Olympic champions Gianmarco Tamberi and Hamish Kerr will battle it out in a unique high jump competition in Poland on August 22nd – in the Katowice town square. This will be the preface to the Silesia Kamila Skolimowska Memorial. More rivals for Ewa Swoboda in the Silesia Diamond League have now also been revealed. – You could not find any more medalists? – she said with a laugh.
The Diamond League in Silesia, just like last year, will take place over two days. Before the main part of the show will happen in the Witches’ Cauldron, a warmup is awaiting athletics fans on the preceding day. The arena will be the Katowice town square – a place that was tested last year, with a full house of spectators.
Tamberi versus Kerr. First one won it all, then the other one did
Katowice is worth visiting this year as well. Top-class shot putters and long jumpers – headed by Jessica Schilder and Malaika Mihambo – have now been joined by the artists of the high jump: Gianmarco Tamberi and Hamish Kerr.
– They are the last two owners of the global crown in the event – said the sports director of the meeting Piotr Małachowski. – Kerr took over the throne from the Italian in the last two years. It was Gianmarco who was the first to take the Olympic gold, to which he added a world title. Then the New Zealander took the titles away from him in Paris and Tokyo. It would be hard to assemble a stronger lineup, as it is hard to win anything bigger.
Both men are still waiting for the first 2.40 clearances of their careers. The Italian got closer by jumping 2.39, but he has been troubled by injuries in recent times. He is coming back in the perfect moment, just before the European Championships in August. The message to his rivals is clear: if I show up, it is to put up a fight. Kerr’s form is something of a mystery as well. The last time he competed was in March, possibly wishing to surprise the others at the World Ultimate Championship in September.
There is no question of waiting until September for Maria Żodzik and Yaroslava Mahuchikh. By August 23rd our World Championships runner-up and the Ukrainian world record holder (2.10) will both be done with competing at the European Championships.
– They need more rivals in Silesia, too. One of them will be Nicola Olyslagers, the only woman who beat Maria in Tokyo – Małachowski announced.
Ewa Swoboda amongst gladiators. More champions confirmed
It has been known for some time that the women’s 100 metre race in Silesia will feature a top-quality field. Ewa Swoboda, one of the chief Polish faces of the Memorial, will face another serious challenge. The Olympic champion from Paris Julien Alfred and the triple world champion from Tokyo Melissa Jefferson-Wooden will have a duel for the ages on August 23rd.
More names, however, could be in the in the mix as well.
– What would you say about the five-time Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herrah? Her 10.54 is the second-fastest mark of all time. Or Shericka Jackson, who has assembled a collection of 5 Olympic and 12 World Championships medals? And that is not all. Lining up against Swoboda will also be Sha’Carri Richardson, the 2023 world champion –the communications director of the Polish Diamong League meeting Marek Plawgo said, rubbing his hands with excitement.
– You could not find any more medalists? – Ewa Swoboda joked in her usual style. On the day, she is also due to race in the mixed 4x100m relay – a new Olympic event, in which the Polish team hopes to qualify for next year’s World Championships at the Silesia Kamila Skolimowska Memorial. – I like racing against strong competitors. It is a privilege for me when they show up practically at my front door. But it is not them that I cannot wait to see, it is the moment when tens of thousands of people will let them know before the race who they are rooting for – the runner said with a wink.
Plawgo makes no secret of the fact this is the event he is most looking forward to. Especially as, with favourable conditions, this kind of field seems ideal for the Pole to close in on the national record. It was in Silesia that she ran 10.94 three years ago. It was also here that she broke 11 seconds for the first time.
The possibity that one of the champions will improve the meeting record cannot be excluded. The current mark stands at 10.66.
Kazimierska clearly states: I want a national record. She stated the target time
All those listed above are just the latest additions to the list of athletics giants due to compete in Poland. The names announced earlier include world record holders Armand Duplantis and Ja’Kobe Tharp – now the fastest high hurdler of all time (12.75), who will put Jakub Szymański, the world indoor champion from Toruń, to a test. Recently the arrival of other names have been announced on the Memorial’s social media profiles: the hammer throw Olympic and world champions Camryn Rogers and Ethan Katzberg, the 400 metre royalty Marileidy Paulino and Busang Kebinatshipi, the one-lap hurdling star Alison dos Santos, as well as the steeplechaser Soufiane El Bakkali and the discus thrower Roje Stona.
– We are happy to see an increasing number of Poles on the lists. Making his Diamond League debut in the 100 metres will be Dominik Kopeć, who has been dreaming of breaking 10 seconds.We will have a strong contingent in the 1500m. On the men’s side there will be Maciej Wyderka and Filip Ostrowski, while the women’s race will include Weronika Lizakowska and Klaudia Kazimierska. The latter is a serious medal contender for the European Championships. She also announced she will be targetting the national record in Silesia. She asked the pacemakers for 3:54 pace – said Małachowski excitedly.
The list of stars is not yet complete.
– We are still working on one important matter. It is an exciting one and we are hoping to make an announcement soon. I believe the European Championships will decide on some other athletes’ participation. The Diamond League here takes place just a week after – the meeting’s sports director said with an air of mystery.
The tickets for the Silesia Kamila Skolimowska Memorial are available for purchase on the Memorialkamili.pl website. The news on the event may be followed on the social media profiles: on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube.