Six Big Races To Follow At The Bislett Games, Oslo's Diamond League Meeting
Six Big Races To Follow At The Bislett Games, Oslo's Diamond League Meeting
Preview of the Bislett Games, IAAF Diamond League meeting in Oslo, Norway
The next Diamond League stop is in Oslo, Norway, for the Bislett Games on Thursday. The event will be long on action but short on Americans as the U.S. Championships begin next week in Sacramento, CA. The Diamond League events start at 1 PM CT and continue through 4 PM CT. Read below for top names to watch and check back to FloTrack on Thursday for live blog commentary.
Who: Caster Semenya, Margaret Wambui, Francine Niyonsaba, Eunice Sum, Melissa Bishop, Lynsey Sharp
Why: The "big three" of women's 800m running is back again: Caster Semenya of South Africa, Margaret Wambui of Kenya and Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi. The Olympic medalists last met in Eugene for the Prefontaine Classic, where bronze medalist Wambui ran out of gas in the final 10 meters and lost to a super smooth Semenya, 1:57.78 to 1:57.88. Niyonsaba was more than a second behind for third in 1:59.10.
No one has beaten Semenya since 2015, and we don't think she will lose in Oslo. But Wambui has proven she's not scared to push for the win. Her finish at Pre was much closer than the Diamond League opener in Doha, where the margin was 1:56.61 to 1:57.03.
Watch the Prefontaine battle between Wambui and Semenya below:
Others to watch include 2013 world champion Eunice Sum of Kenya, third in Doha in what was her only 800m race of the year; and Canada's Melissa Bishop, the 2015 World Championships silver medalist who had a solid sixth-place, 1:59.52 run at Prefontaine for her first sub-two clocking of the season.
Who: Elijah Manangoi, Silas Kiplagat, Abdelaati Iguider, Ayanleh Souleiman, Ryan Gregson, Charlie Grice, Jordan Williamsz, David Torrence, Filip Ingebrigtsen
Why: Elijah Manangoi of Kenya is the IAAF Diamond League leader in the 1500m after winning at Doha and taking second at Pre in a close battle with countryman Ronald Kwemoi, 3:49.04 to 3:49.08. Kwemoi isn't racing here, so bet on Manangoi to maintain his prominence in the event.
Fellow Kenyan Silas Kiplagat had a poor showing at Pre, where he placed just 12th, but was runner-up to Manangoi at Doha, where the duo ran No. 2 and No. 3 world ranking times of 3:31.90 and 3:32.23, respectively. Thirty-year-old Abdelaati Iguider of Morocco, the 2015 World Championships bronze medalist, opened his season with a sixth-place run at Pre--where he was one of the victims of Clayton Murphy's late-run surge--in 3:52.77. Ayanleh Souleiman of Djibouti, the fourth-placer in Rio's 1500m final, will be seeking vengeance after falling at Pre and failing to finish the race.
Who: Jakob Ingebrigtsen
Why: Sixteen-year-old Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen became the youngest sub-four miler in world history when he clocked 3:58.07 at the Prefontaine Classic. The time is a world record for 16-year-olds, and one that Ingebrigtsen hopes to lower this week. The Bislett Games usually feature a Dream Mile as the primary men's middle distance race of the event, but a sponsorship switch necessitated changing the main event to a 1500m, while the mile will be for U20 athletes. Pacers Paul Robinson of Ireland and Jack Rayner of Australia are charged with targets of 58 for 400m, 1:57 for 800m, and 2:57 for 1200m.
This article from Norway states that an allowance was made for the pacers to be over the age of 20 to give Ingebrigtsen a better chance at lowering his world record; they want to run between 3:54 and 3:56.
Teen phenom Jakob Ingebrigtsen ran 3:43 for 1500m in early May at Portland Twilight:
Who: Dafne Schippers, Murielle Ahoure
Why: Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands will look to collect a win in Norway on her 25th birthday. The Olympic silver medalist for 200m was just fourth at Prefontaine, not a terrible result considering the all-star cast included Olympic bronze medalist Tori Bowie, gold medalists Shaunae Miller-Uibo and Elaine Thompson, and American legend Allyson Felix, who placed fifth behind Schippers. But Bowie, Miller-Uibo, and Thompson were well ahead of the rest of the field under 22 seconds, while Schippers ran a well-beaten 22.30. She was second in Doha behind Thompson, and her season-best run of 22.29 (+1.4) came in early April at the Bryan Clay Invitational.
