The big favourite &ndash; on the basis that he has won the past three world titles and was the 2008 Olympic champion&nbsp;&ndash; has to be Asbel Kiprop.
The Kenyan has been in outstanding form this season with the one notable exception of his last outing at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Monaco.
He clocked a world-leading 3:29.33 when winning at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Birmingham two months ago and won in Doha as well as over a mile in Eugene and Oslo.
However, a dramatically misjudged race in Monaco, when he finished sixth in a race won by his Rio-bound compatriot Ronald Kwemoi, who clocked 3:30.49 to go second on the 2016 list, has given his rivals hope despite the fact that it has been his only loss in eight outings over 1500m or a mile this year.
Kwemoi, the Commonwealth silver medallist, is still only 20 and set a world U20 record of 3:28.81 in Monaco two years ago.
His career seemed to stagnate slightly last year and he even finished out of the medals at the African Games, a consolation prize for not making the IAAF World Championships Beijing 2015 team, but the Japan-based runner is clearly back on track.
Before his eye-catching win in Monaco, Kwemoi clinched his place on the plane to Rio by finishing third at the Kenyan Olympic Trials behind Kiprop and world silver medallist Elijah Manangoi, who additionally had to settle for second place in Monaco.
With Manangoi crossing the line in Monaco in 3:31.19 for third place on the 2016 world list, the thought has crossed a few pundits&rsquo; minds that Kenya might become the first nation to take a clean sweep of the 1500m medals in the history of the Olympic Games.
<h3>Double difficulties</h3>
Paramount among the men who will try to stop them is Algeria&rsquo;s defending champion Taoufik Makhloufi, who showed he is in good shape by finishing third in Monaco.
But Makhloufi may have a hard decision to make.
He is also entered in the 800m and has advertised his intention to double, but the Rio programme is not too sympathetic to such ambitions with the final of the 800m late on the night before the 1500m heats.
Also entered for another event in addition to the 1500m is 2012 world indoor champion and Olympic bronze medallist Abdalaati Iguider.
However, Iguider &ndash; who ran a 1500m season&rsquo;s best of 3:31.54 for fourth place in the deep Monaco race &ndash; is also entered for the 5000m and at these championships it is impossible to run both so it is expected that the Moroccan will likely to focus on the shorter event.
Djibouti&rsquo;s one and only Olympic medal in any sport came in the men&rsquo;s marathon back in 1988, but 2014 world indoor 1500m champion Ayanleh Souleiman has shown good enough form this summer to possibly be capable of adding to that meagre tally.
The only potential problem for Souleiman is that, like Makhloufi, he is also entered in the 800m, the distance at which he won the world bronze medal in 2013.
The prevailing feeling is that doubling over 800m and 1500m in Rio, due to the programme, might be slightly detrimental to a runner&rsquo;s medal hopes in contrast to if he had concentrated on just one event, although Makhloufi and Souleiman have the pedigree to take on both events without too many difficulties.
It seems unlikely that the 1500m medals will be won by anyone from outside of Africa, but USA&rsquo;s Matt Centrowitz has proved adept at confounding that theory in recent years and the US champion is back again to lead the challenge from the rest of the world.
Another non-African to keep an eye on is Norway&rsquo;s European champion Filip Ingebrigtsen, who possesses a devastating turn of speed over the final 150 metres, which may just cause a surprise if he is in a slow-run final.
Phil Minshull for the IAAF

The big favourite – on the basis that he has won the past three world titles and was the 2008 Olympic champion – has to be Asbel Kiprop.

Preview: men's 1500m – Rio 2016 Olympic Games

The Dream Mile is synonymous with the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Oslo, and the organisers of the ExxonMobil Bislett Games have announced a star-studded lineup for this year&rsquo;s race on 7 June, including Kenya&rsquo;s world champion Asbel Kiprop.
Kiprop is a multiple winner of the Dream Mile and returns to Oslo with a dual purpose: winning and running a fast time.
He will face opposition from the likes of Djibouti&rsquo;s Ayanleh Souleiman, who is not only the fastest man in the field with a personal best of 3:47.32 but claimed the world indoor 1000m record during the winter.
Kiprop&rsquo;s compatriots Silas Kiplagat and Elijah Manangoi are also both major threats.
Kiplagat has run faster than 3:50.00 for the mile on two occasions and has gone below 3:30:00 for 1500m on four separate occasions. Manangoi, meanwhile, was a relative unknown until last season when not only did he surprise by making the Kenyan 1500m team for the IAAF World Championships Beijing 2015 but then got the silver medal in the Chinese capital.
In his first ever mile race, Manangoi clocked a PB of 3:52.39 in Eugene last weekend in a tactical race. In Oslo, though, he will be looking at something faster than 3:50.00.
Four years ago at the ExxonMobil Bislett Games, an unheralded young Algerian athlete by the name of Taoufik Makhloufi won the 1500m on the pre-programme. What followed in that year is now history as Makhloufi went on to win the gold medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Makhloufi has since established himself as one of the world&rsquo;s leading middle-distance runners with outstanding 800m and 1500m personal bests of 1:43.53 and 3:28.75 and he is also expected provide stern opposition to the East African contingent.
In addition, the field also contains Czech Republic&rsquo;s world indoor silver medallist Jakub Holusa and Australia&rsquo;s Ryan Gregson.
Domestic interest will be provided by Norwegian record-holder Henrik Ingebrigtsen. The 25-year-old from the west of Norway ran his national mile record of 3:50.77 in the Bislett stadium two years ago and would like nothing more than to run faster than 3:50.00 in front of a home crowd.
This year, Ingebrigtsen will face competition from his younger brother Filip, 23, who has already run 3:37.04 this year, making him the second-fastest Norwegian ever in the 1500m; only Henrik has gone faster.
Organisers for the IAAF
2016 IAAF Diamond League calendar 6 May &ndash; Doha, QAT 14 May &ndash; Shanghai, CHN 22 May &ndash; Rabat, MAR 28 May &ndash; Eugene, USA 2 Jun &ndash; Rome, ITA 5 Jun &ndash; Birmingham, GBR 9 Jun &ndash; Oslo, NOR 16 Jun &ndash; Stockholm, SWE 15 Jul &ndash; Monaco, MON 22-23 Jul &ndash; London, GBR 25 Aug &ndash; Lausanne, SUI 27 Aug &ndash; Paris, FRA 1 Sep &ndash; Zurich, SUI 9 Sep &ndash; Brussels, BEL

The Dream Mile is synonymous with the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Oslo, and the organisers of the ExxonMobil Bislett Games have announced a star-studded lineup for this year’s race on 7 June, including Kenya’s world champion Asbel Kiprop.

