When: 22–24 August.
Where: Stockholm Stadium.
TV/Radio: Friday: SVT Play 19.00–20.30. Saturday: SVT2/SVT Play 18.00–20.00 and SVT1/SVT Play 20.00–21.30. Sunday: SVT1/SVT Play 13.00–16.30. The competitions can also be followed on P4 Radiosporten.
History: The Finland-Sweden athletics international made its debut in 1925 and is thus celebrating 100 years. The international competition, the last remaining in athletics, has been held every year since then, with some exceptions - every other year on Swedish soil, every other year on Finnish soil. On the women's side, Sweden leads with 43 wins against Finland's 26. It is the reverse order on the men's side, with 47–37 in favor of Finland.
How did it go last year? Finland took a double in Helsinki and won with 228–225 on the men's side and 229.5–224.5 on the women's side.
Largest margin of victory: Finland's men beat Sweden by 72 points in 1978.
Smallest margin of victory: In 2023, it was a tie on the men's side. Sweden won thanks to more event wins. On the women's side, Sweden has won twice (1980 and 1982) with a one-point margin, according to Dagens Nyheter, which refers to the book "The Finland-Sweden athletics international - a century, two countries".
How the competition works: All placings give points and can therefore be decisive in the end. In the individual events, the winner gets 7 points, the second 5 points, the third 4 points, the fourth 3 points, the fifth 2 points, and the sixth 1 point. In the relays, the winner gets 5 points and the second 2 points. No points are awarded to a participant who drops out or is without a result.
"The paper international competition": Based on the annual best lists of the Swedish Athletics Association, a "paper international competition" is presented every year before the Finland-Sweden athletics international, where a predicted final result is presented. Based on this, Sweden will win both international competitions this year, 241.5–212.5 for the women and 233–221 for the men.
Three highlights of the weekend:
+ 10 km, men (Friday 19.50): Andreas Almgren has established himself in recent years as one of Sweden's, and Europe's, best runners of all time. On Friday evening, the European record holder on 10 km road can give Sweden a good start to the Finland-Sweden athletics international when he, along with Suldan Hassan and Jonas Glans, goes for a Swedish triple victory.
+ Pole vault, men (Saturday 19.50): Armand Duplantis' entry height is usually higher than the personal records of the rest of the starting field in the Finland-Sweden athletics international. That he wins is almost a given. The question is whether "Mondo" will go for another world record (6.29 currently) at the Stadium?
+ 5,000 m, women (Sunday 14.15): After several years of absence, Abeba Aregawi is making a comeback in the Swedish national team. It is not an uncontroversial return. The Ethiopian-born long-distance runner won the World Championship gold for Sweden on 1,500 meters in 2013. Three years later, she tested positive for the banned substance meldonium, but she was acquitted by the doping commission the same year.
Schedule:
Friday, August 22
19.05: 10 km (women).
19.50: 10 km (men).
Saturday, August 23
15.45: Triple jump, high jump (men/women).
18.05: 110 m hurdles (men).
18.10: Javelin (women).
18.12: High jump (women)
18.15: Long jump (women)
18.20: 100 m hurdles (women).
18.35: 5,000 m (men).
19.00: 200 m (women).
19.05: Triple jump, shot put (women/men).
19.10: 800 m (men).
19.25: Hammer (men).
19.27: 3,000 m steeplechase (women).
19.45: 100 m (men).
19.50: Pole vault (men).
19.55: Shot put (men).
20.05: 400 m (women).
20.15: 1,500 m (women).
20.25: 400 m (men).
20.35: Triple jump (men).
20.37: Discus (women).
20.40: Triple jump, 110 m hurdles (men).
20.55: Triple jump, 100 m hurdles (women).
21.10: 4x100 m (women/men).
Sunday, August 24
12.40: Walk 5,000 m/10,000 m (women/men).
13.10: Javelin (men).
13.12: High jump (men).
13.15: Long jump (men).
13.45: 400 m hurdles (women).
14.00: 400 m hurdles (men).
14.05: Shot put (women).
14.15: 5,000 m (women).
14.25: Hammer (women).
14.40: Pole vault (women).
14.45: 200 m (men).
15.00: 3,000 m steeplechase (men).
15.25: 100 m (women).
15.30: Triple jump (women).
15.37: Discus (men).
15.40: 4x400 m (men).
15.55: 4x400 m (women).
16.10: 800 m (women).
16.20: 1,500 m (men).
