The Diamond League this season has been an intriguing one thus far, with several athletes churning out Meeting Records (MR) in various cities in order to top the Diamond Race standings.
These outstanding performances are set to continue when the ExxonMobil Bislett Games get underway in the Norwegian city of Oslo on Thursday, June 9th.
Top on the list of the events for the games is the women’s 200m, where two of the best in the world, Dafne Schippers and Elaine Thompson, will re-ignite their rivalry when they clash at the Oslo Diamond League.
Schippers enjoys the bragging rights so far, having finished ahead of the Jamaican in five of their encounters to date. The latest meeting was at the Eugene Diamond League where the World Champion finished 2nd behind surprise winner Tori Bowie, while Thompson was 3rd.
Interestingly, a win for either of the duo means they’ll overtake Bowie on the Diamond Race standings, implying a fast race of sub-22s might just be recorded.
Meanwhile in the women’s 100m Hurdles, the Diamond League scene has witnessed the dominance of USA’s Kendra Harrison, which saw her record two victories while setting MRs on both occasions.
With her absence in Oslo, it’s expected that former World Champion Brianna Rollins will make acute use of the opportunity in order to top the standings.
Her stiffest competitors in the line-up will be in teammate Jasmin Stowers who will be aiming for a huge win, and European Champion Tiffany Porter. Meanwhile Olympic Champion Sally Pearson will be hoping for a good performance after opening her season in Birmingham.
Another fast race expected at the Oslo Diamond League is the men’s 100m, where most of the athletes competing are favourites for a win.
Never ageing Kim Collins comes into the race with the fastest time and Masters World Record (WR) of 9.93s. Another favourite is USA’s Ameer Webb, who was outstanding at the Rome Diamond League, clocking 9.94s to finish a close 2nd behind Justin Gatlin.
World Championships finalist Mike Rodgers and African Champion Hua Wilfried Koffi may also be in for upsets, with both having SBs of 9.97s and 10.01s respectively.
Kenya’s Hyvin Kiyeng and Ruth Jebet of Bahrain recorded one of the most outstanding performances in the history of the women’s Steeplechase at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene.
Jebet became the second fastest woman of all time with her stunning time of 8:59.97, while Kiyeng became third fastest with 9:00.01, with both times being some seconds shy of the WR.
This time around at the Bislett Games, the absence of Jebet might not spur Kiyeng to aim for the WR, but she will surely be hoping for the MR, thereby overtaking Jebet at the top of the standings.
USA’s Micheal Tinsley leads the men’s 400m Hurdles Diamond Race Standings, having had two victories. He will be aiming for a third when he squares up against World Champion Nicholas Bett, Puerto Rico’s Javier Culson and teammate Kerron Clement.
Meanwhile in the quartermile, Commonwealth Champion Stephenie Ann Mcpherson will have her hands full when she lines up against her teammate Novlene Williams-Mills and European Champion Libania Grenot, with both having SBs of 50.87s and 51.52s respectively.
The Field events won’t be left out of the mouthwatering clashes on the night, as there will be several to watch out for.
Sandra Perkovic will be in the spotlight in the women’s Discus throw after recording a Diamond League Record (DLR) of 70.88m in Shanghai.
The Croatian will be hoping for another huge performance at the Oslo Diamond League against her biggest rivals in Cuba’s Denia Caballero, Yaimi Perez and Germany’s Nadine Muller.
Another close contest is the men’s Javelin Throw, where the top four throwers in the Diamond Standings will be squaring up against each other.
Germany’s Thomas Rohler leads the Race with 14 points, while Egypt’s Ihab Abdelrahman is a close 2nd with 13 points. Jakub Vadlejch and Julius Yego occupy the 3rd and 4th positions with nine and six points respectively.
Last year’s Diamond Race winner in the men’s Pole Vault Renaud Lavillenie, will be back in action in Oslo. The Frenchman currently leads the Race with 16 points, and will be hoping to fly high enough when he faces a stiff challenge from World Champion Shawn Barber.
World Bronze medallist Ivana Spanovic (6.95m), Germany’s Alexandra Wester (6.79m), World Champion Tianna Bartoletta (6.75m) and Canada’s Christabel Nettey (6.75m), all have SBs farther than 6.70m in the Long Jump.
Spanovic currently leads the standings and will be favoured to extend her lead, but the rest of the field will be gunning for victory in order to get close to, or surpass her lead.