Kiprop and Souleiman head Oslo's Dream Mile field – IAAF Diamond League

Organisers of the Prefontaine Classic claim that their Bowerman Mile field for this year&rsquo;s IAAF Diamond League meeting on 28 May is the best they have ever had.
Not only does it contain five global champions, but it will also reunite the top five finishers from the IAAF World Championships Beijing 2015, when just 0.41 separated the first five past the line.
Kenya&rsquo;s Asbel Kiprop is currently the world&rsquo;s top miler. At 26, he has already won four major gold medals, the first as a 19-year-old at the 2008 Beijing Olympics over 1500m. Last year he won his third consecutive world title at the distance, equalling the achievement of world record-holder Hicham El Guerrouj.
Kiprop, who won the Diamond Race in 2010 and 2015, has won the Bowerman Mile three times. This summer in Rio, Kiprop hopes to become the first Kenyan to win two Olympic 1500m titles. His campaign kicked off with a great start, winning the 1500m at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Doha last weekend in a world-leading 3:32.15.
Silas Kiplagat, also a two-time Diamond Race winner, will also be returning to Eugene. Throughout their careers, Kiplagat and Kiprop have faced each other 35 times in the 1500m and mile, and Kiprop owns an 18-17 edge. In the Bowerman Mile, however, Kiplagat has a 3-2 lead.
Another Kenyan, Elijah Manangoi, came out of nowhere last year to give Kiprop his most recent challenge. He set a PB of 3:29.67 in Monaco before taking the silver medal behind Kiprop in Beijing. In Eugene, the 23-year-old will be contesting his first ever mile race.
Ayanleh Souleiman will be defending his Bowerman Mile title, having won it last year for the second time in his career. His previous victory came in 2014 when he set a meeting record of 3:47.32. The 2014 world indoor 1500m champion and 2013 world 800m bronze medallist set a world indoor 1000m record earlier this year.
USA&rsquo;s Matthew Centrowitz won the world indoor 1500m title in March. The 26-year-old has reached the 1500m final at every global championships he has contested for the past five years, including taking bronze and silver at the 2011 and 2013 IAAF World Championships respectively.
World and Olympic bronze medallist Abdalaati Iguider is Morocco&rsquo;s third-fastest miler in history, trailing only world record-holder Hicham El Guerrouj and former 1500m world record-holder Said Aouita. Iguider won the world indoor title in 2012 and the world junior title in 2004.
Olympic champion Taoufik Makhloufi just missed out on a medal at last year&rsquo;s World Championships. The Algerian finished third in the 800m in Eugene last year, having contested the mile at Hayward Field in 2013 and 2014.
Evan Jager obliterated his own North American 3000m steeplechase record last year with 8:00.45, despite falling during the race. The 27-year-old, whose mile PB of 3:53.33 was set in Eugene, has finished in the top six in the steeplechase at the past three global championships.
Jakub Holusa of the Czech Republic earned the 1500m silver medal at the recent World Indoor Championships. The European indoor champion finished fourth in the mile in Eugene last year.
Kenya&rsquo;s Ronald Kwemoi broke the world junior 1500m record in 2014 with a time of 3:28.81 before going on to take medals at the Commonwealth Games and the African Championships later that year. He set a mile PB of 3:52.57 in Eugene last year.
Commonwealth champion James Magut has twice won the international mile in Eugene. In 2014 he contested the Bowerman Mile at Hayward Field and set a lifetime best of 3:49.43.
USA&rsquo;s Ben Blankenship won the international mile at last year&rsquo;s Prefontaine Classic, having set an outright mile PB of 3:53.13 indoors earlier that year. He also anchored USA to a world record in the distance medley relay at the IAAF World Relays Bahamas 2015.
Many US fans will be following Drew Hunter, the national high school cross-country champion who ran 3:57.81 indoors earlier this year. The 18-year-old could challenge Alan Webb&rsquo;s US high school record of 3:53.43.
Organisers for the IAAF
2016 IAAF Diamond League calendar 6 May &ndash; Doha, QAT 14 May &ndash; Shanghai, CHN 22 May &ndash; Rabat, MAR 28 May &ndash; Eugene, USA 2 Jun &ndash; Rome, ITA 5 Jun &ndash; Birmingham, GBR 9 Jun &ndash; Oslo, NOR 16 Jun &ndash; Stockholm, SWE 15 Jul &ndash; Monaco, MON 22-23 Jul &ndash; London, GBR 25 Aug &ndash; Lausanne, SUI 27 Aug &ndash; Paris, FRA 1 Sep &ndash; Zurich, SUI 9 Sep &ndash; Brussels, BEL

Organisers of the Prefontaine Classic claim that their Bowerman Mile field for this year’s IAAF Diamond League meeting on 28 May is the best they have ever had.

