World champion Geordie Beamish, Olympic champion Soufiane El Bakkali and world record holder Lamecha Girma will face off in a clash of the titans in the men’s 3000m steeplechase at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Stockholm on June 7.
The race will be the first time the three men have met on the track since the World Championships final in Tokyo last year, when Beamish outsprinted El Bakkali on the home straight to claim a sensational victory.
El Bakkali has dominated the discipline in recent years, winning two Olympic gold medals, two world titles and one Diamond League title since 2021.
He has notched up 19 Diamond League wins in his career, including a victory over Beamish in Stockholm back in 2023.
“Stockholm 2023 was my first-ever Diamond League race in the 3000m steeplechase and became my breakthrough as a steeplechase runner. It’s an absolutely fantastic city and the atmosphere during the competition is incredible, so it will always be a special race for me. I’m more motivated than ever to start the season as reigning world champion, and it would be amazing to secure my first Diamond League victory here,” says Beamish.
Girma has been the world record holder since 2023, when he clocked a breathtaking 7:52.11 at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Paris.
The pace in Stockholm will be set for a time under 7:59, which would be a new record at the iconic 1912 Olympic stadium.
Stockholm will also host a world-class 400m hurdles, with Olympic bronze medallist Alison Dos Santos and two-time Diamond League champion Kyron McMaster.
Stockholm is the fifth leg of the 2026 Wanda Diamond League, which begins in Shanghai/Keqiao on May 16 and ends at the two-day series final in Brussels on September 4-5.
The series unites the biggest names in track and field in some of the world’s most iconic arenas, crossing four continents and 15 cities over the course of the season.
