Many of the world&rsquo;s best athletes &ndash; including eight reigning individual Olympic champions &ndash; will look to make a statement when rivalries renew at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Birmingham on Saturday (21).
British record-holder Dina Asher-Smith stars in a stacked women&rsquo;s 100m field, while top-class clashes abound in the field and elsewhere on the track during a busy afternoon of action at Birmingham&rsquo;s newly renovated Alexander Stadium, venue for Commonwealth Games athletics competition later this year.
After an injury-affected 2021, world 200m champion Asher-Smith is back on track and has the opportunity this year to target a defence of her global crown at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 in July as well as her European 100m, 200m and 4x100m titles in Munich and Commonwealth 4x100m gold in Birmingham in August.
Despite the setbacks, the 26-year-old still managed to form part of Britain's bronze medal-winning 4x100m team at the Olympics in Tokyo and secured top three finishes in both the 100m and 200m at the Diamond League final in Zurich.
She finished third in the 200m at the opening Diamond League meeting of the season in Doha and in Birmingham will race her first 100m since September&rsquo;s Diamond League final.
"Last year was full of emotional ups and downs, but I think I&rsquo;m a stronger athlete now because of it,&rdquo; said the 2019 Diamond League 100m champion.
&ldquo;I was in great shape early in the season and I was heartbroken not to be able to compete to my full potential in Tokyo, but I was also incredibly proud to come home with a relay medal and to finish my year so strongly. That&rsquo;s behind me now, and my focus is on the busy summer ahead. I&rsquo;m looking forward to returning to Birmingham for the first time since 2019 and to kickstart my season the best possible way &ndash; happy and with great home support."
It's set to be a thrilling return, too, as she takes on a top line-up on home soil.&nbsp;Leading the challenge are Olympic 200m bronze medallist Gabby Thomas, Olympic 100m bronze medallist Shericka Jackson, European indoor 60m champion Ajla Del Ponte, double NCAA champion Cambrea Sturgis and Olympic relay bronze medallist Daryll Neita.
It was Thomas who triumphed at the Diamond League season opener in Doha, running 21.98 to win ahead of Jamaica&rsquo;s Jackson and Asher-Smith. The US champion&rsquo;s 100m races so far this season have mostly all been hit by strong winds, from an 11.49 run into a -5.2m/s headwind in Bermuda to a wind-assisted 10.80 (3.2m/s) in Texas.
"I am looking to break 11 seconds," said Thomas, who ran her PB of exactly 11 seconds at last year's US Olympic Trials and has equalled that mark this season. "I would like to get a wind-legal 10-second 100m in at some point so hopefully, if the weather allows it, I think this is a perfect place to do it.
"There&rsquo;s really great competition here, the stadium looks beautiful, I know the energy is going to be amazing and I am feeling very fit and sharp. Coming off of my race in Doha, I think I am in a good headspace and position to do it."
Asked at the pre-event press conference if she feels in the best shape of her life, she replied: "Actually, yes. I am building off of Tokyo really well and right before Tokyo I had moved to a new coach and a new training group. That was the most fit I have ever been in my life and I am just building off of that, so I still feel really fit and my season is showing it.
"I am running times that I have never run at this point in the season before, so I am really excited."
Her compatriot Sturgis, meanwhile, is also in great form and has already run a PB this season, clocking 10.87 last month in North Carolina for a time that puts her third on this year&rsquo;s top list, while the versatile Jackson has run 11.00 into a -1.8m/s headwind this year.
Jamaica's Elaine Thompson-Herah had been due to join them in Birmingham but on Thursday the&nbsp;five-time Olympic gold medallist was announced as a withdrawal after she experienced some discomfort in training.
The world athlete of the year had a remarkable 2021, winning an Olympic 100m, 200m and 4x100m treble in Tokyo and becoming the second-fastest woman of all time in the two individual events by running 10.54 for 100m and 21.53 for 200m. Her compatriot&nbsp;Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the three-time Olympic and nine-time world gold medallist, also ran&nbsp;10.60 for 100m last year, while Thomas clocked&nbsp;21.61 for 200m.&nbsp;
Could Florence Griffith-Joyner's world records of 10.49 and 21.34 be under threat?
"We shouldn't put limits on ourselves," Asher-Smith replied at the pre-event press conference. "When you stop thinking about limits and you really focus on the processes, who knows what can be achieved? Everything seems impossible until it's done."
Could she break a world record?
"Who knows!" Asher-Smith said. "Crazier things have been done and nothing is impossible. I am just excited to put together some good races."
Like in the women's race in Birmingham, global champions also feature in the men&rsquo;s 100m field. As well as his 200m win in Tokyo, Canada&rsquo;s Andre De Grasse claimed 100m bronze and in the shorter event he this time takes on USA&rsquo;s 2016 world indoor 60m champion Trayvon Bromell, who has run 9.92 this season, plus his US compatriot Marvin Bracy, Jamaica&rsquo;s Yohan Blake and a British quartet of Adam Gemili, Zharnel Hughes, Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake and Reece Prescod. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/60edeb5da80166ac8dcd1a32.jpg" alt="Trayvon Bromell wins the 100m at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Gateshead" />
Trayvon Bromell wins the 100m at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Gateshead (&copy; Matt Quine)
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In the men&rsquo;s 400m, local favourite Matthew Hudson-Smith, who claimed the European title in 2018, lines up alongside USA&rsquo;s Vernon Norwood and Bryce Deadmon, plus Botswana&rsquo;s Isaac Makwala. 
<h2>Champion clashes in the field</h2>
Olympic champions will compete in the women&rsquo;s long jump and women&rsquo;s pole vault in Birmingham, but they won&rsquo;t have it all their own way as they have fellow reigning global gold medallists among their opposition.
Germany&rsquo;s Malaika Mihambo has won European, world and Olympic long jump titles over the past four years, achieving her 7.30m PB when getting gold in Doha in 2019. After running 17.28 for 150m earlier this month, she makes her season debut in her main event and will go head-to-head with Serbia&rsquo;s Ivana Vuleta, who jumped 7.06m to retain her world indoor title on home soil in Belgrade in March and also opens her outdoor season in Birmingham. Their current outdoor head-to-head record stands 9-6 in Vuleta&rsquo;s favour &ndash; last year Mihambo got the Olympic title but Vuleta finished on top in the Diamond League final. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/62472224d4502e9ce3e2fdb0.jpg" alt="Olympic and world long jump champion Malaika Mihambo" />
Olympic and world long jump champion Malaika Mihambo (&copy; Getty Images)
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Ukraine&rsquo;s world long jump silver medallist Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk, who claimed a triple jump medal of the same colour at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, also competes, as do Britain&rsquo;s world indoor bronze medallist Lorraine Ugen and Jazmin Sawyers, Sweden&rsquo;s Khaddi Sagnia, USA&rsquo;s world indoor pentathlon bronze medallist Kendell Williams and her fellow combined events athlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Britain&rsquo;s world heptathlon champion who hopes to defend both her global and Commonwealth titles this season.
The women&rsquo;s pole vault will pit the last two Olympic champions &ndash; USA&rsquo;s Tokyo winner Katie Nageotte and Rio gold medallist Katerina Stefanidi of Greece &ndash; against USA&rsquo;s two-time world indoor champion Sandi Morris.
Morris currently leads the season top list following her winning 4.72m outdoor debut in Ponce last week, while Nageotte competes for the first time since her runner-up finish at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade. They also take on British record-holder Holly Bradshaw, the Olympic bronze medallist in Tokyo, plus Slovenia's world indoor bronze medallist Tina Sutej.
Another full podium of global medallists clash in the men&rsquo;s discus. Sweden&rsquo;s Olympic and world champion Daniel Stahl again takes on his compatriot Simon Pettersson, the silver medallist in Tokyo, and bronze medallist Lukas Weisshaidinger of Austria, as well as British record-holder Lawrence Okoye.
An Olympic champion also highlights the field for the women&rsquo;s discus and her performance is highly anticipated given the way she has started the season. Throwing 71.46m in San Diego last month, Valarie Allman added 30 centimetres to her own North American record, that mark moving her to 15th on the world all-time list. A week later she threw 69.46m to win in California, with this Diamond League meeting her first contest since then. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/613a6fe48a5188153224e6bf.jpg" alt="Discus winner Valarie Allman at the Wanda Diamond League final in Zurich" />
Discus winner Valarie Allman at the Wanda Diamond League final in Zurich (&copy; AFP / Getty Images)
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Allman&rsquo;s competition in Birmingham includes Croatia&rsquo;s discus great Sandra Perkovic, Melina Robert-Michon of France and Britain&rsquo;s Jade Lally.
In the men&rsquo;s high jump, Italy&rsquo;s Gianmarco Tamberi &ndash; who shared Olympic gold with Qatar&rsquo;s Mutaz Barshim in Tokyo &ndash; will contest his second Diamond League of the season after a seventh-place finish in challenging conditions in Doha last week.
Tamberi also shared a medal at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, getting bronze alongside New Zealand&rsquo;s Hamish Kerr, and the two compete again in Birmingham. 
<h2>Distance duels and hurdles hype</h2>
A competitive field takes to the track for the women&rsquo;s 5000m. After breaking the world 5km record with a 14:19 run on the roads of Barcelona at the end of last year, Ethiopia&rsquo;s Ejgayehu Taye races that same distance on the track to make her season debut.
The Olympic fifth-place finisher, who ran her 14:14.09 PB in Hengelo last June, claimed 3000m bronze at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade &ndash; her most recent race.
She will face her compatriots Girmawit Gebrzihair, who ran a world-leading 14:49.97 to win in Nairobi earlier this month, Dawit Seyaum and Fantu Worku, plus Burundi&rsquo;s Doha Diamond League winner Francine Niyonsaba. Jess Judd joins them, fresh from securing her spot on the British team for the World Championships 10,000m in Oregon with her 31:22.24 winning run at the national 10,000m championships in Highgate last weekend.
Britain&rsquo;s Olympic silver medallist Laura Muir is sure to get strong support in the 1500m when she makes her season debut against the likes of Ethiopia&rsquo;s world leader Diribe Welteji, who clocked 4:01.50 in Nairobi, and two-time world indoor 1500m silver medallist Axumawit Embaye, plus Australia&rsquo;s Jessica Hull, Kenya&rsquo;s Winny Chebet and her British compatriot Jemma Reekie.
Similarly, in the women&rsquo;s 800m the spotlight will be on Olympic silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson, who broke the British record with her 1:55.88 run in Tokyo and races for the first time since being forced to withdraw from the World Indoor Championships through injury. She renews her rivalry with Jamaica&rsquo;s Natoya Goule, while Renelle Lamote of France competes for the first time since the Tokyo Games.
The men&rsquo;s 800m again pits Kenya&rsquo;s Olympic silver medallist Ferguson Rotich against Poland&rsquo;s bronze medallist Patryk Dobek. The challenge is strengthened by USA&rsquo;s Bryce Hoppel and Clayton Murphy, Kenya&rsquo;s Wycliffe Kinyamal, Australia&rsquo;s Peter Bol and Britain's Jake Wightman and Daniel Rowden.
In the men&rsquo;s 1500m, Ethiopia&rsquo;s two-time world indoor champion Samuel Tefera takes on Britain&rsquo;s Olympic bronze medallist Josh Kerr and Kenya&rsquo;s world leader with 3:31.01 Abel Kipsang, plus the Australian trio of Ollie Hoare, Stewart McSweyn and Matthew Ramsden. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6203c186c950b7d91622f32f.jpg" alt="Britain's Josh Kerr and Jake Wightman in the 1500m final at the Tokyo Olympics" />
Britain's Josh Kerr and Jake Wightman in the 1500m final at the Tokyo Olympics (&copy; Getty Images)
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The women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles brings together five of the finalists from Tokyo, led by silver medallist Dalilah Muhammad, USA&rsquo;s former world record-holder and 2016 Olympic champion.
She will reunite with Jamaica&rsquo;s Olympic fourth-place finisher Janieve Russell, Ukraine&rsquo;s Anna Ryzhykova and Viktoriya Tkachuk, and Panama&rsquo;s Gianna Woodruff. They will also be joined by Britain&rsquo;s Jessie Knight.
Another rivalry is renewed in the men&rsquo;s 110m hurdles, which features global gold medallists Hansle Parchment, Omar McLeod and Andrew Pozzi.
Parchment got gold in Tokyo while his Jamaican compatriot McLeod is the 2016 Olympic winner and Britain's Pozzi secured the 2018 world indoor 60m hurdles title, also in Birmingham.
"I am feeling good, I think I am in good form," said&nbsp;Parchment. "I still have a lot of work to do but I&rsquo;m looking forward to executing a really good race and hoping to get a lovely time on this beautiful track."
Like many athletes in Birmingham, his focus is on the World Championships in Oregon in July.
"After this one, we&rsquo;re going to shut it down and focus on the trials," he added, looking ahead to the Jamaican Championships where he will hope to book his place on the team for Oregon. "We have some really good guys in the hurdles so I have to make sure I am ready to give my best there."
Jess Whittington for World Athletics

