Photo: Marta Gorczynska
With just over fifty days to go until the beginning of the Wanda Diamond League season, many of the world's biggest track and field stars are hoping to get in shape with a first global title of the year this weekend.
The World Athletics Indoor Championships kick off this Friday, with a number of series legends and reigning Wanda Diamond League champions going for gold in Glasgow.
Several reigning Diamond League champions will be in action in Glasgow, with Dutch 400m hurdles star Femke Bol leading the line. Bol has held an iron grip on the Diamond Trophy ever since she burst onto the scene in 2020, and has since begun to make inroads in the 400m flat with two indoor world records in the past year.
While victory in Glasgow would be a first world indoor title for Bol, others like South Korean high jump star Sanghyeok Woo are looking to defend the title they won in Belgrade two years ago. Woo added a first Diamond Trophy to his world indoor gold last season, equalling a national record with 2.35m at the final in Eugene.
Chase Jackson (née Ealey) will also be looking to take her blistering Diamond League form into the world indoors, after she won a second successive Diamond Trophy in the women's shot put last year. Compatriot Katie Moon, who won her first ever Diamond Trophy in Eugene, will be the favourite in the women's pole vault.
All eyes will also be on two athletes who broke world records at last year's Wanda Diamond League Final, with Mondo Duplantis and Gudaf Tsegay both eyeing more glory in Glasgow.
Duplantis cleared 6.23m in the men's pole vault last September while Tsegay, who lines up in the women's 3000m this weekend, clocked a breathtaking 14:00.21 in the women's 5000m.
Noah Lyles was one of the standout performers in global track and field last year, but the American sprint star narrowly missed out on claiming a sixth Wanda Diamond League title when he was beaten by compatriot and rival Christian Coleman in the 100m in Eugene.
Lyles will no doubt be out for revenge when the two men go head to head in the 60 metres in Glasgow, and he is not the only Diamond League star looking to reassert his status as the best in the world.
Fellow US star Grant Holloway also suffered a surprise defeat in the Wanda Diamond League 110m hurdles final last year, but he remains firm favourite to take the 60m hurdles title in Glasgow, having not lost over the indoor distance since 2014.
400m hurdles world record holder Karsten Warholm, meanwhile, will be hoping to claim his first Diamond League title since 2021 this year after he was defeated by Rai Benjamin in Eugene. The Norwegian superstar will attack the 400m flat in Glasgow.
In the men's shot put, Ryan Crouser and Tom Walsh resume their rivalry after both were beaten to the Diamond League title by Joe Kovacs last year. In the women's high jump, meanwhile, Ukraine's Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Australia's Nicola Olyslagers go head to head once again after their enthralling battle for the Diamond Trophy in 2023.
