A Rocky Start For Gout Gout, But Time Is On His Side

By Kit Holden for DyeStat/Vinco

Photo by Thomas Windestam for Diamond League AG

The sixth Wanda Diamond League meeting of the season delivered more drama in Oslo on Wednesday, with impressive wins from Cooper Lutkenhaus, Letsile Tebogo, Yan Ziyi and Henriette Jaeger.

Here’s what we learned at the 2026 Bislett Games:

Gout still learning

Gout Gout was the star attraction in Oslo as the superstar Australian teenager lined up in his first senior Diamond League race in the men’s 200 meters. In the end, it was a disappointing evening for the young sprinter, who finished sixth with 20.60, a very modest time by his high standards. Letsile Tebogo of Botswana ran off with the win 19.84. It was perhaps a timely reminder that, for all his talent, Gout still has plenty to learn at the highest level. The 19-year-old himself was typically relaxed after the race and looking forward to his next Diamond League appearance in Eugene. 

“There's definitely a lot more room for me to improve but I have plenty of time on my side,” he said. “There's always pressure on me but all I do is try my best and keep focusing on just having fun. I love competing against the big boys and I'll be back for sure - I put no limits on myself.”

Marschall is a winner

Australian fans did have something to cheer about in Oslo as Gout’s compatriot Kurtis Marschall won the pole vault with a solid 5.82m. Marschall admitted before the meeting that he had thought he would never win a Diamond League competition. He has now won two in four days, with victory in Oslo coming on the tail of his sensational win over Mondo Duplantis in Stockholm last Sunday. Though Duplantis will no doubt return to winning ways soon enough, there is now another vaulter in the pack who knows what it takes to win on the Diamond League stage. 

Yan no flash in the pan

Chinese teenager Yan Ziyi stunned the world last month when she threw the second-furthest throw in history with 71.74m at the Diamond League meeting in Xiamen. She returned for her first ever overseas Diamond League appearance in Oslo, once again cruising to victory, albeit this time with a slightly more ordinary 67.11m. The 18-year-old is now the de facto world number one, and so confident of her superiority that she stopped throwing after the second round in Oslo.

No limits for Lutkenhaus

After winning his Diamond League debut in Stockholm on Sunday, 17-year-old world indoor champion Cooper Lutkenhaus faced a far tougher test in Oslo as he lined up for the first time against Olympic and world champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya. The Texas teenager rose to the challenge, beating Wanyonyi in a dramatic photo finish to clock a world lead of 1.42.08. It was a victory that cemented Lutkenhaus’ statement among the global elite, and few would dare now put a limit on what the young American can do in the coming years.

Jaeger on the rise

Though Karsten Warholm suffered defeat to Alison Dos Santos in the men’s 400-mter hurdles, the home crowd still went away happy after Norway’s Henriette Jaeger marched to a season’s best of 49.52 to win the women’s 400. It was a second Diamond League win in the space of a week for the Norwegian, who appears to be hitting the form of her life as she approaches her 23rd birthday later this month.