Schippers will be hoping for a win and a season best; her biggest competition should come from Murielle Ahoure of the Ivory Coast, who ran the No. 2 100m in the world this year in 10.83 (+1.1) at the Star Athletics meet in Florida over Jamaica's Veronica Campbell-Brown and Simone Facey, the latter of whom will also be in the Oslo field. Ahoure, the double silver medalist over 100m and 200m at the 2013 IAAF World Championships, was second at Pre in the 100m and has yet to contest a 200m this season.
Watch Dafne Schippers run her season-best 200m of 22.29 (+1.4) at the Bryan Clay Invitational:
Who: Andre De Grasse, Jimmy Vicaut, Chijindu Ujah, Ben Youssef Meité, Churandy Martina
Why: Canada's Andre De Grasse will seek to defend his Bislett Games title in the 100m. The Rio Olympic silver medalist for 200m and bronze medalist for 100m hasn't been running quite as well in 2017 so far; De Grasse was fifth in Doha and fourth at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene. His wind-legal season-best run is just 10.10 (+0.2). Chijindu Ujah of Great Britain, third at Prefontaine, enters here having won the 100m at the Diamond League meeting in Rome in 10.02 (-0.2). Jimmy Vicaut of France was runner-up in Rome and is the only athlete in the field to crack the 10-second barrier this season, with a 9.97 effort to win the French Club Championships in May.
Who: Kristi Castlin, Tiffany Porter, Pamela Dutkiewicz, Alina Talay
Why: Olympic bronze medalist Kristi Castlin of the United States will look for a confidence booster here ahead of the U.S. Nationals. The 28-year-old has raced just three times this season, with her season-best effort of 12.82 (+0.8) via a sixth-place finish at the Prefontaine Classic.
She may want to watch out for Germany's Pamela Dutkiewicz, who has been on a roll in 2017. The 25-year-old won bronze in the 60m hurdles at the European Indoor Championships; this spring, she's undefeated in the 100m hurdles and has lowered her PB from 12.85 to 12.61 to rank No. 6 in the world. That time makes her the fastest this season in the field, though Castlin's PB is 12.50 and Tiffany Porter of Great Britain, the 2014 European champion, has run 12.51.
Belarus' Alina Talay, the 2015 World Championships bronze medalist, is also here after placing eighth at Prefontaine, where she ran her season best of 12.97 (+0.8).
Women's 800m
Who: Caster Semenya, Margaret Wambui, Francine Niyonsaba, Eunice Sum, Melissa Bishop, Lynsey Sharp
Why: The "big three" of women's 800m running is back again: Caster Semenya of South Africa, Margaret Wambui of Kenya and Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi. The Olympic medalists last met in Eugene for the Prefontaine Classic, where bronze medalist Wambui ran out of gas in the final 10 meters and lost to a super smooth Semenya, 1:57.78 to 1:57.88. Niyonsaba was more than a second behind for third in 1:59.10.
No one has beaten Semenya since 2015, and we don't think she will lose in Oslo. But Wambui has proven she's not scared to push for the win. Her finish at Pre was much closer than the Diamond League opener in Doha, where the margin was 1:56.61 to 1:57.03.
Watch the Prefontaine battle between Wambui and Semenya below:
Others to watch include 2013 world champion Eunice Sum of Kenya, third in Doha in what was her only 800m race of the year; and Canada's Melissa Bishop, the 2015 World Championships silver medalist who had a solid sixth-place, 1:59.52 run at Prefontaine for her first sub-two clocking of the season.
Men's 1500m
Who: Elijah Manangoi, Silas Kiplagat, Abdelaati Iguider, Ayanleh Souleiman, Ryan Gregson, Charlie Grice, Jordan Williamsz, David Torrence, Filip Ingebrigtsen
Why: Elijah Manangoi of Kenya is the IAAF Diamond League leader in the 1500m after winning at Doha and taking second at Pre in a close battle with countryman Ronald Kwemoi, 3:49.04 to 3:49.08. Kwemoi isn't racing here, so bet on Manangoi to maintain his prominence in the event.
Fellow Kenyan Silas Kiplagat had a poor showing at Pre, where he placed just 12th, but was runner-up to Manangoi at Doha, where the duo ran No. 2 and No. 3 world ranking times of 3:31.90 and 3:32.23, respectively. Thirty-year-old Abdelaati Iguider of Morocco, the 2015 World Championships bronze medalist, opened his season with a sixth-place run at Pre--where he was one of the victims of Clayton Murphy's late-run surge--in 3:52.77. Ayanleh Souleiman of Djibouti, the fourth-placer in Rio's 1500m final, will be seeking vengeance after falling at Pre and failing to finish the race.
