We continue our countdown to the World Athletics Awards 2021 on 1 December by taking a closer look at the achievements of the five women and five men who have this week been confirmed as the finalists for the Athlete of the Year awards.
&nbsp;
<h2>Faith Kipyegon</h2>
Even by the lofty standards that any defending Olympic champion would set for themselves, Faith Kipyegon exceeded all expectations in 2021.
The Kenyan middle-distance runner retained her Olympic 1500m crown in a Games record, set a world-leading time over 1500m, and won nine of her 10 races throughout the year, producing some of the fastest times in history.
She stepped down in distance to the 800m when she opened her season at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Doha at the end of May, comfortably beating a field of two-lap specialists to win in 1:58.26.
Two weeks later, she contested her first 1500m of the season at the Diamond League meeting in Florence. In another epic clash with arch rival Sifan Hassan, Kipyegon finished a close second in 3:53.91, breaking her own Kenyan record in the process. That was to be the last and only one of her races of 2021 in which Kipyegon was beaten.
One month later, and having had a few races under her belt, Kipyegon gained revenge on Hassan at the Diamond League meeting in Monaco. She kicked hard as she came off the final bend, opening up a huge gap on Hassan to win by more than two seconds in 3:51.07, the fourth-fastest time in history and just one second shy of the world record. 
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 It was the perfect confidence booster ahead of the Olympic Games in Tokyo &ndash; not that Kipyegon has ever been lacking in self-belief. Even when Hassan announced that she&rsquo;d be attempting an ambitious triple at the Games, Kipyegon remained quietly confident.
She advanced through the rounds with ease, winning her heat in 4:01.40 and her semifinal in 3:56.80. But Hassan &ndash; the only woman to have beaten Kipyegon over 1500m since the start of 2017 &ndash; was on a roll, having won gold over 5000m just four days before the 1500m final, and looked invincible every time she set foot on Tokyo&rsquo;s track.
The Olympic final played out in similar fashion to the World Championships final from 2019 with Hassan and Kipyegon dictating the pace, keeping the likes of Laura Muir and Gabriela Debues-Stafford at bay. The first 1000m was covered in 2:38.4 and the pace gradually increased as the race went on until Kipyegon made her decisive move with half a lap left.
Kicking hard on the final bend, Kipyegon managed to shake off a fading Hassan as she sprinted to victory, eventually crossing the line in 3:53.11 to break an Olympic record that had stood for 33 years. Muir came through to take silver ahead of Hassan. 
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 &ldquo;Once I crossed the finish line, it was a very emotional moment for me,&rdquo; said Kipyegon after becoming just the second woman in Olympic history to win back-to-back 1500m titles. &ldquo;I thought about my daughter (Alyn) who I left behind at home. She wanted me to bring home a gold medal, and I am so happy and excited I did that.&rdquo;
Having achieved her fifth consecutive top-two finish at a global championships, Kipyegon didn&rsquo;t take her foot off the gas. She went on to win at the Diamond League meeting in Eugene, setting a US all-comer&rsquo;s record of 3:53.23, and then won the Diamond Trophy in Zurich in 3:58.33, once again beating Hassan to the title. Fittingly, she capped her season on home soil with a victory at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in Nairobi.
By the time she wound down her season in mid-September, Kipyegon had become the first woman in history to break 3:54 four times in one year. And although she is better known for being a championship performer than a time-trial runner, the 27-year-old now owns three of the 10 fastest times in history.
&ldquo;I came back after giving birth and I feel like a role model for the young mothers out there and the young athletes,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I hope to show them that when you go for maternity leave, this does not mean the end of your career. You can come back strong and win races.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
<h2>Ryan Crouser</h2>
Where to begin when trying to describe the dominance US shot putter Ryan Crouser has shown in 2021?
His world records &ndash; 23.37m outdoors and 22.82m indoors &ndash; are probably the best starting point. Both of the previous marks had been set more than 30 years prior.
Or perhaps his performance at the Tokyo Olympics, where he smashed the Games record with 23.30m to win gold. For context, silver medallist Joe Kovacs threw 22.65m &ndash; comfortably in excess of the previous Olympic record &ndash; but Crouser beat him by a whopping 65 centimetres.
Or maybe his flawless season of 16 victories (including qualifying rounds) is more notable, extending his current two-year unbeaten streak to 27 wins.
But his incredible tally of 22-metre &ndash; and now 23-metre &ndash; throws cannot be ignored. He racked up 58 throws beyond 22 metres this year alone &ndash; more than any other shot putter has achieved across a whole career span, and he now owns the three farthest throws in history. 
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 Crouser started 2021, quite literally, how he meant to go on; in the first round of his first competition of the year, he broke the world indoor record. His 22.82m throw in Fayetteville added 16 centimetres to the record, and he backed it up later in the series with a throw of 22.70m, also beyond the previous mark.
He opened his outdoor campaign with 21.93m, which, despite being a world-leading mark at the time, was the only competition in which Crouser didn&rsquo;t throw beyond 22 metres. He followed it with wins in Fayetteville (22.69m) and Tucson (22.60m) and then returned to Tucson to throw a world-leading PB of 23.01m &ndash; the first 23-metre throw in the world for 31 years.
Crouser didn&rsquo;t compete again until the US Trials one month later. After breaking the meeting record in qualifying with 22.92m, Crouser smashed the world record in the final with 23.37m, adding 25 centimetres to the long-standing mark.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve wanted that world record for so long, it feels like a weight has been lifted,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I've been thinking about this moment since I started throwing. To finally do it is pretty special."
At the Olympics in Tokyo, he lived up to his status as one of the biggest favourites in any discipline and secured gold with an Olympic record of 23.30m. His five other throws in the final &ndash; 22.54m, 22.74m, 22.83m, 22.86m and 22.93m &ndash; were all beyond the previous Olympic record. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/610e011bdb0a4cb0dfc083f3.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 Crouser was determined to win in Tokyo to honour his grandfather Larry, the patriarch of the Crouser throwing dynasty which has spawned three Olympians, who died the week before his grandson left for Tokyo.
After his triumph, Crouser held up a handwritten sign that said: &ldquo;Grandpa, we did it. 2020 Olympic champion."
&ldquo;My Grandpa got me started throwing, and he played a huge role in my throwing career,&rdquo; said Crouser. &ldquo;To lose him the week before coming to the Olympics obviously was sad, but I feel like he was able to be here in spirit.&rdquo;
Crouser&rsquo;s fine run of form continued after the Olympics. Returning to Eugene&rsquo;s Hayward Field &ndash; the site of Crouser&rsquo;s world record earlier in the year and venue for the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 &ndash; Crouser set a Wanda Diamond League record with 23.15m.
Victories in Lausanne (22.81m) and Chorzow (22.39m) followed, then he won the Diamond Trophy in Zurich with 22.67m. He ended his season with a 22.84m triumph in Zagreb.
Whichever way you look at it, Crouser has produced not only the greatest ever shot put season this year, his 2021 campaign could well be one of the best seasons of any track and field athlete in history.

We take a closer look at the achievements of the five women and five men who have been confirmed as finalists for Athlete of the Year.

