Karsten Warholm, Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal, the Ingebrigtsen brothers, Timothy Cheruiyot and Mondo Duplantis are among the athletes competing as part of the Diamond League exhibition event
Live Diamond League action returns in an exhibition event format on Thursday (June 11), as the traditional Oslo Bislett Games is replaced by the ‘Impossible Games’, which will see athletes compete in the Bislett Stadium as well as around the world.
The behind-closed-doors meeting, held within Norway’s infection control requirements due to the coronavirus pandemic, will feature record attempts and cross-continent racing as some of the sport’s biggest stars start their seasons.
Taking to the track alone, Norway’s two-time world 400m hurdles champion Karsten Warholm will target the world 300m hurdles record of 34.48 set by Britain’s Chris Rawlinson in 2002, while Sweden’s world record-holder Mondo Duplantis will also compete at the Bislett Stadium but in a pole vault contest where one of his rivals, former world record-holder Renaud Lavillenie, will vault in his own garden in France.
A team 2000m will see ‘Team Ingebrigtsen’, featuring the three Ingebrigtsen brothers – Henrik, Filip and Jakob – in Oslo, race against ‘Team Cheruiyot’, featuring Timothy Cheruiyot and Elijah Manangoi running in Nairobi, Kenya.
READ MORE: Team Ingebrigtsen vs Team Cheruiyot in ‘Impossible Games’ 2000m
Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal will take on a solo attempt at Grete Waitz’s Norwegian 3000m record of 8:31.75, aided by wavelight technology, while a 200m hurdles race will feature Isabelle Pedersen.
The programme also includes a track 25,000m featuring Sondre Nordstad Moen, 600m, shot put, discus and more.
No athletes will fly into Oslo for the event, but electric cars will be used to transport athletes from the Swedish border.
Entry lists can be found here, with action set to be televised in the UK on the BBC Red Button from 19:00 on June 11. There will also be a live Diamond League stream, which will be geo-blocked in some locations.
WATCH: Strawberry Talk Show
While the traditional pre-event strawberry party cannot take place, organisers are holding a Strawberry Talk Show with some of the athletes.
Who? Almost all of the athletes set to compete in Oslo, including Karsten Warholm, Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal, Mondo Duplantis and the Ingebrigtsen brothers
What? Interviews with athletes on the ‘Strawberry Talk Show’
When? 16:00 BST on Wednesday June 10