The road to the final of the IAAF Diamond League (DL) continues this Thursday, June 7th, in Oslo, Norway, with the likes of Abderrahman Samba and Karsten Warholm going head-to-head in the men’s 400m Hurdles, while the duo of Mutaz Essa Barshim and Caterine Ibarguen look set to continue their winning streak in their respective events.
Here are some of the battles to watch out for at the Bislett Games in Oslo.
Sprints
Eight athletes will take to the track in the women’s 100m on the day, with all of them looking to become the first woman not named Marie Josée Ta Lou, to win the event in the DL this season.
Topping the list of athletes who will be aiming for victory on the day is Ta Lou’s country woman, Murielle Ahoure. The Ivorian was on the tail of Ta Lou in Eugene up until the last 10m of the race, before succumbing to 2nd place.
Also, Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare-Ighoteguonor will be looking to make amends for finishing 7th in Eugene. Commonwealth Games GOLD medallist, Michelle-Lee Ahye is also on the start list in what is her first outing in the DL this season.
Like in the women’s 100m, American, Noah Lyles will not be on ground to extend his winning streak after clinching victory in Doha and Eugene. This paves the way for the World Champion in the event, Ramil Guliyev, and Commonwealth Games Champion, Jereem Richards, to wrestle it out for their first win this season in the DL.
World Champion in the Women’s 400m Phyllis Francis, and Silver medallist in the event Salwa Eid Naser, will clash again. What makes the race all the more interesting is that both athletes have won the last two 400m races in the League, with Francis winning in Eugene, while Eid Naser won in Rome.
Hurdles
The 400m Hurdles promises to be one of the highlights of the meeting as Karsten Warholm faces off with Abderrahman Samba, the man who currently leads the standings, and has twice broken the Diamond League Record (DLR) this season.
The two men have already done battle in Rome, where Samba overtook Warholm on the final straight to take eight points in an incredible 47.48s. Warholm’s 47.82s was a new Norwegian Record, and he will be hoping for a similar performance to beat Samba in Oslo. Olympic Champion, Kerron Clement will also be in contention.
Dalilah Muhammad and Zuzana Hejnova will clash in the women’s 400m Hurdles. However, Olympic Champion, Muhammad should prove tough to beat as the US athlete is ranked 2nd in the world this year with her time of 53.77s, which she ran to win in Shanghai last month.
Middle Distance
Another riveting race to watch out for is the women’s 3000m Steeplechase. Had it not been for her dramatic fall at the last water jump, Emma Coburn came within whiskers of clinching victory in Rome. The American once again faces Kenyan star Hyvin Kiyeng in Oslo.
Kiyeng leads the standings after her win in Rome, while Coburn will be hoping to climb up from 4th place with a strong finish in Oslo.
Caster Semenya should once again stroll through in the women’s 800m race as she looks to make it consecutive victories in the event this season. Her usual opponents, Francine Niyonsaba and Laura Muir, will have another try in putting an end to the South African’s winning streak.
Field Events
Ibargüen got her season off to a strong start with victory in Shanghai last month as she looks to reclaim the Diamond Trophy she lost for the first time since 2012 last summer. The woman who finally ended Ibargüen’s reign last year was Olga Rypakova, and the two triple jump stars will go head-to-head in Oslo.
Also, the men’s High Jump will serve for another pulsating contest as the duo of Mutaz Essa Barshim and Danil Lysenko do battle again. Barshim won the first duel when they met in Eugene, with the Qatari athlete clearing 2.36m.
Another man who will aim to continue his winning ways is Discus thrower, Fedrick Dacres. The Jamaican opened up his season with a 68.51m throw in Rome to extend his unbeaten run. Nonetheless, Sweden’s Daniel Stahl and Lithuania’s Andrius Gudzius are throwers who will look to usurp the Jamaican on the day.
The women’s Pole vault will pitch the World and Olympic Champion, Katerina Stefanidi against Sandi Morris once again. However, Stefanidi is targeting her first big point haul of this season after struggling in Doha and Eugene, and Morris will be hoping to get the better of the Greek pole vaulter.