Focus on finalists: Faith Kipyegon and Ryan Crouser

We continue our countdown to the World Athletics Awards 2021 on 1 December by taking a closer look at the achievements of the five women and five men who have this week been confirmed as the finalists for the Athlete of the Year awards.
&nbsp;
<h2>Sifan Hassan</h2>
&ldquo;If you do long distance,&rdquo; said Sifan Hassan after claiming her third Olympic medal in Tokyo, &ldquo;it's like building a house.&rdquo; If that&rsquo;s the case, then the Dutch distance running star has produced a palace in 2021.
Hassan was replying to a comment about her having been seen running in the Olympic Village in between her nine-day schedule of six races in Japan. "It's not only about talent,&rdquo; she added. &ldquo;You can have two or three talents, but you have to work hard also."
So there she was, building hard towards her unprecedented medal treble. It paid off, as she left Japan with two golds, in the 5000m and 10,000m, plus bronze in the 1500m. Eleventh on the medals table &ndash; that&rsquo;s where Hassan would have placed had she formed her own one-woman team.
"Many people doubted that it would happen,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Is it possible, is it not possible? When I think about it, it feels like a dream. But it has happened.
&ldquo;This Olympics is one of the best feelings I've ever had in my life. It's something special. I'll never forget it.&rdquo;
Hassan&rsquo;s season had started with wins over 5000m and 800m in the USA in May, but she took things to another level a couple of weeks later. Running 29:06.82 at the FBK Games in Hengelo, the 28-year-old took more than 10 seconds off the world 10,000m record that had been set by Ethiopia's Almaz Ayana at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. 
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 &ldquo;I am so happy to share this record in front of my Dutch fans,&rdquo; said Hassan, who had previously broken world records in the mile, one hour event and road 5km.
Incredibly, the 10,000m mark stood just two days, as back on the same Hengelo track, Letesenbet Gidey improved it by a further five seconds to 29:01.03 to win the Ethiopian Trials.
But rather than that world record being the pinnacle of her season, Hassan was only just getting started. Four days after her Hengelo run, she ran 3:53.63 for a 1500m win at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Florence. The following month she clocked 3:53.60 to place second in Monaco &ndash; behind Kenya&rsquo;s Faith Kipyegon, who would go on to retain her Olympic title &ndash; and then it was time for Tokyo. 
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 First came 5000m gold. Despite running, and falling, in the 1500m heats earlier on in the day, Hassan returned to the track 12 hours later to clock 14:36.79 after timing her winning kick to perfection.
Four days later she secured bronze in the 1500m behind Kipyegon and Britain&rsquo;s Laura Muir and she was back on the track less than 24 hours after that, seeking to become only the second woman after Ethiopia&rsquo;s Tirunesh Dibaba in 2008 to complete the Olympic 5000m and 10,000m double.
She achieved it. Unleashing her trademark kick, she covered the final 100m in 13.6, clocking 29:55.32 to get gold.
&ldquo;I am so happy and I cried during the medal ceremony,&rdquo; said Hassan. &ldquo;I actually realised that I am done, the Games are over.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
<h2>Joshua Cheptegei</h2>
The world 5000m record-breaker became the Olympic champion in 2021. Despite wondering whether he should even race the event at all in Tokyo, Joshua Cheptegei rebounded to get 5000m gold, running the second-fastest ever Olympic time of 12:58.15 one week after securing silver in the 10,000m.
&ldquo;I have learned the most important things are achieved no matter the difficulties or challenges,&rdquo; Cheptegei told NN Running Team when reflecting on his year. &ldquo;Of course, I don&rsquo;t look at my medal every day, but when I do it acts as a reminder that, wow, I can fight back, and I know in the future I can get better and better.&rdquo;
That&rsquo;s an exciting prospect, given that the Ugandan 25-year-old is already a treble world record-holder, a world champion and now an Olympic champion.
After the high of setting world records at 5000m, 10,000m and 5km on the road in 2020, Cheptegei started this year on a winning note, claiming victory at the Monaco Run &ndash; the same event at which he broke the world record with 12:51 12 months earlier. 
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 But then an infection affected his preparations for the Olympic Games and after a 3000m win at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Ostrava, he was disappointed to place sixth at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Florence. &ldquo;I was not really healthy at the time with an infection. It shattered my body,&rdquo; he said.
After winning the world 10,000m title in Doha in 2019, Cheptegei was determined to add another global title to his CV, so he refocused ahead of the Olympics. Lining up for his sole 10,000m race of the year, he was slightly ahead with four laps to go and followed Ethiopia&rsquo;s Selemon Barega as he led at the bell, crossing the finish line in 27:43.63 for his first Olympic medal.
Four days later he was back in action for the 5000m heats, before he took his place in the final a week after his 10,000m silver medal performance.
&ldquo;Part of me thought it was not a wise decision to race,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but the other part said, no, you&rsquo;ve prepared for this.&rdquo;
This time, only a win would do. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/610d367cc628cc00175b7a4a.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 With 600m remaining, he made his move and surged away untroubled, gaining victory in 12:58.15 &ndash; a winning time only bettered at the Olympics by Kenenisa Bekele&rsquo;s Games record of 12:57.82 from 2008.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really a great moment,&rdquo; he said afterwards. &ldquo;I made a small mistake and I was regretting (having) to become a silver medallist (in the 10,000m).
&ldquo;I came here to become an Olympic champion and my dream has been fulfilled today on a beautiful evening.&rdquo;
After Tokyo, he had one more race left to run &ndash; the two miles at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Eugene. Clocking a world-leading 8:09.55, he ended his year on a high.
&ldquo;It really means a lot to me to win here in Oregon,&rdquo; he said, fresh from racing on the track that will host next year&rsquo;s World Athletics Championships, &ldquo;and it will always be in my heart.&rdquo;

Focus on finalists: Sifan Hassan and Joshua Cheptegei

Ask Kamar Etiang his goals for the future and the Kenyan 18-year-old isn&rsquo;t shy about making a bold prediction.
&ldquo;The next few years, I can run the (1500m) world record of (Hicham) El Guerrouj,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I can make it. Even 3000m is possible to me.&rdquo;
The two marks he speaks of &ndash; 3:26.00 and 7:20.67 &ndash; have stood unchallenged for 23 years and 25 years respectively, but Etiang looks at them &ndash; out there as they are &ndash; and thinks, &lsquo;why not&rsquo;?
Such confidence is rare, but it&rsquo;s based on what he&rsquo;s experienced during this, his breakthrough year. Virtually unknown at the start of the season, Etiang shook up many established seniors at the Kenyan Olympic Trials in June, finishing second to Charles Simotwo in a huge personal best of 3:33.02. Behind him that day were Timothy Cheruiyot and Abel Kipsang, who would go on to finish second and fourth in the Olympic final.
They both clocked 3:29 in that race, a time Etiang believes is well within his compass. In the years ahead, he intends to prove it.
The first time his coach, Peter Bii, came across him, Etiang was racing the U20 8000m race at the Discovery Cross Country in Eldoret.
&ldquo;The first two laps he was in the first group, the third and fourth he was dropping (his rivals),&rdquo; says Bii. &ldquo;I knew if we do something extra (in training), he would be good.&rdquo;
Their first conversation, however, was not so much about what the work Etiang was doing. Bii tried to gauge how committed the youngster was to the sport.
&ldquo;It was about discipline, (finding) someone who listens, someone who can be moulded to be something,&rdquo; says Bii. &ldquo;Sometimes you get a good athlete but you cannot guide them. I saw in him the discipline, the morale to make it. If you have that, the rest can be done &ndash; the training is easy.&rdquo; 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6148831d3d2606d0d78aca4f.jpg" alt="" width="100%" /> Kamar Etiang and his coach Peter Bii (&copy;&nbsp;Erick Baraza)
 Etiang grew up in Turkana County in the northwest of Kenya and at the age of six he moved to Trans-Nzoia County. &ldquo;Others are reared by their mother, but mostly my grandmother took me when I was young,&rdquo; he says.
He played volleyball at school, which was also where he first picked up running, though Etiang never took it seriously until the last few years. Shortly after that Discovery Cross Country he moved to Iten and joined the Asics Chojo Camp, a group of 32 athletes who train under the guidance of Bii and who are represented by the Mezzo Management Group. Etiang has been based there for almost two years now, with running his sole obsession.
&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t put two things in once,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;You focus first to achieve that one.&rdquo;
During his base training, he&rsquo;ll typically run 130-150km per week, but as the intensity rises coming into the track season that drops substantially to around 80-100km each week.
&ldquo;I benefit a lot,&rdquo; he says of the Asics Chojo Camp. &ldquo;If we go to the field we assist each other to grow, to finish workouts. We motivate each other.&rdquo;
It is Etiang&rsquo;s own ascent that has been the group&rsquo;s most striking breakthrough. In early 2020, he was targeting both the Olympics and the World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi, but when both of those were pushed back a year he faced the same struggles as so many others, trying his best to maintain the usual routine.
&ldquo;It was a big challenge, but coach told me: &lsquo;Don&rsquo;t give up, we can achieve more,&rsquo;&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;We started again building up.&rdquo;
In 2021 he announced his world-class talent with that second place at the Olympic Trials but was omitted from the Kenyan team for the Tokyo Games. The disappointment stung for a while, but Etiang has learned to let it go.
&ldquo;Coach told me: &lsquo;Leave the things in the past and focus on this and this &ndash; we can achieve more,&rsquo;&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;The Olympics is not the end of life; there are many races we can run to prove our talent.&rdquo;
One of those was the World Athletics U20 Championships Nairobi 21, where Etiang was the favourite for the men&rsquo;s 1500m. But things didn&rsquo;t go to plan, a hamstring injury he picked up on the build-up coming back to haunt him in the final.
&ldquo;In the second lap I felt the leg pulling, when I went to up the pace the leg wouldn&rsquo;t respond,&rdquo; says Etiang, who crossed the line third but lost the bronze medal after being disqualified for a lane infringement. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6148837e3d2606d0d78aca52.jpg" alt="" width="100%" /> Kamar Etiang in training (&copy; Kimesh Pictures)
 Etiang has a strong relationship with Bii, and believes he is the man to guide him to become the fastest of all time.
&ldquo;Everything he told me to do, I do,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s like my father. Everything is possible when I listen to the coach and focus.&rdquo;
Bii knows that world U20 final was an anomaly &ndash; a small bump on the road on their path towards the top.
&ldquo;One race does not define an athlete,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;In two, three years, he&rsquo;ll be big. Most people have not seen what Kamar can do. The workouts he&rsquo;s done, you can really appreciate the talent. If you can get it right in one race, like the Olympic trials, you see what he has to offer. For now it&rsquo;s the season for Jakob (Ingebrigtsen) but in two or three years, his time will come.&rdquo;
Etiang is very much a student of the sport, and has countless videos of top-level 1500m races saved on his phone. &ldquo;I have downloaded all of them and before I go to sleep I watch one or two clips,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s motivating me.&rdquo;
When he looks to the future, he thinks of not just becoming the fastest athlete of his generation, but the fastest of any generation.
&ldquo;My biggest dream is to set this world record at 1500m and 3000m,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I want to assure you, in two or three years, I&rsquo;ll be the one.&rdquo;
Cathal Dennehy for World Athletics

