Preview: Stockholm Diamond League - Duplantis Targets New World Record
World record holder Armand Duplantis will return to his home meeting in Stockholm on Sunday, June 2nd, as he continues chasing his ninth world record and his fourth consecutive title in the Diamond League.
Duplantis won his first pole vault competition at the Bauhaus Galan in 2018 with 5.86m when he was a teenager. He won four more times in 2020 with 6.01m, in 2021 with 6.02m, in 2022 setting what was then a Diamond League record and a world outdoor best of 6.16m and 2023 with 6.05m. Last year he made an attempt to break the world record after the pole vault started an hour later than scheduled due to heavy rain.
Duplantis won his second world indoor title in Glasgow 2024 and broke the world record for the eighth time in his career with 6.24m at the Diamond League meeting in Xiamen. He then cleared 6.00m in Suzhou and Ostrava in his most recent competitions.
Armand Duplantis: “My best results always come in Stockolm, as long as the weather is okay. When I am at Stockolm Olympic Stadium and I am on the track there and we are competing at the Diamond League meeting, it almost feels like I have to defend the turf. That ups the game and fills me with adrenaline. It’s kind of like a mini-championship in a way”.
Duplantis will face two-time world outdoor champion Sam Kendricks, KC Lightfoot and World Championships medallists Ernest John Obiena and Chris Nilsen.
Lightfoot, US outdoor record holder with 6.07m, cleared 5.92m at the Mondo Classic in Uppsala last February, won in Des Moines with 5.84m and at the Bislett Games in Oslo with 5.82m claiming the first Diamond League of his career.
Kendricks won the world indoor silver in Glasgow 2024 with 5.90m and finished second in Xiamen and Suzhou with the same height of 5.82. He returns to the Stockolm Olympic Stadium where he won with 5.72m in 2019.
Obiena won the world bronze medal in Eugene with 5.94m and the world silver medal in Budapest with 6.00 improving his Asian record both times. The pole vaulter from the Philippines won at Los Angeles with 5.80m and finished third with 5.72m in Oslo last Thursday.
Nilsen won the Olympic silver medal in Tokyo 2021 with 5.97m and two consecutive world medals (silver in Eugene 2022 with 5.94 and bronze in Budapest 2023 with 5.95m).
The line-up also features Thibaut Collet, fifth with 5.90m at the World Championships in Budapest 2023, and Ben Broeders, seventh at the World World Championships in Budapest 2023 and second at last April’s Diamond League meeting in Suzhou with 5.82m.
Women’s 400 metres hurdles:
Dutch star Femke Bol won three Diamond Trophies in 2021, 2022 and 2023 and 20 individual races in the circuit. She will be aiming for a fourth Diamond League title and her first ever Olympic gold medal in the 400 metres hurdles.
Bol returns to Stockolm where she won three times in the 400 metres hurdles in 2020 in 54.68, in 2021 in 52.37 and in 2022 in a meeting record of 52.27. The Dutch athlete is currently ranked second in the world all-time list with her European record of 51.45 set at the Diamond League in London in 2023.
Bol broke the 41-year-old world indoor record in the 400 metres set by Jarmila Kratochvilova by clocking 49.26 at the 2023 Dutch Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn. The Dutch star improved this record twice this year to 49.24 at the Dutch indoor Championships and to 49.17 at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, where she won two world indoor gold medals in the 400 metres and the 4x400 relay. Bol won the 400 metres hurdles world gold medal in Budapest in 51.70. She also led the Dutch team to world gold medal in the 4x400 relay ahead of the USA and Jamaica. Bol won six Diamond League races during a successful 2023 campaign setting meeting records in Florence (52.43), Oslo (52.30), Lausanne (52.76), London (51.45), Brussels (52.11) and in the Final in Eugene (51.96).
Femke Bol: “I am happy to be back in Stockolm where I have good memories from my last race where I set the stadium record with 52.27 two years ago. This year’s race at the Bauhaus Galan is important in my preparation for the Olympic 400m hurdles later this year”.
Bol’s compatriot Cathelijn Peeters will be aiming to improve her PB of 54.31 set at the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava. Peeters won the world 4x400 gold medal in Budapest.