Eugene assembles its best ever mile field – IAAF Diamond League

The 2015 IAAF World Challenge circuit will end on Sunday (13) in the Raul Guidobaldi Stadium in the Italian town of Rieti but proceedings get underway on Saturday with the final event in the men&rsquo;s IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge.Two-time world champion Pawel Fajdek has a commanding lead in the standings &ndash; he is the 2015 world leader with 83.93m and has produced the 10 best performances of the year &ndash; and the Pole is almost certain to take the title, regaining the honour he also acquired in 2013.He knows Rieti well, having won here 12 months ago, and so should not suffer from any ring rust when he returns to the hammer circle for his first competition since Beijing.However, the competition will reunite the entire podium from Beijing: Tajikistan&rsquo;s silver medallist Dilshod Nazarov and Fajdek&rsquo;s compatriot bronze medallist Wojchech Nowicki.The field also features two other 2015 world championship finalists: Russia&rsquo;s Sergei Litvinov and Slovakia&rsquo;s Marcel Lomnicky, who were fifth and eighth respectively. It is not inconceivable that Fajdek could attack the meeting record held by Japan&rsquo;s Koji Murofushi, who won in 2007 with 82.62m.&nbsp; Another potentially great throwing event on Sunday's programme is the men&rsquo;s javelin where Ihab Abdelrahman El Sayed, from Egypt, the world championships silver medallist in Beijing will take on Germany&rsquo;s Andreas Hofmann and Japan&rsquo;s Ryohel Arai, who were sixth and ninth in the Chinese capital.Another Beijing silver medallist, Adam Kszczot from Poland, is the star name in the men&rsquo;s 800m, which will will also feature two more finallists from Beijing: Qatar&rsquo;s Musaeb Abdulman Balla, who won in Rieti in 2013, and Morocco&rsquo;s Nader Belhanbel.Kszczot followed up his second place in Beijing with a win at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Zurich last week, and a second place at the IAAF World Challenge meeting in Berlin ion Sunday. Algeria&rsquo;s London 2012 Olympic Games champion Taoufik Makhloufi will pursue another sub-3:30 time in the 1500m which also features Kenya&rsquo;s Robert Biwott. Makhloufi, who finished fourth in Beijing, set his personal best of 3:28.75 in the super-fast race at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Monaco in July.<h3>Arazamasva and Bishop go head-to-head again</h3>Marina Arzamasova, from Belarus, and Canada&rsquo;s Melissa Bishop, the world championships gold and silver medallists in Beijing, are the top names in the women&rsquo;s 800 metres. The impressive field also includes three more Beijing finalists: Morocco&rsquo;s Rababe Arafi, Great Britain&rsquo;s Shelayna Oskan Clarke and Poland&rsquo;s Joanna Jozwik, plus Kenya&rsquo;s Faith Kipyegon, the 1500 world championships silver medallist as well as Burundi&rsquo;s Francine Nyonsaba, who clocked 1:59.62 in Padua last Sunday.Justin Gatlin, the 100m and 200m silver medallist in Beijing, will return to Rieti where he won the shorter sprint last year in 9.83. Gatlin set the fastest time in the world this year with 9.74 in the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Doha, which is the same time clocked by Asafa Powell in Rieti in 2007 when he broke the former world record and set the current meeting record. The American will face the Jamaican duo of 2013 world championships 100m bronze medallist Nesta Carter, who clocked his personal best of 9.78 in Rieti in 2010, and Rasheed Dwyer.Jamaica&rsquo;s Elaine Thompson, the Beijing silver medallist with 21.66, the fifth fastest time in history, will be the main attraction in the women&rsquo;s 200 metre,s which also features her compatriot Natasha Morrison, sixth in the 100m in Bejing. Thompson and Morrison were teammates in the Jamaican team which went on to win the 4x100m gold medals in Beijing.Bulgaria&rsquo;s Ivet Lalova-Collio, seventh in the Beijing 200m, will also run in the town where she now lives and trains with her husband, Italian international Simone Collio. A special 300m race will be held for the third consecutive year to commemorate Italian sprint legend Pietro Mennea who competed 11 times in Rieti and ran for the local athletics club. Mennea set a former world best over this distance with 32.23 in 1979. Jamaica&rsquo;s Rusheen McDonald who won this race in 2013, will be aiming at a fast time after clocking 43.93 in his heat of the world championships.The men&rsquo;s triple jump sees Portugal&rsquo;s former world and Olympic champion Nelson Evora, who put behind him several years of injury problems to win the bronze in Beijing with 17.52m , his best distance for seven years, face Russia&rsquo;s 2014 world indoor champion Lyukman Adams.Seven world records have been broken in the glorious history of the Rieti meeting which celebrates its 45th edition this year and IAAF President Sebastian Coe will attend the meeting where he memorably won the 1500m in 3:29.77 back in 1986. Diego Sampaolo for the IAAF

The 2015 IAAF World Challenge circuit will end on Sunday (13) in the Raul Guidobaldi Stadium in the Italian town of Rieti but proceedings get underway on Saturday with the final event in the men’s IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge.

Fajdek looking to cement almost perfect season in Rieti

Two weeks prior to the annual gathering of athletics stars at Letzigrund Stadium, organisers of the Weltklasse Zurich have announced the star cast for the men&rsquo;s 400m, 800m, and 1500m for the first of the IAAF Diamond League finals on 3 September.Grenada&rsquo;s Kirani James and USA&rsquo;s LaShawn Merritt have both won world and Olympic titles at 400m. But winning the one-lap sprint in Zurich may not be a matter between the two of them, as world leader Isaac Makwala and South Africa&lsquo;s Wayde van Niekerk are also in the field.Van Niekerk defeated James at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Paris, clocking 43.96. Makwala, meanwhile, broke Van Niekerk&rsquo;s African record one day later with his 43.72 performance in La Chaux-de-Fonds.With Olympic champion and world record-holder David Rudisha, 2013 world champion Mohammed Aman and European champion Adam Kszczot on the entry list, the 800m has all the makings for an extraordinary highlight in Zurich.With Olympic 1500m champion Taoufik Makhloufi also confirmed, it means two reigning Olympic champions will clash in the race.As the overall scores of three athletes leading the 1500m Diamond Race are a mere three points apart, the last race of the season will be an exciting final spurt for the Diamond Trophy. World indoor champion Ayanleh Souleiman leads the Diamond Race with 11 points, ahead of Silas Kiplagat and Asbel Kiprop. As the current world leader, two-time world champion Kiprop is considered the main favourite.Organisers for the IAAF2015 IAAF Diamond League calendar Doha, QAT &ndash; 15 May Shanghai, CHN &ndash; 17 May Eugene, USA &ndash; 30 May Rome, ITA &ndash; 4 June Birmingham, GBR &ndash; 7 June Oslo, NOR &ndash; 11 June New York, USA &ndash; 13 June Paris, FRA &ndash; 4 July Lausanne, SUI &ndash; 9 July Monaco, MON &ndash; 17 July London, GBR &ndash; 24-25 July Stockholm, SWE &ndash; 30 July Zurich, SUI &ndash; 3 September Brussels, BEL &ndash; 11 September

