Five reasons why the Oslo Diamond League could be an all-time classic

From one historic meet to another, the 2024 Diamond League shifts focus from the iconic Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, to the storied Bislett Games in Oslo, Norway. The Norwegian capital will welcome many of the world’s best athletes on Thursday 30 May for an evening packed with track and field action.

There will be no shortage of intriguing storylines heading into the sixth stop of the 2024 Diamond League. Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs will make his first Diamond League appearance of the season, while fellow Olympic champion Karsten Warholm is set for a season debut in the men’s 400m hurdles.

Of course, they aren’t the only athletes to keep an eye on with the Olympic Games Paris 2024 looming on the horizon. Olympics.com explores five storylines that could make the 2024 Oslo Diamond League a real thriller.

World champions renew rivalry in men’s 400m hurdles

While it might not have the same stakes as the hallowed myth of Ragnarök, the duel between Norway’s Karsten Warholm and Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos will be no less tense. The two titans of hurdling will have their first head-to-head race of the season at the 2024 Bislett Games.

2022 World Champion Alison Dos Santos arrives in Oslo fresh off a victory at the 2024 Doha Diamond League. His season’s best of 46.86 seconds is over a second better than his nearest rival on the start list, but that doesn’t make him the prohibited favorite in Oslo.

A colossal, viking-shaped shadow looms large over Bislett Olympic Stadium. It is cast by world record holder and three-time world champion Karsten Warholm who has fared well at this venue in the past.

He ran his first world record of 46.70 seconds at the 2021 Bislett Games, before breaking the 46 second barrier at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. The Norwegian superstar will look to repeat his past success in his first 400m hurdles race of the season on home soil.

Kyron McMaster of the British Virgin Islands and CJ Allen of the United States will attempt to spring an upset as they build their own resumes ahead of Paris 2024.

Women’s 400m features entirety of 2023 World Athletics Championships podium

The gold, silver and bronze medalists from last year’s world championships in Budapest will reunite in the women’s 400m in Oslo.

2023 World Champion Marileidy Paulino is currently undefeated over 400m this season. She already has two Diamond League victories to her name this year, and she’ll look to add a third in Oslo.

Poland’s Natalia Kaczmarek was Paulino’s closest rival in Hungary. Her season’s best is a mere 00.01 seconds behind the Dominican phenom, so it may take a photo finish to separate the two at the finish line on Thursday evening.

Nonetheless, they aren’t the only threats for victory in Oslo. Two-time world championship bronze medalist Sada Williams will hope to inject some life into her Paris 2024 medal prospects as well.

The Barbadian sprinter has struggled to find the top step of the podium this season, but she has proven that she can rise to the occasion at major championships in the past. The pressure will be on with the Olympic Games looming large on the horizon.

Marcell Jacobs returns to the Diamond League

Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs headlines the men’s 100m start list in Oslo. The Italian sprinting star will look to secure a maiden Diamond League victory and establish himself as a solid contender at Paris 2024.

Despite a tumultuous 2023 season, which included missing the 100m final at the world championships, his focus remains set on defending his Olympic title in Paris. A pair of early season victories, including a season's best 10.07, will provide him with extra confidence heading into Oslo.

His main challengers will likely be South Africa’s Akani Simbine and Great Britain's rising star Jeremiah Azu.

Simbine finished just off the podium at both Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. He already has one Diamond League victory to his name this season but has yet to go under 10 seconds.

Azu, on the other hand, clocked 9.97 at the True Athletes Classics in Leverkusen, Germany on 25 May. The 23 year-old has yet to win a Diamond League race but his recent season best time makes him a contender for victory in Oslo.

Shericka Jackson aims for excellence in women’s 200m

2023 world champion Shericka Jackson will look to extend her winning streak in the women’s 200m in Oslo. The 29-year-old has yet to lose a Diamond League race over that distance since winning gold - in a record-breaking time - in Budapest last year.

She has the fastest personal best time of any athlete on the start list, but her season opening victory was more than a second off that mark. She’ll look to close that gap, while etching another victory over her rivals on Thursday evening.

Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith of Cote d'Ivoire and Brittany Brown of the United States could be her closest challengers. Ta Lou-Smith has 14 Diamond League victories to her name while Brown has the best time this season, clocking 22.35 seconds.

A who’s who of men’s discus throwers

All eyes will be on Lithuania's Mykolas Alekna after he threw a provisional world record of 74.35m earlier this season. His mark is nearly four meters better than his nearest rival, but he will face stiff competition as the top six ranked discus throwers in the world face-off in Oslo.

Alekna's biggest challengers will likely be Swedish Olympic champion Daniel Ståhl and 2022 world champion Kristjan Čeh. They both have a personal best of 71.86m, and have won Diamond League meets in the past.

Australia’s Matthew Denny, Lithuania’s Andrius Gudzius and Jamaica’s Fedrick Dacres round out the elite group of challengers. Denny’s season best mark of 69.35m is the third best of the throwers on the entry list.

With so many top throwers going head-to-head in Oslo, the Bislett Games could provide an early preview of the Olympic final at Paris 2024, which is now less than two months away.