Bol will face the Jamaican trio formed by Rushell Clayton, Andrenette Knight and Janieve Russell, who finished in the top three at the Bislett Games in Oslo.
Clayton won two world bronze medals in Doha 2019 and Budapest 2023. The Jamaican hurdler set the fastest time in the world this year with 53.72 at the Jamaica Invitational in Kingston and won two consecutive Diamond League races this year in Marrakesh in 53.98 and Oslo in 54.02. She finished second in Stockolm in 2022 in 53.90.
Knight from Jamaica finished eighth at the World Championships in Budapest and second in Oslo in 54.63.
Russell finished fourth at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021 and reached two World Championships finals finishing fifth in Beijing 2015 and seventh in Budapest 2023. She claimed five wins in Diamond League meetings and finished third in Oslo.
Ayomide Folorunso improved her Italian record to 53.89 in the semifinal of the World Championships in Budapest before finishing sixth in the final in 54.19.
The line-up is completed by Anna Ryzhykova from Ukraine, who finished fifth in the Olympic final in Tokyo 2021 in 52.96.
Men’s 400 metres hurdles:
Alison Dos Santos, world champion in Eugene and Diamond League champion in 2022, will go head-to-head against two-time Diamond Trophy winner Kyron McMaster from British Virgin Islands in Stockolm. Both hurdlers are looking to regain the Diamond League title this season. Both Dos Santos and McMaster are ranked in the all-time top ten list.
Dos Santos started the 2024 Diamond League season with two wins in Doha in 46.86 and Oslo in a world leading time of 46.63 beating home favourite Karsten Warholm.
Dos Santos won twice at the Stockolm meeting in his career in 2021 in 47.34 and in 2022 in 46.80. The Brazilian hurdler made a major breakthrough in his career in 2022, when he won the world title in Eugene in 46.29 (South American record and the third fastest time in history) and six Diamond League races, including the Final in Zurich in 46.98. That year Dos Santos improved Karsten Warholm’s meeting record clocking 46.80. The Brazilian hurdler finished fifth at the World Championships in Budapest in 48.10, third in Zurich in 48.10 and fourth at the Diamond League Final in Eugene in 47.44.
McMaster won back-to-back Diamond League titles in 2017 and 2018 in Zurich. He claimed two Commonwealth Games titles in 2018 and 2022 and a world silver medal in Budapest 2023 in 47.34. In the weeks after the World Championships he took a surprising win over Karsten Warholm at the Diamond League in Zurich in 47.27 and finished third in Eugene in 47.31. The hurdler from British Virgin Islands started his Diamond League campaign with a third place in Oslo in 48.49.
Abderrahmane Samba from Qatar will make his seasonal debut. Samba finished fifth at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021 and set the Asian record with 46.98 in Paris in 2018. He won in Stockolm in 2018 in 47.41.
The Swedish crowd will cheer on Carl Bengstrom, who won the world indoor bronze medal in the 400 metres in Belgrade 2022 in a national record of 45.33 and qualified for the Olympic Games in the 400 metres hurdles with 48.61 in Huelva on 30 April. Bengstrom set a lifetime best of 48.52 in Eugene in 2023.
The line-up will feature CJ Allen, who set his PB of 47.58 in Oslo last year and finished second in Doha in 48.39 this year, Olympic finalist Rasmus Magi from Estonia, who finished second in Eugene in 48.85 and fourth in Oslo in 48.56, Matic Ian Gucek, second in Ostrava in a national record of 48.37 and Bassem Hemeida from Qatar, second at the Asian Games in 2023 in 48.52.
Men’s discus throw:
World record holder Mykolas Alekna will go head-to-head against Olympic and world champion Daniel Stahl and last year’s Diamond League champion Matthew Denny.
Mykolas Alekna improved Jurgen Schult’s world record with 74.35m in Ramona (Oklahoma) on 14 April. He won two consecutive Diamond League competitions in Marrakesh with 70.70m and in Oslo with 70.91m. The Lithuanian discus thrower won the European gold medal in Munich 2022 and two world medals (silver in Eugene 2022 and Budapest 2023). He finished second with 69.81m in 2022 and fourth in 2023 with 66.91m in his previous two appearances at the Bauhaus Galan.
