08 December, 2023

The Greatest Season Ever: Expect the unexpected

Photo: Thomas Windestam

The 2023 Wanda Diamond League season was arguably the greatest in the series' 14-year history, and it had its fair share of surprises with sensational wins for Matthew Denny and Jorinde Van Klinken and shock defeats for Noah Lyles and Karsten Warholm.

The Wanda Diamond League has always been a stage for the greatest stars in world athletics, and 2023 saw the likes of Mondo Duplantis, Femke Bol, Shericka Jackson and others extend their dominance on track and field's premier one-day series.

Yet even the greatest champions are not infallible, and the season gone also delivered its fair share of shocks and surprises.

The first big upset came in Oslo, when the Netherlands' Jorinde Van Klinken blew apart the established hierarchies of the women's discus.

Prior to the Bislett Games, two women had reigned supreme in the discus ring: six-time Diamond League champion Sandra Perkovic of Croatia, and the USA's Valarie Allman, who had held the Diamond Trophy since her first title in 2021.

Yet in Oslo, Van Klinken stunned both of them with a brilliant fifth-round throw of 66.77m to claim her first ever Diamond League victory.

"I am super happy that tonight, it was me and obviously, it is beyond special to beat the both Valarie and Sandra," she said, adding that the discus was becoming more competitive than ever.

"Honestly, it is just crazy if you think about how many women are this good right now, there are many candidates for a medal at worlds. It is good for the people to maybe realise that there are so many good women and we all have good throws."

There was a similarly seismic shock in the men's discus at the Wanda Diamond League Final in Eugene, as both Sweden's Daniel Stahl and Slovenia's Kristjan Ceh failed to add another Diamond Trophy to their respective cabinets.

Instead, the title went to Australia's Matthew Denny, who delivered an astonishing 68.43m effort in the final round to snatch the trophy away from the event's two heavyweights. As he cradled the Diamond Trophy in his arms post-competition, Denny also insisted his victory was a sign of things to come.

"I wasn’t gonna count Daniel or Kristjan out. I’m just so happy to finish on such a high note for this season because it’s been a great season and I wanted to finish it the right way, "he said. "I’ve always gone to the majors with the goal to win. This really cemements my point that I can be the best, and that’s my goal for next year and that’s my goal for (the Olympic Games in) Paris."

If the Diamond League delivered two stars of the future in Denny and Van Klinken, it also threw up some banana skins for those who are already legends of the sport.

In Zurich, fresh from his Diamond League record in Monaco and world title in Budapest, Norwegian 400m hurdles star Karsten Warholm suddenly slumped to a shock defeat at the hands of two-time Diamond League champion Kyron McMaster.

"Nobody wants to lose but at the same time, it is a fast time," said Warholm, after clocking 47.30 behind McMaster's 47.27. "McMaster gave me a really nice fight and I respect him for keeping the fight in the last meters. The next time, it will be my time for a revenge but we are all very good competitors and it is so good to see him back. The level is so high. I cannot have bad days anymore. The World Championships was the most important thing but of course, I want to win everything."

As it turned out, there was more disappointment to come for Warholm, who suffered a second straight defeat at the Diamond League Final two weeks later, this time losing to his longtime US rival Rai Benjamin.

As well as denying Warholm a third Diamond Trophy, Benjamin also snatched away his rival's series record with a staggering 46.39.

Warholm was not the only world champion to suffer a surprise defeat in the final, meanwhile, with 110m hurdles star Grant Holloway losing to Olympic champion Hansle Parchment, and US sprinter Noah Lyles defeated by compatriot Christian Coleman in the 100m.

Lyles, ever the entertainer, insisted he was taking the defeat in his stride, despite missing out on what would have been a record-approaching sixth Diamond Trophy: "Of course I want the win, but more importantly is that the crowd got to come out here and I got to be in front of them."

In the fifth part of our Greatest Season Ever series, we look at the superstars who found ultimate redemption at the Wanda Diamond League Final in Eugene.