Stockholm, Sweden – Andreas Thorkildsen, Norway’s reigning World and Olympic champion, and Tero Pitkämäki of Finland, the 2007 World champion, will continue their legendary rivalry when the Samsung Diamond League series hits the Swedish capital on 6 August with the DN Galan meeting in the city’s historic Olympic Stadium.

Since their first meeting at the 2001 European Junior Championships, the pair, who are both Samsung Diamond League Ambassadors, have squared off 53 times. At the moment, Thorkildsen holds a narrow edge, 27 to 26.

Thorkildsen is no stranger to Stockholm, winning there for the first time in 2004 before collecting victories at each of the past four editions. In 2006, he set the current meeting record with an 89.78m throw. Oddly enough, considering the history of javelin throwing in the 1912 Olympic arena, Pitkämäki will be making his DN Galan debut this season.

Stockholm will be first major competition after the European Championships in Barcelona, where Pitkämäki, the silver medallist four years ago in Gothenburg, will be gunning to dethrone Thorkildsen.

The pair have met three times this season, with Thorkildsen prevailing on all occasions. In their first head-to-head in 2010, in Floro, Norway, Thorkildsen threw a massive 90.37m, the furthest in the world this season and the fourth furthest throw of his already illustrious career.

"I want to come to DN Galan as European champion. Stockholm is a good place for javelin throwing," commented Thorkildsen.

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