Stahl won his second world gold medal in Budapest 2023 with 71.46m. The Swedish star won three Diamond League titles in 2016, 2019 and 2021. He won three times at the Bauhaus Galan in 2019 with 69.57m, in 2020 with 69.17m and in 2021 with 68.64m. He finished third in Marrakesh with 67.49m and in Oslo with 66.80m.
Matthew Denny from Australia won the Diamond League title in Eugene in 2023 with 68.43m in his final round. Denny finished fourth at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021 and at the World Championships in Budapest 2023 with 68.24m, a result that would have been enough for a medal in the last seven editions of the World Championships. Denny improved the Australian record to 69.35m at the National Championships in Adelaide last April and finished second in the first three Diamond League meetings of the season in Doha with 69.02m, Marrakesh with 67.74m and Oslo with 67.61m.
Andrius Gudzius from Lithuania won gold medals at the World Championships in London 2017 and at the European Championships in Berlin 2018 and claimed the Diamond League Trophy in 2017. Gudzius finished second in Stockolm with his PB of 69.59 in 2019.
Fedrick Dacres from Jamaica won the world silver medal in Doha 2019 and the Diamond League title in 2018. Dacres set the national record of 70.78m in Rabat in 2019 and won in Stockolm with 69.67m in 2018.
Simon Petterson won the Olympic silver medal in Tokyo 2021 and finished fifth at the World Championships in Budapest 2023. Petterson set a PB of 70.42m in Norkoeping in 2022.
Lukas Weisshaidinger from Austria won the Olympic bronze medal in Tokyo 2021 and improved his national record to 70.68m in Schwechat in 2023. Weisshaidinger set a seasonal best of 69.04m in Eisenstadt.
The line-up is completed by Henrik Janssen from Germany, who improved his PB to 67.43m in Neubrandenburg and won in Halle with 66.35m.
Women’s high jump:
World and Diamond League champion Yaroslava Mahuchik will take on world indoor gold medallist Nicola Olyslagars in the women’s high jump.
Mahuchik and Olyslagers won seven of eight competitions between them on the Diamond League circuit last year.
Olyslagers claimed three wins in Paris with 2.00m, Lausanne with 2.02m and Monaco with 1.99m to take the lead in the Diamond League standings, before Mahuchik cleared the 2 metres barrier in three consecutive meetings in Xiamen with 2.02m, Brussels with 2.00m and Eugene with 2.03m.
Nicola Olyslagers: “I am very happy to jump in Stockolm for the third time in my career. The last time I competed there, I jumped a personal best and that prepared me to perform at the Tokyo Olympic Games where I cleared 2.02m and took home a silver medal. Sweden is one of my favourite places in the world to jump and always gives me good memories. I am convinced that this competition will give me the right preparation to perform at the Paris Olympic Games”.
Mahuchik won her second Diamond League title in Eugene with 2.03m beating Olyslagers on countback. Olyslagers improved the Oceanian record to 2.03m.
Mahuchik is chasing her third win in Stockolm after claiming vicrories in 2020 with 2.00m and 2021 with 2.03m.
Yaroslava Mahuchik: “The Diamond League meetings are very important for my preparation. Bauhaus Galan is an important step just before the European Championships where I have a gold to defend from the last championships in Munich in 2022. I have good memories from my victory in Stockolm in 2021 with 2.03m, one of my best results ever”.
Australia’s Eleanor Patterson won the world outdoor gold medal in Eugene with 2.02m and the world indoor silver medal in Belgrade with 2.00m in 2022. Patterson finished second to Olyslagers at the Australian Championships in Adelaide last April and third at the Diamond League meeting in Doha with 1.91m.
Iryna Geraschenko placed fourth at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021 with 1.98m and at the World Championships in Eugene 2022 with 2.00m. She equalled her PB by clearing 2.00m in Lausanne last year.
The line-up also features Slovenia’s Lia Apostolovski, world indoor bronze medallist in Glasgow 2024 with 1.95m, Yulia Levchenko from the Ukraine, world silver medallist in London 2017, Imke Onnen from Germany, bronze medallist at the World University Games in Neaples 2019.
