Karsten Warholm, Donavan Brazier shine at Stockholm Diamond League

A little over a week after Joshua Cheptegei ran a mind-blowing 5,000m world record in Monaco, the Diamond League was back in action on Sunday, this time stopping in Stockholm. The meet featured some of the world’s best track athletes, and while no world record was set (although Norway’s Karsten Warholm did come incredibly close in the 400m hurdles), it was still an exciting day of racing. Among athletes who posted big results on Sunday were Canadians Marco Arop and Sage Watson, Donavan Brazier of the U.S. and Britain’s Laura Muir. 

.@DonavanBrazier remains undefeated.

Wins the Stockholm Diamond League 800 in 1:43.76 – his third consecutive sub-1:44 of the season.

Kicked it in down the final 100m for the win. pic.twitter.com/Ez1Tx2x7qH

— Chris Chavez (@ChrisChavez) August 23, 2020

Brazier vs. Arop 

Going into Sunday, Arop had raced three times this year, all in August, and he had yet to finish off the podium. He won a meet in Georgia to get his 2020 season off the ground, finished third at the Monaco Diamond League and grabbed a second-place finish at the World Continental Tour Bronze meet in Poland on Wednesday. On Sunday, he extended his streak to four-straight podiums after he finished in second in the 800m behind Brazier. Arop had the lead with 100m to go, but Brazier put his speed on display and sprinted away from the rest of the field to take the win in 1:43.76. The top finish marked Brazier’s 10th win in a row over multiple distances. 

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Watson’s strong finish

Like Arop, Watson was back on the track after racing on Wednesday at a World Continental Tour Gold meet in Hungary, where she grabbed a third-place finish in 56.29. The meet in Hungary was her first race since February, and she continued her post-lockdown comeback in Sweden, where she ran to fifth place in 56.31. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CEMm1g0AwnU/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

1,500m battles

Muir led the way in the women’s 1,500m, winning the race in a world-leading time of 3:57.86. She won handily, crossing the line almost four full seconds ahead of the two next closest finishers, both of whom were also British. In the men’s race, it was reigning the world champion Timothy Cheruiyot of Kenya who took the win in 3:30.25, crossing the line just ahead of Norwegian star Jakob Ingebrigtsen. Australia’s Stewart McSweyn rounded out the podium with the second-fastest Aussie 1,500m of all time in 3:31.48. 

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Warholm’s golden day

Warholm was undoubtedly the biggest story of the day in Sweden. He is a two-time world champion in the 400mH, and that was the event in which he kicked things off on Sunday. He flew through the one-lap race, winning by more than two seconds. But Warholm’s win wasn’t the main focus, it was his time. He ran 46.87, beating his PB at the distance and coming within 0.09 seconds of the world record of 46.78, which American Kevin Young set in 1992.

Karsten Warholm runs second-fastest 400mH race in ? history! https://t.co/ZGOI9vf5st

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) August 23, 2020

What’s even more amazing is that Warholm clipped the last hurdle, a hiccup that very well could have been the only reason he didn’t eclipse Young’s record. Not even two hours after his incredible result in the 400mH, Warholm lined up for the flat 400m. He won this race, too, posting a 45.05 to take the win by almost a full second. 

Full meet results can be found here.