Ask Kamar Etiang his goals for the future and the Kenyan 18-year-old isn’t shy about making a bold prediction.

Etiang aims high after breakthrough year

Faith Kipyegon was given the ultimate accolade by her closest rival after winning her second consecutive Olympic 1500m crown in Tokyo tonight.
Asked about Kipyegon&rsquo;s standing, silver medallist Laura Muir did not hesitate to declare: &ldquo;She's the greatest of all time&rdquo;.
&ldquo;She doesn't get enough credit," Muir added. "She's won everything there is. I've got a lot of respect for her and I'm very, very happy to see her winning gold and I'm honoured to be behind her in that race."
Three years after giving birth to her first child, Kipyegon ran the fastest women&rsquo;s 1500m ever seen in the Olympic arena to retain the title she first won in Rio five years ago. She is the first athlete to win back-to-back Olympic 1500m titles since Sebastian Coe in 1980-84.
Olympic champion in 2016 and world champion in 2017, Kipyegon had her daughter Alyn in 2018 and returned to training just eight months before the World Championships in Doha in 2019, yet still managed to set a personal best as she finished second to Sifan Hassan that year.
With two more years of training behind her, Kipyegon had clearly found an extra gear leading into the Olympic Games. She defeated Hassan convincingly in her last race before Tokyo, the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Monaco last month, and repeated that feat in the Olympic stadium.
Olympic 5000m champion Hassan, with two 5000m races and two 1500m races already in her legs, made the brave decision to take the lead after just 300m and try to blunt Kipyegon&rsquo;s superior finishing speed.
Hassan led the race for 1000m, but Kipyegon was perched on her shoulder the whole way, just waiting to strike, which she did with lethal effect with 250m to go.
The Kenyan, who trains in coach Patrick Sang&rsquo;s camp with Eliud Kipchoge, gapped Hassan in moments and sprinted away to claim victory in an Olympic record of 3:53.11.
"I knew Sifan Hassan is a very strong athlete, and I knew she would go fast because she wanted the gold," Kipyegon said. &ldquo;I knew she was going to lead very quickly. I really wanted to follow her and see what would happen at the finish line."&nbsp;
She said she was more motivated by thoughts of her daughter than of making history.
"Once I crossed the finish line, it was a very emotional moment for me," she said. &ldquo;I thought about my daughter who I left behind at home. She wanted me to bring home a gold medal, and I am so happy and excited I did that."&nbsp;
European champion Muir, for so long a contender who could not quite find a place on a global podium, broke through to win the silver medal in a national record of 3:54.50, after passing the tiring Hassan with 150m to go.
It is as much a medal for persistence as excellence.
&ldquo;It feels very, very good - just relieved to have finally won a medal and for it to be an Olympic silver is amazing," she said.
&ldquo;Since Rio (Olympic Games 2016) it&rsquo;s been five years of wanting this medal and missing every single time just by a little bit. And finally to come away with this medal is great. It's just so surreal. So, so surreal."
Hassan&rsquo;s quest to win an unprecedented distance treble over 1500m, 5000m and 10,000m ended with the bronze medal in this race (3:55.86) but she may yet become a dual gold medallist in tomorrow night&rsquo;s 10,000m final.
She said she could not have done more tonight and was already turning her attention to the 10,000m.
"For now, it is all about taking enough rest in order to be able to race again tomorrow," she said. "I am happy with how it all goes, but I feel stressed every day. There is nothing else to do but to focus on Saturday's race. I am focusing on that already. The body is very tired (but) I need it for tomorrow."&nbsp;
She admitted she was still feeling the after-effects of the moment when she fell in the 1500m heats and had to chase down the pack to qualify for the next round.
&ldquo;Ever since that moment I feel super tired," she said. &ldquo;The last couple of days have been very stressful, and it has taken lots of energy from me."&nbsp;
The challenge will not be any easier in the 10,000m, where she will face the woman who took her world record in June, Ethiopia&rsquo;s Letesenbet Gidey.
Nicole Jeffery for World Athletics
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 75%; border-color: #ffffff; border-style: solid;" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #fd5249; text-align: center;" colspan="3">WOMEN'S 1500m MEDALLISTS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #e9c968; text-align: center;">🥇</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #e9c968;">Faith Kipyegon 🇰🇪 KEN</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #e9c968;">3:53.11 OR</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #ced4d9; text-align: center;">🥈</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #ced4d9;">Laura Muir 🇬🇧 GBR</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #ced4d9;">3:54.50 NR</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #bd895e; text-align: center;">🥉</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #bd895e;">Sifan Hassan 🇳🇱 NED</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #bd895e;">3:55.86</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #34495e; text-align: left;" colspan="3">&nbsp;&nbsp;<a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/olympic-games/the-xxxii-olympic-games-athletics-7132391/results/women/1500-metres/final/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;

Faith Kipyegon was given the ultimate accolade by her closest rival after winning her second consecutive Olympic 1500m crown in Tokyo tonight.

