Preview: Throwing Titans, Olympic Rivals, and Rising Stars Set to Ignite Paavo Nurmi Games 2025

Monday, 16 June 2025

The 2025 Paavo Nurmi Games, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, will take center stage in Turku on June 17 with a dazzling array of global champions, record holders, and emerging stars. From Olympic medal clashes to thrilling national rivalries, the meeting promises elite performances across disciplines — with a special spotlight on the throwing events. With athletes fine-tuning their form ahead of the Paris 2025 World Championships, Turku is set for a night of world-class athletics under the Nordic sky.

Women’s Hammer Throw:

World and Olympic champion Camryn Rogers of Canada headlines a stacked field featuring Olympic silver medalist Annette Echikunwoke (USA), world record holder Anita Wlodarczyk, two-time world silver medalist Janee Kassanavoid, and Finnish standouts Silja Kosonen and Krista Tervo.

Rogers opened her season with 78.14m at Mt. SAC Relays — the second-best mark of her career — and followed it with a 77.93m win in Nairobi. Kosonen has been in sensational form, setting Finnish records of 75.45m and 77.07m earlier this year, and notably defeating Rogers with a 75.52m effort in Bergen. Tervo upped the ante in Lahti, breaking the Finnish record with 77.14m.

Kassanavoid threw a season’s best of 76.42m in Tucson, while Echikunwoke hit 75.47m — just one centimeter shy of her Olympic silver-winning mark. Wlodarczyk, the 39-year-old icon, won in Turku in 2019 and recently reached 71.51m in Taipei.

Men’s Discus Throw:

A clash of giants awaits as Olympic champion Roje Stona (Jamaica), world champion Daniel Stahl (Sweden), Slovenian record-holder Kristjan Ceh, and Australian star Matthew Denny face off.

Ceh has thrown over 72m three times this season, peaking with a 72.36m national record in Slovenska Bistrica. He's claimed six straight wins, including Zagreb (72.34m), Hengelo (69.21m), and Stockholm Diamond League (69.73m). Denny, fresh off a 74.38m Australian record in Ramona, has gone over 70m on 13 occasions in 2025. He won in Doha (68.97m), and placed second and third in Hengelo and Stockholm.

Stahl, who set the Turku meeting record (70.62m) in 2022, recently threw a season’s best of 69.53m in Stockholm.

Men’s Long Jump:

Italy’s Mattia Furlani, the world indoor champion, continues his rise with a seasonal best of 8.31m in Rieti. He finished second in Rome (8.13m) and Atlanta (8.28m), where he’ll renew his duel with Liam Adcock of Australia, who leapt a world-leading 8.34m in Rome.

They’ll be joined by Sander Skotheim of Norway, a decathlon phenom who jumped 8.19m indoors during his European record heptathlon in Tallinn. Tajay Gayle (Jamaica), who shares the world lead at 8.34m, also features in this star-studded field.

Men’s 100 Metres:

A marquee sprint showdown pits Olympic champions Marcell Jacobs (Tokyo 2021, 100m) and André De Grasse (Tokyo 2021, 200m) against each other. Jacobs begins his 2025 outdoor campaign in Turku, where he clocked 9.92 last year — his fourth-fastest time ever — and went on to finish in 9.85 in the Paris Olympic final.

De Grasse has focused on the 200m this year, running a season's best of 20.23 in Miami and 20.33 for third in Oslo. Also in the mix are South Africa’s Benjamin Richardson (PBs of 9.86/19.99) and Britain’s Romell Glave, the 2024 European bronze medalist.

Women’s 100 Metres Hurdles:

European record-holder Ditaji Kambundji (7.67 in the 60m hurdles) will battle Pia Skryszowska, European indoor bronze medalist (7.83). Finnish hopes rest on Saga Vanninen, the European and world indoor pentathlon gold medalist.

Giada Carmassi (Italy) joins the fray after smashing the Italian record with 12.69 in Stockholm.

Men’s Javelin Throw:

Olympic medalist Keshorn Walcott (Trinidad and Tobago) faces 2015 world champion Julius Yego (Kenya) and Polish thrower Marcin Krukowski in a test of form ahead of the major summer championships.

Men’s 3000 Metres Steeplechase:

German record-holder Frederik Ruppert (8:01.49), fresh off a runner-up finish behind El Bakkali in Rabat, will line up against 2022 African champion Hailemariam Amare (Ethiopia) and world indoor 1500m champion Geordie Beamish (New Zealand).

Men’s 1500 Metres:

Kenya’s Brian Komen (PB 3:28.80) leads a loaded field that includes 2023 world bronze medallist Narve Gilje Nordas (Norway), Tshepo Tshite (South Africa), and Adrian Ben (Spain), the 2023 European indoor champion.

Women’s 800 Metres:

Swiss record-holder Audrey Werro (1:57.25) tops the women’s 800m field. The 2023 European U20 champion will challenge Morocco’s Assia Raziki, who recently clocked a PB of 1:58.49 in Rabat.

Women’s 3000 Metres Steeplechase:

World champion Norah Jeruto (Kazakhstan, 8:53.02 PB) returns to the Continental Tour to face compatriot Daisy Jepkemei and Tunisia’s Marwa Bouzayani, who won in Bydgoszcz in 9:06.84.

Women’s High Jump:

Heptathlon sensation Anna Hall (USA) will contest the high jump after clearing a PB of 1.95m in Goetzis, where she totaled 7032 points to equal Carolina Klüft’s second-best all-time score.