The Diamond League series continues this weekend with the train moving from one Scandinavian city to another, stopping this time in Stockholm on Sunday where most of the athletes who competed in Oslo will also be making an appearance.
It seems like the field events will dominate on the day, with mouthwatering contests anticipated from some of the events lined up, ranging from the Discus to the Long Jump, and many others.
There would be a continuation of the Discus format seen in Oslo on Thursday, which saw the men and women compete concurrently. However, all attention will be on home favourite Daniel Stahl who won in Norway, but Jamaica’s Fedrick Dacres who finished 2nd then would look to spoil the party.
Barring any shocking outcome, Olympic champion Sandra Perkovic is expected to take the women’s Discus, but Yaimi Perez is equally capable of pulling an upset, going by how well she matched the Croat when they last met.
In the men’s Long Jump, Luvo Manyonga will be hoping he can continue to leap distances over 8.60m. The South African has been so good that he holds all top 4 marks in the world this year.
Two other South Africans, Rushwal Samaai and Khotso Mokoena have been listed for the event, bring their country’s tally to three participants, with all three consistently jumping above 8m.
On the track, we could see 2015 World Bronze medallist Andre De Grasse get to run his first sub 10s of the season in the men’s 100m, after running a Season’s Best (SB) of 10.01s in Oslo.
Murielle Ahoure who finished 2nd in the women’s 200m in Oslo clocking 22.73s, will no doubt look to better her SB in a race that she will be favoured to win, especially in the absence of other big guns.
With Olympic Champion and World Leader Omar McLeod not listed for the 110m Hurdles, it looks like the coast is clear for Orlando Ortega to record his first Diamond League win this season, having finished 2nd in Rome with a time of 13.17s.
Another athlete to keep an eye on is new South African National Record holder Antonio Alkana, who recently ran 13.11s, not forgetting World Champion Sergey Shubenkov.
Bershawn Jackson would be hoping to get another Diamond League win in the 400m Hurdles as he approaches the end of his career, having announced that he would retire from the sport when this season climaxes.
Another World Champion who will be in action is Asbel Kiprop, after sitting out the Oslo DL. Francine Niyonsaba and Margaret Wambui will contest the 800m, with Caster Semenya sitting this one out.
The Stockholm Diamond League promises to be thrilling, with the field events expected to form the major highlights of the meeting.
