– I am Silesian. On Sunday, boys and girls, you are all invited to the Silesian Stadium – were the words of invitation from Ewa Swoboda at the pre-event press conference. Fifty-five Olympic medalists will appear at Sunday’s athletics feast! The several days of preparation at the venue are nearing the end. The organisers count on 40 thousand fans’ presence, as tickets are still available for purchase.
Since the Diamond League first made it to Silesia in 2022, as a substitute for China, it has not left the calendar. However, the history of the Silesia Kamila Skolimowska Memorial goes back much further – to 2009 and the tiny Skra stadium in Warsaw.
– Sometimes I like to sit down in the stands here and recall us putting on the first, homemade edition. We have gone through an incredible journey, all the way to the top – said the visibly moved Robert Skolimowski, father of the prematurely deceased Olympic champion.
Diamond League in Silesia on Sunday! 11 world record holders present
The hammers thrown by the athletes in all editions of the meeting have travelled far as well. We know exactly how long the distance was. Summing up all the measured attempts, it has been 46,167.62 metres. More than the full marathon distance. The leader in this respect is Paweł Fajdek, who has appeared in 15 editions of the Memorial since its inception.
– My form may vary. I may feel different pains, it does not matter. The competition dedicated to Kamila is something I treat and will always treat as the most important one. We knew each other, I valued her highly, she achieved something I still have not. It is a beautiful thing that her memory lives on in such a spectacular way – the five-time world champion stated ahead of Sunday.
The work aimed at making the athletics festival in Silesia worthy yet again has been going on for a year. Throughout the last dozen days or so, the organising team has been decorating the venue and finishing all their tasks.
– We are ready, after months of planning, only small details are left – reassuringly said Piotr Małachowski, the meeting’s sports director and the only Pole to have won a Diamond League season title. He did it four times.
– We know who we do it for. Counting just the current world record holders, we will have 11 of them – informed Marcin Lewandowski, former World Championships medalist in the 1500 metres, now a member of the organising committee.
Klaudia Kazimierska makes it official: national record pace
Apart from Armand Duplantis, Karsten Warholm, Yaroslava Mahuchikh, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Mykolas Alekna and the other record holders, nearly 260 athletes will appear in Silesia on Sunday. Fifty-five of them are Olympic medalists, 101 have made the podium at World Championships. Sixty-nine European Championships medalists will appear, including numerous Poles. Among them the heroes of Birmingham.
– This season is exceptional. I had two difficult years, but I came back and for the first time I won not one, but two medals at a major championship. This shows me you can dream and aim high. And I do. I think I will show everything I have worked for on the track this Sunday. I am starting on the Olympic road, I want to make the final in LA. But the field at the Memorial is no different to what you face at the Olympics.
– This stadium, this venue is the home of athletics. And from year to year it further establishes its place in history. This edition and the next one are also a major test ahead of organising the 2028 European Championships – said Wojciech Saługa, chairman of the Silesian voivodeship assembly. Without much hesitation, he added: – this could also be the centre of global sports.
In total, three Polish records have been set at the Skolimowska Memorial so far. The one set by Anita Włodarczyk in the hammer throw – 82.98 – still remains the world record.
– There are other record to be set as well, like the national record. The Polish one in the women’s 1500 metres is 3:57.31 and I confirm I would like the pacemaker on Sunday to set the pace for 3:54. We will see how it goes, but my ambitions for this competition are great – was the official declaration from Klaudia Kazimierska, the European Championships runner-up.
Ten world-leading marks. Now the goal is World Championship tickets
The crowd of some 40 thousand which will gather in Silesia this year will have more to see than just the 22 Polish entries. The Polish Diamond League stop, ever since it became a part of the calendar, has been at the top of the World Athletics rankings. Suffice to say that 10 marks set here ended up as world leaders at the end of the season. Four are still the League records, three of them were set in Silesia just last year.
– I want to check where I am after a few great training sessions. And before the last part of the summer. Four years ago I made my Diamond League debut here, so this place is a special one for me. And now? I have the meeting record (10.66), that is great. But I do not know if that will be enough this time – stated Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, the three-time world champion from Tokyo. She is justified in not knowing, as she was sitting right next to the current Olympic champion Julien Alfred at the conference. The Saint Lucian sprinter was the very first athlete to arrive in Silesia! – I take this competition very seriously.
Warholm wants another ring. „And where is my cheesecake?!”
There were more declarations on Saturday. An argument broke out between Armand Duplantis and Karsten Warholm. Last year, they duelled for the dedicated ring given out to the MVP of the meeting – the athlete achieving the highest point score on the World Athletics tables.
– A lot has changed in my life since I was last here. I became a husband, I moved. It has been a challenging year, but also a beautiful one. And I am happy with everything that has happened, it is not as if I lost something. The competition in Lausanne showed that. I really hope it will be the same here. I really love Silesia, it is a place worthy of vaulting high. There will probably again be those cardboards with „6.32” written on them. I like seeing those! – Mondo stated with a smile. After these words the organisers treated the Swede and the others to the vaulter’s favourite dessert – cheesecake.
– You already had one at the hotel, right? – Armand was asked.
– Yes, it was great.
This provoked Warholm to ask why there was not one in his room.
– Did you set a world record here? – replied Duplantis. – No. But did you win the MVP ring here last year? I did! – the Norwegian hit back. Although he recently won his fourth consecutive European title, Karsten knows a repeat will not be easy. – You only have to look at who is sitting at out table now.
Thirty-five thousand tickets for the 2026 Silesia Kamila Skolimowska Memorial have already been sold. The organisers and especially Ewa Swoboda expressed hope that the 40 thousand barrier will be broken again. Tickets for Sunday’s Diamond League are still available for purchase at the MemorialKamili.pl website.