Hudson & Weißhaidinger

Athletics duo in the Diamonds League final

Victoria Hudson (l.) and Lukas Weißhaidinger

(Bild: Pawel Skraba, Thomas Windestam)

This season comes to an end this weekend with a milestone for Austrian athletics. For the first time, the ÖLV will be represented by two athletes at a Diamond League final. European vice-champion Lukas Weißhaidinger has earned a place in the final of only the six best discus throwers for Brussels on Friday, European champion Victoria Hudson will follow on Saturday in the javelin final.

The "Krone" reports from Brussels

The two-day final will once again see all the stars of international athletics at the start. 82 medal winners from the Olympic Games in Paris will be taking part in the highlight, including ten 2024 Olympic champions. Sydney McLaughin-Levrone, who caused a stir in Paris with her fabulous world record in the 400 m hurdles, will even be competing in the hurdles and the 400 m flat. Among the many stars is, of course, high-flyer Mondo Duplantis, who is always capable of improving his world record with the baton.

Top 3 places a dream
In view of the parade of stars, it will be tough for Lukas Weißhaidinger and Victoria Hudson to achieve a top 3 place. But just qualifying for a place among the six best throwers in the world is of course a minor sensation. The fact that our discus star will be competing in a Diamond League final for the sixth time after 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022 speaks volumes for the class he has shown over the years. Victoria Hudson competes in the Diamond League final for the second time since 2023

Victoria Hudson

(Bild: APA/AFP/Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV)

Weißhaidinger already has two second places from a final on his business card - from Brussels 2019 and Zurich 2022. "I've been able to train very well over the last few days. Physically, I feel in top shape. In terms of throwing, it will be challenging at the end of the season. There's also no denying a certain amount of fatigue. But my goal is to finish in the top 3. That's what I'm still missing this year." And the prizes at the final are also higher than at a "normal" Diamond League meeting. The winner will receive 30,000 dollars, second place 12,000 and third place 7,000 dollars.

The score is 0:5 twice ...
One day after Lukas Weißhaidinger, Victoria Hudson takes part. "It took me a while to digest the disappointment of Paris," confessed the Lower Austrian, who had failed to qualify at the Games. "For me, the final is the ideal opportunity to show my true potential." She came sixth in Eugene last year. Like Weißhaidinger, she is also hoping to finish in the top three. But it will be tough! In the direct duels with their opponents from Brussels, both ÖLV stars are 0-5 against the competition.

This really is a brilliant PR campaign for the Diamond League final in Brussels! The famous "Manneken Pis", one of the landmarks of the Belgian capital, is advertising the athletics hit on Friday and Saturday in Brussels in a "Memorial van Damme" leotard. A total of around 75,000 spectators are expected on both days to mark the end of the athletics season.

Can you imagine something similar in Vienna? Hardly. It would be like putting an Austrian national team jersey on the Johann Strauss monument in the Stadtpark before an international soccer match...