So much for the grand return. Olympic champ Keely Hodgkinson was set to make her long-awaited comeback this weekend in Stockholm after months sidelined with a hamstring injury but her recovery has hit another speed bump. The 23-year-old’s debut race since winning her first global 800m gold in Paris will have to wait a little longer.
But while Keely’s sitting this one out, plenty of Team GB’s finest are still lining up for action at the Stockholm Diamond League this Sunday.
In the women’s 800m, we’ll see Georgia Hunter-Bell, fresh off her Olympic bronze in the 1500m and the ever competitive Jemma Reekie take on Kenya’s reigning world champ Mary Moraa. Definitely one to keep your eyes on.
Over in the sprints, Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita are going head-to-head with Olympic 100m champ Julien Alfred. Expect fireworks in that one. And if the 400m’s more your thing, world indoor champion Amber Anning is in the mix, along with Ireland’s standout Rhasidat Adeleke.
Also representing the distance crew: Innes Fitzgerald, Katie Snowden, and Hannah Nuttall are tackling the 3,000m, while Alastair Chalmers hits the hurdles and Lawrence Okoye slings some discs in the field.
And of course, local legend Armand Duplantis will be soaring in the pole vault, with global stars Femke Bol and Karsten Warholm also suiting up as the world’s elite fine-tune ahead of the World Championships in Tokyo this September.
Even without Keely on the track, it’s shaping up to be a proper showdown in Sweden.
Who’s competing in Stockholm and when?
- 16:17 BST – men’s pole vault featuring world record holder Armand Duplantis
- 17:04 BST – women’s 400m hurdles featuring world champion Femke Bol
- 17:20 BST – women’s 3,000m featuring Britons Innes Fitzgerald, Katie Snowden and Hannah Nuttall
- 17:23 BST – women’s long jump featuring Olympic champion Tara Davis-Woodhall and world champion Ivana Spanovic
- 17:48 BST – men’s 800m featuring Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi
- 17:55 BST – men’s discus featuring Britain’s Lawrence Okoye
- 18:00 BST – women’s 400m featuring Britain’s world indoor champion Amber Anning and Ireland’s Rhasidat Adeleke
- 18:09 BST – men’s 5,000m featuring Olympic 1500m champion Cole Hocker
- 18:31 BST – women’s 800m featuring Britons Georgia Hunter-Bell and Jemma Reekie, and world champion Mary Moraa
- 18:42 BST – women’s 100m featuring Britons Daryll Neita and Dina Asher-Smith, and Olympic champion Julien Alfred
- 18:52 BST – men’s 400m hurdles featuring Britain’s Alastair Chalmers, world record holder Karsten Warholm and Olympic champion Rai Benjamin
When could Hodgkinson return & what’s coming up this Diamond League Season?
While Keely Hodgkinson’s Stockholm comeback may have been scratched, the plan is far from off the rails. She’s still listed for the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene on 5 July and if she makes the start line, she’ll be facing off with two of her biggest rivals: Kenya’s Mary Moraa and the USA’s Athing Mu. That’s a heavyweight 800m showdown if we’ve ever seen one.
Then comes London on 19 July and you better believe all eyes will be on Keely there. That’s the same meet where she smashed her own British record last summer with a blistering 1:54.61. If she’s healthy, that home crowd energy could spark something special again.
London’s not just about Keely, though. Expect fireworks in the men’s 1500m too, as reigning world champ Josh Kerr goes toe-to-toe once again with Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen. The tension in that rivalry? Absolutely electric.
Also on the London entry sheet: Olympic and world 100m king Noah Lyles, hurdles superstar Femke Bol, and Britain’s own pole vault star Molly Caudery. It’s basically a who’s who of track and field greatness.
Before all that, the Diamond League makes stops in Paris, Eugene and Monaco. Eugene’s looking particularly juicy, with five-time champ Faith Kipyegon gunning to make history by becoming the first woman to run a sub-four-minute mile. She’ll race the 1500m there alongside Georgia Hunter-Bell, who’s looking more dangerous by the meet.
Sprinters won’t be left out either Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo and world 100m champ Sha’Carri Richardson are also lighting up the track in Eugene. Expect fireworks, attitude, and elite-level speed.
What’s Actually at Stake?
Beyond the medals and bragging rights, the Diamond League offers real rewards. Athletes are collecting points across 32 disciplines, all trying to punch their ticket to the big-money Zurich final in August. That’s just two weeks before the World Championships kick off in Tokyo — a tight turnaround, but one that keeps the heat on.
This season’s Diamond League comes with its biggest prize pot ever — $9.24 million in total. That’s $500,000 at each of the 14 meetings, plus a chunky $2.2 million up for grabs at the final. Not bad for a season’s work.
And while Michael Johnson’s new Grand Slam Track has entered the chat, so far there’s been just one direct scheduling clash. The Diamond League still looks like the main stage for now and with BBC broadcasting all the meets for the next five years, fans won’t miss a moment.
So whether it’s sub-four miles, title-defending champs, or long-awaited comebacks, the road to Tokyo is heating up. Let’s just hope Keely’s back on it and soon.
How does the Diamond League work?
Athletes will compete for points at the 14 regular series meetings which started in April and run through to August.
Points are awarded on a scale from eight for first place to one for eighth place.
After the 14th meeting in Brussels, the top six ranked athletes in the field events, the top eight in track events from 100m up to 800m, and the top 10 in the distances from 1500m upwards qualify for the final.
The two-day finals are a winner-takes-all competition to be crowned Diamond League champion in each event.
Diamond League calendar 2025
26 April – Xiamen, China
03 May – Keqiao, China
16 May – Doha, Qatar
25 May – Rabat, Morocco
06 June – Rome, Italy
12 June – Oslo, Norway
15 June – Stockholm, Sweden
20 June – Paris, France
05 July – Eugene, USA
11 July – Monaco
19 July – London, England
16 August – Silesia, Poland
20 August – Lausanne, Switzerland
22 August – Brussels, Belgium
27-28 August – Zurich, Switzerland