Women’s 200 metres:
Jamaican star Shericka Jackson started her Diamond League campaign with a win in Marrakesh with 22.82 into a headwind of -1.0 m/s.
Jackson is defending both the 100 and 200 metres Diamond League titles this year. Jackson made history with her double victory in the 100 metres in 10.70 and 200 metres in 21.57 at last September’s Diamond League final in Eugene. Jackson joined an elite group of athletes who have won two Diamond Trophies in the same season.
Jackson won two consecutive 200 metres world titles in Eugene 2022 in 21.45 and Budapest 2023 in 21.41, just seven hundredths of a second shy of Florence Griffith Joyner. She also won the silver medal in the 100m in both editions of the World Championships.
Jackson will try to avenge her defeat against Brittany Brown, who won at the Bislett Games in Oslo in 22.32 ahead of Marie Josée Ta Lou last Tuesday. Jackson finished a distant fifth in 22.97 losing her first 200m race since May 2022.
The line-up will feature Jenna Prandini, world gold medallist in the 4x100 relay in Eugene 2022, Anavia Battle, who ran a PB of 21.95 in Eugene in 2021, Maboundou Koné from Ivory Coast, winner in Savona in 22.88 and second at this year’s Diamond League meeting in Marrakesh in 22.96, Amy Hunt from Great Britain, European under 23 champion in the 200m in 2019 and fourth in the 100m in Savona in 11.21 and Tasa Jiya from the Netherlands, national champion in the 200 metres in 2023.
Women’s 100 metres:
Marie Josée Ta Lou Smith from Ivory Coast won four world medals (silver in the 100m and 200m in London 2017, bronze in the 100m in Doha 2019 and silver in the 60m at the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham 2018) and three fourth-place finishes at the Olympic Games. The Ivorian sprinter won the 100 metres at the Jamaica Invitational in Kingston in 10.91 and finished second in the 200 metres in Oslo in 22.36.
Ta Lou Smith will line up against Darryl Neita from Great Britain, who won two Diamond League races in the 200 metres in Suzhou in 22.62 and in the 100 metres in Doha in 10.98 before finishing fourth in the 100m Eugene in 11.00 and third in Oslo in the 200m in 22.50. Neita won the 200 metres in last year’s edition of the Bauhaus Galan in Stockolm.
Italian sprinter Zaynab Dosso won the world indoor bronze medal in the 60 metres in 7.05 in Glasgow 2024 and broke Italian records clocking 7.02 in Torun in the 60 metres indoors and 11.02 in Savona in the 100 metres. Dosso finished third in the 100m in 11.19 in Ostrava last Tuesday.
The line-up also features Natasha Morrison from Jamaica, sixth in the Diamond League final in Eugene in 2023 in a lifetime best of 10.85, Gina Bass Bittaye from Gambia, who improved her PB to 10.93 in Fort de France and finished second in the 100m in Ostrava in 11.14, 2019 world silver medallist Brittany Brown, who clocked 11.21 in the 100m in Eugene, and Julia Henrikson from Sweden, who set a national indoor record with 23.03 in the 200 metres and clocked 11.19 in the 100 metres in Vari (Greece) this year.
Women’s shot put:
Three of the top four shot putters in the world (Chase Jackson from the USA, Sarah Mitton from Canada, Jessica Schilder from the Netherlands) will line up in Stockolm.
Chase Jackson won two world outdoor titles in Eugene with 20.49m and in Budapest with 20.43m and claimed her second Diamond League title in Eugene in 2023 with her PB of 20.76m. Jackson started her 2024 Diamond League season with a third place in Xiamen with 19.62m and continued with two wins in Suzhou with 20.03m and Marrakesh with 20.00m. The US shot putter is ranked fourth in the world seasonal list. She claimed her first win of the season on European soil in Halle with 19.38m last week.
Mitton won the world outdoor silver in Budapest in 2023 and the world indoor gold in Glasgow. Her recent Canadian record of 20.68m is the second best throw this decade. Only Jackson’s national record of 20.76m from last year has been longer than Mitton’s throw.