Kipyegon claims emotional second Olympic 1500m win

<h2>Women's 1500m</h2>
<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/olympic-games/the-xxxii-olympic-games-athletics-7132391/athletes?competitionGroup=olympic-games&amp;disciplineCode=1500&amp;sexCode=W&amp;urlSlug=the-xxxii-olympic-games-athletics-7132391&amp;countryCode=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Entries</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/olympic-games/the-xxxii-olympic-games-athletics-7132391/timetable/bydiscipline/women/1500-metres" target="_blank" rel="noopener">timetable</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/world-rankings/1500m/women?regionType=world&amp;page=1&amp;rankDate=2021-07-13&amp;limitByCountry=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">world rankings</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/records/toplists/middle-long/1500-metres/outdoor/women/senior/2021?regionType=world&amp;page=1&amp;bestResultsOnly=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2021 world list</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/records/all-time-toplists/middle-long/1500-metres/outdoor/women/senior?regionType=world&amp;page=1&amp;bestResultsOnly=true&amp;firstDay=1900-01-01&amp;lastDay=2021-07-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener">world all-time list</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/disciplines/middlelong/1500-metres" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how it works</a>
The outcome of the women&rsquo;s 1500m may be most influenced by whether world champion Sifan Hassan decides to do the event or not.
At the time of writing, Hassan was still considering which combination of the 1500m, 5000m and 10,000m she would take on in Tokyo.
Having become the first person to combine the 1500m and 10,000m successfully at the World Championships in Doha in 2019, Hassan has made it clear that she is seeking a fresh challenge in Tokyo.
At first, that appeared to be the 5000m-10,000m double but that combination has been done before and after defeating Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon over 1500m at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Florence in June, the Ethiopian-born Dutchwoman began to consider taking on an unprecedented distance treble.
For an athlete who has yet to win an Olympic medal, that would be an extraordinarily brave choice, particularly given that the 1500m and 5000m schedules cross over. The 1500m heats will be held on the morning of August 2, with the 5000m final that evening.
But Hassan does seem willing to take on this monumental challenge. The 1500m remains close to her heart as the event in which she made her name internationally but it will not offer her an easy ride. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/b832775b-915f-4b2b-a6eb-3556e7527749.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 The resurgent Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon will be a much tougher opponent than she was in Doha, which was just a year after she gave birth to her first child.
On that occasion Kipyegon (3:54.22) finished a well-beaten second to Hassan (3:51.95) but with almost two more years of training behind her, the determined Kenyan finally turned the tables at the Diamond League meeting in Monaco earlier this month, when she produced a brilliant performance to win in 3:51.07, the fourth fastest time in history.
This underlines the danger for Hassan: that she will be picked off by specialists on fresh legs in each of her three events if she embarks on the high-risk strategy of tripling.
The 27-year-old Kipyegon has an exceptional championship record, having won or finished second in every major 1500m championship final she has contested since 2014, and has demonstrated that she is in career-best form.
Such is the pool of talent in this event that she is not the only one in that situation. Britain&rsquo;s ever-reliable Laura Muir has been on the cusp of a global championship breakthrough in this event for some years and is near her best with a 3:55.59 clocking this year that makes her the third-ranked contender.
Ethiopia&rsquo;s world indoor record-holder Gudaf Tsegay has elected to focus on the 5000m, leaving Freweyni Gebreezibeher Hailu as her country&rsquo;s top contender (3:56.28 for third place in Monaco) in this event. Her sister Lemlem Hailu and world U20 800m champion Diribe Welteji, who set an Ethiopian U20 record of 3:58.93 in Hengelo, make up the rest of the Ethiopian team.
Two other Tokyo-bound women have broken four minutes this year &ndash; US champion Elle Purrier St Pierre (3:58.03) and Australian Linden Hall (3:59.67). Both will come into medal contention if the Olympic final develops into a typical &lsquo;sit-and-kick&rsquo; championship race, which is more likely if Hassan opts out as she tends to run aggressively to bring her superior endurance into play.
The complexion of the event will change immediately based on her decision.
Nicole Jeffery for World Athletics
&nbsp;
<h2>Men's 1500m</h2>
<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/olympic-games/the-xxxii-olympic-games-athletics-7132391/athletes?competitionGroup=olympic-games&amp;disciplineCode=1500&amp;sexCode=M&amp;urlSlug=the-xxxii-olympic-games-athletics-7132391&amp;countryCode=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Entries</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/olympic-games/the-xxxii-olympic-games-athletics-7132391/timetable/bydiscipline/men/1500-metres" target="_blank" rel="noopener">timetable</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/world-rankings/1500m/men?regionType=world&amp;page=1&amp;rankDate=2021-07-13&amp;limitByCountry=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">world rankings</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/records/toplists/middle-long/1500-metres/outdoor/men/senior/2021?regionType=world&amp;page=1&amp;bestResultsOnly=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2021 world list</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/records/all-time-toplists/middle-long/1500-metres/outdoor/men/senior?regionType=world&amp;page=1&amp;bestResultsOnly=true&amp;firstDay=1900-01-01&amp;lastDay=2021-07-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener">world all-time list</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/disciplines/middlelong/1500-metres" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how it works</a>
In recent years, there's been no stopping 1500m sensation Timothy Cheruiyot who'll start as the man to beat when competition gets underway on Thursday 3 August.
The 25-year-old Kenyan was unbeaten over the distance in 10 races over two years, a streak that included the Diamond League final and World Championships in 2019. An off day at the Kenyan Trials last month put an end to that win streak, but he bounced back quickly, logging convincing victories at the Oslo and Monaco stops on the Wanda Diamond League. At the latter he produced a sensational 3:28.28 lifetime best to pad his hold on the No.7 spot on the all-time list &ndash; and, more importantly, to illustrate to Kenyan team selectors that he did indeed deserve a spot on the Tokyo-bound squad.
His penchant for running fast from the front has electrified the event and could turn this year's final into an all-time classic &ndash; a fast, furious and feverish battle forcing the field to leave absolutely everything on the track.
For the fourth time in the past five years, Monaco's Herculis produced the year's fastest race. Cheruiyot was first across the line each time, and often had some fast company.
This year that included Jakob Ingebrigtsen, one of the sport's most precocious talents in recent memory. The Norwegian star has been one of the finest 1500m runners on the planet since 2018, making it easy to forget that he's just 20 years old. He won the 1500m/5000m double at the 2018 European Championships at just 17 and last year, before his 20th birthday, broke the European record in the event, clocking 3:28.68 to become the eighth-fastest man of all time. 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/77a077f4-14c9-40e7-9350-e6a9f5689b31.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
 Ingebrigtsen was nearly as fast in Monaco earlier this month, clocking 3:29.25 to finish third &ndash; despite missing the previous two weeks of training due to a bacterial infection in his throat.
&ldquo;I didn't know what to expect but I managed to run fast for the entire race,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;So as long as I can train well the next couple of weeks I know I'll be even better in Tokyo.&rdquo;
His goal?
"To win of course.&rdquo;
The only thing that may work against him is the fact he&rsquo;ll have potentially two rounds of the 5000m to contend with in and around the three rounds of the 1500m.
Another runner capable of having an impact in the "fast and furious" narrative is Stewart McSweyn, the 26-year-old Australian who lowered the Oceania record with his 3:29:51 run in Monaco. He's raced well all season, winning the mile at the Bislett Games in Oslo with 3:48.37, also an area record, and finishing second at the Doha Diamond League.
Others to consider in the medal hunt include Samuel Tefera, the world indoor champion, who leads the Ethiopian squad. The 21-year-old will arrive in Tokyo in the shape of his life after a 3:30.71 lifetime best in Monaco. He'll be joined by trials winner Teddese Lemi, who has improved to 3:31.90 this season.
Cheruiyot will be joined by Charles Simotwo, the Kenyan Trials winner who lowered his career best to 3:30.30 in Monaco to give Kenya a solid 1-2 punch.
Don't rule out Pole Marcin Lewandowski, who manages to snatch medals at most major championships, most recently at the 2019 World Championships where he fought his way to bronze. The 34-year-old doesn't have an Olympic medal to his credit, but a 3:30.42 national record, also in Monaco, suggests he's in form to finally collect one.
Meanwhile, Josh Kerr, a 2019 World Championships finalist, is the fastest Briton this year with 3:31.55. He'll team with Jake Wightman, who joined the sub-3:30 club in Monaco last year, clocking 3:29.47.
Matthew Centrowitz, who famously controlled the tactical 2016 Olympic final almost from the gun, will be back to defend his title, but history won't be on his side. Only one man has ever managed a successful Olympic title defence over the distance: Sebastian Coe in 1980 and 1984. If the pace is fast, speed won't be on his side either &ndash; Centrowitz hasn't dipped under 3:32 since 2018. But that wasn&rsquo;t an issue in Rio.
USA&rsquo;s best hope could lie with the fast-finishing and Cole Hocker, who won the NCAA indoor mile and 3000m double on the same day back in March, then won the outdoor NCAA 1500m title just a few days after his 20th birthday and then claimed victory at the US Trials. The versatile runner has a PB of just 3:35.28, but if the race becomes a sit-and-kick affair &ndash; which, given Cheruiyot&rsquo;s presence, may not be the case &ndash; Hocker&rsquo;s chances will improve.
Bob Ramsak for World Athletics