Many of the world's best athletes will look to make a statement when rivalries renew at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Birmingham.

Global stars ready to resume battle in Birmingham

Some of the world&rsquo;s best race walkers will compete in Madrid on Monday (16) when the first Gran Premio Internacional Madrid Marcha LaLiga takes place in the Spanish capital.
One of the most iconic streets of Madrid, Gran V&iacute;a, will be the venue for the World Athletics Race Walking Tour Gold event, where Massimo Stano, Perseus Karlstrom and Qieyang Shijie are among the entries.
There will be a mixed 10km race featuring 45 men and 37 women on a kilometre circuit. Before the start, Spain&rsquo;s eight-time Olympian and 1993 world 50km champion Jesus Angel Garcia will receive a warm tribute.
The driving force behind Monday's competition is Spain's European 20km silver medallist Diego Garcia.
"I come from Madrid. There wasn't a first-class competition here and I was eager to perform in my home town, so I decided to take a step forward,&rdquo; said the 26-year-old, who finished sixth at the Tokyo Olympics. &ldquo;After talking to so many people over the past few years, the event will finally become a reality on Monday.&rdquo;
Garcia himself has acted as the elite athlete coordinator and the line-up assembled is of a high calibre. 
<h2>Tough challenge for Stano</h2>
Italy's Olympic 20km champion Stano should be one of the athletes to beat. After his Olympic success, the 30-year-old competed twice in the short space of eight days and remains unbeaten following a fine 2:29:09 35km win in Dudince and another 1:21:21 victory at the Italian 20km Championships a fortnight ago. Stano looks set to contest the 35km event at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, before returning to his 20km speciality for the European Championships in Munich.
Yet Stano will face stiff opposition from a number of world-class walkers, led by world bronze medallist Karlstrom. The 28-year-old Swede proved to be in top form at the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships in Muscat in March, when he took a 40-second win in the 35km event with a 2:36:14 clocking. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/624c24b7275bdccf724cdb9d.jpg" alt="Perseus Karlstrom celebrates his win at the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Muscat 22" />
Perseus Karlstrom celebrates his win at the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships Muscat 22 (&copy; Getty Images)
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He had to settle for the runner-up spot the following month in Podebrady, where he was beaten by Brazil's Caio Bonfim &ndash; 1:18:54 to 1:19:42. The 31-year-old 2017 world bronze medallist, one of the most consistent walkers over the past decade, will also be in contention on Monday and is fresh from a second-place finish last Saturday in Rio Maior, where he was outclassed by Pan-American champion Brian Pintado, who achieved his first victory in a World Athletics Race Walking Tour Gold race.
The Ecuadorian continues his busy campaign, as he will be contesting his seventh competition in 2022 in Madrid, topped by his success last weekend and respective fourth places in Muscat and Podebrady, where he managed a 20km PB of 1:19:47.
There will also be several dangerous outsiders. Britain's Tom Bosworth holds the world indoor 3000m race walk best and is an accomplished specialist over shorter distances. He will line up alongside Canada's Olympic 50km bronze medallist Evan Dunfee and the Indian pair of Sandeep Kumar and Amit Khatri, the world U20 10,000m race walk silver medallist. Wang Kaihua, holder of the third-quickest ever 20km performance at 1:16:54, leads the Chinese challenge.
Local hopes rest on Garcia, fifth-place finisher in Muscat just behind Pintado. The Spaniard's final week has been frantic, having to combine his roles as organiser and athlete, but he's confident of performing well in front of his home crowd.
Garcia will be joined by his compatriots Marc Tur, who just missed an Olympic 50km medal in the closing stages, plus Podebrady fifth-place finisher Luis Alberto Amezcua and Paul McGrath, the world U20 bronze and European gold 10,000m race walk medallist. 
<h2>Qieyang aims to prevail</h2>
On the women's side, the leading athlete is China&rsquo;s Qieyang, who claimed 2012 Olympic 20km silver but is expected to be awarded gold following the disqualification of the winning Russian athlete. Qieyang is also the world 20km silver medallist and showed great shape in Dudince, where she captured a convincing victory over 35km in 2:43:06. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/626454c5a02a6969615cd34f.jpg" alt="Qieyang Shijie celebrates her 35km race walk win at the Dudinska 50" />
Qieyang Shijie celebrates her 35km race walk win at the Dudinska 50 (&copy; Milan Duroch)
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She will be accompanied by her compatriot Li Maocuo, the world 50km silver medallist.
Trying to avoid a 1-2 for the Asian squad will be Peru's Kimberly Garcia, the recent victor in Rio Maior ahead of Portugal's Ana Cabecinha, who also competes on Monday. Garcia seems to be in the form of her life having achieved podium spots in Muscat, where she finished third, and Dudince, the venue of her 35km debut at which she clocked 2:43:19 and finished second.
Watch out too for the emerging Czech athlete Eliska Martinkova, silver medallist at the World U20 Championships in Nairobi last year over this distance. The 20-year-old finished a fine fifth in Podebrady in a PB of 1:30.53.
The line-up also includes France's Clemence Beretta, Britain's Heather Lewis and some top Spaniards such as national 10,000m record-holder with 42:24.12 Raquel Gonzalez and Laura Garcia Caro, a 1:28:07 20km race walker who placed fourth in Muscat over 35km.
Weather forecasters predict a pleasant sunny day, with the thermometer reaching 22&deg;C by the time of the event.
Emeterio Valiente for World Athletics

The first Gran Premio Internacional Madrid Marcha LaLiga takes place in the Spanish capital on Monday.

