Olympic 400m finalists reunite for showdown at Silesia Diamond League

The top finishers in the women’s 400m finalists reunite for showdown at Silesia Diamond League final will go head-to-head once more at the Silesia Diamond League on Sunday (August 25).

The event is currently experiencing an unprecedented level of competition, with the Paris final seeing three women break the 49-second barrier for the first time ever as every finalist ran under 50 seconds.

The reigning world champion Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic shattered the long-standing Olympic record set by Marie Jose Perec in 1996, blazing through the finish in 48.35 seconds.

She edged out 2019 world champion Salwa Eid Naser (48.53) and European champion Natalia Kaczmarek, who clocked 48.98. Paulino’s victory made her the first Dominican woman to become an Olympic champion.

Just outside the podium, Ireland’s Rhasidat Adeleke placed fourth with 49.28, narrowly missing a medal for the second consecutive year after her fourth place at the World Championships in Budapest. Meanwhile, Great Britain’s Amber Anning broke the British record in fifth with 49.29.

The lineup is nearly identical in Silesia, with the only changes being Laviai Nielsen stepping in for Anning and mixed 4x400m Olympic gold medallist Lieke Klaver from the Netherlands joining the field.

Nielsen, who recently broke the 50-second barrier for the first time at the London Diamond League with a PB of 49.87, finds herself with the slowest time among the competitors – showing just how deep the field has become.

Meanwhile, we will also the the top-six from the men’s 800m Olympic final in Silesia where David Rudisha’s world record of 1:40.91 could be under threat if it is not already broken in Lausanne on Thursday (August 22).

Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi will look to better his 1:41.19 that he ran in Paris as he took the title from Marco Arop of Canada who clocked 1:41.20 for silver.

Ben Pattison and Max Burgin will also be a part of the field, with both having their eye on Seb Coe’s long-standing British record of 1:41.73.

World 400m hurdles record-holder Karsten Warholm will be aiming to return to his usual winning-self after settling for silver in Paris behind USA’s Rai Benjamin.

This weekend he will face finalists Clement Ducos from France and Abderrahman Samba from Qatar.

The Silesia meeting also sees Georgia Bell with another chance to better her 1500m British record of 3:52.61 after winning bronze.  Silver medallist Jessica Hull from Australia leads the women’s 1500m entries which also include Brits Melissa Courtney-Bryant and Revee Walcott-Nolan.

Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson will get another chance to showcase his speed in the men’s 100m after narrowly missing out on gold in Paris, where USA’s Noah Lyles claimed the top spot.

However it will be a critical test for Thompson as he faces a strong field, including bronze medallist Fred Kerley from the USA and 2021 Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs from Italy. GB’s Jeremiah Azu will also get another chance after a false start in his heat in Paris.

In the men’s 200m, Letsile Tebogo will compete against USA’s Kenny Bednarek and Erriyon Knighton following his historic win, where he secured Botswana’s first-ever Olympic gold medal.

Brits Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita will take on Tia Clayton of Jamaica and USA’s Tamari Davis in the women’s 100m while Cindy Sember will race in the 100m hurdles against Olympic champion Masai Russell from the USA and France’s silver medallist Cyrena Samba-Mayela.

In the field events, Mondo Duplantis will return to Diamond League action after his world record vault of 6.25m in Paris.

The men’s high jump will feature a showdown between current Olympic champion Hamish Kerr and Tokyo Olympic champions Gianmarco Tamberi and Mutaz Essa Barshim, who both dealt with unfortunate injuries and illness while competing in Paris this year.

Olympic shot put champion Ryan Crouser will also compete, aiming to challenge his own world record of 23.51m.

The meeting will be live for UK viewers on BBC at 3pm on Sunday August 25.