Two weeks prior to the annual gathering of athletics stars at Letzigrund Stadium, organisers of the Weltklasse Zurich have announced the star cast for the men’s 400m, 800m, and 1500m for the first of the IAAF Diamond League finals on 3 September.

Five Olympic champions added to Zurich line-up – IAAF Diamond League

Since 2011, all global titles at 1500m and 5000m have been won by just three men. That trio of Asbel Kiprop, Mo Farah and Taoufik Makhloufi will head to the Herculis meeting to contest the 1500m at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Monaco on 17 July.Kiprop knows Monaco well. His three fastest 1500m times have all been set at the Stade Louis II as well as his 800m PB. His 2013 winning time of 3:27.72 puts him at fifth on the world all-time list.The two-time world champion and 2008 Olympic champion recently confirmed his good form with victory in the mile at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Oslo.Farah is the undisputed king of the longer track distances. Since the start of 2011, he has lost just one race at 5000m and one at 10,000m. But in Monaco he will step down in distance to the 1500m. He is a serious contender for the win too, having set a European record of 3:28.81 when he last raced over 1500m, which was in the same 2013 Monaco race in which Kiprop set his PB.Makhloufi also has fond memories of Monaco, having set two 1500m PBs there. In 2012 he reduced his PB from 3:32.94 &ndash; which had been set in Monaco two years prior &ndash; to 3:30.80. Little more than two weeks later, he won the Olympic 1500m title. The Algerian has since improved his best to 3:30.40.Also in the field are world silver medallist Matthew Centrowitz, 2008 Olympic silver medallist Nick Willis and 2012 European champion Henrik Ingebrigtsen. All three athletes set lifetime bests in Monaco last year and will hope to do the same again on 17 July.Organisers for the IAAF2015 IAAF Diamond League calendar Doha, QAT &ndash; 15 May Shanghai, CHN &ndash; 17 May Eugene, USA &ndash; 30 May Rome, ITA &ndash; 4 June Birmingham, GBR &ndash; 7 June Oslo, NOR &ndash; 11 June New York, USA &ndash; 13 June Paris, FRA &ndash; 4 July Lausanne, SUI &ndash; 9 July Monaco, MON &ndash; 17 July London, GBR &ndash; 24-25 July Stockholm, SWE &ndash; 30 July Zurich, SUI &ndash; 3 September Brussels, BEL &ndash; 11 September

Since 2011, all global titles at 1500m and 5000m have been won by just three men. That trio of Asbel Kiprop, Mo Farah and Taoufik Makhloufi will head to the Herculis meeting to contest the 1500m at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Monaco on 17 July.

Kiprop, Farah and Makhloufi to clash over 1500m in Monaco – IAAF Diamond League

This year&rsquo;s ExxonMobil Bislett Games in Oslo celebrates the 50th Anniversary Dream Mile and the director of the IAAF Diamond League meeting, Steinar Hoen, has assembled what is arguably the deepest and most highly-regarded mile field ever seen in the famous Bislett Stadium. The field announced on Wednesday (29) includes two Olympic champions, seven athletes who have run faster than 3:50 for the mile and no fewer than seven men who are their national record-holder at either the mile or 1500m.Kenya&rsquo;s Asbel Kiprop is the 2008 Olympic 1500m champion and has twice been a 1500m world champion plus is a three-time winner of the Dream Mile. He is returning to Oslo seeking a fast time.Another Olympic champion is Algeria&rsquo;s Taoufik Makhloufi, who was a dominant winner of the 1500m at the 2012 Olympics. He will be keen to not only win this prestigious race but establish a personal best faster than 3:50. Interestingly, Makhloufi is a previous winner in Bislett stadium but not in the Dream Mile. In 2012, he emphatically won the 1500m early in the programme and gave spectators a real indication of what was to follow later that summer in London. &nbsp;Another athlete to be feared in this race is Ayanleh Souleiman of Djibouti, who has won the past two Dream Miles and would like to make it three in a row in 2015. He has a personal best of 3:47.28 for the distance.Kenya&rsquo;s Silas Kiplagat led the world over 1500m in 2014, with a best of 3:27.64, and boasts a great mile best of 3:47.88.But the honour of being the fastest 1500m man in the field goes to the US veteran Bernard Lagat, who has a best time of 3:27.28. He may not achieve a time of that quality in 2015 but Lagat is serious about smashing the world masters&rsquo; best for the mile and is aiming to be close to 3:50 for the four laps. Like in 2014, many eyes in the stadium will be focused upon Norway&rsquo;s Henrik Ingebrigtsen, who last season rewrote the Norwegian record book at both the mile and 1500m. A silver medallist at last year&rsquo;s European Championships, Ingebrigtsen will be chasing another Norwegian record and will not be satisfied with anything slower than 3:50. Kenya will have two further men on the start line: the surprising junior from last season, Ronald Kwemoi, and Commonwealth Games champion James Magut. Both men can have impact in a race of this nature.Over the years, some of the Bislett Games&rsquo; greatest highlights have occurred in the Dream Mile. The British trio of Seb Coe, Steve Ovett and Steve Cram all shattered the world record for the mile in the Bislett stadium.In 1979, Coe led a strong field home and the first 10 men all ran faster than four minutes while Cram&rsquo;s scintillating last lap in his epic encounter with Coe in 1985 produced a long-standing world record of 3:46.32. Organisers for the IAAF<a href="http://fantasydiamondrace.com/" target="_blank">Sign up for the 2015 Fantasy Diamond Race</a>2015 IAAF Diamond League calendar Doha, QAT &ndash; 15 May Shanghai, CHN &ndash; 17 May Eugene, USA &ndash; 30 May Rome, ITA &ndash; 4 June Birmingham, GBR &ndash; 7 June Oslo, NOR &ndash; 11 June New York, USA &ndash; 13 June Paris, FRA &ndash; 4 July Lausanne, SUI &ndash; 9 July Monaco, MON &ndash; 17 July London, GBR &ndash; 24-25 July Stockholm, SWE &ndash; 30 July Zurich, SUI &ndash; 3 September Brussels, BEL &ndash; 11 September

