At the Diamond League Silesia, some newly crowned Olympic champions will arrive as targets, while athletes who have suffered crushing defeats will look for redemption.
With the season starting so late in a championship year, most athletes have already laid their cards on the table, so to speak, but fans can look forward to this meeting in Poland as an extension of the Olympic Games with top performances and perhaps even some record attempts.
Preview of field events
In the field events, Mondo Duplantis will compete. Another world record in Silesia is certainly in play and Mondo could steal the show as the pole vault competition may last until after the track events.
The next three finishers from Paris will be there to challenge him.
Olympic champion Ryan Crouser returns in the shot put. He is joined by the other participants on the Paris podium, including fellow countryman Joe Kovacs, who took silver.
Although it is normal for the world’s best throwers to compete against each other frequently, this field is so exciting because it includes the seven best athletes from the Olympic Games.
Women’s 400m Hurdles: Bol vs Cockrell
In the women’s 400-meter hurdles, where Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has just improved her own world record, Sydney will have to forego her start as she has decided to go on holiday in Europe instead.
The race revolves around the rematch between surprise silver medalist Anna Cockrell and Femke Bol, who was considered a strong challenger from Sydney but only finished third behind Cockrell.
Also taking part is Dalilah Muhammed, who did not qualify for the US team and may be doing a farewell tour here in Silesia.
Suddenly the 800-meter world record is at stake
The men’s 800m remains a highlight of the Diamond League this year. It was said that no 800m race could ever match the quality of the men’s final at the 2012 Olympics, where David Rudisha set the world record of 1:40.91. However, the men’s final at the 2024 Olympics in Paris could match that race.
Although the world record was not set, Emmanuel Wanyonyi won with a time of 1:41.19, which is very close to the record. Behind him, the performances were incredible, with the average finishing time much faster than the so-called “greatest 800m race of all time” in 2012.
The entire Paris final will be held in Silesia, with the exception of seventh-placed Tshepiso Masaela and third-placed Djamel Sedjati, who withdrew at short notice. It is likely that the men will be shooting for national records and the mythical time under 1:41.
Jakob aims for a Komen record in the men’s 3000 m
One of the best records in athletics is Daniel Komen’s 7:20.67 in the 3000m. This record was set in 1996 and no one has ever beaten it, not even Hicham El Guerrouj at his best. Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who just won Olympic gold in the 5k, is the third runner on the all-time list with 7:23.63. An improvement of a full 3 seconds may sound impossible, but Ingebrigtsen has the fitness to do it.
His biggest challenger will be Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha, who finished one hundredth of a second behind him in the 2023 race in Eugene. This secured both of them places in the all-time rankings of the race over this distance, which is not held at the Olympic Games.
American Grant Fisher, who just won two bronze medals in Paris over 10k and 5k, has absolutely nothing to lose. He set the American record of 7:25 in the same fast race in Eugene and could definitely shave a few more seconds off it this year or even challenge an exhausted Ingebrigtsen or Kejelcha.
As for the wildcards in this race, Mo Ahmed (personal best of 7:40.49), Ronald Kwemoi (personal best of 7:28.73, silver in the 5k in Paris) and George Mills (no personal best in the 3k but facing a relatively disappointing season) will ensure exciting racing.
There is no doubt that this race will be about the world record.