Tokyo Olympics preview: 1500m

In the lead-up to World Refugee Day on 20 June, members of the Refugee Olympic Team will be sharing their stories in a series of features as they prepare for the Games in Tokyo. The series begins with 1500m runner Anjelina Nadai Lohalith.
 Last Tuesday&rsquo;s confirmation that Anjelina Nadai Lohalith had been picked for the Refugee Olympic Team for a second successive Games was cause for celebration &ndash; and the 28-year-old 1500m runner duly marked the occasion at her Ngong training camp in Kenya, with much &ldquo;music and dancing&rdquo;.
But any day now an even more significant moment awaits as she prepares to reunite with the family she left behind when, aged nine, she escaped from her war-ravaged village in South Sudan and made her way to the vast Kakuma Refugee Camp in northern Kenya &ndash; where her father and mother have recently arrived themselves.
It will be the first time she has seen her parents since the day she and her aunt boarded a United Nations truck that had been bringing food into an area traumatically affected by a civil war that eventually ended in 2005, three years after she had reached her new home.
Recalling in a Zoom call from her training centre how the war had come to her village, Lohalith said: &ldquo;Soldiers came in the night. I didn&rsquo;t understand what was happening, I just heard the shooting.
&ldquo;We ran to the next village and we slept in the bush at nights. We wanted to go back to our village to get food and all the things we had left behind. It was really an emergency, and we had almost nothing with us.
&ldquo;But we were told we could not go back because the soldiers were occupying our village and around the village there were what they called &lsquo;weapons underground&rsquo;, which were landmines. It was not safe.
&ldquo;The UN bus came with food, and that was how I was able to get out with my aunt. I thought my family would be coming after me. But they didn&rsquo;t come.&rdquo;
<h3>Lohalith&rsquo;s "dearest wish"</h3>
Lohalith has maintained since making the Refugee Olympic Team for the Rio 2016 Games as one of five track athletes that her &ldquo;dream&rdquo; was to one day help her parents.
Asked how she felt about the prospect of meeting them after so long, she paused for a few moments before saying: &ldquo;It is my dearest wish.&rdquo;
She added: &ldquo;It makes me so happy that my parents are now in the camp. Soon we will have a welcome party!&rdquo;
Already, however, her mother and father have met their grandson for the first time &ndash; Lohalith&rsquo;s four-year-old son Jayden Luis Monutore.
Her parents were preceded to Kakuma by other relatives, including another of her aunts and a cousin, and they have helped to look after Jayden &ndash; already a natural runner according to his proud mum &ndash; while she has been training to make the Rio 2016 team.
&ldquo;My parents don&rsquo;t know about my running,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;They only know about my schooling. I think it will be hard for them to understand about the Olympics. They don&rsquo;t know anything about it.&rdquo; 
<img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Original/5b2e8bd8-c22a-4c21-b226-5ea2c64c2577.jpg" width="525" height="349" /> Anjelina Nadai Lohalith trains at the Refugee Athletes Centre in Ngong&nbsp;(&copy;&nbsp;AFP / Getty Images)
 Lohalith has spoken in the past of how Tegla Loroupe, Kenya&rsquo;s former world marathon record-holder and three-time world half marathon winner, came to the Kakuma Camp as part of the work of her Peace Foundation and organised trial races in 2015 to identify those who might be able to run at the Olympics.
At that time Lohalith knew nothing of international athletics but she had been, like her son, a natural runner for as long as she could remember.
&ldquo;Wherever I went I would run,&rdquo; she recalled. &ldquo;When I went to fetch something for my mother I always ran, because I didn&rsquo;t want to be beaten by her!
&ldquo;I just loved running for no reason, but I did not know anything about racing until Tegla came to the camp. I didn&rsquo;t know who she was &ndash; I only found out about her medals and her world record later.&rdquo;
In Rio, Lohalith ran 4:47.38 in her opening 1500m heat. Two years later she reduced that time to 4:33.54 at the World Athletics Championships in London.
She wanted to continue her international career by appearing at the Doha 2019 World Championships. &ldquo;I wanted to go to Doha but it was soon after maternity leave and I just didn&rsquo;t make it,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;It was not my time to go. But now I AM going back to the Olympics!
&ldquo;I was not sure I would be in the team. I was nervous. I am so happy to be going to Tokyo.&rdquo;
<h3>Another chance</h3>
Part of the reason for her uncertainty was the difficulties the pandemic had thrown up to her training regime, which faltered as the Olympics were postponed by a year.
&ldquo;We were training very hard for the Olympics. In 2020 we were in very good shape, very confident. I felt I was in shape to reach the semifinals,&rdquo; she said.
&ldquo;Then it was very difficult, we had to go back to the camp and try to train there, but you could not train in big groups. And it was very hot &ndash; we used to train at five in the morning, but we missed the facilities of the training camp.
&ldquo;Tegla was very encouraging, she gave us schedules while we were back in the camp. She said: &lsquo;It will be difficult, but you have to try and stay with it. It will be hard, but you can do it.&rsquo;&rdquo;
In Lohalith&rsquo;s case, Loroupe was right.
&ldquo;I can say I feels so great,&rdquo; the soon-to-be double Olympian said. &ldquo;I am really honoured but it was not something I ever expected. I feel so happy to be given another chance, and I just want to improve on my best time.
&ldquo;People all over the world wish to get this chance, but that is something that not all of us can do. It&rsquo;s very hard. That is why they were using some kind of criteria to select athletes.
&ldquo;Before Rio in the camp we were told that maybe one person can be lucky to go. But from my team all six of us were lucky to be selected. Now the number is halved. There is a higher competition now and that is why they did so many trials.&rdquo; 
<img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Original/b7dbfdb9-0860-4644-940d-658077e77f21.jpg" width="525" height="349" /> Anjelina Nadai Lohalith in action at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games&nbsp;(&copy;&nbsp;AFP / Getty Images)
 Since arriving in Kenya, Lohalith has learned fluent English. Asked how she had managed to attain this language, she responded: &ldquo;I just read. I like reading novels &ndash; love novels, inspiring books. One of my favourite authors is Nelson Mandela.&rdquo;
Speaking recently, Rwanda&rsquo;s International Olympic Committee member Felicite Rwemarika described how she had been forced to flee her home when members of the Tutsi tribe were being massacred in 1959, and added that, during her subsequent travel in Uganda and Burundi, her family had been treated with suspicion and denied access to vital services, having to change their name at one point.
How had Lohalith&rsquo;s experience of being a refugee in a foreign land compared?
&ldquo;I have not been through that kind of an issue,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Not that much. We are in camp most of the time. We and Kenyans, most of the time we are the same with our facial appearance.
&ldquo;It only happens sometimes if you meet with some few people, but only with a few.
&ldquo;You cannot expect them to be 100 per cent about refugees in another country. Not everybody can see what you are going through. They can&rsquo;t understand it. Some will be negative. When you introduce yourself as a refugee, they get a look on their face. We just have to understand, we don&rsquo;t have any choice.
"We hope others see we are just normal people like them."
<h3>The power of sport</h3>
As well as visiting Rio and London to compete, Lohalith has also been to Uganda and to Canada, where she attended the One Young World Summit in Ottawa, a global forum for youth leaders to discuss global issues.
&ldquo;I enjoy travelling a lot,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;It is part of my passion &ndash; travelling to see the world. When I was young, I always told myself that one day you will be travelling the world in an airplane. But I never had an idea on what I was going to do or how it could happen.
&ldquo;But now my dream has happened. It is sport that has helped me to travel.
&ldquo;Through running I was able to know more people, people who have been able to compete in international races. I feel so great when I make so many friends from other countries.
&ldquo;When I compete, I can meet people and make friends and we stay in contact. I am always happy and honoured for it, to be building that kind of a relationship with people.
&ldquo;People do not just go to compete, they make friends in different countries. It is something very great for me. That is a big reason why sport is so important &ndash; it can also bring people together.&rdquo;
For now, however, Lohalith is turning her eyes once more to the Olympic arena.
Asked when she would leave for Japan, she laughed suddenly and exclaimed: &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t care when I go! I am going!&rdquo;
Mike Rowbottom for World Athletics

Last Tuesday’s confirmation that Anjelina Nadai Lohalith had been picked for the Refugee Olympic Team for a second successive Games was cause for celebration – and the 28-year-old 1500m runner duly marked the occasion at her Ngong training camp in Kenya with much “music and dancing”.

