This year, the fans are bound to leave the Silesian Stadium weary with excitement. By all accounts, it is going to be a historic edition of the Silesia Kamila Skolimowska Memorial - predicted Piotr Małachowski, sports director of the Polish stop on the Diamond League circuit. Nearly everything is ready for 16 July. The organisers are revealing the entry lists, with a last-minute addition of Yulimar Rojas. Tickets are still available for purchase.
When Armand Duplantis and Jakob Ingebrigtsen start planning their seasons by negotiating with the Silesia Kamila Skolimowska Memorial, it is a sign that the meeting dedicated to the memory of the late hammer thrower has reached the top level. The event taking place on 16 July in the Silesian Stadium has become a permanent fixture on the Diamond League calendar and the fans will benefit the most. On Sunday, Poland's prime athletics arena will play host to Olympic champions, World Championships medalists and no fewer than five world record holders. The latter group has just been joined by the famed triple jumper Yulimar Rojas, a late addition to the Memorial's field.
- A year ago, we broke through our own ceiling. This year we want do it again, in every aspect - said Marek Plawgo, communications director of the meeting.
Anyone who has not yet purchased a ticket to the 14th edition of the "Kama" Memorial should seriously think about it. Opportunities to see this many athletics legends at once rarely come outside of the Olympic Games and World Championships - Piotr Małachowski stated.
A total of 19 events are on the program. With less than a week to go, the organisers reveal it all.
TRACK:
On 16 July, the "Kama" will feature two 100 metre races. The men's race will feature two medalists from the 2022 World Championships - Fred Kerley and Marvin Bracy, who will be put to a test by the likes of Noah Lyles and Christian Coleman. On the women's side, Ewa Swoboda awaits a race against the notorious and charismatic Sha'Carri Richardson, the five-time Olympic medalist Shericka Jackson (who ran 10.65 last weekend!) and Marie-Josee Ta Lou. The women's 400 metres is looking just as exciting, with Natalia Kaczmarek facing the world champion Marileidy Paulino. The athlete from the Dominican Republic is unbeaten this year, the current world leader and favourite for the upcoming World Championships. The same can be said of many other guests of the Silesia Diamond League. Who knows what the 400 metres world record holder Wayde van Niekerk is capable of? The experts may also wonder how fast the hurdles specialist Alison dos Santos can go over the flat distance. He has already shown his prowess over the barriers on many occasions, including Tokyo.
Ingebrigtsen, who recently set a European record at 1500 metres at the Diamond League in Oslo, is set to race in Silesia for the last time before the World Championships in Budapest. His rivals include the Spaniard Mohamed Katir, the second fastest European of all time. The program also includes two women's middle-distance races. In the 800 metres, Sofia Ennaoui, making her season debut, will face the world leader Mary Moraa, who recently impressed the fans in Lausanne with her form. The 1500 metres will feature a duel between Diribe Welteji and Birke Haylom. The latter, a U18 athlete, set a new world U20 record for the mile in Oslo.
- We are lucky to be able to count on our partners: the Silesian voivodeship, the Ministry of Sports and Tourism, as well as the State Fund for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled. It is largely thanks to them that we could reach this level. If the women's 3000 metres features Gudaf Tsegay and Beatrice Chebet, the gold and silver medalist of the World Championships in Eugene, we consider it the absolute top level. Their managers suggest anything is possible when these two go head to head - Małachowski said.
That is still not all that will happen on the track, as one of the highlights of the Silesia Kamila Skolimowska Memorial will be the high-hurdles races. On the women's side, apart from Pia Skrzyszowska, taking to the track will be Tobi Amusan, Kendra Harrison and Jasmine Camacho-Quinn. Amusan took the world record away from Harrison last year, while Camacho-Quinn is the current world leader and the Olympic champion from Tokyo. Significantly, Pia, the European U23 champion and record holder, is getting faster with each race and may have something to say here as well. The men's race is not a foregone conclusion, either. Weather permitting, Grant Holloway and Devon Allen, who was disqualified for a false start in Eugene, might have a go at the world record. Holloway is just 1/100 of a second away from it, Allen missed it by 0.04. Challenging the two of them will be the Eugene runner-up Trey Cunningham.
