SPOTLIGHT ON RED-HOT NORMAN IN STOCKHOLM

All eyes will be on US sprint star Michael Norman when he takes to the track at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Stockholm on Thursday evening (30).

The men’s 400m will be the first event of the international broadcast at the Bauhaus-galan and, given the sparkling early-season form of Norman, it’s a race that will likely pass by in a blur. It’s the 21-year-old’s first ever 400m at an IAAF Diamond League, and fireworks are expected after Norman opened his season with a 43.45 clocking in Torrence, California, last month.

He followed that up with 200m PB of 19.84 in Osaka, Japan, just 10 days ago, more evidence that the IAAF Diamond League 400m record of 43.62 – set by Wayde van Niekerk in Lausanne in 2017 – may be under threat.

In a stadium that has played host to 83 world records over the years, Norman will square off against training partner Rai Benjamin, the 400m hurdles specialist who has a best of 44.31 in the flat discipline, along with Baboloki Thebe of Botswana, Nathan Allen of Jamaica and Bralon Taplin of Grenada.

While Norman may be the individual athlete who draws most attention, the women’s 200m is shaping up to be the most competitive race of the meeting.

Mouth-Watering 200M

Great Britain’s Dina Asher Smith blows the field in Doha earlier this month with world lead time of 22.26 seconds and Jamaica’s Elaine Thomson returned to winning ways just last week with a 200m win in Nanjing.
Both of them will now meet in a mouth watering 200m in Sweden city Stockholm where the duo will be up against reigning world champion Dafne Schippers of Netherlands .

The field will see both regaining Olympic champion, reigning world champion together with world number 02, Dina Asher Smith and world number 05 Jenna Prandini of USA.
Asher Smith, Thompson, and Schippers have all gone sub 22 seconds in the event with personal best of 21.89, 21.66 and 21.63 seconds respectively .
Nevertheless only Asher Smith able to go beyond 22 seconds within the last one and a half years and she has the best timing out of trio within last two years. Also given the fact she is in fine form, Asher Smith hold a slight advantage for the title but you never know when a world champion and an Olympic champion competing.

The women’s 100m hurdles also has a typically competitive line-up, headed by world record holder Kendra Harrison who clocked a world-leading 12.47 in Baie-Mahault earlier this month. Fellow US hurdler Sharika Nelvis is sure to put up a strong challenge, along with Europeans Nadine Visser, Cindy Roleder and Elvira Herman.

World champion Ramil Guliyev of Turkey takes top billing in the men’s 200m, though Canada’s Aaron Brown – a winner in the Shanghai non-scoring race in 20.07 – will present a formidable challenge.

Norway’s Karsten Warholm should prove tough to beat in the men’s 400m hurdles, the reigning world champion opening his outdoor season here after a stellar spring campaign that saw him win European indoor gold over 400m in 45.05.

OBIRI’S 5000M DEBUT

All eyes will be on Hellen Obiri in the women’s 5000m, the Kenyan who is coming off a gold medal at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in March and who claimed an impressive victory over 3000m in Doha earlier this month, clocking 8:25.60.

She should face a strong challenge from compatriot Agnes Tirop though it will be no surprise if Obiri ends up in a solo race against the clock. Her personal of 14:18.37 appears ripe for revision.

The women’s 800m sees Ajee Wilson square off against fellow US athlete Raevyn Rogers along with Kenya’s Nelly Jepkosgei, Ethiopia’s Habitam Alemu and Britain’s Lynsey Sharp.

The Ultimate Long Jump Show down

Jamaica’s Tajay Gayle had a fantastic month so far, winning the diamond league in Shanghai as well as IAAF world challenge in Nanjing but the Jamaican long jumper will walk into a superior field in Stockholm, Sweden. Gayle will be up against the Defending Olympic Champion Jeff Henderson of United States, Defending World Champion Luvo Manyonga of South Africa but the most exciting name in the field is 20-year-old jumper Juan Miguel Echevarría of Cuba.

There were Four stadium records were set at last year’s edition but the leading performance was Juan Miguel Echevarría’s fantastic 8.83m in the long jump, which was only twelve centimeters from the 27-year-old world record. On 30 May, he is back at StockholmEchevarría’s performance last year was one of the greatest achievements ever at Stockholm Olympic Stadium.

He almost jumped out of the pit, then came a tense wait while the distance was measured, followed by shouts of joy at the result – 8.83m. The wind gauge showed +2.1 m/s – just 0.1 over the limit for a legal jump. After that, he continued unbeaten for the rest of the year and topped the world’s statistics with 8.68m in the legal wind. This gave him first place in Track&Field News world ranking. In 2019 he has continued to progress and at home in Havana in March he jumped 8.92m, this time however with a 3.3m/s tailwind.

(With inputs from IAAF)