Teen Sensation Cooper Lutkenhaus Stuns Wanyonyi as Records Fall at Oslo Diamond League
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A thrilling duel in the men's 800 metres headlined the 2026 Oslo Diamond League as 17-year-old American Cooper Lutkenhaus edged Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi by just one hundredth of a second in a world-leading 1:42.08. The Bislett Games also produced a string of world-leading performances, including victories for Timothy Cheruyot in the Dream Mile, Addisu Yihune in the men's 5000m and Freweyni Hailu in the women's 3000m, while Alison dos Santos continued his unbeaten Diamond League campaign in the 400m hurdles. Home fans celebrated another standout performance from Norway's Henriette Jæger, and Olympic champions Julien Alfred and Letsile Tebogo added sprint victories on a cool evening in Oslo.
Men’s 800 metres:
US 17-year-old Cooper Lutkenhaus won a back-to-back Diamond League race in the men’s 800 metres with a world lead of 1:42.08 holding off Olympic and world champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi (1:42.09). Lutkenhaus completed a Scandinavian double three days after his win in Stockolm in 1:42.70.
Wanyonyi led from the front in the first lap, but he had to dip deep, as Lutkenhaus kicked past his Kenyan rival with 200 metres to go. Wanyonyi fought back by chasing down Lutkenhaus on the final straight, but the teenager held on to take a thrilling photo-finish win by one hundredth of a second. In 1:42.08, narrowly missing the meeting record of 1:42.04 set by David Rudisha by 0.04.
Marco Arop, world champion in Budapest 2023 and Olympic silver medallist in Paris 2024, placed third in 1:43.33 three days after finishing second to Lutkenhaus in Stockolm. Thobias Gronstad from Norway finished a surprising fourth in a PB of 1:43.61 holding off Peter Bol (1:43.64). Elliot Crestan from Belgium finished sixth in 1:43.85 ahead of Gabriel Tual from France (1:44.79).
Cooper Lutkenhaus: ”It was a very tough race and I had to dive for the line to be sure of the win. I knew Wanyonyi was on my shoulder and I was willing the line to come towards me. To beat the Olympic champion is awesome and it means a lot. I have not seen the grazes yet from my dive but I think they will hurt in the shower later. The Prefontaine Classic is next for me and I am very excited for that. I could take a few days off after this but I will probably be running tomorrow. I have managed to have a look at Oslo while I have been here and it is a lovely city - I hope to explore some more this evening and tomorrow.
Men’s 400 metres hurdles:
Alison Dos Santos won his fourth Diamond League race of the season in 46.89 beating world record holder Karsten Warholm from Norway (47.40). Dos Santos claimed his third head-to-head win over Warholm at this year’s edition following his victories in Keqiao and Xiamen. The Brazilian hurdler clocked the 10th fastest time of his career.
Caleb Dean placed third in 48.22 ahead of Matheus Lima from Brazil (48.37) and Emil Agyekum from Germany (48.40).
Alison Dos Santos: ”It is good to be winning and good to keep winning. It is good to come out of every race with a win, no matter who is in the race. That is good for our self confidence, it boosts you up a little bit. Karsten is more aggresive with his running and I am just learning how to be faster, so I am trying to catch up with him at the beginning of the race, which makes everything more exciting. It is never going to be easy for anyone. I know I can produce great things down there on the track. I do not want to be the person who is happy to be second. I was the one to beat the seasons before. I have been like in different places and I know the attitude you need to be the best. What is the most important to me is to keep running fast this season, to keep having fun and enjoy myself. The world record is something I am looking for."
Dream Mile:
Five-time Diamond League champion Timothy Cheruyot won a thrilling Dream Mile in 3:48.21 edging Yared Nuguse with the same time in very close photo-finish. Cheruyiot has claimed his first Diamond League win since 2021 setting the fastest outdoor time in the world so far this year. Nuguse had to settle with second place this time after winning in Stockolm ahead of Cameron Myers and Cheruuiyot.
Cameron Myers from Australia placed third in 3:48.35 ahead of USA’s Hobbs Kessler (3:49.13), 2022 world champion Jake Wightman from Great Britain (3:49.35), Festus Lagat from Kenya (3:49.46), Azeddine Habz from France (3:49.63) and Andrew Coscoran from Ireland (3:49.68). The top ten finished inside the 3:50 barier.
Timothy Cheruyiot: ”I enjoy being in Oslo. The crowd are always great here. The race went to plan. I have been running 3000m and 5000m so it was good to do a shorter distance tonight. I have been testing my endurance over the longer distances. My main target is the Diamond League this year, to reach the final and win. Also the Commonwealth Games so I go home for the trials next week. I train in Netherlands now so I am ok with this weather tonight. Jakob (Ingebrigtsen) is a hard working guy and he will be back and be a big challenge to me.
