Bislett Games - Oslo Diamond League Preview
The Bislett Games in Oslo on Thursday, May 30th promises to be an electrifying event, featuring some of the world's top athletes across various track and field disciplines. Among the highlights are Karsten Warholm in the 400 metres hurdles, Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the men's 1500 metres, and Marcell Jacobs in the men's 100 metres. This year’s lineup is stacked with reigning champions, record holders, and rising stars, all vying for glory in front of an enthusiastic Norwegian crowd. Here’s a detailed look at the key events and athletes to watch.
Warholm Starts His Season in the 400 Metres Hurdles in Oslo
Reigning world and Olympic champion Karsten Warholm is set to compete against two-time Diamond League champion Kyron McMaster from the British Virgin Islands and Brazil's Alison Dos Santos in the men’s 400 metres hurdles at the Bislett Games in Oslo.
Warholm broke Kevin Young’s 29-year-old world record by clocking 46.70 at the 2021 Bislett Games. He further improved his record to 45.94 while winning Olympic gold in Tokyo. Last year, Warholm secured his third world title in Budapest with a time of 46.89 and claimed his fourth victory in Oslo in 46.52. As he aims for his third Diamond Trophy, Warholm kicked off his 2024 season with a world indoor silver medal in the 400 metres in Glasgow and a 33.28 in the 300 metres hurdles in Bergen.
McMaster, who won the world silver medal in Budapest with 47.34 and beat Warholm in Zurich with 47.27, concluded his successful 2023 season with a third-place finish in the Diamond League final in Eugene, clocking 47.31.
Dos Santos, aiming for his second career win in Oslo after his 47.26 triumph two years ago, enjoyed a stellar 2022 season. The Brazilian hurdler won the world gold medal in Eugene with a South American record of 46.29 and the Diamond League final in Zurich with 46.98, amassing nine Diamond League victories in his career.
The lineup also includes Wilfried Happio from France, fourth at the World Championships in Eugene with 47.41 and second at the European Championships in Munich in 2022; CJ Allen, who finished second in Oslo with a personal best of 47.58 and won his first Diamond League in Paris with 47.92 last year; and Rasmus Magi, who placed seventh at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics and the Budapest 2023 World Championships.
Men's 1500 Metres
The Bislett Games will traditionally conclude with the men's 1500 metres race, where local favourite Jakob Ingebrigtsen will chase his third consecutive win in Oslo. The Olympic 1500m gold medallist and two-time world champion broke Steve Cram’s European record with 3:46.46 in the Dream Mile in 2022 and improved the European record to 3:27.95 in the 1500 metres in 2023. Ingebrigtsen, who won two Diamond League Trophies in the mile and the 3000 metres with European records, is keen to avenge his recent defeat by Josh Kerr at the Bowerman Mile in Eugene.
Ingebrigtsen will face compatriot Narve Gilje Nordas, Timothy Cheruiyot from Kenya, and Australians Oliver Hoare and Stewart McSweyn. Nordas improved his personal best to 3:29.47 at the Bislett Games last year and won the world bronze medal in 3:29.68 in Budapest. Cheruiyot, the world champion in Doha 2019 and Olympic silver medallist in Tokyo 2021, set his personal best of 3:28.28 in Monaco in 2021.
Other notable competitors include George Mills, who set personal bests of 3:30.95 in the 1500m in Zurich and 3:47.65 in the mile in Eugene in 2023; Neil Gourley, who improved his mile personal best to 3:47.74 in Eugene last week; and Elliot Giles, who finished third in Marrakesh with 3:33.50 in 2024.
Men's 100 Metres
Reigning Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs will clash with 2022 world champion Fred Kerley and two-time Olympic finalist Akani Simbine in the men’s 100 metres. Jacobs, who won the Olympic gold in Tokyo with a European record of 9.80, also claimed the European gold medal in Munich 2022 in 9.95 and the world indoor title in Belgrade 2022 in 6.41. Jacobs finished second in Jacksonville with 10.11 and won in Rome with 10.07 earlier this season.
Kerley, who finished second in the Olympic final with 9.84, won the world gold medal in Eugene with 9.86, and set the sixth fastest time in history with his personal best of 9.86 at the US National Championships. Simbine, who equalled his seasonal best of 10.01 in Suzhou, won the 100 metres in 9.90 at the Atlanta City Games street event.
The lineup also includes Jeremiah Azu, the fastest European sprinter this season with a personal best of 9.97; Emmanuel Eseme, who won the Diamond League meeting in Marrakesh with 10.11; and Abdul Hakim Sani Brown from Japan, sixth at the World Championships in Budapest.
Women's 200 Metres
Double world champion Shericka Jackson from Jamaica will face Daryil Neita from Great Britain and Marie Josée Ta-Lou from Ivory Coast. Jackson, aiming to win her second Diamond League 200m race this season after a victory in Marrakesh, won consecutive world gold medals in Eugene 2022 in 21.45 and Budapest 2023 with 21.41.
Neita, who won two Diamond League races in the 200 metres and the 100 metres in Doha, finished fourth in Eugene in the 100m with 11.00. Ta Lou Smith returns to the Bislett Games track where she won the 100 metres twice, in 2021 and 2023, with times of 10.91 and 10.75, respectively.
