By Feyi Awosika
As the rain filled the streets of East London, and fans poured into the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Stadium, the 11th leg of the Wanda Diamond League began.
The day began to unfold with the U17 and U20 Mixed 4x100m relay. Soaked but lively, Croydon and Herne Hill Harriers stormed their way to Club Connect victory in front of a loving and enthusiastic stadium, and celebrated in style surrounded by their teammates.
Despite the typical British weather, the athletes and spectators didn’t allow it to phase them as the day commenced. After Lewis Davey’s PB-breaking national 400m performance of 44.91, he described the crowd as “electric”, which was a term many athletes used to summarise the energy at the 60,000 sold out one-day competition.
Going into the Men’s Diamond League 400m, Charlie Dobson stole the show. Dobson kept a calm, cool, and collected form as he made his way around the track but it wasn’t until the final few metres that he surged his way to a Diamond League win and clocked a new 400m PB, 44.14. His shocked facial expression told everyone that he was surprised with the result, and in his post-race interview, Charlie said competing at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Stadium was “exhilarating”.
Over at the high jump, national hero Morgan Lake won by equalling her season’s best height of 1.96m. This was Morgan’s first Diamond League triumph which was very special to her since it was a win on home soil in England.
This Wanda Diamond League meet saw a stacked men’s 100m battle between Olympic champion Noah Lyles, his top rival Letsile Tebogo. However, the rest of the field looked incredibly strong which included athletes like Oblique Seville, Akani Simbine, Jeremiah Azu, Ackeem Blake, Zhanel Hughes, and Louie Hinchliffe.
For Noah Lyles, this was his 100m outdoor season opener where he ran 10.00s, as Jamaica’s Oblique Seville took that first place title at his inaugural Diamond League meet, with a shining performance of 9.86s.
Shortly after, the women’s 200m began with another talented, star-studded lineup. Amy Hunt, Dina Asher-Smith, Julien Alfred, Daryll Neita, Rhashidat Adeleke, Ashanti Moore, Torrie Lewis, and Jael Bestue laid out everything on the track. St. Lucian star Julien Alfred, national treasure Dina Asher-Smith, and Olympic champion Noah Lyles all described the energy as “sensational”, and GB’s Amy Hunt said it was “magical”. Hunt set a new 200m time of 22.31s-a time she hadn’t broken since she was 17, and it clearly meant so much to her.
“Honestly I can’t even put it into words”
“It’s been six years since we ran a PB and so much has happened since then like you said- I got my degree from Cambridge, I had surgery, I moved to Italy where I can’t speak the language.”
“My life has dramatically changed so to come away with a PB in front of a home crowd, it is really really magical.”
There is so much history at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Stadium. Alongside the grounds being home to the West Ham Rovers, it hosted the 2012 London Olympics, which led to Super Saturday and countless memories for fans, athletes, and volunteers alike. It was the stadium where Usain Bolt ran his last professional athletics race at the 2017 IAAF World Athletics Championships, and the spirit of the Olympics is reignited whenever events are hosted here.
It is no secret that the magic of the stadium filled everyone with excitement, joy, and hope. From new PB’s to heartwarming moments, there was definitely an “Olympicesque” atmosphere, as Adam Gemili described it. This comes after the English government decided to back the bid for London to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships.
With another Wanda Diamond League stop confirmed for 2026, the European Championships in Birmingham next summer, the government’s financial support for the 2029 World Championships and a talented pool of athletes, it is crystal clear the country has a strong relationship with the sport that will never fade.
