Bringing the X-Factor to Xiamen | Diamond League Preview
Published Fri 19 Apr 2024
As the Australian summer season draws to a close, the intensity of international competition will heat up with 12 Australians set to feature in the Diamond League opener, commencing on Saturday in Xiamen, China.
With every competition marking another step closer to the ultimate showdown in Paris, the start of the world’s premier athletics series carries the highest stakes and Australia’s athletes are ready to put on a show.
The 2024 Diamond League series can be viewed in Australia live and free via the Diamond League YouTube channel, with the full start list and timetable to be found here.
Men’s High Jump
Joel Baden
Time: 7.35pm AEST
Sitting pretty in the Top-10 this year, Olympian Joel Baden (Sandro Bisetto) will begin his international season among a star-studded field as he attempts to match his best of 2.33 to step closer to a second Olympic berth.
Leaping to 2.28m at the Maurie Plant Meet – Melbourne, the Australian Athletics Championships silver medallist has the potential to soar to the podium but will be in for a challenge as he contests the heavyweights of global high jump.
Qatari Olympic champion and three-time world champion Mutaz Essa Barshim will open his 2024 season on the Xiamen stage, and New Zealand’s Hamish Kerr (NZ) will be looking to emulate his 2.36m jump that won him gold at the World Athletics Indoor Championships this year.
Women’s Javelin Throw
Kathryn Mitchell
Time: 7.42pm AEST
Xiamen will have the privilege of hosting Australian javelin record holder Kathryn Mitchell (Uwe Hohn), with the three-time Olympian showing strong form this season, ready to carry forward that momentum.
Finishing first at the Maurie Plant Meet – Melbourne with a throw of 62.12m and in second place at the Australian Athletics Championships with 60.28m, Mitchell is clearly building towards something special, showing that she is truly evergreen at the age of 41.
While not a Diamond League event, the field will be led by global medallists Huihiu Lyu (CHN) and Flor Denis Ruiz Hurtado (COL) and will also feature another regular on the Australian athletics scene, New Zealand’s Tori Peeters.
Women’s 400m
Ellie Beer
Time: 9.04pm
Ellie Beer (Brett Robinson) is no stranger to the big stage. She cut her teeth at the Doha 2019 world championships and Olympic Games in Tokyo in the 4x400m relay team, and has soared to a new level over the last year, winning Pacific Games gold and the Australian 400m title in a personal best time of 51.59.
Still only 21-years-old, Beer will have her first taste of competing against the world’s best senior athletes in an individual event, testing her strength against a stack field as she builds towards qualifying for Paris.
Though the Australian is seeded second behind USA world champion Britton Wilson (50.74) on season’s best times, she’ll need to rely on growth this season to stay confident against the likes of Olympic medallists and sub-50 sprinters Lynna Irby-Jackson (USA), Natalie Kaczmarek (POL) and Marileidy Paulino (DOM).
Men’s 5000m
Stewart McSweyn, Matthew Ramsden, Jack Rayner
Time: 9.25pm
In a race packed with formidable contenders, three Australians stand poised to make their mark over 12.5 laps. Three-time Australian champion Matthew Ramsden (Nic Bideau) will lead the charge alongside Olympians Jack Rayner (Nic Bideau) and Stewart McSweyn (Nic Bideau) as they take on the might of the East African and European nations, each of them looking to hit the 13:05.00 standard required for the Olympic Games.
With impressive season’s bests of 13:16.34 for Rayner, and 13:17.22 for Ramsden and McSweyn all too familiar with the landscape of the Diamond League, the athletes from down under are ready to test their mettle against the likes of Olympic medallist Lamecha Grima (ETH), World Championships bronze medallist Oscar Chelimo (UGA) and Olympic finalist Nicholas Kipkorir (KEN). 2023 Australian champion Callum Davies is set to pace.
Women’s 200m
Torrie Lewis
Time: 9.47pm AEST
Teenage blaze Torrie Lewis (Andrew Iselin) has dominated headlines since claiming the title of Australia’s fastest ever woman with her flying run of 11.10 in January.
Though the 19-year-old has made the 100m event her own over the Australian summer, she’s ready to reassert herself as a force over 200m, with the back-to-back Australian champion making her Diamond League debut with a run around the bend.
Lewis clocked 22.94 (1.7) achieving a new lifetime best on her way to the Australian title, missing Raelene Boyle’s Under 20 record by just 0.2-seconds, but with a flock of the world’s fastest beside her in China, including Lewis’ idol Sha’Carri Richardson (21.92) the junior star will no doubt rise to the occasion and put the 56-year-old record on notice.
Men’s 800m
Peter Bol
Time: 9.55pm AEST
Peter Bol (Justin Rinaldi) may have been pipped at the finish line by rising star Luke Boyes at the Australian Athletics Championships, but showed that he’s still got it when it comes to fast times, clocking 1:45.06 in only his fourth race of the season.
With his ticket already punched for Paris, the Tokyo hero will focus on strategy and tactics to reassert himself as a key player on the international scene but the competition in Xiamen will be fierce, as the likes of world champion Marco Arop (CAN) and Olympic bronze medallist Clayton Murphy (USA) set to open their year, putting the race on par with a championships final.
Women’s 3000m Steeplechase
Cara Feain-Ryan
Time: 10.05pm AEST
Defeated at the Australian athletics championships after a strong season of success, Cara Feain-Ryan (Ben Norton) will be seeking redemption in her Diamond League debut this week, wanting to show what she can do amongst the world’s best.
On a steep trajectory over the last two years, with two appearances at the World Athletics Championships and gold at the 2023 World University Games, it comes as no surprise that the Queenslander is ready to dip her toe in the world’s premier athletics series, en route to her maiden Olympic Games.
With a lifetime best of 9:29.60, Feain-Ryan is seeded 10th in the field of 17 athletes but has a proven history of lifting when racing against a more credentialed field with her career-best achieved at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest last year.
Women’s 1500m
Linden Hall, Georgia Griffith, Sarah Billings
Time: 10.37pm AEST
Australian middle-distance running has never had such depth and they were touted as truly world-class throughout the 2024 Chemist Warehouse Summer Series. In China, three of the best will be out to prove just that over 1500m.
Australian record holder Linden Hall (Ned Brophy-Williams) will be joined by World Championships finalist Georgia Griffith (Nic Bideau) and Sarah Billings (Nic Bideau) in a field featuring nine women who have shattered four minutes – headed by Ethiopian powerhouse Gudaf Tsegay (3:54.01) and compatriots Diribe Welteji (3:53.93) and teenager Birke Haylom (3:54.93).
With the trio set to face the East African contingent, the Australians will also be tested against each other, with Griffith looking to grab onto the 4:02.50 qualifying standard for Paris – a time she narrowly missed at the national championships, while Hall is looking to assert her authority and Billings banks experience against the heavyweights of the sport.
By Sascha Ryner, Athletics Australia
Posted: 19/4/2024