Thrilling 10km race walk contests set for Madrid

Seven individual gold medallists from last year&rsquo;s Olympics, along with several other world champions and Olympic relay winners, will descend on the Qatari capital for the Ooredoo Doha Meeting as the 2022 Wanda Diamond League series gets under way on Friday (13).
Pole vault superstar Mondo Duplantis pieced together one of the greatest indoor campaigns in history earlier this year. The 22-year-old cleared six metres in all six of his competitions, improving with each meeting and breaking world records in Belgrade both before (6.19m) and during the World Indoor Championships (6.20m).
He hasn&rsquo;t competed since then, though. And although Duplantis can seemingly vault six metres on any given day, it might not necessarily be enough for victory &ndash; especially as USA&rsquo;s Olympic silver medallist Chris Nilsen has already achieved that benchmark this year, clearing 6.00m last weekend.
Three other six-metre performers &ndash; former world record-holder Renaud Lavillenie, multiple global medallist Piotr Lisek and USA&rsquo;s KC Lightfoot &ndash; will make the event even more competitive. Duplantis cannot afford to have a day off in his outdoor season opener.
For the first time since their iconic joint victory at the Tokyo Games, Olympic champions Mutaz Barshim and Gianmarco Tamberi will compete against one another in the high jump.
Theirs is about as friendly a rivalry as you can get in sport, though once they step on to the infield, they will be determined to come out on top. Both men will be making their outdoor debut. Barshim, in fact, hasn&rsquo;t competed at all since the Tokyo Olympics. Tamberi, meanwhile, went on to win the Diamond League title last year and made a last-minute decision to compete at the World Indoor Championships two months ago, leaving Belgrade with a bronze medal. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/609533c2270d9b5e83f998cd.jpg" alt="Mutaz Barshim in action in the high jump" />
Mutaz Barshim in action in the high jump (&copy; Hasse Sjogren)
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Barshim will have home crowd advantage, of course, but it&rsquo;s difficult to gauge the form of an athlete who hasn&rsquo;t competed for more than nine months. If recent form is anything to go by, then world indoor champion Woo Sanghyeok could start as the marginal favourite. The Korean was fourth at the Olympics last year, cleared a world-leading 2.36m earlier this year and then won the world indoor title. He opened his outdoor season last month with a 2.30m win in Daegu.
Other contenders include Commonwealth champion Brandon Starc, world indoor bronze medallist Hamish Kerr of New Zealand and US jumps talent JuVaughn Harrison.
The women&rsquo;s 400m in Doha sees the high jump&rsquo;s two Olympic gold medals and raises it by another two.
Not only does the line-up feature four of the top five women from the Tokyo Games &ndash; including Olympic champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo &ndash; but it also includes three women who earned gold medals in relay events in the Japanese capital.
Miller-Uibo, who won the world indoor title two months ago, will take on Olympic silver medallist Marileidy Paulino, Jamaican duo Stephenie Ann McPherson and Candice McLeod, US pair Lynna Irby and Kendell Ellis and Poland&rsquo;s Natalia Kaczmarek.
The men&rsquo;s 200m is similarly loaded as three individual reigning global champions clash. Olympic champion Andre De Grasse takes on world champion Noah Lyles and world indoor 400m champion Jereem Richards. Add in the likes of Olympic 100m silver medallist Fred Kerley, Olympic 4x100m champion Filippo Tortu, and Canadian duo Aaron Brown and Jerome Blake &ndash; winners at recent Continental Tour Gold meetings &ndash; and this could well end up producing the track highlight of the meeting.
When it comes to Olympic rematches, the men&rsquo;s steeplechase does a pretty good job as it reunites the top five finishers from the Tokyo final.
Gold medallist Soufiane El Bakkali renews his rivalry with world and Olympic silver medallist Lamecha Girma of Ethiopia, Olympic bronze medallist and Diamond League champion Benjamin Kigen, Ethiopia&rsquo;s Getnet Wale, Eritrea&rsquo;s Yemane Haileselassie and Kenya&rsquo;s Abraham Kibiwot, winner at the recent Continental Tour Gold meeting in Nairobi.
The women&rsquo;s 3000m will be an enthralling meet-in-the-middle clash between Olympic 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon and Diamond League 5000m champion Francine Niyonsaba. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/60e8ad7a807eaebee2413f56.jpg" alt="Faith Kipyegon wins the 1500m at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Monaco" />
Faith Kipyegon wins the 1500m at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Monaco (&copy; AFP / Getty Images)
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Kipyegon often runs well in Doha. She has won the 800m here for the past two years, she broke four minutes for 1500m for the first time here in 2013, set her 3000m PB of 8:23.55 in 2014 and earned world silver in 2019.
But Niyonsaba is one of the few runners who can match Kipyegon&rsquo;s versatility and finishing speed. The Burundian set a world 2000m best last year, clocked a world-leading 8:19.08 for 3000m, won the Diamond League 5000m title and finished fifth over 10,000m at the Olympic Games.
Beatrice Chebet, the surprise 3000m winner in Doha last year, is also in the field, as is world steeplechase champion Beatrice Chepkoech and current world 5000m leader Girmawit Gebrzihair.
<h2>Global medallists assemble</h2>
Even in events where the individual Olympic champion won&rsquo;t be present, most will feature clashes between numerous major championships medallists.
Five of the top six finishers from the iconic Olympic men&rsquo;s 400m hurdles final will be in the Qatari capital. World and Olympic silver medallist Rai Benjamin, the second-fastest man in history for the event, will face world bronze medallist Abderrahman Alsaleck (formerly known as &lsquo;Samba&rsquo;), Olympic bronze medallist Alison Dos Santos, Commonwealth champion Kyron McMaster and 2017 world silver medallist Yasmani Copello. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/dd51087f-530e-4a53-85c4-bbff057fb2cb.jpg" alt="Rai Benjamin wins the Wanda Diamond League 400m hurdles in Doha" />
Rai Benjamin wins the Wanda Diamond League 400m hurdles in Doha (&copy; Getty Images / AFP)
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World champion Dina Asher-Smith will contest her first 200m of the year. The Briton has tested her form in some early low-key season races over 400m and 300m, clocking a PB of 36.41 in the latter. But this will be her biggest test of the season so far as she takes on Olympic 100m bronze medallist Shericka Jackson, Olympic 200m bronze medallist Gabby Thomas, sub-22-second performer Tamara Clark of the USA and in-form Bahamian Anthonique Strachan.
All three podium placers from the recent World Indoor Championships will take on two Olympic medallists in the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles. World record-holder Kendra Harrison, Olympic bronze medallist Megan Tapper, world indoor champion Cyrena Samba-Mayela, world indoor silver medallist Devynne Charlton and world indoor bronze medallist Gabbi Cunningham are all in the line-up, as is African champion Tobi Amusan and Olympic finalist Britany Anderson.
Timothy Cheruiyot will open his season over his specialist distance, the 1500m, in the city where he won the world title in 2019. The Kenyan will face Ethiopia&rsquo;s Yomif Kejelcha, world indoor bronze medallist Abel Kipsang, Australia&rsquo;s Stewart McSweyn and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Teddese Lemi.
Another world middle-distance champion, US 800m runner Donavan Brazier, also makes his 2022 Diamond League debut. He will face the likes of Olympic silver medallist Ferguson Rotich, Australia&rsquo;s Peter Bol and Canada&rsquo;s Marco Arop.
<h2>Loaded shot put, javelin and triple jump line-ups</h2>
The field events in Doha will be every bit as thrilling as the track action.
In a loaded women&rsquo;s shot put field, world indoor silver medallist Chase Ealey takes on world indoor bronze medallist Jessica Schilder, Olympic silver medallist Raven Saunders, world silver medallist Danniel Thomas-Dodd, all-round throws talent Maggie Ewen and US Olympian Jessica Ramsey. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/8fd4c02d-df49-49c9-b1f9-7622d73dd42f.jpg" alt="Shot put winner Chase Ealey at the Diamond League meeting in Shanghai" />
Shot put winner Chase Ealey at the Diamond League meeting in Shanghai (&copy; Errol Anderson)
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In the men&rsquo;s javelin, 2016 Olympic champion Thomas Rohler of Germany and world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada take on the two Czech men who made it on to the Olympic podium last year: silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch and bronze medallist Vitezslav Vesely. Germany&rsquo;s Julian Weber and Moldova&rsquo;s Andrian Mardare, both highly consistent performers, are also in the line-up.
And the women&rsquo;s triple jump is essentially a clash of global silver medallists as Olympic runner-up Patricia Mamona faces world silver medallist Shanieka Ricketts, world indoor silver medallist Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk and 2018 world indoor silver medallist Kimberly Williams.
Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics

Seven individual gold medallists from last year’s Olympics will light up the Ooredoo Doha Meeting.