- There is no better motivation than a world record holder who broke a mark you were targetting yourself - that is Plawgo's preview of the men's 3000m steeplechaser. The star of the race will be Soufiane El Bakkali, keen to challenge Lamecha Girma, if only virtually on this occasion. At the Memorial, he may be pushed to a top-class time by the unpredictable Getnet Wale, a newcomer, still learning the event.
JUMPS:
Obviously, track events are only a part of a great athletics show. More excitement will be provided by field specialists. Or, one could say, kings of the field, a fitting term for the two high jump Olympic champions. After writing history in Tokyo, Mutaz Essa Barshim and Gianmarco Tamberi are continuing their journey, with Silesia one of the major stops this year. Tamberi will benefit from his familiarity with the arena, after competing in it at the European Team Championships in June. Italy, thanks in part to his showing, took gold there. Once again, one of his rivals will be Norbert Kobielski. Despite the spectacular entry list, it may be the women's contest that will provide even better quality. The field includes Yaroslava Mahuchikh, Nicola Olyslagers and Eleanor Patterson. In Eugene it was the latter who unexpectedly defeated Mahuchikh and she will be looking forward to a rematch. Olyslagers recently demonstrated she may be a gold medal contender in Budapest with her 2.02 in Lausanne, a new personal best and world-leading performance.
Armand Duplantis's appearance in the pole vault is an advertisement in itself.
- I feel very good in the Silesian Stadium and Poland is a special place for me. I would like to set another world record there. A lot will depend on the weather, though - said the Swede cautiously. - Whenever he shows up, everyone, including himself, hopes for a world record. We will be happy to pay a bonus if he makes it this time - Małachowski confirmed. Apart from Piotr Lisek, the Swede will face KC Lightfoot, the American who recently cleared 6.07. Nobody else has vaulted this high since the start of Mondo's reign.
The number one entry in the triple jump will be Yulimar Rojas, who had a place reserved for her until the last moment. The Venezuelan has completely dominated the event in recent years and her world record of 15.74 from last year may be out of everyone else's reach for decades to come. She will be the obvious favourite in the Silesian Stadium, however, the fight between Shanieka Ricketts and Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk should provide more excitement for the fans. At the recent European Team Championships, the Ukrainian did not have the best of times. Starting as favourite, she fouled three attempts and failed to give her team major points. She will surely want to erase the bad impression this time.
THROWS:
- Even if the hammer throwers are excluded from the Diamond League, we treat the event as a proper part of the elite competition. Kamila Skolimowska, who is looking at us from above, would definitely want that. Even if fifteen other world records are set in the Silesian Stadium on 16 July, the hammer throw has always been and will continue to be the most important part of our meeting - Małachowski stated.
For that reason, Paweł Fajdek, Wojciech Nowicki and Malwina Kopron will face the strongest fields possible. The women's bronze medalist from the Tokyo Olympics will be tested by Brooke Andersen, the third woman ever to throw over 80 metres. The Polish men will face the athletes expected to be their main rivals in the World Championships final. Those will include Eivind Henriksen, the Norwegian who split them in the Olympic final in 2021. Importantly, this will be Fajdek's 13th appearance at the "Kama" Memorial. He has won it eight times and he stated the competition will be his main goal this year apart from the World Championships.
Nowicki and Fajdek are still looking for their best form. Ryan Crouser, who improved on his own shot put world record yet again this spring with 23.54, has already found it. If the other top Silesia invitees, Joe Kovacs and Tom Walsh, have started their final World Championships preparations, it is possible that Michał Haratyk will need to surpass his national record to get into the top three on Sunday.
- It is exactly what we wish for. Nothing will celebrate Kamila's memory as well as records that will fall at the event dedicated to her - Plawgo said excitedly.
Tickets to the Diamond League in Silesia are available on the eBilet.pl website. The competition starts on 16 July at 2 PM. The main Diamond League program kicks off at 4 PM.