Family and opportunity inspires Lohalith ahead of second Olympic appearance

It just so happens that the last piece of international track and field action at the International Stadium in Gateshead was a 1.98m clearance that secured a personal best and a victory in the final event to be decided at the 2013 European Team Championships for the emerging young high jumper Mariya Kuchina.
Eight years on from that breakthrough senior performance &ndash; which came indoors after thunder, lightning and flash flooding rendered the outdoor field section too dangerous &ndash; the global queen of the high jump, now three-time world outdoor champion Mariya Lasitskene, takes part in the first event on the programme of the 2021 Wanda Diamond League opener at Gateshead on Sunday (23).
An uncertain mixed picture of sunshine and showers is forecast for the Muller Grand Prix Gateshead but the famous arena in the north-east of England will be flooded with stellar talent, with a cast featuring 10 reigning world or Olympic champions and a combined cache of more than 100 global medals.
Top billing, undoubtedly, has to go to the not so much loaded as overflowing women&rsquo;s 100m. Sha&rsquo;Carri Richardson, the trailblazing 21-year-old US sprint phenomenon who scorched to a 10.72 clocking in Florida in April, tests her rapidly rising pedigree against all three medal winners from the 2019 World Championships final in Doha. 
<div id="60986b51135c0c103803aa95" class="dropMedia">
<div style="background-image: url('https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Small/8701b456-d14d-4e1f-b107-0f6c6cd1c261.jpg');">&nbsp;</div>
Sha'Carri Richardson wins the 100m at the USATF Golden Games at Mt SAC</div>
&nbsp;
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the Jamaican Peter Pan Pocket Rocket of the women&rsquo;s sprint game, was within 0.01 of her lifetime best with a 10.71 clocking that secured her fourth world 100m title in the Qatari capital. Silver medal winning Briton Dina Asher-Smith, who went on to take 200m gold, and bronze medallist Ivorian Marie-Josee Ta Lou are also on the start list for the heats, although Jamaica&rsquo;s Olympic 100m and 200m champion Elaine Thompson-Herah has withdrawn because of injury.
Two weeks on from her heat and final sub-10.80 clockings in the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Walnut, and on the back of her winning European circuit debut over 200m in Ostrava on Wednesday, Richardson has the chance that was denied her in 2019 when she failed to qualify for the US team for Doha. Since her eighth-placed finish at the US Championships final in Des Moines, the world U20 record-holder has won 10 successive 100m races (heats and finals).
Fraser-Pryce, now 34, is on a winning streak of seven 100m races, dating back to the Diamond League final in Brussels which preceded the 2019 World Athletics Championships, when she finished runner-up to Asher-Smith. Both Fraser-Pryce and Asher-Smith have yet to race over 100m in 2021, but have posted 200m times of 22.60 and 22.56 respectively.
Something will have to give.
Richardson proclaimed after her 10.74 and 10.77 clockings on the Mt SAC track in Walnut: &ldquo;Every time I step on the track I want to make history.&rdquo; She might need to run the fastest women&rsquo;s 100m in Gateshead history to maintain her winning run. Weather permitting, the 10.93 stadium record could well be eclipsed.
For Richardson, a comfortable 200m winner in 22.35 in Ostrava, it will be a first Diamond League test outside the United States. In 2019 she finished fourth in the 100m at the Prefontaine Classic in Stanford, clocking 11.15 in a race won by Ta Lou in 11.02, with Fraser-Pryce a distant eighth in 11.39. She also placed third in a high school girls&rsquo; 200m that preceded the Diamond League programme in Eugene in 2017.
At 21, Mondo Duplantis already seems like a Diamond League veteran, with eight meet victories to his name. The Swede extended his unbeaten record to a 23rd competition with his 5.90m clearance in Ostrava, confessing to feeling rusty in his season&rsquo;s opener.
The 6.18m world record-holder will be seeking to return to six-metre-plus form in Gateshead, where he will again be up against Sam Kendricks, the US rival who inflicted his last defeat, in the 2019 world final. Bronze medal winning Pole Piotr Lisek completes a rematch of the podium trio from Doha.
Lasitskene is another star performer on a long-term winning streak. The 28-year-old is unbeaten in 14 competitions dating back to September 2019 and her third-placed finish in the Europe v USA match in Minsk. 
<div id="5b54a62648f3f20e2c92b115" class="dropMedia">
<div style="background-image: url('https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Small/96af040b-2369-42c5-883a-eb46bde29dde.jpg');">&nbsp;</div>
Mariya Lasitskene tops 2.04m in London</div>
&nbsp;
In her first outdoor test of 2021, however, she faces Yaroslava Mahuchikh, the 19-year-old Ukrainian who cleared a world U20 record of 2.04m in losing to her on countback in the epic 2019 world final. The fourth and fifth placers from Doha are also in the field: Mahuchikh&rsquo;s compatriot Yulia Levchenko and Kamila Licwinko of Poland.
European record-holder Jakob Ingebritsen faces the rising Australian duo Ollie Hoare and Stewart McSweyn in a 1500m race that also includes Adam Ali Musab, the Qatari who ran a world-leading 3:32.41 in Doha back in February.
Fresh from a 19.93 (-0.6m/s) victory in Ostrava, Kenny Bednarek lines up against four of the first six finishers from the world 200m final two years ago. Canada&rsquo;s Andre de Grasse (third in Ostrava) and Ecuador&rsquo;s Alex Quinonez picked up silver and bronze behind Bednarek&rsquo;s US rival Noah Lyles in Doha, while Briton Adam Gemili and Canada&rsquo;s Aaron Brown placed fourth and sixth.
The 3000m steeplechase features the three fastest men on the 2020 world list. Soufiane El Bakkali, the Moroccan who took bronze and silver in the last two world finals, Kenyan Leonard Bett and France&rsquo;s Djilali Bedrani will all be making their 2021 debuts over the barriers.
Nicholas Kimeli, one of the fastest men in the world last year over 5000m and 10,000m, will take on fellow Kenyans Jacob Krop and Michael Kibet in the 5000m. If the race is tactical, watch out too for in-form Spaniard Mohamed Katir. Australia&rsquo;s David McNeil, Spain&rsquo;s Adel Mechaal and Britain&rsquo;s Andy Butchart should also be in contention.
Four weeks on from her solo 4:01.54 victory at the USATF Grand Prix in Eugene, European champion Laura Muir returns to British soil for her second 1500m of the season. The world indoor silver medallist ended her US training and racing spell looking sharp, with a 1:58.71 victory over 800m at the Track Meet in Irvine last weekend. 
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<div style="background-image: url('https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Small/ac0bc51f-b94e-46d4-8341-59f1b2374df9.jpg');">&nbsp;</div>
Laura Muir takes another 1500m win in London</div>
&nbsp;
Fellow Briton Katie Snowden advanced her PB to 4:02.98 with a win in the 1500m in the same Californian event and will be seeking to back up that breakthrough win in a face that also features sub-four performers in 2014 world indoor silver medallist Axumawit Embaye of Ethiopia and Rababe Arafi of Morocco. Uganda&rsquo;s 800m specialist Winnie Nanyondo and, at the other end of the spectrum, Britain&rsquo;s European 5000m silver medallist Eilish McColgan are also in the field.
In the field, in addition to Lasitskene, there will be two other world champions seeking to crank their Olympic season into gear.
Tajay Gayle, the Jamaican long jumper who stunned the world with his 8.69m gold medal leap in Doha, already has a 8.27m mark to his name this year. Grenadine javelin man Anderson Peters will be looking to build on the 83.39m he threw for second place behind Johannes Vetter&rsquo;s monster 94.20m in Ostrava. 2012 Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott, third in the Czech Republic with 82.75m, is also in the field. 
<div id="60a77dd3135c0c152cff1725" class="dropMedia">
<div style="background-image: url('https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Small/e4e82d34-a916-4906-b500-77901b97fb99.jpg');">&nbsp;</div>
Tajay Gayle in action at the Diamond League meeting in London</div>
&nbsp;
Gayle&rsquo;s Jamaican teammate Kimberly Williams will be looking to reproduce her winning form from Mt SAC earlier this month where she won with 14.62m. But US record-holder Keturah Orji, who finished second on that occasion, will be out for revenge.
Danniel Thomas-Dodd, who took 2019 world silver, meets 2015 world champion Christina Schwanitz of Germany in the shot, while fellow Jamaicans Shericka Jackson and Stephenie Ann McPherson square up over 400m.
The 100m hurdles promises to be a domestic sisterly affair, with Cindy Sember lining up against Tiffany Porter, whose British record she missed by a mere 0.02 with a 12.53 clocking at Mt SAC.
Simon Turnbull for World Athletics

The Muller Grand Prix Gateshead will be flooded with stellar talent, with a cast featuring 10 reigning world or Olympic champions and a combined cache of more than 100 global medals.