Global champions descend on Doha to kick off Diamond League season

Dozens of Olympic and world medallists are to star at the Puerto Rico International Athletics Classic, a World Athletics Continental Tour Silver meeting, at the&nbsp;Francisco Montaner Stadium&nbsp;in Ponce on Thursday (12).
Among them is Puerto Rico&rsquo;s own, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn. The Olympic 100m hurdles champion and world leader with 12.39 will not have an easy race on her hands as she faces this season's world No.2, Tonea Marshall, who has clocked 12.46 and also ran a slightly wind-assisted 12.36 last month.
Also challenging Camacho-Quinn will be her training partner Tia Jones, 2015 world champion Danielle Williams and US indoor record-holder Sharika Nelvis.
"I couldn&rsquo;t be more excited for this opportunity to race in front of my people," said Camacho-Quinn. "Victor Lopez and the American Track League have put together an Olympic calibre field right here in Puerto Rico and I can&rsquo;t wait to put on a show for the home crowd."
Her fellow Olympic champion, the Jamaican sprint great Elaine Thompson-Herah, will be leading the field in the 100m. The challenge for the five-time Olympic gold medallist will come from a deep field of sprinters including double 2021 NCAA champion Cambrea Sturgis, who ran a PB of 10.87 last month in North Carolina. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6115a23d2322fac4819e9c24.jpg" alt="Elaine Thompson-Herah in action at the Diamond League meeting in Paris" />
Elaine Thompson-Herah in action at the Diamond League meeting in Paris (&copy; Gladys Chai von der Laage)
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The men&rsquo;s 110m hurdles is also expected to be a star-studded event, with a pair of Jamaican Olympic gold medallists battling in a strong field. Tokyo champion Hansle Parchment takes on Omar McLeod, the 2016 Olympic winner, as well as USA's Devon Allen. Allen, who is also an American football player, recently signed to play receiver in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles, but he delays his entry to the NFL training camp to focus first on the track season.
Another event boasting an Olympic gold medallist is the women&rsquo;s pole vault, featuring 2016 champion Katerina Stefanidi of Greece, who will take on USA's two-time world indoor champion Sandi Morris.&nbsp;
USA's two-time Olympic champion and world record-holder Ryan Crouser has been virtually unbeatable in the men's shot put since 2019, with his only defeat coming at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade 22 in March. In 2021 he broke the world record both indoors and outdoors and he seeks another strong performance in Ponce. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6127e296b47f2a2f4185e096.jpg" alt="Ryan Crouser competes at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Lausanne" />
Ryan Crouser competes at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Lausanne (&copy; AFP / Getty Images)
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The meeting also stages the comeback of USA's two-time Olympic triple jump champion and four-time world gold medallist Christian Taylor, who makes his return after 2021 achilles surgery. Taylor will face his compatriot and long-time competitor Will Claye.
World and Olympic 400m champion Steven Gardiner of The Bahamas will be dropping down to the 300m, while three-time Olympic 400m medallist Kirani James of Grenada will be contesting his primary event, where he expects to be challenged by another Olympic gold medallist, Tokyo 800m winner Emmanuel Korir. 
Another Olympic champion toes the line in the women's event as Athing Mu, the 800m winner in Tokyo, also steps down to the one-lap event to test her speed.
A fierce battle is expected in the men&rsquo;s 100m, with the fields featuring 11 men who have run under 10 seconds for the event, led by 2021&rsquo;s fastest man, USA's Trayvon Bromell. The biggest challenges to Bromell will come from his training partner Marvin Bracy and multiple Olympic medallist Yohan Blake.
Organisers for World Athletics

Dozens of Olympic and world medallists are to star at the World Athletics Continental Tour Silver meeting.

Camacho-Quinn and Thompson-Herah lead Olympic champion line-ups for Puerto Rico Classic 

Exactly nine months on from the end of the Tokyo Olympics, several medallists from those Games will return to the Japanese capital for the Seiko Golden Grand Prix &ndash; a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting &ndash; on Sunday (8).
Two medallists will clash again in the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles as world record-holder Kendra Harrison takes on Jamaica&rsquo;s Megan Tapper.
The pair&rsquo;s last duel was in fact at the Tokyo Olympics, where Harrison took the silver medal in 12.52, just 0.03 ahead of bronze medallist Tapper. Harrison, the world silver medallist and 2018 world indoor champion, has shown the best early season form of the two, speeding to wind-assisted times of 12.32 in her specialist event and 22.19 in the 200m at the Texas Relays in late March. Tapper, meanwhile, opened her outdoor campaign with a comfortable 12.80 win in Kingston at the end of April.
It will be more than a two-woman race, though.
World indoor bronze medallist and US indoor champion Gabbi Cunningham also lined up against Harrison and Tapper in last year&rsquo;s Olympic final and will do so again on Sunday. Japan&rsquo;s Masumi Aoki and her predecessor as national record-holder, Asuka Terada, add further quality to the line-up.
The men&rsquo;s sprint hurdles looks to be similarly competitive. Although largely a domestic field, it brings together some of Japan&rsquo;s leading exponents in the event; just 0.13 separates the lifetime bests of Rachid Muratake, Shuhei Ishikawa, Shunya Takayama and Shusei Nomoto.
<h2>Olympic gold medallists return</h2>
Rai Benjamin, Michael Norman and Lynna Irby will line up on the same track where they earned Olympic gold medals last year.
Benjamin, who anchored the USA to 4x400m gold in Tokyo last year, will contest his first 400m hurdles race since the Olympics. When he takes to the track, his mind will likely be flooded with memories of the Olympic final when he clocked the second-fastest time in history &ndash; 46.17, quicker than the world record before the Games &ndash; to earn silver in what went down as one of the greatest races in Olympic history.
Japanese champion Kazuki Kurokawa, who won at this meeting last year in a PB of 48.68 before going on to compete at the Olympics, is also in the line-up.
Norman, who joined Benjamin on the victorious US 4x400m team last year, will compete over 400m on Sunday, his first one-lap race since the Olympics. The versatile sprinter opened his season with a 19.83 runner-up finish over 200m at the Continental Tour Gold meeting at Mt SAC &ndash; a race in which Benjamin finished third in 20.01.
Australia&rsquo;s Alex Beck, Japan&rsquo;s Kentaro Sato and Italy&rsquo;s Vladimir Aceti are also in the field.
Irby, another Olympic relay champion, will be joined in the 200m by US compatriot Angie Annelus, the fourth-place finisher at the 2019 World Championships, and much-improved Australian Jacinta Beecher, who recently clocked a PB of 22.70.
World indoor silver medallist Christian Coleman will contest his first 100m race since winning the world title over the distance in 2019. The US sprinter will face Australia&rsquo;s Rohan Browning and Japan&rsquo;s Shuhei Tada and Taishi Endo, among others.
<h2>High jump reunion</h2>
Three Olympic finalists will reunite in the men&rsquo;s high jump. Australia&rsquo;s Commonwealth champion Brandon Starc, New Zealand&rsquo;s world indoor bronze medallist Hamish Kerr and Japanese indoor record-holder Naoto Tobe all featured in last year&rsquo;s Olympic final and will be back in Tokyo on Sunday.
But Mexico&rsquo;s Edgar Rivera and Japan&rsquo;s Tomohiro Shinno are 2.31m jumpers at their best and will also be in contention for victory on Sunday. Shinno, in fact, beat Starc and Tobe in Fukuroi earlier this week.
World javelin champion Kelsey-Lee Barber returns to the runway where she earned Olympic silver. The Australian faces Latvia&rsquo;s Lina Muze, New Zealand record-holder Tori Peeters and Japanese record-holder Haruka Kitaguchi.
In the men&rsquo;s javelin, last year&rsquo;s winner Takuto Kominami, the Japanese champion and Tokyo Olympian, will take on domestic rivals Kenji Ogura and Genki Dean. And in the long jump, Australia&rsquo;s Chris Mitrevski faces Japan&rsquo;s Hiromichi Yoshida.
<h2>More from Miura</h2>
Ryuji Miura was one of Japan&rsquo;s big breakthrough performers last year.
Still an U20 athlete throughout 2021, he won the steeplechase at last year&rsquo;s Continental Tour Gold meeting in Tokyo, breaking the senior national record with 8:17.46. He went on to reduce that to 8:15.99 and then 8:09.92 at the Olympics to earn a place in the final where he eventually placed seventh.
Miura, who turned 20, returns to the scene of his most memorable performances and will compete in his first steeplechase race of the year. Having recently clocked a huge 1500m PB of 3:36.59, he appears to be in good form.
He&rsquo;ll face Kenya&rsquo;s Philemon Ruto, who finished second to Miura at this meeting last year, along with Japanese Olympians Ryoma Aoki and Kosei Yamaguchi.
In the men&rsquo;s 800m, USA&rsquo;s Isaiah Jewett takes on New Zealand&rsquo;s Brad Mathas, who won convincingly in Fukuroi earlier this week, Britain&rsquo;s Guy Learmonth and Japan&rsquo;s Kentaro Usuda.
Japanese record-holder and Olympic finalist Nozomi Tanaka, meanwhile, headlines the women&rsquo;s 1500m field.
Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics

