The line-up also features Leungo Scotch from Botswana, winner in the 400 metres in 44.94, Bayapo Ndori, Olympic bronze medallist in the 4x400 relay, Zakhiti Nene from South Africa, fourth in the Diamond League final in Zurich last year, Attila Molnar from Hungary, who dipped under the 45 seconds barrier with 44.98, and Yuki Nakashima from Japan, who won the national title in Osaka in 45.15.
Women’s shot put:
European champion Jessica Schildder from the Netherlands will take on 2019 world silver medallist Danniel Thomas Dodd in a non-DL women’s shot put competition. Schilder set the national record, when she won the gold medal at the European Championships in Munich with 20.24m.
Thomas Dodd set her seasonal best of 19.77m in Los Angeles and finished second in New York with 19.38m. Jorinde Van Klinken will double up in the shot put and in the discus throw. Swedish fans will cheer on Fanny Roos, who won the European Indoor silver medal in Torun 2021.