World stars raring to go as Wanda Diamond League action returns to Gateshead

The first Wanda Diamond League meeting of 2021 is set to take place in Gateshead on 23 May.
To mark the seven-day countdown to the first fixture in the series, we take a brief look at seven mouth-watering clashes that have been announced for the first three meetings of this season.
&nbsp;
<h3>Women&rsquo;s 100m &ndash; Gateshead, 23 May</h3>
<img style="width: 220px; height: 220px; margin-left: 20px;" src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Square/8701b456-d14d-4e1f-b107-0f6c6cd1c261.jpg?cachebuster=99a10845-d9b1-4c02-a491-bf1589544a9d" align="right" />Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (JAM) 10.70 Elaine Thompson-Herah (JAM) 10.70 Sha&rsquo;Carri Richardson (USA) 10.72 Dina Asher-Smith (GBR) 10.83
This sensational four-way clash is set to see Jamaica's multiple global gold medallist Fraser-Pryce and double Olympic champion Thompson-Herah take on Britain's world 200m champion Asher-Smith and USA's world leader Richardson for the first time, with the four athletes having never previously lined up against each other.
Fraser-Pryce, Thompson-Herah and Richardson occupy three of the top six places on the world all-time list, so if conditions in Gateshead are good, the meeting record of 10.93 could be broken.
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<h3>Women&rsquo;s long jump &ndash; Florence, 10 June</h3>
<img style="width: 220px; height: 220px; margin-left: 20px;" src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Square/1a189a41-e633-4831-bee8-1f80f90a6b90.jpg?cachebuster=3f9d279f-f8c6-4259-afa2-84b4f1933343" align="right" />Malaika Mihambo (GER) 7.30m Ivana Spanovic (SRB) 7.24m Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk (UKR) 6.96m Caterine Ibarguen (COL) 6.93m Khaddi Sagnia (SWE) 6.92m Larissa Iapichino (ITA) 6.91m
The world outdoor and indoor champions take on a handful of major championship medallists in what looks set to be the highest-quality long jump competition since the World Athletics Championships Doha 2019.
Malaika Mihambo, who won in Doha two years ago, will line up in Florence alongside world indoor champion Ivana Spanovic, world silver medallist and European indoor champion Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk, 2018 Diamond League champion and Olympic triple jump champion Caterine Ibarguen, European indoor bronze medallist Khaddi Sagnia and rising Italian star Larissa Iapichino, who earlier this year set a world U20 indoor record of 6.91m.
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<h3>Women&rsquo;s 3000m &ndash; Doha, 28 May</h3>
<img style="width: 220px; height: 220px; margin-left: 20px;" src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Square/60a0423c-0109-4c36-9d19-106c4c25d8d7.jpg?cachebuster=c50e5fef-9b7b-4f49-86f6-031d02e9957d" align="right" />Letesenbet Gidey (ETH) 8:20.27 Hellen Obiri (KEN) 8:20.68
World champion meets world record-holder in this highly anticipated Doha duel.
Hellen Obiri, the world 5000m and cross-country champion, set an African 3000m record of 8:20.68 in Doha in 2014, which was then broken in 2019 by Gidey, who ran 8:20.27.
Although Obiri leads their career head-to-head record at 9-5, world 5000m record-holder Gidey has finished ahead of Obiri twice in Doha: at the 2018 Diamond League meeting and at the 2019 World Championships over 10,000m.
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<h3>Men&rsquo;s pole vault &ndash; Gateshead, 23 May</h3>
<img style="width: 220px; height: 220px; margin-left: 20px;" src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Square/17aa63cb-2f5c-42c8-b7c8-ef48457fb350.jpg?cachebuster=5150313e-adb5-4cce-9690-bc9ceefd8243" align="right" />Mondo Duplantis (SWE) 6.18m Sam Kendricks (USA) 6.06m Piotr Lisek (POL) 6.02m Harry Coppell (GBR) 5.85m Charlie Myers (GBR) 5.71m
The three medallists from the World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 will be reunited in Gateshead on 23 May.
It will be Mondo Duplantis&rsquo;s first competition in the UK since setting a world record of 6.18m in Glasgow during the 2020 indoor season. Since finishing second at the 2019 World Championships &ndash; behind Sam Kendricks and ahead of Piotr Lisek &ndash; the 21-year-old Swede has been undefeated since then, and in 2020 he earned the honour of Male World Athlete of the Year.
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<h3>Women&rsquo;s pole vault &ndash; Doha, 28 May</h3>
<img style="width: 220px; height: 220px; margin-left: 20px;" src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Square/1136e5cf-3a32-4ff2-a884-b1d417e1e3cc.png?cachebuster=9162c480-de15-4195-8188-b43190000429" align="right" />Sandi Morris (USA) 5.00m Anzhelika Sidorova (ANA) 4.95m Katerina Stefanidi (GRE) 4.91m Holly Bradshaw (GBR) 4.87m Alysha Newman (CAN) 4.82m Angelica Moser (SUI) 4.75m
As will be the case with the men&rsquo;s event in Gateshead, the women&rsquo;s 2019 world pole vault medallists &ndash; Anzhelika Sidorova, Sandi Morris and Katerine Stefanidi &ndash; will be reunited in Doha.
While Sidorova won at the World Championships in Doha, and Morris triumphed at the 2018 World Indoor Championships, Stefanidi has performed best on the Diamond League circuit in recent years, having won the Diamond Trophy four times between 2016 and 2019.
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<h3>Men&rsquo;s shot put &ndash; Florence, 10 June</h3>
<img style="width: 220px; height: 220px; margin-left: 20px;" src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Square/ae2f27f6-4640-4a90-a35e-23a37d0ecf6d.jpg?cachebuster=ff554095-aeae-4b2a-a044-4d1b76bd4576" align="right" />Tom Walsh (NZL) 22.90m Michal Haratyk (POL) 22.32m Konrad Bukowiecki (POL) 22.25m Tomas Stanek (CZE) 22.17m Leonardo Fabbri (ITA) 21.99m
New Zealand&rsquo;s 2017 world champion and 2019 Diamond League winner Tom Walsh takes on the Czech Republic's European indoor champion Tomas Stanek, Poland&rsquo;s European champion Michal Haratyk, Konrad Bukowiecki, who set the Golden Gala meeting record of 21.97m in 2019, and Italian indoor record-holder Leonardo Fabbri.
Given the quality of the line-up, Bukowiecki&rsquo;s meeting record may not survive.
&nbsp;
<h3>Men&rsquo;s 1500m &ndash; Gateshead, 23 May</h3>
<img style="width: 220px; height: 220px; margin-left: 20px;" src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Square/971b6efc-8296-4021-92f4-ed650a240b19.jpg?cachebuster=c3f6fcfd-87e1-431a-8df5-759ea9271250" align="right" />Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) 3:28.68 Stewart McSweyn (AUS) 3:30.51 Ryan Gregson (AUS) 3:31.06 Oliver Hoare (AUS) 3:32.35 Matthew Ramsden (AUS) 3:34.83 Piers Copeland (GBR) 3:35.32 George Mills (GBR) 3:36.72 Elliot Giles (GBR) 3:36.90i
A competitive field of leading Australians and Britons will take on Norwegian star Jakob Ingebrigtsen over 1500m in Gateshead.
Building on his incredible performances in recent years, the 20-year-old set a European 1500m record of 3:28.68 last year in Monaco before going on to win in Brussels and Ostrava. Australia&rsquo;s Stewart McSweyn, who finished close behind Ingebrigtsen in Stockholm, Ostrava and Rome last year, will be hoping to score his first victory over Ingebrigtsen in Gateshead, but compatriot Oliver Hoare and Britain&rsquo;s 800m specialist Elliot Giles, both of whom enjoyed superb indoor seasons, will also be big threats.
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The first Wanda Diamond League meeting of 2021 is set to take place in Gateshead on 23 May.

Seven Diamond League clashes to look forward to in 2021

Grenada&rsquo;s 2012 Olympic 400m champion Kirani James will continue his comeback at the Ostrava Golden Spike, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, on 19 May.
The 28-year-old has raced sparingly over the past few years but opened his season with a 44.88 400m win at the Canyon Invitational in Phoenix last month.
Now he prepares to return to the Ostrava event for the first time since 2013, when he won in 44.49, while the Czech city is also where he claimed World Youth Championships silver in 2007.
Among those lining up alongside him will be home favourite Pavel Maslak, the three-time world indoor champion.
Another top 400m runner in action will be the USA&rsquo;s world bronze medallist Fred Kerley, who has focused on the 100m and 200m so far this season, with respective times of 9.91 and 20.24. That will continue in Ostrava, as he is set to take on the double.
In the 200m he will be joined by his compatriot Kenny Bednarek, who recently finished second at the USATF Golden Games with 19.94.
<h3>Dibaba set for 1500m</h3>
Ethiopia&rsquo;s world record-holder Genzebe Dibaba is yet to race outdoors this season and will be targeting the 1500m meeting record of 3:59.05 set last year by Kenya&rsquo;s Faith Kipyegon when she takes to the Mestsky Stadion track.
Czech duo Diana Mezulianikova and Simona Vrzalova will be aiming for the Olympic standard.
Britain&rsquo;s world U20 indoor record-holder Keely Hodgkinson will race the 800m against sub-1:59 runners Lovisa Lindh, Hedda Hynne and Lore Hoffmann, while Bosnian world silver medalist Amel Tuka will contest the men&rsquo;s event against Hodgkinson&rsquo;s fellow British teenager Max Burgin plus Poland&rsquo;s Adam Kszczot, Patryk Dobek, Mateusz Borkowski and Michal Rozmys.
In the men&rsquo;s 1500m, current world-leader Adam Ali Musaab from Qatar will face Poland&rsquo;s Marcin Lewandowski and Czech trio Jakub Holusa, Filip Sasinek and Jan Fris.
Other athletes to have previously been confirmed for the meeting include world pole vault record-holder Mondo Duplantis, 2017 world javelin champion Johannes Vetter, world half marathon champion Jacob Kiplimo in the 10,000m and Joshua Cheptegei, who last year set world records over 5000m and 10,000m and this time will race over 3000m.
The Golden Spike was granted an exemption from the Czech Republic&rsquo;s ban on holding mass events, and the meeting is permitted to welcome 1500 fans into the stadium.
Organisers for World Athletics

Grenada’s 2012 Olympic 400m champion Kirani James will continue his comeback at the Ostrava Golden Spike, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, on 19 May.