Olympic rematches at every turn

Harrison, Benjamin and Norman take to Tokyo track once more

Germany&rsquo;s world champion Niklas Kaul and 2017 world silver medallist Carolin Schafer lead the fields for the Stadtwerke Ratingen Mehrkampf-Meeting this weekend (7-8), when the World Athletics Combined Events Tour Gold series moves on to the German town for the event's 25th anniversary celebrations.
Kaul will go up against his compatriot Kai Kazmirek, world indoor silver medallist&nbsp;Simon Ehammer&nbsp;and five other decathletes to have surpassed 8000 points, while six heptathletes &ndash; including Schafer with her 6836 PB &ndash; have broken the 6000-point barrier in the seven-event discipline.
Athletes will have the qualification standards for the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 and European Championships in Munich in their sights, with the respective marks for the global event being 8350 for the decathlon and 6420 in the heptathlon.
<h2>Kaul vs Kazmirek in top domestic clash</h2>
Kaul gained a surprise gold at the World Athletics Championships in Doha in 2019, aged just 21. Two-and-a-half years later he will start his combined events season on home soil in Ratingen in a year that offers a world title defence in Oregon and a continental championships on home soil.
The now 24-year-old is entitled to a wild card entry for Oregon as the defending champion but Kazmirek is in a similar position as the winner of the 2021 Combined Events Challenge. Should they both wish to compete, it will be down to the German Athletics Federation to decide which wild card entry to accept, so both athletes will be using Ratingen to demonstrate their form and secure precious world rankings points.
The European Championships on home soil is understandably a big goal, however, and Kaul was fourth at the 2018 edition, also held in Germany. The 2016 world U20 champion achieved his 8691 PB when winning his senior world title in Doha but has completed just one decathlon since then, scoring 8263 in G&ouml;tzis last year.
With his place for the Olympic Games in Tokyo all but secured, he decided to end his competition early in Ratingen last year. He also did not complete the full 10 events in Tokyo but that was due to injury. This will be Kaul&rsquo;s first decathlon since then and he started his season with a 4.90m pole vault clearance, 14.60 110m hurdles and 45.22m discus throw at a meeting in Frankfurt at the start of this month.
Kazmirek, meanwhile, scored his 8580 PB when finishing fourth at the 2016 Olympics in Rio and then last year topped the standings in the Combined Events Challenge following a season that included an 8190 score in G&ouml;tzis and 8184 win in Ratingen. He competed at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade in March but was unable to finish due to stomach problems.
Rising star Ehammer was runner-up in that Belgrade heptathlon, securing silver behind Olympic champion Damian Warner with a 6363-point Swiss record. Last year&rsquo;s European U23 long jump champion returns to decathlon action in Ratingen, looking to improve on his 8231 PB from 2020 and having been unable to complete his competition in G&ouml;tzis last June.
As well as his world silver medal win, the 22-year-old&rsquo;s performances during the indoor season included a 8.26m long jump - the furthest ever leap recorded in an indoor heptathlon &ndash; in Aubiere in January.&nbsp;
Lining up alongside them will be Germany&rsquo;s Mathias Brugger (8304 PB), who returns to competition for the first time since the Ratingen meeting in June last year, plus Tim Nowak (8229 PB), Andreas Bechmann (8142 PB) and Sweden&rsquo;s Marcus Nilsson, who achieved his PB of 8120 points in Ratingen in 2018.
<h2>Schafer heads heptathlon</h2>
Schafer had been due to compete in Ratingen last June en route to the Olympic Games, but unexpected vaccination side effects put paid to the 2017 world silver medallist&rsquo;s plans. The 30-year-old still managed to compete in Tokyo, however, and achieved 6419 points to finish seventh, two spots behind her placing at the Rio Games five years earlier. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/627441a5a718173532db78e9.jpg" alt="Carolin Schafer competes in Tokyo" />
Carolin Schafer competes in Tokyo (&copy; Getty Images)
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Now she does return to Ratingen, and this will be her first heptathlon since Tokyo, where a javelin PB of 54.10m were among her results.
Like her training partner Kaul, Schafer also started her season in Frankfurt a few days ago and clocked 13.70 in the 100m hurdles, while she also threw the javelin 49.73m. Her 6836 PB was achieved when finishing second in G&ouml;tzis in 2017, the same year as her first win in Ratingen. She retained her title in 2018 and then claimed bronze at that year&rsquo;s European Championships on home soil in Berlin.
Belgium&rsquo;s Hanne Maudens will also be among those looking for a strong performance in Germany. The 25-year-old, who claimed bronze medals at the 2016 World U20 Championships and 2019 European U23 Championships, set her 6252 PB in G&ouml;tzis in 2018. She focused on the 400m last year &ndash; improving her PB to 53.06 &ndash; but made a combined events comeback during the indoor season.
Joining them will be Germany&rsquo;s 2019 European U23 silver medallist Sophie Weissenberg, who set a series of PBs &ndash; in the 60m hurdles, high jump and shot put &ndash; indoors earlier this year. Ratingen will be her outdoor season debut and she also plans to compete in G&ouml;tzis &ndash; another Combined Events Tour Gold meeting &ndash; in June. Her 6293 PB was set in the Austrian town in 2019.
Other athletes on the entry list to have surpassed 6000 points so far are French champion Leonie Cambours (6192 PB), who finished seventh in the pentathlon in Belgrade, plus Germany&rsquo;s Anna Maiwald (6119 PB) and Britain&rsquo;s Katie Stainton (6029 PB).
<a href="https://www.leichtathletik.de/termine/top-events/mehrkampf-2022-ratingen/live-ergebnisse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Live results</a> | <a href="https://www.leichtathletik.de/termine/top-events/mehrkampf-2022-ratingen/livestream" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Live stream</a>

Germany’s 2019 world champion Niklas Kaul and 2017 world silver medallist Carolin Schafer lead the fields for the Stadtwerke Ratingen Mehrkampf-Meeting.

