It is the end of the countdown. After a year of waiting, we can finally say: the Diamond League is coming back to Silesia! The prelude to the athletics feast is the city event in the Katowice market square. You will not see the best in the world from this close up anywhere else – were the words of invitation from Marek Plawgo. – I love jumping in Poland – admitted Gianmarco Tamberi, the European champion from Birmingham. Tickets are still available for purchase.
Preparations for the Silesia Kamila Skolimowska Memorial? A full year. Fans? Possibly over 40 thousand yet again. Events? Twenty-six, although, just as last year, not all of them will take place in the Superauto.pl Silesian Stadium.
– The day before, this time it is Saturday, August 22nd, we welcome you to a street show. We take athletics outside a traditional venue. The Katowice market square is ideal for this: the very centre of the city, nice surroundings, space for a temporary tribune. And most of all the fans, who could not all fit in the stands when we tested the idea last year – said Piotr Małachowski, sports director of the meeting.
– This is an exceptional crowd. There is always an incredible atmosphere in Poland. Silesia is one of my favourite meetings – Gianmarco Tamberi stated.
The Italian, who became the European high jump champion last week in Birmingham (2.32), emphasizes the main advantage of city events in athletics: the closeness. Konrad Bukowiecki, who also competes out of stadium regularly, explained: – a stadium is big, there is a lot happening. Here everything is more intimate and the reactions of the crowd are audible and clear. You get the impression they literally hang over you and I like that. The fans have more comfort. They are literally a step away from us, they can see all the details. I think both sides like it.
Tamberi will get a chance to experience it again in Katowice. And he will have good company, headed by Poland’s Mateusz Kołodziejski, fifth at the European Championships, the Birmigham runner-up Oleh Doroshchuk and, most significantly, the Italian’s good friend Mutaz Essa Barshim.
– The men are not just going to have good fun. This is the last qualifying meet ahead of the Diamond League season finale. The tickets to Brussels will be decided here. Kołodziejski has a real chance of making it, too – Marek Plawgo, the event’s communications director, reminded.
Bukowiecki will not be competing in the city event this time, as the programme in Katowice includes the women’s shot put. Without a doubt, the event features the strongest field of the day. The three women leading the world rankings – Jessica Schilder, Chase Jackson and Sarah Mitton – will attempt to put on a show.
-The decisive factor is Schilder’s participation. Of course she won in Birmingham, but that was no surprise after she threw that crazy 21.09 in the spring – the farthest put by a woman in over a decade. Everyone believes it could happen again. In addition, the runner-up from England, Jorinde Klinken, also has something to prove – Małachowski said.
Another revenge story may be in the works in the women’s long jump – the event which, compared to last year, replaced the women’s pole vault. It looks like a good choice as the level of competition in Birmingham was extremely high. The top five were separated by just 6 cm! Out of the top women in the European Championships, only Larissa Iapichino will be missing.
– Everyone will be on the watch for what Malaika Mihambo can do on the runway after returning from England. The icon of the sandbox did not win a medal, despite achieving the longest jump overall at the championships. Her spectacular 7.10 jump took place in qualifying, not the final – Plawgo reminded. He added: – acheving that distance under great pressure is the best testament to her athletic abilities.We strongly count on the fans in Katowice witnessing it.
Significantly, the field in this event has been joined by the Polish combined event specialist Adrianna Sułek-Schubert (PB 6.55).
Tickets for the Silesia Kamila Skolimowska Memorial are available for purchase on the MemorialKamili.pl website. The title sponsor of the event is the Silesian voivodeship. It has been financed by the Ministry of Sports and Tourism and the State Fund for Rehabilitation of Disabled People. The co-organisers of the meeting are Superauto.pl Silesian Stadium and World Athletics.