Kristjan Ceh and Daniel Stahl in Wanda Diamond League discus action (© Marta Gorczynska and Matthew Quine / Diamond League AG)
Slovenia’s world champion Kristjan Ceh and Sweden’s Olympic champion Daniel Stahl will headline a stellar line-up of global medallists in the men’s discus at the London Athletics Meet, a Wanda Diamond League event, on 23 July.
Ceh threw a PB of 71.86m in Estonia on Friday, matching Stahl’s lifetime best from 2019 to move to joint fourth on the world all-time list.
Stahl also surpassed 71 metres in that competition in Jöhvi, throwing 71.45m for the best ever mark for a runner-up finish. Ceh’s performance, meanwhile, saw him become the first man in history to throw beyond 71 metres three times in one series.
Ceh has two Diamond League wins to his name so far in 2023 after victories in Doha and Rabat. This follows his success in the Wanda Diamond League Final in 2022. He also has experience of winning on British soil after securing victory at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham last year.
Stahl has also won the Diamond League Final on three occasions, winning twice at the London meeting in 2017 and 2019.
Ceh and Stahl have clashed four times so far this year – Ceh leading their 2023 head-to-head with three wins to Stahl’s one, but the Swede still has the lifetime advantage, their record in finals now standing at 14-13 in Stahl’s favour.
Among the other leading contenders in the field in London will be Lithuania’s world silver medallist Mykolas Alekna, Sweden’s Olympic silver medallist Simon Petterson and Lithuania’s Andrius Gudzius, who returns to the scene of his 2017 World Athletics Championships triumph.
Great Britain and Northern Ireland’s Lawrence Okoye – who won Commonwealth silver and European bronze last summer – will look to impress the home crowds. He will be joined by Australia’s Commonwealth champion Matthew Denny and USA’s Olympic finalist Sam Mattis.
“I am very excited to be competing in London for the first time next month,” said Ceh. “I have started my season very well with wins in the Diamond League meetings in Doha and Rabat, so I want to keep my good form and momentum going throughout the summer season.
“The field is world class so it will be great preparation ahead of August’s World Athletics Championships.”
Warholm returns to Monaco
Norway’s world 400m hurdles record-holder Karsten Warholm will look to build on his superb start to the season when he returns to the Herculis EBS meeting, this season’s ninth Wanda Diamond League event, in Monaco on 21 July.
The Olympic champion was injured for much of 2022 but started his 2023 outdoor season in style, clocking a Diamond League record of 46.52 in front of home fans in Oslo last week.
In Monaco, he is sure to have his eye on a time that betters the meeting record of 47.08 he set in 2021.
Other Olympic gold medallists recently announced for Diamond League action include India’s Neeraj Chopra and Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece, who will compete at the Athletissima meeting in Lausanne on 30 June in the javelin and long jump, respectively.
Organisers for World Athletics