Men’s 5000 metres:
Addisu Yihune from Ethiopia held off a late challenge from Barhein’s Birhanu Balew to take his second Diamond League win this season in the men’s 5000 metres in a world leading time and PB of 12:47.62 following his victory in Xiamen. Eleven athletes dipped under the 13 minutes barrier. Balew placed second setting the Asian record with 12:47.73. Andreas Almgren crossed the finish-line in third place in 12:48.61. Parker Wolfe from the USA improved his PB to 12:49.45 to place fourth ahead of USA’s Grant Fisher (12:49.61), Graham Blanks (12:49.99), Ethiopia’s Mezgebu Sime (12:50.17), Ky Robinson from Australia (12:50.82 Oceanian record), Biniam Mehary (12.54.53).
Women’s 100 metres:
Olympic champion Julien Alfred stormed to her second consecutive win in the women’s 100 metres at the Bislett Games in a wind-assisted 10.75 (+3.2 m/s) following he win in Rome in the 200m. Amy Hunt repeated her second place from Stockolm in 10.99 beating Zoe Hobbs from New Zealand (11.03), Minke Bisschops from the Netherlands (11.06) and Boglarka Takacs (11.08).
Julien Alfred: ”I am healthy and I am happy to get the win here. I would say I am trusting myself a lot more. And I am having so much more fun. Before I came here, my mental coach said to me: when you are yourself, it is the most powerful thing that you can do. And I think I learn more and more from my experiences. As long as I come healthy in the finish, I am happy about it. I work very hard to get to this point in my life. Just being here, racing amongst the best athletes in the world, like I said, I am appreciating every chance I get to run. I love the competitiveness in the 100m. It keeps me on my toes to go out there and compete and be at my best every single time I line up. So I have no complaints right now. Usain Bolt - that is still the person I look up to. I met him last year for the very first time and he is still the one to look up to until today.
Men’s 200 metres:
Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo from Botswana cruised to his first Diamond League win of the season in the men’s 200 metres in 19.84 in far from ideal conditions for sprinters with a temperature of 14°C. Sinesipho Dambile from South Africa placed second in 20.12 ahead of Jereem Richards from Trinidad and Tobago (20.50), Reynier Mena (20.53), European champion Timothé Mumenthaler (20.58). Gout Gout, who set a world under 20 record of 19.67, had to settle with sixth place in 20.60 in his first Diamond League scoring race.
Letsile Tebogo: ”Today, we tried to do it diferently. I was about to run the proper curve, because in Rabat, we did not run it. I do not know what I was up to, but I just knew I had that last gear to push in and just get in that sub-20. So today, I wanted to run the curve and just roll out into the home straight and in the last 50m, I just let the legs run towards the line. I want to sit down and look how I performed in this race. But I believe I was almost 100%. I will give it 98% to this race. We get better in every race. After the race, I wanted to talk to Gout Gout but he is so busy with all the media. First and foremost, he should not get comfortable racing with the seniors. He still has a long way to go. He should by all means play with his age mates where he is a bit more comfortable because the more he runs, the more he pushes and the more injuries he is going to get. I hope his management, the coaches and everybody around him will advise that because that is what worked for me. I have seen a lot of people my age racing with seniors and then it did not go well for them. I believe I am the only one who is still standing from the World Under 20 Championships in Kenya through Cali until now and running with the seniors.
Women’s 400 metres:
European under 23 champion Henriette Jaeger from Norway stormed to her second consecutive Diamond League win in the women’s 400 metres in 49.52 in front of her home fans following her victory at the Golden Gala in Rome in 49.60. The 22-year-old Norwegian star was just 0.03 the PB she set at last year’s Diamond League Final in Zurich.
World indoor gold medallist Gloria Manuel from Czechia finished second in 50.13 repeating the same placing from Rome. European champion Natalia Bukowiecka from Poland placed third in 50.34.
Henriette Jaeger: ”It feels so good to win here, it's very special and a wonderful feeling. Last year, I finished second here so I really wanted to win today and to make the crowd happy - it's so nice to win for the home crowd. I hope I can build on this win and have a really great season - I'm in such good shape but it's a long time until the European Champs in Birmingham still. I'm very excited to try my best to become the European champion. Training is going great and days like today feel amazing - it was such a great opportunity for me to run here.
Women’s 400 metres hurdles:
World bronze medallist Emma Zapletalova from Slovakia won her third consecutive Diamond League race this year in 53.13 folllowing her victories in Rabat in 52.82 and Rome in 52.58. Rushell Clayton placed second in 53.50 ahead of world silver medallist Jasmine Jones (54.09) and Gianna Woodruff from Panama (54.68).
Emma Zapletalova: ”To take the third victory in the Diamond League, that is a special thing for me. And today, it was not easy at all. I felt very stiff at the start due to the cold weather. But in general, the run was technically OK, at least I felt that way. I just need to analyze that. My plan was to run with 15 steps until the 8th hurdle and then 16 steps. The finish was tough and I was almost with no power. It is very special for our country to see Slovak athletes winning at the Diamond League. It is a huge honour for me to represent on such a high level. Now off to Ostrava."
