Diamond League with Polanik this time in Katowice and Chorzów
40,211 fans in the stands saw on Saturday in Silesia the third 400 m hurdle run of Karsten Warholm in the history, the performance of Faith Kipyegon and, among others, the phenomenal return of Keely Hodgkinson. The Diamond League in Silesia brought as many as 31 different records.
The most important competitions, top-ranked athletics competitions, are always held with the participation of Polanik equipment - and this was, of course, the case this time. We have been supporting the organization of the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial since the first editions, and this year we also provided the opportunity to hold City Games on the market in Katowice.
- For such days, it is worth training all year round- these were Ewa Swoboda's first words after her Saturday run at Superauto.pl Silesian Stadium. Women's 100-meter event with the participation of a Polish woman closed the nearly five-hour celebration of athletics - the only Diamond League in this part of the world. A competition that shocked the environment for the fourth time in a row. Swoboda did not win this event. She ran 11.08 seconds, the best during this season, but the fastest at the finish line was Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and she scored a phenomenal 10.66 seconds.
A total of 36 Poles who ran, jumped and threw in Silesia on Saturday had similar references. Because their rivals - it's already a tradition - were the world's greatest athletes here. In total, 31 different records were set in this edition of the Skolimowska Memorial: Diamond League, continents, countries, meetings and the so-called World-Lead. And then there was the waterfall of life's bests. The plaques that were handed to the athletes after their events were basically constantly circulating around the stadium.
But as this time Armand Duplantis did not set a world record in Poland in pole vault (he stopped at 6.10 meters), after this Saturday there will be much talk about runners.
-This tartan, these people, this noise? It brings. An extraordinary experience, to be able to run here. Thank you, Poland - said MVP Karsten Warholm after his performance at this edition of the meeting. The Norwegian received a spectacular ring from the organizers but first ran 400 m in hurdle run event in 46.28 seconds. This is the third best race ever seen in this event. And the fastest of Warholm's outside the Tokyo Olympic Games, where he set a still binding world record (45.94 s). - I know that that final became a context. And that we will now return to Japan again. To run like that, you have to really have a day, so I'm really happy with what I did today - he commented.
Also, in the 400m hurdle run - like Warholm - Femke Bol shined, whose 51.91s is the new best time in the world this year.
Keely Hodgkinson is also not afraid to mention the world record. Except it wasn't hers, it was Jarmila Kratochvilova. She speaks of it as a vision of the future. And she has the right, because now in Silesia, the Olympic champion in the 800 m from Paris, who after an injury has only just started the season, gained a phenomenal 1:54.74 seconds. This is the best time in the world this year and only slightly weaker than her spectacular life's best from a year ago.
- No one knew what I could do. I didn't know myself. But in this weather and the well-being I had, I had to take a risk. The season is already in a crucial phase. If I want to be count on in the World Championship, I had to find out about it. The fact that it was so fast? It's also a small surprise for me. Very nice none the less - she commented.
The world record was a quiet Saturday's dream for two athletes. Gudaf Tsegay ran long at 1500 m (finally 3:50.62). Faith Kipyegon pursued this goal even longer - in the 3000 m race, the same distance that Jakob Ingebrigtsen had achieved such a result a year ago. Despite the fantastic pacemakers and the strenuous chasing of Wavelight, Kenyan came to the finish line as "only" the second time in history - 8:07.04. No one has run this competition so fast in 32 years!
- At some point, you could just get lost in everything that happened on the stadium at once. You didn't know where to look, so much good was happening. After all, the result that was achieved in 100 m hurdle run is beyond comprehension. In the semifinals, 12.28 s was scored, in the final 12.19 s from Masai Russell. And the times that gave Olympic athlete gold, did not give a podium here - says Piotr Małachowski, the sports director of the memorial.
The total score of this year's edition of the Diamond League in Poland according to the World Athletics score is only a little weaker than last year's - that is, the one where two world records were set.
- It was a shock then, we went from momentum. But it is much harder to defend ourselves. Thank you, Kamila Skolimowska is proud of us. What I heard from the most important people at World Athletics gives a clear information: great things are coming soon. Only they are already great - said on the spot to the organizing committee Maricn Rosengarden, the head of the competition.
And in the Polish backyard? It is worth appreciating Klaudia Kazimierska - 3:59.66 in the 1500 m or Alicja Sielska, who ran in the 100 m hurdle run in 12.81 - the best in her career. Jakub Szymański also made a solid time in the 110 m hurdle run (13.28 s, three hundredths above the Polish record). Unfortunately, the disqualification for the false start buried the chances of the World Championship in Tokyo in our 4×400 m relay. The gentlemen ran under protest, but still slower than required 2:59.12.
In total, the Diamond League 2025 in Silesia was watched from the stands by 40,211 people. Given that this time the event took place before, not after, the main championship event of the season, it was a very valuable attendance.
The day before - on Friday, 15th of August, the world record holder in the high jump Jarosława Mahuczich won the historic, first street competition as part of the Diamond League in Silesia. The event in the centre of Katowice gathered an over-the-top audience.
Beautiful weather and fantastic atmosphere. And finally, the women's high jump event, which in previous years was not the norm due to time constraints - was enough for Jarosława Mahuczich to deal with Kamila Skolimowska's Memorial Silesia record on Friday in Katowice. The Ukrainian athlete, who came to Poland not only as an Olympic champion, but also as a world record holder (2.10 meters), obtained a height of two meters in the center of Silesia. She was the only athlete to do that. That's more than any woman has ever won in memory of the late Olympic champion from Sydney. - The last few days were not the best for me, I was looking back for myself on the jumping area. But coming to Silesia, the opportunity to see such a large Ukrainian community that lives here and came to support me from the stands, winged me. I believe that such events, where athletics comes out to fans, to city centers, are great. I really wanted to win here - said Mahuczich just after winning.
For the most outstanding female athlete in the history of high jump, performances outside the traditional stadium were nothing new. In the past, she happened to perform on a basketball court. And there, too, she jumped high. However, the Katowice competition brought her a lot of confidence, because in the defeated field she left, among others Nicola Olyslagers, a charismatic Australian woman who won gold at the World Indoor Championships in March in Nanjing. This time, Jarosława's main competitor achieved 1.97 m less than the previous meeting record.
But there was a lot more going on in Katowice on Friday. The event of shot putter was definitely noteworthy, where the Olympic champion from Paris, German Yemisi Ogunyele, and two-time European champion Jessica Schilder met in one circle. This time, it was the Dutchwoman who proved to be better, putting the four-kilogram ball to 19.66 meters. Ogunyele responded "only" with a test of 19.50 m.
The female pole vault competition was won by Marie-Julie Bonnin. The Frenchwoman reached 4.70 meters. Later, she unsuccessfully attacked France's record (4.77 m).
The article is based on:
Śląski zapłonął! Fantastyczny wynik Warholma ozdobą Diamentowej Ligi
Historyczny konkurs w Katowicach. Padła granica wyobraźni w skoku wzwyż
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