This month has also seen some closely fought test cricket between England and India, with the third test ending on Monday with a nail-biting finish. Added to the mix is the Women’s Football Euro Championships where, after a shaky start, England are in the quarter-finals, and the Fifa World Club Championships, where Chelsea overcame the odds to beat the in-form Paris Saint-Germain 3-0.
It is therefore hardly surprising that there has been little media coverage of the London Diamond League in the UK. It never fails to disappoint me that a sport that gets blanket coverage in the UK media in Olympic and Commonwealth Games years, and a sport that can sell out a stadium weeks ahead of the meet, gets negligible media coverage.
This year’s meet differs from recent years because of the late timing of the World Championships in Tokyo on September 13-21). Last year, the Olympic Games track and field was in early August. The London edition of the Diamond League was the last major meet before the games and therefore provided an excellent preparation for the Olympics.
New Zealand athletes benefited from this and were well represented in the world-class fields, whereas this year, pole vaulter Olivia McTaggart is the sole Kiwi competitor.
Sprinter Zoe Hobbs, who broke her New Zealand record clocking 10.94s at the Ostrava Golden Spike Meeting and last week gained her first Diamond League podium finish in Monaco (third), is back in New Zealand preparing for Tokyo. High jumper Hamish Kerr is preparing elsewhere in Europe and others are at different stages of preparation at different venues for a championship that is still nine weeks away.
There is a mouthwatering programme at the weekend with men’s long jump the first of 14 Diamond League events at 12.53pm, concluding with the 1500 metres at 3.48pm. In the field events, there is a final round, after five rounds for the leading three athletes, timetabled on the meet schedule.
Local fans and organisers are disappointed that 800m Paris gold medal winner Keely Hodgkinson, originally slated to run, has pulled out through injury. Jakob Ingebrigtsen has not yet recovered from injury and the Josh Kerr (UK) versus Ingebrigtsen (Norway) contest will have to wait for another day. However, the remaining field has exciting depth and quality.
There will be considerable interest in Sifan Hassan (Netherlands), who has stepped down to the mile. In the field are Australians Jessica Hull (world ranked 2) and Linden Hall (ranked 15) who was the women’s mile winner at the Cooks Classic in January.
Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles (US) faces the 200m champion Letsile Tebogo (Botswana) in a quality field and the exciting Dutch 400m hurdles champion Femke Bol will seek to beat her own meet record. There is depth and world quality in every event.
I can’t wait and will reflect on the meet next week.
I left for the UK straight after the New Zealand Schools Cross Country in June and it is pleasing to see two stars in Whangārei shine overseas.
Sam Ruthe continues his record-breaking ways, setting New Zealand under-17 and 18 1500m records in Los Angeles, while the senior girls champion, Siena Mackley, set a personal best to finish second over 1000m (2:54.79) in a national event in Monaco last weekend.
