The Wanda Diamond League action is coming thick and fast this weekend with back-to-back meetings in Scandinavia. Here are five things to look out for at the BAUHAUS-Galan in Stockholm on Sunday.
Warholm vs Benjamin vs Dos Santos
It’s the rematch! The three greatest 400m hurdlers in history go head to head for the second time in four days on Sunday, with Olympic champion Rai Benjamin and Diamond League champion Alison Dos Santos out for revenge after world record holder Karsten Warholm defeated them with a stunning world best of 32.67 in Oslo on Thursday. In Norway, Benjamin and Dos Santos had the excuse of unfamiliarity with the shorter distance. This time around, there are no ifs or buts. These three men have 19 of the fastest 20 times in history between them, and Sunday is another chance for each of them to stake their claim to the title of greatest ever.
Bol’s love affair continues
It’s not just the men’s 400m hurdles which is covered in stardust in Stockholm. The women’s event, too, features a world-class field led by Olympic champion and four-time Diamond Trophy winner Femke Bol. The Dutch star claimed her first ever Diamond League win in Stockholm back in 2020 and has remained unbeaten in the series ever since, with 26 individual victories to date. Little wonder that she has often listed Stockholm among her favourite Diamond League meetings. She will be hoping for a fifth win in the Swedish capital on Sunday, which would also consolidate her place at the top of the Diamond League standings after she opened her season with comfortable victory in Rabat last month.
Alfred up again
Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred delivered quite the statement when she made her first appearance of the season in Oslo on Thursday. With the fastest man in history watching on from the sidelines, the St. Lucian star delivered an almost Usain Boltesque performance, easing out of the blocks before powering past the field to come home in a comfortable 10.89 and start her Diamond League title defence with a win. She faces an almost identical field – including Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith, Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita – in Stockholm and will be hoping to prove once again why she is the woman to beat over 100m.
Davis-Woodhall launches campaign
Like Alfred, US long jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall also established herself at the top of her discipline in 2024, claiming both Olympic gold in Paris and a first ever Diamond League victory in Rome over the course of a spectacular August. The charismatic 26-year-old is back in Diamond League action in Stockholm, where she hopes to take a first step to what would be her first series title in 2025. She faces stiff competition, however, with fellow Olympic medallists Malaika Mihambo and Jasmine Moore and reigning Diamond League champion Larissa Iapichino also on the startlist.
Discus heavyweights
There was a time when Sweden’s Daniel Ståhl was the undisputed king of the discus. Those days are now gone, but the two-time Diamond League champion and current world number six will still fancy his chances when he lines up in front of his home crowd at the 1912 Olympic Stadium on Sunday. Ståhl takes on a world-class field which includes current Diamond League champion Matthew Denny and Jamaica’s Olympic champion Roje Stona.