Kaul, Ehammer and Schafer star in Ratingen

Olympic rematches and world-class head-to-heads highlight the Kip Keino Classic, this season&rsquo;s third World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, in Nairobi on Saturday (7).
All eyes will be on some of the world&rsquo;s best sprinters as they seek to take advantage of the high altitude at the Moi International Sports Centre in Kasarani, Kenya.
The gold and silver medallists from the Tokyo Olympic Games will be meeting again in the men&rsquo;s 100m, as Italy&rsquo;s Marcell Jacobs takes on USA&rsquo;s Fred Kerley.
Jacobs has the faster personal best of 9.80, set when winning the Olympic title, compared to Kerley&rsquo;s 9.84 in that Olympic final. Kerley, however, knows the stadium well as it is where he ran his 200m PB of 19.76 last year.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s wonderful to be back where I ended my season last year,&rdquo; said Kerley after his arrival in Nairobi.&nbsp;
It won&rsquo;t be a two-horse race, though, with Kenya&rsquo;s Ferdinand Omanyala, who has the fastest PB of 9.77, also lining up, along with USA&rsquo;s Olympic 200m silver medallist Kenny Bednarek.
The women&rsquo;s 100m is also expected to thrill the spectators, with Jamaica&rsquo;s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce racing Namibia&rsquo;s Christine Mboma. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/62740b294b4b3715067167e8.jpg" alt=" Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Szekesfehervar" />
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Szekesfehervar (&copy; Organisers)
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Fraser-Pryce, 35, has already established herself as a sprinting legend, with her personal best of 10.60 making her the third-fastest women&rsquo;s 100m runner in history. She has also won three Olympic sprint gold medals to go with her 10 world titles.
Mboma, on the other hand, is seen as a rising star to watch out for. The Olympic silver medallist and world U20 champion in the 200m has been entered in both the 100m and 200m in Nairobi and will be facing Fraser-Pryce in the first shorter race.
The men&rsquo;s hammer throw will be another big event to watch, with two Tokyo Olympic medallists who happen to be from the same country set to continue their rivalry.
Poland&rsquo;s Wojciech Nowicki, 33, is the reigning Olympic champion, while Pawel Fajdek, 32, is the world champion. The two have been in the limelight since 2008, with Fajdek leading their head-to-head record 86 to 21.
The women&rsquo;s hammer throw, meanwhile, has three-time Olympic champion and world record-holder Anita Wlodarczyk, also from Poland, ready to showcase her great talent in Nairobi.
The men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase events will demand great interest, with the world eager to see if Kenyan athletes can reclaim their dominance after defeats at the Tokyo Olympics by Morocco&rsquo;s Soufiane El Bakkali and Uganda&rsquo;s Peruth Chemutai.
Chemutai will face strong competition in the women&rsquo;s event from the 2016 African champion Norah Jeruto, who recently changed her citizenship to represent Kazakhstan, plus Kenya&rsquo;s two-time world U20 gold medallist Celliphine Chespol and reigning world U20 champion Jackline Chepkoech.
In the absence of El Bakkali, the men&rsquo;s race is expected to be a Kenyan affair. The world U20 champion Amos Serem will measure himself against some of the top senior runners in the event, including world and Olympic gold medallist Conseslus Kipruto, Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Benjamin Kigen and Commonwealth Games silver medallist Abraham Kibiwot. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6122d5774e5c506a05a259b8.jpg" alt="Amos Serem on his way to world U20 steeplechase victory in Nairobi" />
Amos Serem on his way to world U20 steeplechase victory in Nairobi (&copy; Dan Vernon)
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In the women's 800m, Uganda's world champion Halimah Nakaayi will be looking to start her season with a win - her last race being the world indoor final in Belgrade, where she claimed bronze. She goes up against Kenya&rsquo;s Mary Moraa and Naomi Korir, Noelie Yarigo of Benin and Ethiopian champion Worknesh Mesele.
The men&rsquo;s 800m will see Kenya's world U20 champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi renew his rivalry with his compatriot Noah Kibet, who claimed bronze at the global U20 event in Nairobi and then claimed world indoor silver in Belgrade.&nbsp;
Other interesting clashes include Abel Kipsang against Kumari Taki in the men's 1500m, while Daniel Mataiko will take on Jacob Krop in the 5000m.
The women&rsquo;s 1500m has a deep domestic field, led by Winny Chebet and Purity Chepkirui. Winfred Yavi, Bahrain's 3000m steeplechase specialist, will also be on the start line.
Justin Lagat for World Athletics

Olympic rematches and world-class head-to-heads highlight the Kip Keino Classic.

Fast sprints in store as Continental Tour action returns to Nairobi

Kimberly Garcia and Caio Bonfim, past winners of the Grande Premio Internacional de Rio Maior em Marcha Atletica, are among the leading athletes confirmed for the World Athletics Race Walking Tour Gold meeting on Saturday (7).
Due to the pandemic, Portugal&rsquo;s top race walking competition hasn&rsquo;t been staged since 2019. But the event returns this weekend and features strong fields of South American and European athletes.
Bonfim, who won in the Portuguese town back in 2014, is fresh from a victory in Podebrady. His winning time there, 1:18:54, was just seven seconds shy of his PB and makes him the fastest men in this year&rsquo;s field. The 31-year-old was fourth in Rio Maior in 2019 but will be keen to make it back on to the podium.
Ecuador&rsquo;s Pan-American champion Brian Pintado was fourth in Podebrady last month, clocking a PB of 1:19:47. It followed on from a fourth-place finish at the World Race Walking Team Championships in Muscat, Pintado&rsquo;s highest placing in a senior global event.
Pintado&rsquo;s compatriot David Hurtado, the 2018 world U20 silver medallist, was 12th in Muscat. He placed sixth in Rio Maior in 2019, and last month he clocked a swift 39:20.52 for 10,000m.
Peru&rsquo;s Cesar Rodrigues may not have the fastest PB of the field (1:22:11), but he beat Bonfim, Pintado and Hurtado at the South American Championships on home soil in Lima earlier this year, clocking a season&rsquo;s best of 1:23:01. He struggled in the heat of Muscat, though, and placed 21st.
Brazil&rsquo;s Matheus Correa, who placed fourth at the South American Championships, and Ecuador&rsquo;s Andres Chocho, twice a podium finisher in Rio Maior, will also be in action this weekend. Chocho has one of the fastest PBs of the field, but this is also his first 20km race of the year.
Marc Tur, the fourth-place finisher over 50km at last year&rsquo;s Olympics, will be competing below his preferred distance, but the Spaniard should still be competitive. He was second at the Spanish Championships earlier this year, setting a PB of 1:21:36.
Other contenders include Colombia&rsquo;s Manuel Soto, who was fourth in Rio Maior in 2017, and France&rsquo;s Kevin Campion.
Kimberly Garcia, winner of the 20km in Rio Maior in 2017, leads the women&rsquo;s field. The Peruvian race walker has achieved podium finishers in all three of her races this year, but will be seeking her first victory following her runner-up finishes at the South American Championships, the 35km in Dudince, and a third-place finish at the World Race Walking Team Championships in Muscat.
The 28-year-old has a PB of 1:28:56 and a season&rsquo;s best of 1:32:00. But her 1:32:27 clocking in the heat of Muscat suggests Garcia is capable of a much quicker time in kinder conditions.
The vastly experienced Portuguese duo Ana Cabecinha and Ines Henriques look to be Garcia&rsquo;s strongest opponents. Cabecinha, who placed 20th at the Olympics last year, heads to Rio Maior off the back of winning the national title. She also has the quickest season&rsquo;s best of the field (1:31:21).
Henriques, the 2017 world 50km champion, will be contesting her first 20km of the year. She will be keen to atone for her performance in Muscat, where she was unable to finish the 35km.
Clemence Beretta is also one to look out for. The French race walker placed 17th in Muscat, but then rebounded with a PB of 1:32:02 in Podebrady one month later.
Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics

Past winners Kimberly Garcia and Caio Bonfim among the leading athletes for the World Athletics Race Walking Tour Gold meeting

Close contests expected as top-level race walking returns to Rio Maior

Six decathletes with 8000-point-plus PBs and seven athletes who have broken 6000 points in the heptathlon will battle at the 35th Multistars, the first Gold level meeting of the 2022 World Athletics Combined Events Tour, in Grosseto this weekend (30-1).
Dutch world seventh-place finisher Pieter Braun tops the decathlon list, while Swiss record-holder Geraldine Ruckstuhl leads the heptathlon entries.
Having previously been hosted in Desenzano del Garda, Florence and Lana &ndash; with Spain's Maria Vicente and Norway's Martin Roe claiming victory in the northern Italian town in 2021 &ndash; this year the event takes place in Grosseto for the first time. As well as victory, the respective World Athletics Championships Oregon22 standards of 8350 for the decathlon and 6420 in the heptathlon will also be among the targets for the leading entries.
Braun achieved his 8342-point PB when finishing third behind Damian Warner and Maicel Uibo at the 2018 edition of the G&ouml;tzis Hypo Meeting. He went on to place seventh at the following year&rsquo;s World Athletics Championships in Doha but was unable to finish his heptathlon competition at the European Indoor Championships in Torun the following year due to an ankle problem. His last completed decathlon was the World Championships in 2019, as he gets ready to make a 10-event return following injury struggles and having been forced to withdraw from the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
He will be joined by five other athletes who have surpassed 8000 points in the senior event: Estonia&rsquo;s Kristjan Rosenberg, Risto Lillemets and Taavi Tsernjavski, plus Axel Hubert of France and Venezuela&rsquo;s Georni Jaramillo.
Rosenberg, last year&rsquo;s Estonian champion, will be looking to go one better than his runner-up Multistars finish in 2019, while Lillemets is the 2020 national champion who went on to finish fifth at the 2021 European Indoor Championships, and Tsernjavski claimed his two Estonian titles in 2015 and 2018.&nbsp;
Hubert, who achieved 8000 points for the first time at his own organised decathlon competition in 2020, has since improved to 8260, while 2019 South American champion Jaramillo has a best of 8048.&nbsp;
Last year&rsquo;s European U20 silver medallist Sander Skotheim of Norway also has a PB over 8000 points, achieved in the U20 event, and he makes his senior decathlon debut in Grosseto.
Italy&rsquo;s Dario Dester returns to combined events action after his 10th-place finish in the heptathlon at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade 22. Competing on home soil, he will be joined by his teammate in Belgrade, Sveva Gerevini, who finished ninth in the pentathlon after improving the national record to 4451 earlier in the season. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/626a6300b177135b9cf18bf0.jpg" alt="Italy's Sveva Gerevini at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade 22" />
Italy's Sveva Gerevini at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade 22 (&copy; Getty Images)
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Sixth in that global competition in Belgrade was Spain&rsquo;s Claudia Conte, and she also competes in Grosseto. Her PB of 6186, achieved when she claimed European U23 silver last year in Tallinn, puts her second on the Multistars entry list behind Ruckstuhl.
Ruckstuhl, meanwhile, achieved her 6391-point national record in Talence in 2018 and the following year became the European U23 champion and finished ninth at the World Championships in Doha. Like Braun, injury also denied her the chance to compete at the Tokyo Olympics and in Grosseto she makes her return to competition for the first time since last June.
Alongside Ruckstuhl and Conte are five other heptathletes to have achieved 6000 points in their careers so far: Switzerland&rsquo;s Annik Kalin, Puerto Rico&rsquo;s Alysbeth Felix Boyer, Sofia Ifantidou of Greece, Poland&rsquo;s Paulina Ligarska and Myke van de Wiel of Netherlands.
Kalin, the 2019 European U20 bronze medallist, achieved her 6170 PB in 2020, while Puerto Rican record-holder and Olympian Felix Boyer&rsquo;s best of 6124 came in Cali in 2016. Two-time Multistars winner Ifantidou&rsquo;s 2012 PB is 6109, while Ligarska scored 6028 last year and Van de Wiel 6012, also in 2021.
<a href="https://multistars.it/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Entry lists</a>

