He is now setting his sights on a first ever Diamond League campaign, where he will take on the world’s best on some of the sport’s biggest stages.
Lutkenhaus will make his Diamond League debut in Stockholm on 7 June, before taking on Wanyonyi and others in another world-class field in Oslo three days later.
Wanyonyi has dominated the men’s 800m in recent years, winning Olympic gold in 2024, World Championship gold in 2025 and three back-to-back Diamond League titles in the last three seasons.
The Kenyan has notched up an astonishing 12 Diamond League wins in what is currently one of the most fiercely contested disciplines in track and field.
He and Lutkenhaus will face a typically tough test in Oslo, as they go up against 2023 world champion Marco Arop, Olympic bronze medallist Djamel Sedjati and world number four Mohamed Attaoui.
The field includes four of the top five in the world rankings and three of the fastest five men in history over two laps.
Oslo is the sixth leg of the 2026 Wanda Diamond League, which begins in Shanghai/Keqiao on May 16 and ends at the two-day series final in Brussels on 4-5 September.
The series unites the biggest names in track and field in some of the world’s most iconic arenas, crossing four continents and 15 cities over the course of the season.