This year’s ExxonMobil Bislett Games in Oslo celebrates the 50th Anniversary Dream Mile and the IAAF Diamond League meeting director Steinar Hoen has assembled what is arguably the deepest and most highly-regarded field ever seen at the famous Bislett Stadium. 

Dream Mile set to delight in Oslo – IAAF Diamond League

Champions from Africa and Europe, as well as the world champion, will grace the men&rsquo;s two-lap event at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Eugene on 30 May after the meeting organisers announced an impressive men&rsquo;s 800m field on Monday (27).In fact, all but four men in the race are current continental or national champions, while among the others are merely the 800m champions from the IAAF World Championships and IAAF World Junior Championships, the Olympic 1500m champion and the fastest man in the world indoors this year.Nijel Amos of Botswana, the Olympic silver medallist at the age of 18, is the&nbsp;African Champion. At 20, he also won the Diamond Race over two laps of the track.Amos is the world&rsquo;s fourth-fastest ever at 1:41.73 and world junior record-holder. He won at last year&rsquo;s Prefontaine Classic in 1:43.63 in his first-ever US appearance. Mohammed Aman of Ethiopia is the world champion, winning in Moscow while just 19 years old. He is also the 2012 and 2014 world indoor champion.The current European champion is Poland&rsquo;s Adam Kszczot, who also has a world indoor silver medal from 2014 as well as European indoor golds in 2011 and 2013 to his name.Qatar&rsquo;s Abdulrahman Musaeb Balla, who will be having his first race on US soil, won at the 2013 Asian Championships and was the 2015 world indoor leader with 1:45.48.Duane Solomon is the two-time reigning US champion and his fourth-place finish at the 2012 Olympics was the highest by a US runner in that event for 20 years.Ferguson Cheruiyot is the current Kenyan national champion while his compatriot Alfred Kipketer won at last year&rsquo;s World Junior Championships in Eugene as a 17-year-old.&nbsp; Kipketer&rsquo;s winning time last summer was 1:43.95, the fastest at Hayward Field by anyone outside of last year&rsquo;s Prefontaine Classic, and in 2015 he will still be a junior.Algeria&rsquo;s Taoufik Makhloufi won the 2012 Olympic 1500m gold medal but preceded Amos as the African 800m champion in 2012.Completing the field, earlier this month Andre Olivier won his third-straight South African title. He just missed a medal at last year&rsquo;s World Indoor Championships when finishing fourth and, like Balla, he will also be having his first race in the USA.Organisers for the IAAF2015 IAAF Diamond League calendar Doha, QAT &ndash; 15 May Shanghai, CHN &ndash; 17 May Eugene, USA &ndash; 30 May Rome, ITA &ndash; 4 June Birmingham, GBR &ndash; 7 June Oslo, NOR &ndash; 11 June New York, USA &ndash; 13 June Paris, FRA &ndash; 4 July Lausanne, SUI &ndash; 9 July Monaco, MON &ndash; 17 July London, GBR &ndash; 24-25 July Stockholm, SWE &ndash; 30 July Zurich, SUI &ndash; 3 September Brussels, BEL &ndash; 11 September

Champions from four continents will grace the men’s two-lap event at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Eugene on 30 May after the meeting organisers announced their 800m field on Monday (27).