Six decathletes with 8000-point-plus PBs and seven athletes who have broken 6000 points in the heptathlon will battle at the 35th Multistars

Braun and Ruckstuhl lead fields for Multistars in Grosseto

Italy&rsquo;s Olympic 20km race walk champion Massimo Stano and China&rsquo;s multiple global medallist Qieyang Shijie headline the 35km fields for the Dudinska 50, a World Athletics Race Walking Tour Gold event, in the Slovakian spa town of Dudince on Saturday (23).
The event returns for its 41st edition with the same name but new distances, as for the first time 35km races will be staged due to changes in the international championships schedule.
Area and national records could be under threat, with athletes targeting qualifying standards and valuable World Rankings points. Six countries &ndash; Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Mauritius, Romania and Slovakia &ndash; will also stage their national championships during the 35km events.
Prior to the Tokyo Games, Stano had never won a race outside of Italy, but in Japan he gained Olympic gold ahead of Koki Ikeda and Toshikazu Yamanishi. This time, his target is the entry standard of 2:33:00 for the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 in July, as the Italian contests his first serious 35km race. His only other outing over 35km came in 2019, when he clocked 2:35:03 as a split during a 50km event.
&ldquo;I am a lover of challenges, the 35km excites me a lot,&rdquo; Stano told the Italian Athletics Federation. As well as targeting the 35km event in Oregon, the 30-year-old also hopes to race the 20km at the European Championships in Munich the following month.
Another top name among the entries is Portugal&rsquo;s 2019 world silver medallist Joao Vieira, who was fifth in the 50km race walk at last year&rsquo;s Olympics. A former Dudinska 50 champion will also be on the start line, with 2013 50km winner Erick Barrondo &ndash; Guatemala&rsquo;s 2012 Olympic 20km silver medallist &ndash; making a return.
South American 50km race walk record-holder Andres Chocho of Ecuador and Mexico&rsquo;s Horacio Nava join them, as do Finland&rsquo;s Olympic 50km ninth-place finisher Veli-Matti Partanen and Germany&rsquo;s Karl Junghanns, who was sixth in the 35km at last month&rsquo;s World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships in Muscat.
China&rsquo;s national 20km race walk record-holder Wang Kaihua and Zhang Jun, who placed seventh and eighth respectively at last year&rsquo;s Olympics, make their 35km debuts and line up alongside their compatriot Zhaxi Yangben, the ninth-place finisher in the 35km in Muscat.
Qieyang, who claimed silver in the 20km race walk at the London 2012 Olympic Games but is expected to be awarded the gold following the disqualification of Yelena Lashmanova, is the most interesting entry in the women&rsquo;s 35km event in Dudince.
The two-time world medallist is a 1:24:45 performer at 20km, achieved last year, and she will debut at the 35km distance. It is her first race of the year and follows her seventh-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics.
Her compatriot Li Maocuo will also compete, fresh from her runner-up finish in the 35km at the World Race Walking Team Championships in Muscat, while her CV also includes world 50km silver from Doha in 2019.
The all-time hero at the longer distance for women, Portugal&rsquo;s Ines Henriques, is entered along with Muscat 20km third-place finisher Kimberly Garcia of Peru and Ecuador&rsquo;s Magaly Bonilla, who was sixth in the 35km race in Muscat.
Henriques, the 2017 world 50km race walk champion, set her 35km best of 2:45:51 in 2018.
The top women&rsquo;s 20km entry is Mayra Carolina Herrera Perez from Guatemala, who clocked her 1:30:27 PB last year in Dudince, while the leading entry in the men&rsquo;s race is 2017 world champion Eider Arevalo from Colombia.
More than 230 athletes from 28 countries are entered across all the events, with the 1km loop course in the city centre well situated and designed for ease of following the action and fast times.
The start of the 35km is at 8:30am local time for men and 8:31am for women, while the 20km action begins at 1:10pm. A live stream will be available on the <a href="https://dudinska50.sk/live" target="_blank" rel="noopener">event website</a> or YouTube.
Alfons Juck for World Athletics

Olympic 20km race walk champion Massimo Stano and multiple global medallist Qieyang Shijie headline the 35km fields for the Dudinska 50.

