It’s no wonder that Norway’s premier track and field event is this year celebrating its 50th anniversary.
First held in its current form in 1965 as a the result of an alliance between three athletics associations, the intervening years have seen world records galore and some truly memorable performances.
This year 11 current Diamond race leaders compete across the 16 disciplines on show in Norway hoping to extend their overall leads and make their own pieces of Bislett Games history.
Retrospective…
The list of meeting record holders at the Biseltt Games could just as easily be a list of the greatest athletes of all time, featuring as it does Coe, El Guerrouj, Michael Johnson, Bekele, Gebrselassie, Moses, Sotomayor, Edwards, O’Sullivan, Dibaba, Whitbread and Isinbayeva amongst many others.
But some modern greats have also graced the Biseltt Stadium since the Diamond League’s inception in 2010.
Usain Bolt scorched to 9.79 for 100m in 2012 and then returned a year later to record an outstanding 19.79 for 200m in cool conditions, while his fellow world record holder David Rudisha holds the meeting record for the 800m following his 1:42.04 clocking in 2010. That’s no mean feat considering the wealth of middle distance talent to have competed in Oslo over the past 50 years.
Sally Pearson, so unfortunately injured in Rome recently, ran 12.49 for 100m hurdles back in 2012, on the same night that Milcah Chemos set 9:07.14 for the 3000m steeplechase.
A year earlier New Zealand’s multiple Diamond Race winner Valerie Adams threw 20.26m in the shot put on the way to the first of her four overall titles.
Diamond Race Leaders
Just five of the 16 disciplines in Oslo are without current outright or joint Diamond Race leaders.
Piotr Malachowski (discus), Caterine Ibarguen (triple jump), Christina Schwanitz (shot put), Kaliese Spencer (400m hurdles) and Jairus Birech (3000m steeplechase) all lead their respective standings and compete at the Biseltt Games.
Birech in particular will be wary of Olympic Champion Ezekiel Kempboi, who won last time out in Eugene and has yet to win a Diamond Trophy in his illustrious career.
Christina Obergfoll is joint leader in the javelin and a top three finish on Thursday will see her move ahead of absent rival Huihui Lu, while Genzebe Dibaba needs the same in the 5000m, with Shanghai winner Almaz Ayana also missing.
The mile and the long jump Diamond Races both have joint leaders and in each case both athletes are on the Bislett start lists. Greg Rutherford picked up maximum points in Birmingham on Sunday to drawl level overall with Aleksandr Menkov and Silas Kiplagat and Ayenleh Souleiman also have a win each to their names so far, so there will definitely be changes to the top of the leaderboards in those two events.
Elsewhere, without Dawn Harper-Nelson and Sharika Nelvis (100m hurdles), Kirani James (400m), Sifan Hassan (1500m), Alonso Edward and Justin Gatlin (200m) and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Blessing Okagbare-Ighoteguanor (100m), there could be new overall leaders in four disciplines.
In the sprint hurdles both Jasmin Stowers and Tiffany Porter have Diamond Race points this season and a win for either would see them head the standings. Dawit Seyaum lies just three points adrift in the 1500m, so four more would be enough to regain the lead that she held prior to Birmingham, while Anaso Jobodwana can move past his more illustrious rivals only if he can win the 200m.
Murielle Ahoure can do likewise in the 100m, while Kirani James can rest easy as he watches on Thursday, as his lead is not currently threatened by any of the athletes in the 400m field, although the winner will certainly move to second place and within four points of the Grenadan.
Dean Hardman for the IAAF Diamond League