Clash of continental 800m champions in Eugene – IAAF Diamond League

Bogdan Bondarenko cleared 2.36m to win the eagerly-awaited men&rsquo;s high jump at the Rieti IAAF World Challenge meeting in Italy on Sunday (7).The world and European champion opened at 2.29m, which he cleared at the first time of asking. With no one else remaining in the competition, he had the bar raised to 2.36m, which he cleared on his third attempt. He finished with two attempts at the European record height of 2.43m but which were not particularly close. World leader Mutaz Essa Barshim was not among his rivals this time, but his younger brother Muamar Assa Barshim was on hand and he finished in joint second place with Bondarenko&rsquo;s Ukrainian compatriot Andriy Protsenko, the pair having a clean sheet up to and including 2.25m before three failures at 2.29m.&ldquo;There was little time to prepare for this competition after Brussels (where he finished second to Barshim senior with 2.40m on Friday) but the place is really beautiful and ideal to try records,&rdquo; said Bondarenko.&ldquo;I enjoyed competing in front of the fantastic Rieti crowd," he added. "I will now train for three days in Italy before my last competition of the year at the Continental Cup in Marrakesh."Kenya&rsquo;s Silas Kiplagat, the current world leader and the fourth-fastest man ever over 1500m, kicked 200 metres from home to clinch his third successive 1500m win on the Rieti track in 3:31.44, holding off his compatriot Vincent Kibet who set a personal best 3:31.96. &ldquo;It was a matter of winning the race today. I have already set the world seasonal best. I had a great season with a very fast time and the win in the Diamond League,&rdquo; said Kiplagat Behind the top two runners, Kenya&rsquo;s Collins Cheboi was third in 3:32.00 and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Mekonnen Gebremedhin fourth in 3:32.79, both men running their fastest times of the year.Makhloufi's first 800m win in 2014Algeria&rsquo;s Olympic 1500m champion Taoufik Makhloufi held off Qatar&rsquo;s Musaeeb Abdulrahaman Balla in an exciting sprint for the line in the men&rsquo;s 800m in 1:43.83. Balla, the winner last year in Rieti, clocked his season&rsquo;s best with 1:44.03 in second place.Saudi Arabia&rsquo;s Abdulaziz Mohamed also lowered his seasonal best to 1:44.30 but Poland&rsquo;s European Adam Kszczot will have been disappointed to finish only fourth, despite clocking 1:44.35.In a day generally typified by sprint finishes in the middle and long distance races on the hallowed track for these disciplines, Morocco&rsquo;s Abdelaati Iguider edged Kenya&rsquo;s Thomas Longosiwa in a close sprint down the final straight in the 3000m, setting a personal best of 7:34.99.Longosiwa finished runner-up in 7:35.28 while Lawi Lalang took third place with 7:36.44 beating USA&rsquo;s Ryan Hill into fourth with 7:38.64, both men setting personal bests. Tunisia&rsquo;s Habida Ghribi followed up her win at the IAAF Diamond League final in Zurich with a solid gun-to-tape victory in the women&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase in 9:21.14, more than 15 seconds clear of the rest of the field.The men&rsquo;s 100m, run in two races, produced super-fast times on the famous blue Rieti track. In the first race, Jamaica&rsquo;s former world record-holder Asafa Powell clocked 9.90 on his return to the track where he set a former world record of 9.74, which still stands as the Italian all-comers record. Qatar&rsquo;s Femi Ogunode clocked a personal best of 10.05 in second place. In the second race, US sprinter Justin Gatlin stormed to 9.83 following up his 9.77 and 19.71 in one hour in Brussels. Jamaica&rsquo;s Nesta Carter was second in 10.07 in this race.Jeruto's two-lap joyKenya&rsquo;s Agatha Jeruto improved her personal best by 0.32 to 1:59.52 when winning the women&rsquo;s 800m, just holding off Ukraine&rsquo;s Olha Lyakhova who also set a personal best with 1:59.92 and Poland&rsquo;s Joanna Jozwik also who dipped under the two-minute barrier with 1:59.95. European champion Marina Arzamasova from Belarus was a little off her best form and finished fourth in 2:00.21. Jamaica&rsquo;s Stephenie McPherson, this year&rsquo;s Commonwealth Games champion, pulled away in the last 100m to win the women&rsquo;s 400m convincingly in 50.38, ahead of her compatriot Christine Day who was second in 51.08.Another Jamaican win came in the women&rsquo;s 100m from Carrie Russell, who clocked 11.10 to edge USA's Jessica Young by 0.03In the men&rsquo;s 300m, which commemorated Italian sprint legend Pietro Mennea, Poland&rsquo;s Karol Zalewski set a world lead, a meeting record and national record with 31.93. On a day when good Italian performances were thin on the ground, Matteo Galvan provided some joy for the local crowd by breaking Mennea&rsquo;s 1979 national record of 32.23, set in Rieti in 1979, by clocking 32.01 to finish second on the track where he has been training for the past year. In the men&rsquo;s discus, Poland&rsquo;s Robert Urbanek took the lead with his third attempt of 63.57m and improved to 64.57m in the sixth round. Slovenia&rsquo;s Martina Ratej won the women&rsquo;s javelin with 63.61m on her fourth attempt while Nadezhda Dusanova cleared 1.94m on her first attempt to win the women's high jump.Estonia&rsquo;s Rasmus Magi, the 2014 European silver medallist, won the men&rsquo;s 400m hurdles in 49.47. Diego Sampaolo for the IAAF

Bogdan Bondarenko cleared 2.36m to win the eagerly-awaited men’s high jump at the Rieti IAAF World Challenge meeting in Italy on Sunday (7).

