Just two weeks after their joint Olympic title defence in Paris, high jump superstars Mutaz Essa Barshim and Gianmarco Tamberi will go head to head once again at the twelfth Wanda Diamond League meeting of the season in Silesia.
Italian stallion Tamberi and Qatari ace Barshim made Olympic history in Japan three years ago when they shared the gold medal after tying in the men's high jump final, in what proved to be the iconic moment of the Tokyo Games.
The two close friends head into this year's Olympics as joint reigning champions, before resuming their rivalry once again at the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial in late August.
They have met eight times since their historic joint triumph in Tokyo, with Barshim winning on four occasions and Tamberi on two. Both men have since beaten the other to the world title (Barshim winning gold in 2022, Tamberi in 2023), while Barshim won the most recent meeting at the Wanda Diamond League in Zurich.
Though they have five Diamond League titles between them, Tamberi and Barshim will be under pressure to pick up points in Silesia if they are to qualify for this year's final and have another shot at the Diamond Trophy in Brussels.
Neither man has yet secured qualification. Tamberi's appearance in Silesia will be his first in the Diamond League this season, while Barshim is currently third in the standings thanks to two second-place finishes in Xiamen and Suzhou early in the season.
The Qatari will be hoping to emulate the performance which saw him beat Tamberi in Silesia last season, jumping a world lead and meeting record of 2.36m.
The Wanda Diamond League is the premier one-day meeting series in athletics. It comprises 15 of the most prestigious events in global track and field. Athletes compete for points at the 14 series meetings in a bid to qualify for the two-day Wanda Diamond League Final in Brussels on 13th-14th September.
