PREVIEW | Oslo Diamond League

Published Thu 16 Jun 2022

The Oslo Diamond League is shaping up as yet another night of Australian success on the international athletics scene, with Rohan Browning making his return to competition and Oliver Hoare targeting an upset in the Dream Mile at tonight’s Bislett Games.

Catriona Bisset headlines the middle-distance action alongside Jack Rayner and Rose Davies, read our preview of all the action below.

Women’s 5000m (4:19am AEST):

With both the 5000m and 10,000m world standards to her name, it is no secret that Rose Davies (Scott Westcott) is enjoying 2022 to date.

The 22-year-old has set new personal bests across the 3000m (8:49.86), 5000m (15:07.49) and 10,000m (31:18.54) in recent months as she continues to build on the form that saw her make her Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games, with Oslo set to be her third Diamond League appearance.

World record holder Letesenbet Gidey leads all comers in the race and history with her best of 14:06.62 over 5000m, while Eilish McCoglan (Great Britain), Konstanze Klosterhalfen (Germany) and Alicia Monson (USA) are proven contenders – providing Davies with the opportunity to refine her race craft amongst a truly international field.

As is the case every time Davies sets foot on the track, her personal best will once again be under fire, but it is the experience at this level that will see the Novocastrian add another string to her bow ahead of another year looming in the green and gold.

Men’s 100m (4:39am AEST):

Little has been seen of Rohan Browning (Andrew Murphy) in 2022, but rest assured the Olympic sensation will be ready to fire come his European opener in Oslo tonight.

A 10.12 run at the Adelaide Invitational in February was enough to indicate that Browning had no symptoms of an Olympic hangover, but the 24-year-old was forced to deal with an injury setback before making his return to Tokyo with runs of 10.29 (-0.4) and 10.23 (+0.1) to finish on the podium.

It is straight into the deep end for Browning in Oslo, where he will take on Olympic 200m champion and 100m bronze medallist Andre De Grasse (Canada) who owns a slick 9.89 second best, along with South Africa’s Akani Simbine (9.84) and the in-form man from Ghana Benjamin Azamati (9.90).

Something tells us Rohan wouldn’t want it any other way.

Men’s 5000m (4:49am AEST):

After splitting 7:41 through 3000m in a world-class pacemaking performance at last week’s Rome Diamond League, it is safe to say that Jack Rayner (Nic Bideau) is well overdue to rewrite his 13:34.68 personal best over 5000m.

Having spent recent years honing his craft in the marathon, the 26-year-old has made an emphatic return to the track to win the national 10,000m title before carving seven seconds off the national record with a 27:15.35 performance in April.

Dropping down even farther to 5000m tonight, Rayner will go head-to-head with a slick field featuring three Ethiopian men who have all shattered the 13-minute barrier – Haile Bekele (12:52.98), Getnet Wale (12:53.28) and Milkesa Mengesha (12:58.28).

The race looms as an exciting opportunity for the Australian to attach himself to the express service and harvest a new personal best over the distance, with Rayner no stranger to racing aggressively.

Women’s 800m (5:25am AEST):

Despite the feat being a once-elusive barrier, Catriona Bisset (Ned Brophy-Williams) sees little joy in breaking two-minutes over 800m – unless the clock reads 1:57.

Last week’s 1:59.73 performance in Rome was the tenth sub two-minute run of Bisset’s career, with the seventh place finish in a world-class field not one that the 28-year-old was content with. Oslo presents Bisset with the opportunity to slash another margin off her 1:58.09 Australian record, with four women in the field holding bests of 1:56 or faster – lead by Olympic silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson (Great Britain) with a run of 1:55.88 to her name.

All 11 women in the field own personal bests of under two-minutes, and Bisset can be expected to race in her typically aggressive fashion as she looks to assert her presence on the global scene ahead of the World Athletics Championships and Commonwealth Games.

Men’s Dream Mile (5:50am AEST):

Beating Norwegian wonderkid Jakob Ingebrigtsen is renowned as one of the toughest challenges in the sport, made even more difficult in his own backyard of Oslo, but Oliver Hoare (Dathan Ritzenhein) will be out to do just that in the Dream Mile tonight at the Bislett Games.

Conceding that Ingebrigtsen is one of the only big names that he is yet to beat on the world stage, Hoare has stated clear intentions to throw down the gauntlet to the reigning Olympic champion over the final lap in a bid to cause an upset in the encounter – a feat that is almost certain to require an effort close to Stewart McSweyn’s 3:48.37 national record.

Matthew Ramsden (Nic Bideau) will also toe the line to form a two-pronged Australian attack, as the 24-year-old continues to build towards his best form with his eyes fixed firmly berths at the 2022 World Athletics Championships and Commonwealth Games. A 3:51.23 miler, Ramsden is not to be discredited in the affair.