Men's Mile
Who: Jakob Ingebrigtsen
Why: Sixteen-year-old Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen became the youngest sub-four miler in world history when he clocked 3:58.07 at the Prefontaine Classic. The time is a world record for 16-year-olds, and one that Ingebrigtsen hopes to lower this week. The Bislett Games usually feature a Dream Mile as the primary men's middle distance race of the event, but a sponsorship switch necessitated changing the main event to a 1500m, while the mile will be for U20 athletes. Pacers Paul Robinson of Ireland and Jack Rayner of Australia are charged with targets of 58 for 400m, 1:57 for 800m, and 2:57 for 1200m.
HE'S 16 AND SUB-4! #PreClassic pic.twitter.com/MFDWstg1xx
— Prefontaine Classic (@nikepreclassic) May 27, 2017
This article from Norway states that an allowance was made for the pacers to be over the age of 20 to give Ingebrigtsen a better chance at lowering his world record; they want to run between 3:54 and 3:56.
Teen phenom Jakob Ingebrigtsen ran 3:43 for 1500m in early May at Portland Twilight:
Women's 200m
Who: Dafne Schippers, Murielle Ahoure
Why: Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands will look to collect a win in Norway on her 25th birthday. The Olympic silver medalist for 200m was just fourth at Prefontaine, not a terrible result considering the all-star cast included Olympic bronze medalist Tori Bowie, gold medalists Shaunae Miller-Uibo and Elaine Thompson, and American legend Allyson Felix, who placed fifth behind Schippers. But Bowie, Miller-Uibo, and Thompson were well ahead of the rest of the field under 22 seconds, while Schippers ran a well-beaten 22.30. She was second in Doha behind Thompson, and her season-best run of 22.29 (+1.4) came in early April at the Bryan Clay Invitational.
Schippers will be hoping for a win and a season best; her biggest competition should come from Murielle Ahoure of the Ivory Coast, who ran the No. 2 100m in the world this year in 10.83 (+1.1) at the Star Athletics meet in Florida over Jamaica's Veronica Campbell-Brown and Simone Facey, the latter of whom will also be in the Oslo field. Ahoure, the double silver medalist over 100m and 200m at the 2013 IAAF World Championships, was second at Pre in the 100m and has yet to contest a 200m this season.
Watch Dafne Schippers run her season-best 200m of 22.29 (+1.4) at the Bryan Clay Invitational:
Men's 100m
Who: Andre De Grasse, Jimmy Vicaut, Chijindu Ujah, Ben Youssef Meité, Churandy Martina
Why: Canada's Andre De Grasse will seek to defend his Bislett Games title in the 100m. The Rio Olympic silver medalist for 200m and bronze medalist for 100m hasn't been running quite as well in 2017 so far; De Grasse was fifth in Doha and fourth at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene. His wind-legal season-best run is just 10.10 (+0.2). Chijindu Ujah of Great Britain, third at Prefontaine, enters here having won the 100m at the Diamond League meeting in Rome in 10.02 (-0.2). Jimmy Vicaut of France was runner-up in Rome and is the only athlete in the field to crack the 10-second barrier this season, with a 9.97 effort to win the French Club Championships in May.
Women's 100m Hurdles
Who: Kristi Castlin, Tiffany Porter, Pamela Dutkiewicz, Alina Talay
Why: Olympic bronze medalist Kristi Castlin of the United States will look for a confidence booster here ahead of the U.S. Nationals. The 28-year-old has raced just three times this season, with her season-best effort of 12.82 (+0.8) via a sixth-place finish at the Prefontaine Classic.
She may want to watch out for Germany's Pamela Dutkiewicz, who has been on a roll in 2017. The 25-year-old won bronze in the 60m hurdles at the European Indoor Championships; this spring, she's undefeated in the 100m hurdles and has lowered her PB from 12.85 to 12.61 to rank No. 6 in the world. That time makes her the fastest this season in the field, though Castlin's PB is 12.50 and Tiffany Porter of Great Britain, the 2014 European champion, has run 12.51.
Belarus' Alina Talay, the 2015 World Championships bronze medalist, is also here after placing eighth at Prefontaine, where she ran her season best of 12.97 (+0.8).
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