The penultimate leg of the Diamond League takes place in Zurich, Switzerland on Thursday with a number of athletes in a race against time to secure slots to the season finale in Brussels.
Zurich has attracted top names and besides the points being sought out, there is also revenge on the mind of some athletes who are looking to get one over their rivals who beat them at the Paris Olympics.
Heading into Thursday’s event, here are some of the top five battles to look forward to.
Since he made history with his 200m Olympic gold in Paris, Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo has been unstoppable.
He returned to Diamond League action with a rapid 19.64 in Lausanne, before following it up with a meeting record of 19.83 in Silesia and a statement 100m victory in Rome last Friday.
Tebogo heads to Zurich under no pressure as he has already qualified for the final which sets up an epic battle against Americas Fred Kerley and Kenny Bednarek as well as Alexander Ogando as he looks to make it four wins out of four.
Julien Alfred picked up St Lucia’s first ever gold with her stunning 10.72 in the 100m final, to beat world champion and favourite Sha’Carri Richardson who had to settle for second place.
In Zurich, Alfred and Richardson go head-to-head again for the first time since the Paris Games and the American has revenge on the mind.
Pride aside, the stakes are high for both women as Alfred is seventh on the standings and on course to make the final but Richardson is 11th and need to beat either the St Lucian or Jamaica’s Tia Clayton to get into the top eight and seal her place in the final in Brussels.
Following the surprising results in 1,500m at the Paris Olympics, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Josh Kerr and Cole Hocker will reunite in Zurich, setting up another key battle.
Hocker was the surprise gold medallist in Paris as Ingebrigtsen faded to fourth place while Kerr won silver despite the two being considered favourites for gold.
Thursday’s event is therefore an opportunity to reassert their authority and it will be interesting to see who claims the bragging rights after Ingebrigtsen and Kerr threw barbs at each other before the Olympics but failed to deliver.
There are seven places up for grabs in the women’s 100m hurdles with only Jasmine Camacho-Quinn and Jamaican star Ackera Nugent heading to Zurich while assured of their places in the final.
Olympic champion Masai Russell and world champion Danielle Williams are currently on course to qualify, but they have plenty of talent breathing down their necks in Zurich.
Devynne Charlton, Nadine Visser,and Keni Harrison all know that a victory or a big performance could see them break into the top eight and keep their dreams of the Diamond Trophy well and truly alive.
Kenya’s Mary Moraa is already assured of her place in the final but will want to assert her dominance and dislodge Britain’s Jemma Reekie from the top as the former has 26 points to her 23.
Reekie, who exited the Paris Olympics at the semi-finals, as well as Ethiopian Tsige Duguma, who won a silver medal at the Olympics will provide Moraa with a good test.
What should give Moraa hope is that Reekie is yet to win a Diamond League race this season while Duguma has featured in two and not done better than seventh place.
However, the Ethiopian’s Olympics performance suggest she cannot be wished away but Moraa will be hoping to kill two birds with one stone, getting to the top of the standings while gaining her revenge on Duguma.
