It is official: Ewa Swoboda’s number one rival at the Diamond League in the Superauto.pl Silesian Stadium will be the Olympic champion from Paris, Julien Alfred. The Saint Lucian sprint sensation will make her debut appearance on Polish soil on August 16th. – I heard your fans are outstanding – she stated.
The preparations for the Silesia Kamila Skolimowska Memorial – Poland’s only Diamond League fixture – are entering the final phase. There are exactly 50 days left and a new addition was recently announced – an extra day of competition. On Friday, August 15th, female pole vaulters, high jumpers and shot putters will take part in a street competition in Katowice town square.
The main course, however, is what happens in the Silesian Stadium. Especially with regard to the Polish athletes.
Julien Alfred to run in the Silesian Stadium! Sprinting queen will test Swoboda’s form
– I guess we are used to it by now. On August 16th the top stars of our national team will compete in Poland against the best in the world. It is a simple rule, which we keep in mind when contracting the athletes – the meeting’s sports director Piotr Małachowski said with a wink.
The organising committee is not revealing everything at one, but behind the scenes – along with preparing the venue and logistics – work is under way to bring the best of the best to Silesia. This is evidenced by the names which have already been revealed: Armand Duplantis, Jakob Ingebrigtsen. Gianmarco Tamberi, Grant Holloway and the most recent addition, Yaroslava Mahuchikh, the newly crowned world record holder, who broke Stefka Kostadinova’s 37-year old mark.
Now the time has come to assemble the start list for the female classic 100 metre sprint, in which one of the lanes will be taken by Ewa Swoboda. The showdown between the world’s fastest women will be the final event of the day.
– We are happy to announce that, in addition to our rorld indoor runner-up, Julien Alfred will take part in the race – Małachowski informed, going on to introduce the runner – We are talking about the new 100 metres sprint queen, from a country of whose existence few people were aware before the Paris Olympics. It was neither Jamaica nor the USA that took the crown in the event. It went to the island of St. Lucia, shocking the fans in the Stade de France – Małachowski recounted.
The 23-year old’s win in France was one of the greatest media stories in the history of the Olympics. It was a historic first Olympic gold for her country! When she ran, Adele stopped her concert. A clip showing what was happening in St. Lucia at the time was posted on the internet. Thousands of people gathered around big screens put up in small towns and celebrated the triumph of their hero. When Alfred came back home in September, the government declared a day off. A festival in her honour, lasting for several days, took place on the island, ending with establishing a public holiday.
– She is definitely an athlete worthy of the largest scenes. And that is what we are preparing in the Silesian Stadium – Plawgo concluded.
Fans’ Guide readers were the first to know. A unique tool
Interestingly, the information on Alfred’s participation was communicated by the Memorial’s organisers in a new, different way. Before her name appeared in a press release, the users of a new tool, the interactive Diamond Fans’ Guide, were the first to find out. It is available on the freshly released website diamentowaliga.memorialkamili.pl.
– It is a unique value that we offer you – Plawgo said joyously, listing what can be found in the Guide. – There are biographies of the stars, information on the „Kama” Memorial, the detailed rules of every event. There is also news not available anywhere else and stories from the entire Diamond League season. Now the fans who visited the site were able to read about Julien Alfred. That was a bonus for those who keep up-to-date with what we offer. It will certainly not be the only one.
Final tickets available for the finish-line sector. Diamond League is in high demand
Naturally, the list of Polish athletes entered in the Diamond League does not end with Swoboda. Also returning to Silesia will be Natalia Bukowiecka, Jakub Szymański and the hammer thowers, headed by Wojciech Nowicki and Paweł Fajdek. The Polish athletics community recently heard the story of Alicja Sielska who expressed her wish to debut at this level of competition after setting a personal best at 100 metres hurdles. The wish will be fulfilled, as the organisers announced soon after.
Tickets for the Polish Diamond League meeting, scheduled for August 16th in 2025, can be purchased through the website memorialkamili.pl or on eBilet.pl. The best sectors, including those nearest to the finish line and the pole vault, are nearly full already – this is the last moment for purchase.
– We are aware of the Tokyo World Championships getting nearer. Everyone in the sport wants to beat the reigning champion, so Alfred will be the target for every sprinter with something to prove after Paris. The Silesia meeting is one of the final major tests before the trip to Japan. Every athlete will want to strike some fear into their rivals. It is worth seeing in person – Małachowski said.
The decision to reserve seats should not be put off too long. The rate of ticket sale – in the words of the organisers – is double that from last year. Very few tickets are still available in the most popular sectors, those next to the finish line and the pole vault.