Spectacular Diamond League night in Oslo

A rain-soaked Bislett Stadium in Oslo witnessed a number of record-breaking performances, some surprises in another exciting night of Diamond League action.

Words: Sven Rudolph
Photos: Florian Kurrasch

At the sixth stop of this year's Diamond League, spectators witnessed spectacular duels, meeting records and almost a world record in the men's 5,000m. In an extremely strong field and a brilliant last lap, Ethiopian Hagos Gebrhiwet crossed the finish line after 12:36 minutes, running the second fastest time of all time.

Despite the rainy weather, the stadium, which was surrounded by residential buildings, was full, and numerous onlookers were also watching the action from the surrounding balconies. The atmosphere in the stadium was deafening, especially during the performances of local stars such as Warholm, Krovdal and Ingebritsen.

Olympic standard cracked

In the record-breaking 5,000m race, Dominic Lobalu crossed the finish line after 12:50 minutes, breaking a 40-year-old Swiss record. He thus clearly beat the Olympic standard (13:07). It remains unclear whether he will be allowed to compete in Paris this August. Lobalu does not (yet) have a Swiss passport, but has been officially allowed to compete for Switzerland since mid-May.

The trip to Norway was also worthwhile for the German middle-distance runner Robert Farken. With a courageous race in a top-class field, he clearly undercut the Olympic standard for 1,500m with a time of 3:32.20 minutes. All of the evening's results can be found on the official website of the Oslo Diamond League .

Impressions of the evening