James, Kerley and Dibaba added to Ostrava fields

Jakob Ingebrigtsen will be among the athletes looking to test their form when he races over 1500m at the Muller Grand Prix &ndash; the first Wanda Diamond League meeting of 2021 &ndash; in Gateshead, UK, on Sunday 23 May.
He will do so in front of a venue crowd, with the Gateshead International Stadium able to welcome up to 2000 spectators for the meeting.
Norwegian 20-year-old Ingebrigtsen won European indoor 1500m and 3000m titles in Torun in March, emulating the success he achieved in Glasgow two years earlier when he claimed 3000m gold and 1500m silver. He returned to the UK in the July to finish second in the London Diamond League 5000m, breaking the Norwegian record with 13:02.03.
The European 1500m record-holder with 3:28.68 set in Monaco last year, Ingebrigtsen is also the reigning European outdoor champion at 1500m and 5000m.
&ldquo;I had a great time racing in Glasgow at the European Indoor Championships a couple of years ago and I&rsquo;ve also run a few times at the Olympic Stadium in London. So I&rsquo;m hoping for another good experience in Britain at the Diamond League in Gateshead next week,&rdquo; he said.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been training hard lately but I enjoy testing myself in competition and this meeting will be a good race to see where I am in the run-up to the Olympics.&rdquo;
Joining him in Gateshead will be Britain&rsquo;s Elliot Giles, who ran 1:43.63 in February to move to second on the world indoor 800m all-time list, plus Australian 1500m record-holder Stewart McSweyn and his compatriots Ollie Hoare, Matthew Ramsden and Ryan Gregson.
Other British athletes on the entry list include national 1500m champion George Mills, Piers Copeland and Archie Davis.
As previously announced, the women&rsquo;s 100m in Gateshead will feature a world-class line-up including Dina Asher-Smith, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Elaine Thompson-Herah and Sha&rsquo;Carri Richardson, while the men&rsquo;s pole vault sees a clash between Mondo Duplantis, Sam Kendricks and Piotr Lisek.
The women&rsquo;s 1500m will see European champion Laura Muir in action and she will be joined by fellow British athletes&nbsp;Melissa Courtney-Bryant, Eilish McColgan, Adelle Tracey and Holly Archer.
Organisers for World Athletics

Jakob Ingebrigtsen will be among the athletes looking to test their form when he makes his season debut over 1500m at the Muller Grand Prix – the first Wanda Diamond League meeting of 2021 – in Gateshead, UK, on Sunday 23 May.

Ingebrigtsen, McSweyn and Giles named for Gateshead 1500m

Global medallists Raevyn Rogers, Donavan Brazier and Christian Taylor are preparing for an early-season top-quality test of their form at the USATF Grand Prix &ndash; the first World Athletics Continental Tour Gold standard meeting of 2021 &ndash; on Saturday (24).
As well as offering the opportunity for some high-class clashes, the event also gives the US trio the chance to compete at Eugene&rsquo;s recently renovated Hayward Field, which will stage the US Olympic Trials in June and this weekend welcomes athletes for its first professional competition since 2018.
&ldquo;I am very nervous and excited to compete at the new Hayward,&rdquo; said Taylor, the four-time world and two-time Olympic triple jump champion. &ldquo;I had the previous stadium record and had lifelong memories made in front of the grandstands. This is a glorious new beginning but also has that special sense of the unknown.
&ldquo;This will be a very serious competition for us,&rdquo; he added, &ldquo;to have an idea of exactly where we are and what areas we need to focus on moving forward.&rdquo;
While Taylor has fond memories, world 800m champion Brazier is looking to make up for the disappointment he felt when he last raced at the iconic venue five years ago.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m really excited to race there,&rdquo; said the 24-year-old, who this time steps up to compete over 1500m. &ldquo;The last time I raced there I ran pretty bad, I think it was the Olympic Trials in 2016, so I&rsquo;d like to get the monkey off my back and finally start racing good again in Eugene.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to see where we&rsquo;re at this weekend and that&rsquo;s part of the reason why we&rsquo;re doing the 1500m instead of 800m.&rdquo;
<img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Original/274d654b-e289-41b8-ab4f-af40498e1a8d.jpg" alt="" width="950" height="526" />
<div class="ArticleContent_articleImageCaption__1j7DT" data-name="article-image-caption">
Hayward Field at the University of Oregon&nbsp;(&copy; University of Oregon) 
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<h3>Rogers &ndash; star of the track and tower</h3>
For Rogers, it's a sense of &lsquo;being home&rsquo;.
&ldquo;It is a huge weekend, especially to be running the 800m at Eugene,&rdquo; said the world 800m silver medallist, who won multiple NCAA titles while racing for the University of Oregon. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just looking forward to kicking it (her 800m season) off and seeing where all of this hard work in practise will lead to.&rdquo;
Rogers is one of five icons &ndash; along with legendary coach Bill Bowerman, Steve Prefontaine, Ashton Eaton and Otis Davis &ndash; pictured on the Tower at Hayward Field and on whether there will be any extra pressure to perform, the 24-year-old said: &ldquo;Just to be able to run the 800m at the ribbon-cutting meet, I did express (to her coach, Pete Julian) &lsquo;you want me to do my first 800m in Eugene at the new stadium?!&rsquo; Of course, I was factoring in some of that pressure, but he was very reassuring to understand that the focus is about June and of course later on, God willing, the Olympics.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s more to see where we are and get some races under our belt. That helped a lot to ease some of those outside thoughts in my head in regards to factoring in the pressure of running at the stadium.&rdquo;
As well as it being the &lsquo;ribbon-cutting&rsquo; professional competition at the reimagined Hayward Field &ndash; which will host next year&rsquo;s World Athletics Championships Oregon22 &ndash; the event also kicks off this year&rsquo;s Continental Tour Gold-standard series of meetings. The aim of the Tour is to offer a coherent global series of the best international one-day meetings outside of the Wanda Diamond League.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m excited about the fact that we are getting some World Athletics type of races in,&rdquo; said Rogers. &ldquo;I feel like we are still kind of holding on to the slowness of last year, with things not being open, but now people are feeling like vaccinations are a little bit more allowing of us getting outside and being able to do things. And so now that we are able to focus on getting some good competition and more races in, I think it will help get more of that type of competitive experience that we have when it comes to the Olympics, because this is really necessary.
"I feel like as we get into championship season, since it is in almost two months, it&rsquo;s super necessary and the time window to be able to get those type of races in is very short. So the fact that they are trying to implement this World Athletics Continental Tour will help get those Diamond League type of races and experiences in, instead of just having to have them straight at the Olympics.&rdquo;
Following the Continental Tour Gold season opener in Eugene, the series will move on to California, Tokyo, Ostrava and Boston in May before meetings in Hengelo, Turku, Bydgoszcz and Szekesfehervar ahead of the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Jess Whittington for World Athletics

Global medallists Raevyn Rogers, Donavan Brazier and Christian Taylor are preparing for an early-season top-quality test of their form at the USATF Grand Prix – the first World Athletics Continental Tour Gold standard meeting of 2021 – on Saturday (24).

Rogers, Brazier and Taylor ready for top-quality test in Eugene

Before he took up running, Sam Tanner’s No.1 passion was surfing