Men's Discus Throw
The men's discus throw lineup features five athletes with personal bests beyond the 70 metres barrier. Mykolas Alekna started the 2024 season with a European under-23 record of 71.39 before improving Jurgen Schult’s world record with 74.35 in Ramona, Oklahoma. Alekna won the European gold medal in Munich 2022 and two world medals, including a silver in Budapest 2023.
Daniel Stahl, who won his second world gold medal in Budapest 2023, and Kristjan Ceh, who placed second with 70.02, share the fifth place in the all-time list with 71.86 metres. Matthew Denny from Australia, who won the Diamond League title in Eugene 2023, and Andrius Gudzius from Lithuania, the 2017 world champion, are also strong contenders.
Women's Discus Throw
Yaime Perez from Cuba, who climbed to ninth in the all-time list with a personal best of 73.09, will compete against Feng Bin from China, Sandra Perkovic Elkasevic from Croatia, Jorinde Van Klinken from the Netherlands, and Kristin Pudenz from Germany. Perez, the 2019 world gold medallist, produced the longest throw since 1989 with 73.09.
Perkovic Elkasevic, a two-time Olympic gold medallist and six-time European champion, started her season with a fourth place in Xiamen with 65.60 metres. Bin won the world title in Eugene 2022 with her personal best of 69.12 and finished third in Budapest 2023.
Men's Pole Vault
Ernest John Obiena from the Philippines returns to Norway after clearing the 6.00 metres barrier in Bergen. Obiena, who won two world medals, including silver in Budapest 2023, will compete against two-time world champion Sam Kendricks, Christopher Nilsen, and US record holder KC Lightfoot.
Kendricks, who won the world indoor silver medal in Glasgow with 5.90 metres, returns to Oslo where he won in 2019 with 5.91 metres. Nilsen, the Olympic silver medallist in Tokyo 2021, and Lightfoot, who improved the US record to 6.07 metres in 2023, are also top contenders.
Men's Triple Jump
Reigning world champion Fabrice Zango, Lazaro Martinez Mohamed Tricki, and seven-time Diamond League champion Christian Taylor will face off in the men’s triple jump. Zango, who won his first world outdoor title in Budapest 2023, became the first athlete from Burkina Faso to win a world title.
Martinez, the world indoor gold medallist in Belgrade, claimed the win at the Diamond League with 17.10 metres in Marrakesh. Two-time Olympic champion Taylor, one of the most successful athletes in Diamond League history, will also be in the mix.
Men's 5000 Metres
World 5000m and 10000m record holder Joshua Cheptegei from Uganda will compete against Yomif Kejelcha from Ethiopia and former Diamond League champions Berihu Aregawi and Hiwot Gebrhiwet. Cheptegei, who broke the 5000 metres world record with 12:35.36 and the 10000 metres world record with 26:11.00, will be joined by Jacob Kiplimo, aiming for his second Diamond League race victory.
Kejelcha, a ten-time Diamond League winner, finished second to Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the 3000 metres in the 2023 Diamond League final. Aregawi, the 2021 Diamond League final winner, and Gebrhiwet, the 2016 Diamond Trophy winner, are also strong contenders.
Men's 400 Metres
Multiple Olympic and world medallist Kirani James from Grenada will return to the Bislett Games in Oslo. James, aiming to win his fifth Diamond Trophy, completed a full set of Olympic and World Championships medals and is targeting his fourth Olympic medal in Paris next summer.
James will compete against local favourite Havard Bentdal Ingvaldsen, who broke Karsten Warholm’s national record with 44.86 at last year’s Bislett Games, and Matthew Hudson Smith from Great Britain, who won two world medals and broke the European record with 44.26.
Women's 400 Metres
The women’s 400 metres features reigning world champion Marileidy Paulino from the Dominican Republic, world silver medallist Nataliya Kaczmarek from Poland, and world bronze medallist Sada Williams from Barbados. Paulino, aiming for her third consecutive Diamond League title, started her 2024 season with two Diamond League wins in Xiamen and Suzhou.
Kaczmarek, who won two silver medals at the European Championships and the World Championships, improved her personal best to 49.48. Klaver, who won the world indoor silver medal, and Williams, a two-time world medallist, are also in the lineup.
Women's 400 Metres Hurdles
The women’s 400 metres hurdles will feature world silver medallist Shamier Little, Jamaican stars Janieve Russell and Rushell Clayton, and Norwegian record holder Amalie Iuel. Little, who won two world silver medals, is fifth in the world all-time list with her personal best of 52.39.
Clayton, who won two world bronze medals, set the fastest time in the world this year with 53.72. Russell, a five-time Diamond League winner, will also be competing, along with Anna Cockrell from the USA and Ayomide Folorunso from Italy.
Women's 800 Metres
Prudence Sekgodiso from South Africa will chase her second consecutive Diamond League win in the women’s 800 metres. Sekgodiso made a major breakthrough with her lifetime best of 1:57.26 in Marrakesh. She will face Tsige Duguma from Ethiopia, Noelle Yarigo from Benin, and Natoya Goule Toppin from Jamaica.
Women's 3000 Metres
Jessica Hull from Australia is the favourite in the women’s 3000 metres race. Hull, who set an Oceanian record in the 1500 metres at the Prefontaine Classic, will compete against Nozomi Tanaka from Japan and double European Cross Country champion Caroline Grovdal from Norway. The lineup also includes Georgia Griffith from Australia and Caroline Nyaga from Kenya.
