The Wanda Diamond League is back! After almost a month’s break, the world’s best athletes continue their quest for a place in the series final at the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial in Silesia this Saturday. Here are five things to look out for in Poland.
Duplantis eyes next milestone
At last year’s Diamond League meeting in Silesia, it was Mondo Duplantis who stole the headlines with a then world record of 6.26m. Fast forward a year and Duplantis returns to Poland in much the same kind of form. Having cleared 6.28m at his home meeting in Stockholm in June, the Swedish sensation broke the world record for the 13th time in his career in Budapest earlier this week, raising the bar to 6.29m and putting him just one centimetre away from the milestone mark of 6.30m. If that height once seemed impossible even for Duplantis, it is now very much in reach, and it seems only a matter of time before the Olympic and Diamond League champion clears the next bar. Whisper it, but he could even do so in Silesia.
Kipyegon attacks 3000m WR
Duplantis is not the only athlete with an eye on the world record in Silesia. Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon may also fancy her chances of making history when she lines up in the women’s 3000m on Saturday. The race is an additional event, so there are no Diamond League points at stake, but it is still a chance for Kipyegon to extend her extraordinary record in the series. The five-time Diamond League champion has already broken one world record this Diamond League campaign with a stunning 3:48.68 in the 1500m in Eugene. That was her fifth world record at a Diamond League meeting in the last three seasons, making her the most prolific world-record-breaker in the history of the series.
Paris rematch for Lyles and Thompson
It is just over a year since Noah Lyles beat Kishane Thompson in one of the most thrilling men’s 100m finals in Olympic history. The US and Jamaican stars both clocked 19.79 in Paris, with Lyles clinching the gold medal on the photo finish by a margin of just five thousandths of a second. In Silesia, the two men will meet on track for the first time since that fateful race, with both under pressure to pick up points in their bid to qualify for the Wanda Diamond League Final. More than that, there is also plenty of pride at stake. After such an agonising defeat in 2024, Thompson will be keen to show that he has what it takes to beat his American rival. Lyles, meanwhile, will be keen to bounce back after his surprise 100m defeat to another Jamaican, Oblique Seville, at the Diamond League meeting in London last month.
High-class hurdles clash
It’s not just the 100m which will boast an Olympic level line-up in Silesia. The women’s 100m hurdles also promises fireworks, with a field which includes Olympic champion Masai Russell, world record holder Tobi Amusan and Jamaican stars Ackera Nugent, Danielle Williams and Megan Tapper. As always, this event has proved to be among the most competitive on the Road to the Final so far, and there is still plenty at stake as we head into the final stretch of the season. The USA’s Grace Stark is still the only woman to have secured qualification so far, while the likes of Tapper, Russell and Kendra Harrison are all currently outside the qualification spots.
Chebet takes on 1500m
One athlete who has booked her place in the final already is Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet, who tops the 5000m standings thanks to a breathtaking season which has seen her three victories in Xiamen, Rome and Eugene, the last of which was also a world record. With her ticket to Zurich already booked, Chebet will change it up in Silesia and take on a 1500m field which includes Georgia Hunter Bell, Gudaf Tsegay and Diribe Welteji. It is Chebet’s first 1500m race since 2023 and her first ever attempt at the shorter distance at a Diamond League meeting.