Women’s 3000 metres:
Freweyni Hailu from Ethiopia won the women’s 3000 metres in a world leading time of 8:24.22 missing the meeting record by just 0.01 bouncing back from her defeat to her compatriot Likina Amebaw in the 5000m in Rome. Amebaw crossed the finish-line in 8:25.15 ahead of Senayet Getachew (8:25.85) and Hawi Abera (8:27.18). Mauren Koster from the Netherlands was the top European finisher in fourth place in 8:27.67 ahead of Australia’s Linden Hall (8.28.06). Megan Keith from Great Britain and Rose Davies improved their PBs to 8:28.35 and 8:29.63. European under 20 champion Innes FitzGerald finished ninth in a 8:33.37.
Freweyni Hailu: ”This time is very good and I am glad for this result. The weather did not affect me, I think it is normal to race in any conditions. I take it step by step. This was an important race but the main one will come later. I am satisfied with how I felt in this run and also with my tactics. Every win counts. I am just grateful to take this win. My target is to run fast this season."
Women’s shot put:
Two-time world champion Chase Jackson won the women’s shot put with a meeting record of 20.74m in the first round. Jackson added almost half a metre to Valerie Adams’s previous Bislett Games record of 20.26m set in 2011. Jessica Schilder placed second with 20.11m, losing her first Diamond League competition of the season. Sarah Mitton took third place with 19.89m ahead of Yemisi Mabry from Germany (19.19m).
Chase Jackson: ”I was chuffed to be able to take Valerie Adams name off (from the meeting record) as she is the person we all look up to in the sport so it is kind of surreal. It was not so much that Jessica (Schilder) won in Stockholm but it is about the numbers. I really wanted to get over 21 as I know I have that from training. I have been searching for the number as she did it first. I opened big today which was great and just as my coach told me to do but then I slightly lost the plot. I probably got too excited after that first throw. I need to focus on my technique and I know I can do it. The Europeans here have the advantage of their time zone - this is the first time I have had sleep since I have been here so I think back in the States I will crack it. The nationals and Pre on home soil is where the big numbers will come."
Women’s javelin throw:
World under 20 record holder Yan Ziyi from China claimed a back-to-back win in the women’s javelin throw at this year’s edition of the Diamond League with 67.11m in the opening round in her first competition in this circuit overseas following her win in Xiamen, where she set the second best performance in history with 71.74m.
Men’s triple jump:
Jamaica’s Jordan Scott leapt to a wind-assisted 17.66m (+2.6 m/s) to claim his first Diamond League win of the season in the men’s triple jump. Andy Diaz from Italy took an early lead with 17.59m on his first attempt equalling his seasonal best set when he won in Rome last week. Scott overtook Diaz with his winning mark of 17.66m in the third round. Yasser Triki from Algeria leapt to 17.43m in the fifth round to take third place ahead of Lazaro Martinez from Cuba (17.33m) and Jaydon Hibbert from Jamaica (17.17m).
Men’s pole vault:
Double world bronze medallist Kurtis Marshall from Australia cleared 5.82m at his first attempt to win his second back-to-back men’s pole vault competition. Sondre Guttormsen had a first-time clearance at 5.72m to take second place beating Sam Kendrick, Zachary Bradford and Baptiste Thiery on countback.
Kurtis Marshall: ”I'm over the moon with the win today - I've been watching this meeting for the last 16 years, following my rivals competing here as I was growing up so it's a real full-circle moment for me winning here tonight and I'm super happy. I loved competing here - it's an awesome crowd and they really helped lift me over that bar today, I had such a great time. Two lucky Diamond League wins for me this past week. It was a very tricky wind here tonight but I pride myself in being able to compete well in all conditions and I managed to make a big improvement on my performance here last year. I'll keep learning after each competition - the consistency is there so I hope I'll pop that next big bar soon."
Women’s triple jump:
Cuba’s 27-year-old Daviseidyi Velazco leapt to 14.85m on her first attempt to claim her first Diamond League win in the women’s triple jump. Saly Sarr from Senegal leapt to 14.75m in the fifth round to take second place ahead of Leyanis Perez Hernandez from Cuba (14.60m).
Daviseidy Velazco:
”For me, it has been a great satisfaction because I really worked a lot for this. My goal was to win this race and also the next one. So I am still working and it is a proud moment for me to have been able to win and it is the fruit of all the work and all the sacrifices I have done until today. Maybe it is a small surprise. Everything was going super good, the competition was good, despite the climate and everything, the results were good and the competition was given to a great level. After this, I compete in Doha, where I hope I will do my best and will enjoy the competition. My main goal this year is the Ultimate championships.