Bondarenko back in the spotlight with win in Rieti

In his past five wins on the IAAF Diamond League circuit, Jairus Birech has looked almost unbeatable. Tonight he was pushed all the way by European record-holder Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad, but the Kenyan pulled out his first sub-eight-minute performance to secure the Diamond Race title. Led through the first 1000m in 2:38.41, Mekhissi-Benabbad was keeping close to the pacemaker before Birech took up the running and went through 2000m in 5:21.31, with the tempo slipping just outside eight-minute pace.Determined to become the 11th member of the sub-eight-minute club, Birech pushed the pace in the closing kilometre, opening up a gap on Mekhissi-Benabbad before the final lap. The 21-year-old Kenyan continued to pull away from his French rival and stopped the clock at 7:58.41, taking him to 10th on the world all-time list.Mekhissi-Benabbad had to be content with a season’s best and European lead of 8:03.23. In third, USA’s Evan Jager set a North American record of 8:04.71.“I felt strong before the race,” said Birech. “My aim was to run under eight minutes and I did it. I have reached all my goals this year: to win the Diamond Race, become African champion and run under eight minutes.”Fellow Kenyan Mercy Cherono did what was required – beating world indoor champion Genzebe Dibaba – to win the Diamond Race in the women’s 3000m.A large group was huddled together for much of the race and it was only on the last lap when the real racing began.European 1500m champion Sifan Hassan led at the bell with 2011 world 1500m champion Jenny Simpson on her shoulder and Cherono down in seventh. With 200 metres to go, Cherono began to make her move and she kicked hard as she entered the home straight.The world 5000m silver medallist did just enough to overtake Hassan, taking the win in 8:28.95. Hassan found some consolation in the fact she set a Dutch record of 8:29.38, becoming just the second woman in history after Maryam Yusuf Jamal to have personal bests below 2:00 for 800m, 4:00 for 1500m, 8:30 for 3000m and 15:00 for 5000m.Dibaba finished third in 8:29.41. In fourth, Simpson set a personal best of 8:29.58, just 0.35 ahead of US compatriot Shannon Rowbury, who also dipped below 8:30.Kiplagat defeated but does enough to win Diamond RaceThe men’s 1500m was one of the tighter Diamond Race competitions coming into Brussels and it did not disappoint.World champion Asbel Kiprop, world leader Silas Kiplagat and world indoor champion Ayanleh Souleiman were all in contention for the Diamond Race victory. Olympic champion Taoufik Makhloufi was also in the race and was always in a good position.Paced through 800m in 1:52.99, Ethiopia’s Aman Wote was in the lead with 300 metres to go. Makhloufi then moved to the front with half a lap remaining, only for Kiplagat to kick hard.The Kenyan came close to catching the Algerian, but Makhloufi held on for the win in 3:31.78, just 0.02 ahead of Kiplagat. The fast-finishing Souleiman was just a further 0.02 behind. Nevertheless, by beating his top two rivals, Kiplagat maintained his lead in the Diamond Race.Felix back on topThe narrowest leading margin of any Diamond Race event heading into Brussels was in the women’s 200m. Olympic champion Allyson Felix and Commonwealth champion Blessing Okagbare were the only two women left in contention with just two points separating them.If anything, European champion Dafne Schippers – who beat both Felix and Okagbare in their last 200m clash – was the marginal pre-race favourite, but there was no stopping Felix tonight. She was already in the lead coming off the bend and she held that position as she strode down the home straight, looking every bit back to her best. Her winning time of 22.02 shaved 0.01 off Schippers’ world-leading mark. It was also Felix’s fastest time since winning Olympic gold in 2012.In second, France’s Myriam Soumare surprised with a personal best of 22.11, finishing 0.19 ahead of Schippers, the woman who defeated her twice at the European Championships. Okagbare was never a factor, finishing sixth in 22.60.Conversely, the men’s long jump was one of the most wide-open events in terms of the Diamond Race. Any one of the 11 men on the start list could have, in theory, taken the overall victory.Ultimately, the winner – the in-form Godfrey Mokoena – wasn’t too big of a surprise. The South African, who this year has won Commonwealth Games and African titles, jumped a season’s best of 8.19m to win.Ignisious Gaisah of the Netherlands was second with 8.06m, finishing ahead of USA’s Christian Taylor on count-back.Harting wins discus but Malachowski takes Diamond RaceTo take the Diamond Race, Germany’s three-time world champion Robert Harting not only had to win the discus, but he had to make sure Polish rival Piotr Malachowski was two places behind.While he succeeded in his first goal, throwing 67.57m, Malachowski was a close second, throwing 67.35m, ensuring he kept his lead in the Diamond Race.Kenya’s world champion Eunice Sum had her lowest finish in an 800m race this year, but it mattered little to a woman who had already done enough earlier in the season to win the Diamond Race.USA’s world bronze medallist Brenda Martinez was the surprise winner, bursting into the lead with 200m to go and holding off a strong challenge from Lynsey Sharp and Sum to win in 1:58.84.Sharp clocked 1:58.94 in second place with Sum in third but given the same time.Williams-Mills and Martinot-Lagarde take Diamond Race victoriesOlympic champion Sanya Richards-Ross notched up her second IAAF Diamond League 400m victory of the season, winning in 49.98, but it wasn’t enough to stop Jamaica’s Novlene Williams-Mills from winning the Diamond Race.Finishing behind Commonwealth champion Stephenie Ann McPherson, who set a season’s best of 50.12, Williams-Mills was third in 50.42, bringing her winning points tally in the Diamond Race to 20.French sprint hurdler Pascal Martinot-Lagarde was another athlete who had an unbeatable lead in the Diamond Race going into Brussels. For the fifth time in the 2014 IAAF Diamond League series, he bagged maximum points in the 110m hurdles, winning in 13.08.Cuba’s Orlando Ortega clocked 13.13 in second place, 0.09 ahead of European champion Sergey Shubenkov. USA’s Olympic champion Aries Merritt, competing on the same track on which he set his 12.80 world record two years ago, finished a distant seventh in 13.37.On the 15th anniversary of Noah Ngeny’s world 1000m record, the Kenyan’s mark went unchallenged in the non-IAAF Diamond League event. After being paced through 800m in 1:48.8, the Polish pair of Adam Kszczot and Marcin Lewandowski led coming into the home straight. World 800m champion Mohammed Aman then made his move and although it was enough to catch Lewandowski, he could not quite reach European 800m champion Kszczot before the line.Kszczot won in a national record of 2:15.72, just 0.03 ahead of the Ethiopian record set by Aman, with Lewandowski was just a further 0.04 behind in third.Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF

In his past five wins on the IAAF Diamond League circuit, Jairus Birech has looked almost unbeatable but in Brussels he was pushed all the way by European record-holder Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad. However, the Kenyan pulled out his first run under eight minutes to secure the Diamond Race title. 

