The road to the final of the IAAF Diamond League (DL) heads to Africa this Friday for the Meeting International Mohammed VI, which will be taking place at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, Morocco.
The meet has assembled some highly attractive match-ups, with the men’s 100m, women’s 200m and men’s Pole vault events set to thrill the crowd at the North African city.
Sprints
The world’s four fastest men since the Rio Olympics will gather for a 100m showdown on Friday, and they are all Americans. Christian Coleman, Noah Lyles, Ronnie Baker and Mike Rodgers are the protagonists on the day, as they look to set the record straight on who the fastest man in the world is.
The quartet had been set to meet at last month’s US Championships, but Coleman withdrew before the event, while Rodgers only contested the first round, clocking 9.89s. It left Lyles and Baker to battle it out for victory, with Lyles coming through to win in a World Leading Personal Best (PB) of 9.88s, while Baker clocked 9.90s.
Ivory Coast’s Arthur Cisse, who clocked a National Record (NR) of 9.94s last month, and British Champion Reece Prescod – winner of the 100m at the IAAF DL meeting in Shanghai, are also included in the field.
In the women’s 200m, the battle among the athletes will also be as fascinating. Olympic 400m champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo will hope to continue her winning streak in the event this season but will have to fend off competition from Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare-Ighoteguonor who is the World Leader in the event, and Ivorian sprinter, Marie Josée Ta Lou, who is undefeated in the 100m this season.
European Champion Dina Asha-Smith is also on the line-up, as well as World and Olympic 200m Bronze medallist Shericka Jackson.
Qatar’s Abdalelah Haroun will look to seal his stop in the finals with yet another victory when he takes to the track in the men’s 400m. Jamaica’s Akeem Bloomfield who ran a lifetime best of 43.94s last month, might however cause an upset.
Hurdles
The Americans are expected to hold sway once in again in the women’s 100m Hurdles, with the trio of Olympic Champion Briana McNeal, Shericka Nelvis and Dawn Harper-Nelson expected to go in a slugfest.
McNeal is the current DL standings leader with 23 points and would look to consolidate on her lead. However, the same cannot be said of Harper-Nelson who has 8 points to her name. A top three finish will put her in pole position in securing her place in the finals in Zurich.
Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan is another athlete who has run under 12.7s, and she would be hoping to go one better than her 3rd place finish in Rome.
Middle and Long Distance
Moroccan star Soufiane El Bakkali delighted the home crowd in Rabat last year as he stormed to victory in the men’s 3000m Steeplechase. This year, El Bakkali, who is the World Silver medallist, will hope to replicate his home soil heroics in Rabat.
A win would propel the young Moroccan into the Top 8, improving his chances of a place in the final and a shot at the Diamond Trophy. One-time World Champion Conseslus Kiprupto is second on the standings and is also on the line-up.
The women’s 5000m will also be enthralling. World Champion Hellen Obiri has struggled to stamp her authority in the two races she has run this season, as she would look to add to her 6 points. Ethiopia’s Genzebe Dibaba and Dutch World Silver medallist Sifan Hassan are also on the line-up.
Field Events
The men’s Pole vault has so far served us some interesting contests this season, and the battle is set to continue in Rabat.
Seven-time Diamond Trophy winner, Renaud Lavillenie might have lost his crown last year but he is really on a quest to regain it. After succumbing to a defeat from Sam Kendricks on home soil in Paris, Lavillenie won in a non-scoring event in Lausanne, and now faces the American again in Rabat.
With Kendricks and Lisek already qualified, Lavillenie is under a little pressure to take eight points and ensure that he joins them in the final next month.
Victories in Doha and Eugene have made Thomas Röhler the man to beat in the men’s Javelin so far this season, but the German has not nailed down his place in the final just yet.
Jakub Vadlejch who was the man responsible for getting the Diamond Trophy from under Rohler’s nose last year will be on the field, as well as compatriot Johannes Vetter. Both Vadlejch and Röhler head to Rabat this week knowing that victory could see them secure a spot in the 2018 final.
New Zealand Shot Putter, Valerie Adams, will look to get back to reckoning in the event after losing out on her Diamond Trophy last year. Christina Schwanitz who took the Trophy in Adams’ absence will be present in Rabat, with Chinese star Lijiao Gong also providing for a stiff contest.
Marie Jose Ta Lou will not be in Rabat. She withdrew from the race.