From Duplantis’ world record dream to Hodgkinson and Lutkenhaus’ 800m walk, the Bauhaus-Gala meeting is full of promise.
Last year’s Bauhas-Galan Diamond League meeting proved to be an unforgettable event as the Stockholm crowd were treated to Swedish star Mondo Duplantis’ pole vault world record and Andreas Almgren’s European 5000m record minutes later.
Both are back in 2026 to take their places in the star-studded line-up in the Swedish capital, which promises more fireworks on Sunday (June 7).
With Great Britain’s Keeley Hodgkinson making her outdoor 800m debut this summer, teenage world 800m champion Cooper Lutkenhaus making her Diamond League debut and US stars Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and Kenny Bednarek in sprint action, the meet will be uneventful.
Duplantis cites his 6.28m at the Olympic Stadium 12 months ago as one of the most satisfying in his history and, with the weather forecast, he is aiming to break the world record, which has since risen to 6.31m.
“That’s where my mind is,” says the two-time Olympic champion. “That’s what I want to do. Last year (in Stockholm) was one of the more special moments of my entire life, so it motivated me a lot to repeat that feeling. I would love to jump 6.32m and there are a lot of people I could enjoy it with too.”
Hodgkinson admits she will be a little disappointed when she crosses the starting line, which will also feature Swiss European under-23 champion Audrey Verro, who set a meet record of 1:56.56 in Rabat.
The Olympic champion started her outdoor season earlier this week in Rome over 400m, aiming to help her match Yarmila Kratochvilova’s world record, but a PB of 51.14 fell just short of her own lofty expectations.
“We were looking to work on that 400m speed and I was a bit disappointed with the time,” Hodgkinson said. “I wanted a bit more than that and I didn’t want to lose the opportunity, but it’s hard to put together a good 400m.
“I threw myself in at the deep end, challenged myself really well and, in hindsight, maybe I’m being a bit hard on myself. We’ve been cutting that speed and whether that’s the key to breaking 1:53 (Kratochvilova’s mark of 1:53.28) or not, I guess we’ll find out.”
The men’s 800m is also more than worth watching as Lutkenhaus, who became the youngest world champion in athletics history with his brilliant victory in Torun in March, continues his development at the very sharp end.
He will face fierce opposition alongside fellow American Bryce Hoppel, Canadian Marco Arop, Australian Peter Ball and the British duo of Jake Wightman and Ben Pattison.
However, the 17-year-old certainly doesn’t seem fazed by the challenge ahead or the expectations surrounding him. “I get to do what I love, which is racing, so I don’t worry about the outside noise,” he said.
Almgren’s 5000m performance last year opened the door to a number of great performances at a number of distances. “It was the last step to getting the confidence that ‘I’m actually world class now,'” he told AW.
The Swede won the world 10,000m bronze in Tokyo in September and broke the European half-marathon record in 58:41 a month later. He has already broken the continental 10km mark on the roads in 26:45 in 2026 and started his race over 3000m in China last month, breaking the Swedish record of 7:26.48.
Her main target for the summer is the 10,000m at the European Championships, but in Stockholm she will be competing in the 1500m and will be looking to improve on her best of 3:32:00.
He is part of a top-class field featuring Olympic bronze medalist Jared Nugus, former world champion Timothy Cheruiot, Australian rising star Cameron Myers, world 10,000m champion Jimmy Grecier and Britain’s European silver medalist Jake Hayward, who continues his return to the sport after a long absence.
In the sprints, Jefferson-Wooden may have tasted defeat to Julien Alfred in Rome but is still in high spirits after clocking 22.17 in her first 200m since winning the world title last year. The American, who is also a world 100m gold medallist, runs the shorter distance alongside Britain’s Amy Hunt and Dina Asher-Smith, as well as Italian star Zeinab Dosso.
Bednarek didn’t take long to find his form in 2026 and heads into the men’s 200m after his brilliant 19.69 win at the Rabat Diamond League. The double Olympic and World 200m silver medalist will be hoping to get closer to her PB of 19.57.
In the men’s 400m, Great Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith and Charlie Dobson face a field that no longer includes Olympic and world 400m hurdles champion Ry Benjamin, but American talents Jacory Patterson and Haleb McRae, as well as former world indoor champion Jeremy Richards.
Alison Dos Santos will be the favorite in the men’s 400m hurdles, leading the world rankings with 46.72 points, as well as setting lifetime bests over 200m and flat 400m this year.
After his world-leading time of 7:57.25 in Rabat, two-time Olympic champion Sufian El Bakkali takes on New Zealand’s world champion Geordie Beamish again in the 3000m. Aside from El Bakkali, Kenya’s Simon Kiprop Koch is the only member of the field to have run under eight minutes so far this season. Marva Buzayani representing Tunisia is the fastest athlete in the women’s field this year (8:58.09).
Elsewhere in the field, the women’s shot put competition will be of the highest quality, with Jessica Schilder fresh from a 20.19 in Shanghai, her furthest mark in 14 years. The world champion will compete against Olympic champion Yemis Mabry, as well as world indoor champion Chase Jackson and silver medalist Sarah Mitton.
Olympic and world champion Valarie Zion will look to continue her dominance in the women’s discus, while world champion Daniel Stahl will have the support of the home crowd in the men’s race. In the women’s long jump, USA’s Alexis Brown is aiming for her season-opening mark of 7.07m.
Full meeting information here