Birech breaks the eight-minute barrier in Brussels – IAAF Diamond League

A total of 19 global champions will compete in Lausanne’s Pontaise Stadium on 3 July at the 39th edition of Athletissima, one of two IAAF Diamond League meetings in Switzerland.Olympic long jump champion and world leader Greg Rutherford will need to bring his A-game in order to win against the top three finishers from last year’s IAAF World Championships, Aleksandr Menkov, Ignisious Gaisah and Luis Rivera.The women’s javelin will feature the three best performers of the year: two-time Olympic champion Barbora Spotakova, world leader Linda Stahl and world silver medallist Kim Mickle.Elsewhere in the field events, world-leading discus thrower Piotr Malachowski and world triple jump champion Caterine Ibarguen will be the favourites in their respective disciplines.They will all join the star athletes who have been previously announced, including high jumpers Bohdan Bondarenko, Mutaz Essa Barshim, Ivan Ukhov and Derek Drouin, pole vault world record-holder Renaud Lavillenie, and shot put legend Valerie Adams.There are several fantastic head-to-head clashes on the track, too. A fast time is expected in the 400m as Kirani James and LaShawn Merritt will face each other for the third time this year. In their most recent race, both clocked sub-44-second times as James finished just a few thousandths of a second ahead of Merritt.In the 200m, Yohan Blake will be up against fellow Jamaican Nickel Ashmeade and Frenchman Christophe Lemaitre, while in the 100m Justin Gatlin, undefeated this year so far, will try to retain his invincibility against Tyson Gay and Jimmy Vicaut.Olympic champion Taoufik Makhloufi faces Rome IAAF Diamond League winner Silas Kiplagat in the 1500m, and in the 3000m steeplechase 2008 Olympic champion Brimin Kipruto will fight for the victory against long-time rival Paul Kipsiele Koech.The men’s hurdles races will be just as exciting and they both feature the two fastest performers in the world this year. World leader Pascal Martinot-Lagarde will take on Olympic bronze medallist Hansle Parchment in the 110m hurdles, and two-time world silver medallist Javier Culson will be up against world and Olympic silver medallist Michael Tinsley in the 400m hurdles.World indoor champion and world indoor record-holder Genzebe Dibaba will be in action over 3000m. Kenya’s world 800m champion Eunice Sum will aim to extend her winning streak in her specialist event, while Veronica Campbell-Brown will be out to win the 100m for the first time in Lausanne.With European Championships selection on the line, the main Athletissima programme has never featured as many Swiss athletes as this year. They will be led by 400m hurdler Kariem Hussein, world indoor 800m finalist Selina Buchel and 100m national record-holder Mujinga Kambundji.Organisers for the IAAF2014 IAAF Diamond League calendarDoha, QAT – 9 May Shanghai, CHN – 18 May Eugene, USA – 31 May Rome, ITA – 5 Jun Oslo, NOR – 11 Jun New York, USA – 14 Jun Lausanne, SUI – 3 Jul Paris, FRA – 5 Jul Glasgow, GBR – 11-12 Jul Monaco, MON – 18 Jul Stockholm, SWE – 21 Aug Birmingham, GBR – 24 Aug Zurich, SUI – 28 Aug Brussels, BEL – 5 Sep

A total of 19 global champions will compete in Lausanne’s Pontaise Stadium on 3 July at the 39th edition of Athletissima, one of two IAAF Diamond League meetings in Switzerland.

More global stars added to Lausanne’s competitive line-up – IAAF Diamond League

In the 100m it pays to run your own race. At pretty well every other distance, it pays to be aware of your opposition, too.Amantle Montsho and Taoufik Makhloufi appeared to forget this at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Shanghai, and they paid for it by being pipped on the line for the win in their events on Sunday (18).Montsho apparently thought she had the field covered coming up the final straight in the 400m, with most of her dangerous rivals to her inside; Natasha Hastings, check. Allyson Felix, likewise. Francena McCorory was one to the outside, but close enough for the Botswanan to know she had her measure, too.However, Novlene Williams-Mills is not the sort of rival you should forget about. Out in lane eight, the Jamaican veteran is an IAAF World Championships minor medallist, a fixture in major finals and a multiple relay medallist.As Montsho cruised to the line, Williams-Mills came driving home out wide. Montsho appeared to win, was even given the bouquet of flowers and ushered along on a victory lap. Alas, it was Williams-Mills who had claimed the Diamond Race points, 50.31 to 50.37. Winners are grinners, even if the loser is smelling of roses.Biwott never beatenMakhloufi, the Olympic 1500m champion, was in the 800m here. Four men ran two-by-two up the straight. Makhloufi looked to be the winner when he gained the upper hand over South Africa&rsquo;s Andre Olivier close to the line. He even smiled and spread his arms wide as he approached the line.Robert Biwott, however, was not stopping for anyone. Seemingly beaten 50 metres out, the 18-year-old world youth 1500m champion drove desperately to the line in lane three to edge out Makhloufi and win in a massive personal best by more than two seconds, 1:44.69 to Makhloufi&rsquo;s 1:44.73.In a close finish, Olivier held on for third, clocking the same 1:44.85 as Kenya&rsquo;s Jeremiah Mutai. Fortunately, Michael Tinsley does not know how to run anything but an all-out effort. The world and Olympic silver medallist went hard to the line to overrun Mamadou Kasse Hanna, Bershawn Jackson and LJ Van Zyl in the 400m hurdles.He had to, it was that close. The US athlete&rsquo;s finish took him to a 48.77 win with the other three right on his heels. Hanne took second in 48.86, Jackson third in 48.92 and Van Zyl fourth in 48.97 in one of the meeting&rsquo;s closest races.A strong field, coupled with the still, cool conditions, seemed to promise a fast finishing time in the men&rsquo;s 5000m but the early pace was relatively sedate at this level: 5:19.42 for the first 2000m indicated a final time about 13:20 at that stage in the race.It got quicker after that, and quicker again in the final 1000m, which was run in 2:26.42.At the end of that, it was last year&rsquo;s Diamond Race winner Ethiopia&rsquo;s Yenew Alamirew who came through shining. Alamirew won in 13:04.83, a meeting record in an event usually run in far tougher conditions than on Sunday, from Kenya&rsquo;s Thomas Longosiwa and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Hagos Gebrhiwet.Lyukman Adams was the only man over 17 metres in the triple jump and a series of 16.90m, 17.00m, 17.10m, 16.96m and two passes gave him four jumps at least 20cm farther than anyone else could manage.Cuba&rsquo;s Lazaro Martinez was second with 16.76m and Chinese jumper Dong Bin third with 16.69m. Olympic champion Christian Taylor was fourth and Britain&rsquo;s Phillips Idowu, the 2009 world champion, sixth as some big names struggled to make an impact in the competition.Len Johnson for the IAAF

In the 100m it pays to run your own race. At pretty well every other distance, it pays to be aware of your opposition, too. Amantle Montsho and Taoufik Makhloufi appeared to forget this at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Shanghai, and they paid for it by being pipped on the line for the win in their events on Sunday (18).