The post-Paris 2024 roadshow moves to Silesia on Sunday (25th) where a host of Olympic medallists will entertain an expected crowd of over 30,000 for the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial Tournament, the 12th tournament of this season's Wanda Diamond League.
Three days after moving into a tie for second on the all-time 800m list with a time of 1:41.11, matching the previous world record set by Denmark's Wilson Kipketer, 20-year-old Kenyan Emmanuel Wanyonyi will once again face a stellar field that includes world champion Marco Arop of Canada and world indoor champion Bryce Hoppel of the United States.
Norway's Jacob Ingebrigtsen, who consoled himself by winning Olympic gold in the 5,000 meters in Lausanne after settling the score with Cole Hocker of the United States, who had cost him his 1,500 meters title at the Paris Olympics, will face new rivals in the 3,000 meters.
They include Ethiopia's powerful trio of 2021 Olympic 10,000m gold medalist Selemon Barega, Olympic 10,000m silver medalists Belikh Aregawi and Yomif Kejelcha, and two-time Olympic bronze medalist Grant Fisher of the United States.
Botswana's Letsile Tebogo, who admittedly had not trained in eight days before the 200 meters in Lausanne, looked in great spirits as he won comfortably in 19.64 seconds. He will skate in Silesia against the likes of America's Elyon Knighton, who followed him in Lausanne in 19.78 seconds, and Olympic silver medallist Kenny Bednarek.
Four days after improving his own competition record to 6.15 metres in Lausanne, two-time Olympic pole vault champion and world record holder Mondo Duplantis will once again face his main rivals.
These include Olympic silver and bronze medallists Sam Kendricks of the United States and Emmanuil Karalis of Greece, as well as France's 37-year-old former world record holder Renaud Lavillenie, who recorded a season's best of 5.72 metres in Lausanne.
At the very least, the Swede's 2022 Games record of 6.10m looks in jeopardy.
Meanwhile, world and Olympic 110m hurdles champion Grant Holloway will have an early chance to return to his usual form when he takes on Jamaican rival Rasheed Broadbell, who beat him in Lausanne.
The other non-scoring but highly anticipated event, the men's 100 metres, will feature Jamaica's Olympic silver medallist Kishane Thompson, Olympic bronze medallist and 2022 world champion Fred Curley and Italy's 2021 Olympic champion Marcel Jacobs.
Dina Asher-Smith will be a favourite in the women's 100m after winning in Lausanne in a season's best of 10.88. She will again face fellow Briton Daryl Neita, but local sprinter Eva Swoboda is also likely to show her talent.
Olympic 400m bronze medalist Natalia Kaczmarek will be the local focus as she faces off against gold medalist Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic, silver medalist Salwa Eid Nasser of Bahrain and four other Olympic finalists.
European champion Kaczmarek has previously beaten Paulino in this bout and will have encouraging memories.
Two other Polish athletes who have performed well in Paris – 100m hurdler Pia Skrzyszowska and javelin thrower Maria Andrejczyk – will also be competing against a broadly similar field to their counterparts in the French capital.
Skrysovska, who won bronze medals at the World Indoor and European Championships this year, will once again test herself against the world's best athletes, competing against a field that includes Olympic gold, silver and bronze medallists such as Masai Russell of the United States, Silena Samba Maiera of France and defending champion Jasmine Camacho Quinn of Puerto Rico.
Andreyczyk, the 2021 Olympic silver medalist, will be vying for local honours along with Olympic silver medalist Joan van Dyk of South Africa and bronze medalist Nikola Ogrodnikova of the Czech Republic, as well as European champion Victoria Hudson of Austria and world championship silver medalist Flor Luis Hurtado of Colombia.
Femke Boll of the Netherlands, who returned to the 400m hurdles in Lausanne and set a course record of 52.25, will face three successful Americans in Olympic silver medalist Anna Cockrell, 2016 Olympic gold medalist Dalilah Muhammad and two-time world championship silver medalist Shamielle Little.
The men's high jump will feature New Zealand's Olympic gold medallist Hamish Kerr facing Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi, with whom he shared the last Olympic title.
Kerr, who also won this year's World Indoor Championships, recorded a personal best of 2.36 metres in the Olympic final, ultimately beating Shelby McEwan of the United States to take the silver medal.
Tamberi cleared 2.37m to win the European championships in Rome before illness and injury put her Olympic chances in doubt, and she will be hoping to regain her usual level of performance in Poland.
American Ryan Krauser returns to competition after winning the Olympic shot put for a record third time in Paris. The world record holder will face fellow Olympic silver medalist Joe Kovac and Italian European champion Leonardo Fabbri, who moved to fifth all-time with a personal best of 22.95 meters this year.
Norwegian Olympic silver medalist and world record holder Karsten Warholm will return to the 400m hurdles.
The women's 1500m will feature Dilib Weltegee, the 3000m winner in Lausanne, facing off against Great Britain's Olympic bronze medallist Georgia Bell, who came in strong after finishing second in the 800m in Lausanne in 1:58.53 behind Kenya's world champion Mary Mora.
Morocco's Sofiane El Bakari, who successfully defended his 3,000m steeplechase title for the first time at the Paris Olympics, will once again face American Kenneth Lukes, who beat his personal best by nine seconds to take the surprise silver medal in the French capital, and bronze medallist Abraham Kibiwott of Kenya.
Olympic silver medalist Shanieka Ricketts of Jamaica will compete in the women's triple jump, along with American Jasmine Moore, who won bronze medals here and in the long jump in Paris.
Poland's passion for hammer throwing will also be on display in two other events outside the Diamond League: the men's event will see five-time world champion Pawel Fajdek and 2021 Olympic gold medallist Wojciech Nowicki take on world and Olympic gold medallist Ethan Catzberg of Canada, while the women's event will see Olympic silver medallist Annette Echikunwoke of the United States take on compatriot Brooke Andersen, the 2022 world champion.
Mike Rowbottom of World Athletics
