The 2016 Diamond League season is gradually drawing to a close, with the French city of Paris hosting top athletes from all over the globe in what will be the last ever Athletics meet at the Stade de France on Saturday, August 26th.
Paris won’t just have Olympic medallists grace their track, but it will also be the venue for some athletes to finally cement their name on the Diamond League Trophy in their various events.
Top on the list is Olympic Silver medallist, Renaud Lavillenie who’ll be aiming for a win in his home country to win his second consecutive Diamond Race trophy in the men’s Pole Vault.
However, his victory won’t come easy as he’ll have USA’s Sam Kendricks to contend with, who handed him a surprise defeat two days ago in Lausanne. Also in the line-up with possible upsets are World Champion, Shawn Barber and Filippidis Konstantinos.
Meanwhile in the women’s 100m Hurdles, World Record (WR) holder Kendra Harrison will be going into the race, having already won the Diamond Trophy. This is due to the absence of second placed Brianna Rollins competing on the night.
The American will however be aiming to extend her unbeaten Diamond League run, when she faces fellow National rivals Jasmin Stowers, Sharicka Nelvis and Dawn Harper-Nelson with Great Britain’s Cindy Ofili also expected to be a stiff competitor.
Bahrain’s Ruth Jebet has had an outstanding breakout season thus far, running two of the three fastest times in the history of women’s steeplechase. Her most memorable victory was at the Rio Olympic Games, where she clocked 8:59.75, which is the second fastest time ever, just behind the WR of 8:58.81.
The 20-year old may not be gunning for the WR in Paris, but she’ll definitely be aiming to extend her lead on the standings against Kenya’s Hyvin Kiyeng, who’s tied on the same points with her.
World 200m Champion, Dafne Schippers will be making a return to the track after her unsuccessful attempt to win the Olympic title in Rio, finishing 2nd behind Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson in Brazil.
With the absence of Thompson in the French city, the Dutchwoman will be favourite for all maximum points when she goes against a respectable field that includes Cote D’Ivoire’s Marie-Josee Ta Lou, USA’s Jenna Prandini and Great Britain’s Desiree Henry.
Frenchmen Jimmy Vicaut and Christophe Lemaitre will be on the spotlight in the men’s 100m, when they compete in front of their home crowd.
The pair will be hoping to put up impressive performances when they race against European Champion Churandy Martina, Africa’s duo of Akani Simbine and Ben Youssef Meite, Great Britain’s Chijindu Ujah and USA’s Michael Rodgers.
Another mouthwatering event to watch out for is the women’s 400m, where all competitors are favourites for a win. Jamaica’s Stephenie Ann-Mcpherson is second on the standings, just five points behind leader Shaunae Miller.
With the absence of the Bahamian, a win will guarantee her the top position but she’ll have her hands full against USA’s Natasha Hastings, Bahrain’s Kemi Adekoya, home girl Floria Guei and Ukraine’s Olha Zemlyak.
After his historic Olympic glory in Rio, Kerron Clement will be gunning for another victory in the men’s 400m Hurdles to strengthen his lead on the standings.
Clement will hope for another great performance to avoid any charge by Michael Tinsley and Javier Culson, who have the best chance of catching up with him at the top of the standings.
The highlight of the middle distance events will be the men’s 800m, with the top two on the standings: Kenya’s Ferguson Rotich and Frenchman Pierre-Ambroise Bosse squaring up against each other.
Bosse will hope the cheers from his home crowd will steer him to victory against Rotich, but will also be cautious of the presence of double Olympic Silver medallist, Algeria’s Tauofik Makhloufi posting the biggest challenge.
Olympic Champion Faith Kipyegon will headline the women’s 1500m, and will be hoping to continue her unbeaten run this year against Great Britain’s Laura Muir and Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan.
Germany’s Thomas Rohler and Croatia’s Sandra Perkovic are one of the few athletes who enjoy the enviable positions of being Olympic Champion and Diamond Leader in their various events. A win for the European legends will crown them Diamond League Champions in both the Javelin and Discus Throw respectively.
Nigerian athletics faithfuls will also have athletes to watch out for, with both Blessing Okagbare and Tosin Oke also in action in the jumps.
Okagbare will be competing in the women’s Long Jump against already certified Diamond Race winner, Ivana Spanovic and Olympic Champion, Tianna Bartoletta while Oke, will be competing in his trademark event, Triple Jump will come up against Cuba’s Alexis Copello and Portugal’s Nelson Evora.
