2023 Stockholm Diamond League: Preview, full schedule and how to watch live
Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis, Karsten Warholm, Wayde van Niekerk and Tobi Amusan are some of the world record holders set to compete at the Bauhaus-galan meeting in Stockholm on 2 July.
Athletics
Stockholm marks the midway point of the 2023 Diamond League athletics series with some exciting matchups expected at the newly installed track at the Olympic stadium.
On Sunday 2 July the 2023 Bauhaus-galan will feature the return of local favourite Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis, who will go head-to-head with Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie in the men’s pole vault.
The competition on the fast track will be intense, with three sprint world record holders confirmed for the event.
Norwegian 400m hurdles Olympic champion Karsten Warholm will be leading the pack.
Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa, the reigning 400m world record holder who displayed good form in Oslo on 15 June, and Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan, the surprise world champion and the fastest in the women’s 100m hurdles, will also be testing the speed of the new track.
Olympic 200m gold medallist Andre De Grasse headlines the men’s 100m, while Emmanuel Korir - another Olympic champion from the Tokyo Olympics - will lead the 800m field.
Athletes to watch at the 2023 Bauhaus-Galan
Focus on Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis as record Diamond League winners return
Just days after his impressive clearance of 6.12m at the Golden Spike in Ostrava, expectations are high that Duplantis could surpass his own meeting record of 6.16m from last year. With the challenge of his great rival and friend, Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie, and the support of a passionate home crowd, the question remains: How close can Mondo get to his world record of 6.22m?
Lavillenie, on the other hand, holds a different accolade in the Diamond League. He is the most successful athlete in the series, having competed in 72 events and emerged victorious in 33 of them.
Among the women competing in Stockholm, one of the biggest Diamond League winners is discus thrower Sandra Perkovic. The Croatian athlete, a two-time Olympic champion and world gold medalist, will be aiming for her first win of the season after finishing second in Paris and third in Oslo.
She faces strong competition from Valarie Allman, the reigning Olympic gold medallist from the United States, who has already secured two wins in the series.
Eyes on world record holders Karsten Warholm and Wayde van Niekerk
Warholm, who kicked off his 2023 season in the 400m hurdles with a world-leading time of 46.52, will once again be racing against the clock.
Having come close to breaking the world record in 2020 with a time of 46.87, the fast new track in Stockholm could push him even closer to his ultimate goal.
Van Niekerk, who has returned to form and has not lost any of the five races he has started this season, adds further excitement to the highly competitive 400m event, with the 2023 World Athletics Championships on the horizon.
Keep an eye out for the presence of two-time world bronze medalist Matthew Hudson-Smith from Team GB in the lineup, as the runners gear up for the upcoming championships.
African sprint stars headline Stockholm entries
The upcoming competition will feature the fastest woman in the 100m hurdles, Amusan, who will be competing for the second time this week. She recently achieved her season-best time of 12.47 in Ostrava, securing third place behind Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn. Amusan, representing Nigeria, is aiming for her second win of the season after her victory at the Racers Grand Prix in Kingston.
In the women's sprints, Ivorian athlete Marie-Jose Ta Lou, who has been in exceptional form in the shorter sprint events this season, will be stepping up to compete in the 200m. This will be her second appearance in the half-lap event in the series, following her third-place finish in Paris.
The favourites to challenge Ta Lou for her first 200m series win are the British duo of Dina Asher-Smith, the 2019 world champion, and Daryll Neita. With their impressive performances, they pose a significant threat to the double world silver medalist in this event.
Olympic stars Andre De Grasse and Emmanuel Korir look to bounce back
Andre De Grasse has had a challenging start to the season, having moved to Orlando to train with his new coach, John Coghlan, after recovering from a foot injury that affected his performances in 2022.
Despite these setbacks, Canada's most decorated Olympian was pleased to secure his first podium finish in the men's 100m race at the Ostrava Golden Spike on Tuesday (27 June).
De Grasse's season began with the USATF Bermuda Grand Prix, where he finished 9th in the 100m race. However, he achieved better results in the 200m event, finishing as the runner-up at the same competition. His main hurdle in securing victory in Ostrava was South African champion Akani Simbine, who dominated the event.
Another prominent athlete aiming to regain top form and return to winning ways is Kenya's Emmanuel Korir. However, the reigning world and Olympic champion faced difficulties in recent races in Rabat and Paris, where his compatriot Emmanuel Wanyonyi emerged as a rising star and claimed victory.
How to watch the 2023 Diamond League in Stockholm
The 2023 Diamond League in Stockholm will be streamed lived in several territories on the Wanda Diamond League YouTube page from 20:00 local time (GMT+2).
C More-TV4 / SVT has the broadcasting rights in Sweden.
For viewers in the U.S., NBC has the rights and will broadcast on CNBC and on Peacock, while the BBC owns the rights in the UK and will air it on BBC Three.
SuperSport is the rightsholder for the 2023 Diamond League in most of Africa.
2023 Stockholm Diamond League full schedule
2 July 2023 (Diamond leagues events are marked in bold)
All times local in CET (GMT+2)
2023 Stockholm Diamond League full schedule
2 July 2023 (Diamond leagues events are marked in bold)
All times local in CET (GMT+2)
17:14 - Women Discss Throw
17:25 - Men High Jump
17:27 - Men Pole Vault
17:31 – Men 3000m
17:48 - Women 800
18:04 - Men 400m
18:14 - Men 100m
18:21 - Women 1500m
18:30 - Women Long Jump
18:36 - Women 5000m
18:55 - Men Discuss Throw
19:02 - Women 100 hurdles
19:12 - Men 3000m steeplechase
19:31 - Men's 400m hurdles
19:42 - Women 200m
19:52 - Men 800m