Schilder won the world bronze medal in Eugene with 19.77m and the European gold medal in Munich with 20.24m.
Another athlete to watch is Dutchwoman Jorinde Van Klinken, bronze medallist with 18.94m in the shot put and fourth placer in the discus throw at the European Championships in Munich 2022 and fourth in the discus throw at the past two editions of the World Championships in Eugene 2022 and Budapest 2023.
The line-up also features Maggie Ewen, fourth at the World Championships in Doha 2019 and winner at the 2021 Diamond League Final in Zurich in 2021, Danniel Thoams Dodd from Jamaica, world silver medallist in Doha 2019, Song Jayuan from China, fifth at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021, and Fanny Roos from Sweden, European indoor silver medallist in Torun 2021.
Women’s triple jump:
Leyanis Perez Hernandez will renew her rivalry against Shanieka Ricketts and Thea Lafond in a re-match of this year’s Diamond League competition in Marrakesh.
Leyanis Perez Hernandez claimed two wins in Diamond League meetings in Rabat in 2023 with 14.84m and Eugene in 2024 with 14.73m. The Cuban jumper won the world indoor silver medal in Glasgow with 14.90m and the world outdoor bronze medal in Budapest 2023 with 14.96m.
Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts won her second world silver medal in Eugene in 2022 with 14.89m three years after finishing second in Doha 2019. The five-time Jamaican champion won the Diamond League Trophy in Zurich 2019 and jumped over the 15 metres barrier twice in Brussels with 15.01m and at the Diamond League final in Eugene with a PB of 15.03m. She won at the Jamaica Invitational in Kingston with 14.50m and finished third at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene with a seasonal best of 14.55m.
Thea Lafond from Dominica finished second at this year’s edition of the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene with 14.62m. Lafond won the world indoor gold medal in Glasgow 2024 with her PB of 15.01m and finished fifth at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest with 14.90m.
Keturah Orji claimed the US indoor title in Albuquerque with 14.50m and finished fourth at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow 2024. Orji collected a total of 10 US indoor and outdoor titles dating back to 2016. She set her PB of 14.91m in Chula Vista in 2021.
The other top names are Kimberly Williams from Jamaica, fourth at the World Championships in Doha 2019, Tugba Danismaz from Turkey, European indoor champion in Istanbul 2023, Maja Askag, world under 20 champion in the long jump and triple jump in Nairobi 2021, and Neja Filipic from Slovenia, fifth at the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul.
Men’s 800 metres:
Djamel Sedjati from Algeria will go head-to-head against Slimane Moula, USA’s Bryce Hoppel, Jake Wightman and Ben Pattison from Great Britain in the men’s 800 metres.
Sedjati, world silver medallist in Eugene 2022, won in Ostrava setting the world seasonal lead with 1:43.51. Sedjati’s compatriot Slimane Moula returns to Stockolm, where he won in last year’s edition in 1:44.60.
Bryce Hoppel, fourth at the World Championships in Doha 2019, won at the Los Angeles Grand Prix setting the sixth fastest time in the world this year with 1:43.68.
Wightman won the 1500 metres world gold medal in Eugene 2022 beating Jakob Ingebrigtsen and the European silver medal in the 800 metres in Munich later that year. The British middle distance runner finished third at the Los Angeles Grand Prix in 1:44.10. Wightman’s compatriot Ben Pattison won the world bronze medal in Budapest 2023 and set a seasonal best of 1:44.75 at the Diamond League in Marrakesh.
Men’s 100 metres:
Emmanuel Eseme from Cameroon will chase his second win in the Diamond League following his victory in Marrakesh in 10.11. The African sprinter set a PB of 9.96 in La Chaux de Fond in 2023 and a seasonal best of 10.01 at the Bislett Games in Oslo.
Eseme will face US sprinter Kyree King, who finished third in the 200 metres in Doha in 20.21 and in Eugene in 20.15 and won the 4x100 relay at the World Relays in 37.40.
