London's event returns to Queen Elizabeth II Park, the scene of the 2012 Olympics and the 2013 London IAAF Diamond League meeting, after a year in Glasgow while the stadium was reconfigured.
It means that there will be extra excitement in the stadium as fans head to the scene of some very memorable moments, including David Rudisha’s world 800m record, Mo Farah’s double gold and Usain Bolt’s heroics. Indeed, as you might expect for an event that has been staged in some form since 1953, there is no shortage of iconic moments.
Retrospective…
The last time the IAAF Diamond League came to town, the crowd were treated to a 6.02m pole vault by Renaud Lavillenie, a meeting record and a height only bettered in the Diamond League by the great man himself in Eugene this year.
In the women’s vault that year, Cuba’s Yarisley Silva cleared 4.83m which was an outright record in the Diamond League until Nikoleta Kyriakopoulou equalled it in Paris just a few weeks ago, while the USA’s Brenda Martinez also sped to a 1:58.19 to take the 800m in 2013, which was another meeting record that was set following the move to the Olympic Stadium.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce roared to a swift 10.77 over 100m, while Valerie Adams threw the shot put 20.90, her third best in Diamond League competition.
Prior to the move across town, the London Diamond League meeting was staged at the Crystal Palace stadium and that venue, too was the scene of some of the finest performances witnessed since the Diamond League’s inception.
Indeed, the fastest women’s 400m hurdles produced came in the 2011 edition, when Kaliese Spencer clocked 52.79 on her way to one of her four Diamond Trophies and other meeting records set since 2010 include efforts by David Rudisha, Aries Merritt, Christina Obergfoll and Tirunesh Dibaba.
Diamond Race Leaders
Not surprisingly, given the timing in the season, Diamond Race leaders are out in force in London, but there are also events where the absence of the leader could affect the standings.
Piotr Malachowski (discus), Mutaz Essa Barshim (high jump), Anaso Jobodwana (200m), Nikoleta Kiriakopoulou (pole vault), Barbora Spotakova (javelin), Eunice Sum (800m), Greg Rutherford and Michael Hartfield (both long jump) and Jairus Birech (steeplechase) all lead their respective races and will compete this weekend.
Of those, Birech and Sum could all but seal their Diamond Trophies with four points, as their leads would be unassailable. If Malachowski wins the discus and anyone but his countryman Robert Urbanek places second, he will find himself in the same position, but the best the rest can hope for is an extension to their narrow leads.
Of the events missing a Diamond Race leader, perhaps the most intriguing is the women’s triple jump. Caterine Ibarguen, who has a 12 point lead at present, hasn’t been beaten in the Diamond League since 2012, meaning somebody will experience and unfamiliar feeling on Friday.
In the absence of Silas Kiplagat, Ayanleh Souleiman and Asbel Kiprop will battle it out for four points in the mile, while Wayde van Niekerk, who picked up four points with an astonishing run over 400m in Lausanne can draw ever closer to leader Kirani James.
Dean Hardman for the IAAF Diamond League
