Klaudia Kazimierska’s spectacular national record, three vaulters clearing 6 metres, a phenomenal battle between Dos Santos and Warholm – these were just a few of the great moments of the 2026 Diamond League in Silesia. This year’s Silesia Kamila Skolimowska Memorial attracted a crowd of nearly 40 thousand. – It is simply impossible to come out into the stadium and not get emotional – Natalia Bukowiecka commented.
Full stands at the Superauto.pl Silesian Stadium, 11 current world record holders, 55 Olympic medalists, a total of 170 World and European Championship medalists in the startlists – that was what Sunday’s Silesia Kamila Skolimowska Memorial looked like! The fifth edition of the Diamond League in the country went down into Polish sporting history.
For the fifth consecutive time.
Klaudia Kazimierska ran to a national record! A phenomenal day for the Pole
The highlight of the day in Silesia? There were at least several of them, so it came as no surprise that the meeting took over the number one spot in the 2026 World Athletics ranking of meetings with a huge lead. But for the Polish fans it was definitely about the performance of Klaudia Kazimierska – the new Polish record holder in the 1500 metres. When she asked the organisers for a 3:54 pace, we understood the race was destined to be a historic one. And so it turned out to be. The European Championships runner-up from Birmingham finished in 3:55.59, giving her eighth place on the European all-time list. And the first on the Polish list – nearly 2 seconds ahead of the previous national mark of Weronika Lizakowska!
– It is a nice time, I cannot say otherwise. I wanted a reserve in terms of pace to do what I needed to do. Is was not the perfect race for me, but certainly a fast one. I had some physical contact with my rivals, I was getting pushed to the outside. It means a lot that I was able to break the record by such a margin despite all of that. Although I am aware of where the best in the world are. I want to be there as well – she stated.
It is worth noting that the 3:55.06 run by the winner Tsige Duguma is the new world-leading time. That is barely half a second faster than Klaudia’s mark.
Natalia Bukowiecka and Ewa Swoboda ended Sunday on a similarly high note. The 400m specialist finished fourth in 49.60 – her second-fastest time of the season, this time ahead of Henriette Jaeger, thus taking revenge for the European Championships.
– The spring was not the easiest time for me. Now I feel I am getting faster and I want to take advantage of it. But I have to say one thing. I am an experienced athlete, but every time you walk out there to the noise made especially for you, your knees get weak. Thank you, Poland – she said.
Natalia’s performance is also a qualifier for the 2027 World Championships in Beijing. The same feat was achieved by the winner of the race, Marileidy Paulino (an excellent 48.87!). The qualifying window opened this Sunday and Ewa Swoboda wished to use the opportunity as well. The medalist from the recent European Championships fought bravely against the great field, but ran short by 0.04, finishing in 11.00.
– What is important is that I have been consistent all summer. The time is not bad, of course, although I had hoped for more. But I appreciate what I have. It has been an excellent season for me! – was Swoboda’s summary, spoken in a rushed manner. That was because, like other Polish stars, she was on her way to the tribune bearing her name. To thank the fans, of course.
Another performance worthy of appreciation was Filip Ostrowski’s personal best – 3:33.09 in the 1500 metres. It puts him in fourth place on the Polish all-time list!
Three „sixers”, for the third time ever. Only in Poland
But a lot more news from the Silesian Stadium on Sunday will be noted throughout the world. First of all, the world-leading mark set by Alison dos Santos in the 400 metre hurdles – 46.43 – set in an epic battle against Karsten Warholm. The Norwegian thus did not defend the meeting’s MVP title he won last year. In the history of athletics, only five races were faster than the one on Sunday!
– His being in an adjacent lane really drove me! But when you are racing, you do not look around for your rivals. I tried to focus on myself. Self-belief drives me, what the others are doing comes second. Today I celebrate my great shape, despite major errors in the race! – Dos Santos commented.
– The secret behind top-class times? Just compete and believe in yourself. That is what I did. When I met with children from Polish schools and clubs before the meeting, that is what I told them: believe in yourselves – added Oblique Seville, the new meeting record holder in the 100m with his 9.83 from Sunday.
– I always try to believe – stated Armand Duplantis, the top vaulter of the day and the winner of the meeting’s MVP ring. The Swede cleared 6.20, beating out Emanouil Karalis (6.00) and Sondre Guttormsen (6.00). He went for the world record afterwards, but just once. – I had too many jumps today, I had failures at lower heights. There is no hiding the fact that it was a difficult competition for me. I am happy I was able to jump as high as I did in the end.
The trio of vaulters achieved something else. Only three times in the history of athletics have three vaulters cleared at least 6 metres in one competition. The first time it happened was here in 2024, then at the World Indoor Championships in Toruń. And now here again. The Polish soil really favours the kings of the vault.
Alekna’s incredible series – four time seventy!
Another remarkable achievement on Sunday was the work of the discus thrower Mykolas Alekna. The Lithuanian world record holder sent out the implement beyond the 70-metre line no less than four times. In his best attempt, he achieved 72.59 – a new Polish all-comers record.
– What do we have to do to get tribunes named after us? It is a great idea, I am jealous of the Poles. I tried as hard as I could to be included next year, but is it possible? – Ethan Katzberg said jokingly. The Olympic hammer throw champion won the competition with 82.92, beating out the Polish throwers and the European champion Bence Halasz.
Another magical barrier was broken in the shot put – Leonardo Fabbri got out to 22.08.
Tremendous attendance and posters by Pągowski. Next year’s date announced
Sunday’s show in Silesia was viewed by a total of 38,073 fans. It is yet another occasion that Poland’s top athletics event of the summer attracted a huge crowd. The number was just four thousand short of the record set two years ago.
– The crowd here in phenomenal – Duplantis said at the pre-meeting conference, before asking – Are there again going to be dozens of people in our sector holding cardboards with the height they want to see? Has that become customary now?
Of course the cardboards were there. Of course they had „6.32” written on them, but besides that, there were others with different contents, made earlier in the fan zone, at the Diamond Picnic outside the stadium.
The date of next year’s Memorial is now known. The fans and the athletes in the warmup zone found out about it as this year’s edition was taking place. This time it is August 14th and 15th – again including an introductory city event.
Significantly, ticket sales will start on September 1st, initially, at the biggest discount, for the subscribers of the newsletter. That same group received another surprise on Sunday. Everyone who was in Silesia and receives e-mails from the Diamond League, could receive a unique, limited-edition poster of the Memorial. It was designed by the legendary graphic artist Andrzej Pągowski.
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.