The other sprinters in the line-up are Japan’s Sani Brown, who finished sixth in the 100 metres final at the World Championships in Budapest 2023 and second at the Bislett Games in Oslo in 9.99 last Thursday, Italy’s Chituru Ali, who improved his indoor PB to 6.53 in the 60 metres in Glasgow and his outdoor PB to 10.06 in Dubai this year, Ryiem Forde from Jamaica, eighth at the World Championships in Budapest in 10.08 after improving his PB to 9.95 in the semifinal, Yohan Blake from Jamaica, world champion in Daegu 2011 and Olympic silver medallist in the 100m and 200m in London 2012, and Joshua Hartmann, German record holder in the 200 metres with 20.02 at last year’s National Championships.
Women’s 1500 metres:
Double European champion and Olympic silver medallist Laura Muir has a fond memory of the Stockolm Olympic Stadium, where she claimed two wins in the 1500 metres in 2019 (4:05.37) and 2020 (3:57.86). Muir finished fifth at the World Indoor Championships in the 3000m on home soil in Glasgow last March and started her outdoor season with a fourth place in 3:56.35 at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene.
Muir will face Georgia Griffith from Australia and Birke Haylom from Ethiopia, who have shown their good form during the 2024 Diamond League season.
Griffith won her first Diamond League race of the season in the 3000 metres setting the Oceanian record of 8:24.20 in Oslo.
The other Australian athletes to watch are Linden Hall from Australia, who finished sixth in the Olympic final in the 1500m in 3:59.01 and set a PB of 3:56.92 at the Diamond League final in Eugene last September, and Sarah Billings, who set a PB of 3:59.59 in Xiamen.
Haylom finished second in the 1500m in Doha setting the African under 20 record of 3:53.22 and broke the world under 20 record in the 5000m with 14:23.71.
Nozomi Tanaka, Olympic finalist in the 1500m on home soil, set national records of 8:34.09 in the 3000m in Oslo this year and 14:29.09 in the 5000m in Brussels in 2023.
Men’s 3000 metres:
The line-up features Luis Grijalva from Guatemala, Andreas Almgren from Sweden, Dominic Lobalu from Switzerland, and Adriaan Wildschutt from South Africa, who set national records in the 5000 metres at the Bislett Games in Oslo.
Grijalva, who finished fourth at the World Championships in Eugene 2022 and Budapest 2023, clocked 12:50.58 in Oslo beating Lobalu (12:50.90), Almgren (12:50.94) and Wildschutt (12:56.37)
Lobalu has a fond memory of Stockolm, as he won his first Diamond League race in the 3000m in 2022 in 7:29.49 beating Jacob Kiplimo.
The other names to watch are Narve Gilje Nordas from Norway, who won the world bronze medal in the 1500m in Budapest 2023 and improved his PB in the 3000m to 7:35.75 at the Trond Mohn meeting in Bergen, Stewart McSweyn from Australia, Oceanian record holder in the 3000m with 7:28.02 in Rome in 2020, Telahun Haile Bekele, who finished fourth at the Diamond League Final in Eugene with 7:25.48 last September and set a 12:42.70 in Monaco in 2023, and Adel Mechaal from Spain, who finished fifth at the Olympic Games in the 1500 in Tokyo and ran a seasonal best of 3:33.21 in Oslo.
Men’s 3000 metres steeplechase:
Lamecha Girma will run his first race in the 3000 metres steeplechase this season. The Ethiopian athlete showed his good form over different distances in 2024 winning the 5000m in Xiamen in 12:58.96 and finishing fourth in the 1500m in 3:33.54 in Marrakesh. Girma set two world records in the 3000m indoors with 7:23.81 in Liévin and in the 3000m steeplechase with 7:52.11 in Paris last year.
Geordie Beamish from New Zealand will return to the 3000 metres steeplechase after winning the world indoor title in the 1500m in Glasgow last March in 3:36.54. Beamish finished fifth in the 3000m steeplechase at the World Championships in Budapest 2023 in 8:13.46 and set an Oceanian record of 8:13.26 at the Diamond League meeting in Monaco last year.
Samuel Firewu from Ethiopia, world under silver medallist in 2022, made his breakthrough this year by winning the gold medal at the All-African Games in Accra and his first Diamond League race in Doha setting a PF 8:07.35.