Stano and Qieyang to make 35km race walk debuts in Dudince

Olympic marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir and London Marathon winner Joyciline Jepkosgei will renew their rivalry when they compete at the Boston Marathon, a World Athletics Elite Platinum Label road race, on Monday (18).
The Kenyan duo have similar backgrounds in that they initially made a name for themselves at the half marathon, breaking world records and earning global medals at that distance. It&rsquo;s only since 2019 that both women started to focus more on the full marathon, but already they have achieved great things at the classic distance.
After a DNF in London in 2019, Jepkosgei rebounded later in the year to win the New York City Marathon in 2:22:38, narrowly missing the long-standing course record. One month later, Jepchirchir set a PB of 2:23:50 to win the Saitama Marathon.
In December 2020 the two women clashed at the Valencia Marathon with Jepchirchir winning in 2:17:16 and Jepkosgei taking second place in a PB of 2:18:40. Jepchirchir achieved the ultimate prize in the sport in 2021, winning the Olympic title at the Tokyo Games. Later in the year, she won the New York Marathon in 2:22:39. Jepkosgei didn&rsquo;t compete at the Olympics, but she won the London Marathon last year in a lifetime best of 2:17:43.
In terms of head-to-head clashes between the pair, Jepchirchir has won all three of their encounters to date &ndash; two at the half marathon and one in the marathon. She also has the slightly faster marathon PB. Jepkosgei, meanwhile, has a better set of PBs at other distances, and her winning time in New York three years ago is one second faster than Jepchirchir&rsquo;s victory on the same course in 2021.
The fact that both have won in New York &ndash; a relatively hilly course &ndash; will stand them in good stead for Monday&rsquo;s race. Likewise, both women have performed well in championship races with no pacemakers, which will be similar to the race in Boston.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m feeling good and I&rsquo;m feeling fit,&rdquo; said Jepchirchir. &ldquo;It will be a good race because there are lots of strong ladies in this field.&rdquo;
Jepkosgei felt just as confident. &ldquo;My preparation has gone well,&rdquo; said the 28-year-old. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been focused on this race for the past three months. I know the course is tough, but I&rsquo;m prepared for it and feeling strong. I&rsquo;ll do my best.&rdquo;
Two other women with sub-2:20 bests are also in the field. Degitu Azimeraw, who finished second to Jepkosgei in London last year with a PB of 2:17:58, and two-time world champion Edna Kiplagat.
Azimeraw has contested just three marathons to date, but all of them have been inside 2:20. She debuted with a 2:19:26 victory in Amsterdam in 2019, then clocked 2:19:56 in Valencia in 2020.
Kiplagat, winner in Boston in 2017, is one of the most successful marathon runners of her generation. The Kenyan&rsquo;s PB of 2:19:50 was set 10 years ago, but the 42-year-old continues to be a contender in big races and finished fourth at the 2019 World Championships.
Local fans will likely be focused on USA&rsquo;s Olympic bronze medallist Molly Seidel, a former Boston resident who became only the third US woman in history to claim a medal in the Olympic marathon.
&ldquo;When I lived and trained in Boston I just became totally enamoured with the Boston Marathon,&rdquo; said Seidel, who has a PB of 2:24:42. &ldquo;Every Patriots&rsquo; Day I would go to Heartbreak Hill to watch the runners, and whenever I trained on the course I dreamed of getting to run the race some day.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s something uniquely special about the Boston Marathon, and I absolutely can&rsquo;t wait to line up in Hopkinton this April for the race.&rdquo;
Other contenders include Ethiopian duo Etagegn Woldu and Ababel Yeshaneh, 2018 Boston winner Desiree Linden of the USA, and Kenya&rsquo;s Mary Ngugi.
Woldu made her marathon debut in Valencia last year, finishing second with a highly promising 2:20:16. Yeshaneh has more experience on the roads, having placed third in New York last year and second in Chicago in 2019 in a PB of 2:20:51. She also has a PB of 1:04:31, which at the time was an Ethiopian record.
Linden will be making her 10th appearance in Boston. Including her victory in 2018, she has achieved five top-five finishes there to date. Ngugi, meanwhile, has contested just three marathons so far, two of them in Boston. The two-time world half marathon medallist placed third in Boston last year in 2:25:20.
The men&rsquo;s field, which features eight athletes with lifetime bests faster than 2:05, is led by two-time Tokyo Marathon winner Birhanu Legese, who has a PB of 2:02:48.
The 27-year-old Ethiopian rarely gets it wrong in the marathon. Along with his Tokyo Marathon victories in 2019 and 2020, he placed second in Berlin in 2019 &ndash; which is when he set his lifetime best &ndash; and was third in Valencia in 2020 and fifth in London last year.
Six of the past eight winners will also return to Boston: defending champion Benson Kipruto of Kenya, 2019 winner Lawrence Cherono, 2018 champion Yuki Kawauchi, 2016 victor Lemi Berhanu, and two-time winner Lelisa Desisa.
Kipruto, a 2:05:13 performer, may not have the fastest PB, but times often count for very little when it comes to the Boston Marathon. The fact he has previously won on this course, however, counts for a lot.
&ldquo;Being back in Boston as a champion is very exciting, but at the same time I feel the pressure and the responsibility to defend my title,&rdquo; said Kipruto. &ldquo;I really admire those athletes that managed to be multiple champions in big races. I really want to do my best to be one of them and I really hope to make my name among those Boston champions that people will remember for a long time.&rdquo;
Winners of two other big city races in 2021 will also be on the start line: London Marathon champion Sisay Lemma and New York City Marathon winner Albert Korir.
Lemma, who has a PB of 2:03:36, has unfinished business in Boston. He placed 30th in 2019 and failed to finish in 2017. Korir will be making his Boston debut, but his New York victory in 2021 and runner-up finish in 2019 means he&rsquo;ll be one to watch on Monday.
Three-time world half marathon champion Geoffrey Kamworor is also one to watch. Twice a winner in New York, he finally broke his long-standing PB in Valencia last year, clocking 2:05:23. His reputation as a proven competitor in championship-style races means he cannot be overlooked in this field.
Evans Chebet, the 2020 world leader, has finished in the top four at the past 12 marathons he has completed. The only DNF of his career, however, came at the Boston Marathon in 2018, so he will be keen to make amends for that blemish on his otherwise impressive record.
Organisers for World Athletics
<h3>Elite fields</h3>
Women Peres Jepchirchir (KEN) 2:17:16 Joyciline Jepkosgei (KEN) 2:17:43 Degitu Azimeraw (ETH) 2:17:58 Edna Kiplagat (KEN) 2:19:50 Etagegn Woldu (ETH) 2:20:16 Ababel Yeshaneh (ETH) 2:20:51 Desiree Linden (USA) 2:22:38 Viola Cheptoo (KEN) 2:22:44 Charlotte Purdue (GBR) 2:23:26 Molly Seidel (USA) 2:24:42 Malindi Elmore (CAN) 2:24:50 Mary Ngugi (KEN) 2:25:20 Monicah Ngige (KEN) 2:25:32 Natasha Wodak (CAN) 2:26:19 Sara Vaughn (USA) 2:26:53 Nell Rojas (USA) 2:27:12 Stephanie Bruce (USA) 2:27:47 Dakotah Lindwurm (USA) 2:29:04 Angie Orjuela (COL) 2:29:12 Bria Wetsch (USA) 2:29:50 Maegan Krifchin (USA) 2:30:17 Elaina Tabb (USA) 2:30:33 Sydney Devore (USA) 2:32:39 Kodi Kleven (CAN) 2:32:45
Men Birhanu Legese (ETH) 2:02:48 Evans Chebet (KEN) 2:03:00 Lawrence Cherono (KEN) 2:03:04 Sisay Lemma (ETH) 2:03:36 Kinde Atanaw (ETH) 2:03:51 Lemi Berhanu (ETH) 2:04:33 Lelisa Desisa (ETH) 2:04:45 Gabriel Geay (TAN) 2:04:55 Benson Kipruto (KEN) 2:05:13 Geoffrey Kamworor (KEN) 2:05:23 Eric Kiptanui (KEN) 2:05:47 Bethwell Yegon (KEN) 2:06:14 Yuki Kawauchi (JPN) 2:07:27 Albert Korir (KEN) 2:08:03 Amanuel Mesel (ERI) 2:08:17 Tsegay Tuemay (ERI) 2:09:07 Scott Fauble (USA) 2:09:09 Colin Bennie (USA) 2:09:38 Trevor Hofbauer (CAN) 2:09:51 Jared Ward (USA) 2:09:25 Ian Butler (USA) 2:09:45 Mick Iacofano (USA) 2:09:55 Jake Riley (USA) 2:10:02 Jerrell Mock (USA) 2:10:37 Jemal Yimer (ETH) 2:10:38 Matt McDonald (USA) 2:11:10 Matt Llano (USA) 2:11:14 Elkanah Kibet (USA) 2:11:15 CJ Albertson (USA) 2:11:18

Defending champion Benson Kipruto set to clash with London Marathon winner Sisay Lemma and two-time New York Marathon champion Geoffrey Kamworor

Jepchirchir and Jepkosgei primed for battle in Boston

Organisers of the Seoul Marathon have assembled what is arguably their strongest ever line-up for the World Athletics Elite Platinum Label road race on Sunday (17).
Eight men with sub-2:06 PBs and five women with sub-2:21 lifetime bests are among the highly competitive fields.
World silver medallist Mosinet Geremew heads the men&rsquo;s line-up. The former Ethiopian record-holder, who has a PB of 2:02:55, has finished in top three in eight of his nine completed marathons. He was unable to finish the Tokyo Marathon earlier this year, but he&rsquo;ll return to action on Sunday in a bid to become just the second Ethiopian man in history to win the Seoul Marathon.
If he falls short of that target, compatriot Herpasa Negasa stands a good chance. Runner-up in Dubai in 2019, he is a 2:03:40 performer at his best.
Elisha Kipchirchir Rotich leads the Kenyan charge. A formidable opponent, he won the Paris Marathon last year in a PB of 2:04:21. He also has five other career marathon victories to his name, and he finished second in Seoul in 2019.
Three-time Toronto Marathon winner Philemon Rono is also entered, as is Kenyan compatriot Mark Korir. The 2015 Paris Marathon winner has a 2:05:49 PB and will be making his fifth appearance in Seoul; he has made the podium three times in the Korean city but is yet to win.
Korea&rsquo;s Joohan Oh &ndash; formerly known as Wilson Loyanae of Kenya &ndash; is also familiar with the streets of Seoul, having won the race four times. He also holds the course record at 2:05:13, but his last completed marathon was back in 2019 when he finished second in Gyeongju in 2:08:42.
Ugandan duo Filex Chemonges and Moses Kibet are also worth keeping an eye on. Chemonges, who represented Uganda at the Olympics last year, holds the national record at 2:05:12. Kibet, meanwhile, has only contested two marathons to date but already has a PB of 2:05:20.
Other entered athletes include 2017 Seoul runner-up Felix Kandie of Kenya, Kenneth Keter, Brazilian Olympian Daniel do Nascimento, two-time Amsterdam winner Benard Kipyego, Solomon Kirwa Yego and Martin Kosgey.
The women&rsquo;s race looks just as competitive and similarly tough to call.
Guteni Shone returns to Seoul, seven years after her victory there. Since then, she has also won in Ottawa and Seville, while in more recent years she has finished second in Prague in 2021 and second in Dubai in 2020 &ndash; the latter with a PB of 2:20:11, making her the fastest in the field for Sunday. In fact, she has finished in the top two in her past four marathons and she won&rsquo;t want to relinquish that streak this weekend.
She&rsquo;ll be joined on the start line by two fellow Ethiopians who also have a strong marathon record. Sutume Asefa, winner of the Beijing Marathon in 2019, set a PB of 2:20:30 when finishing third in Tokyo two years ago. Shure Demise, meanwhile, set her PB of 2:20:59 on her debut at the distance in Dubai back in 2015, but has gone on to win in Toronto twice. She also placed third in Tokyo in 2019 and in Chicago in 2018.
Netsanet Gudeta may not have the fastest PB of the elite field &ndash; partly because she has only completed two marathons to date &ndash; but she is a proven contender at the half marathon distance, having won the 2018 world title. Her half marathon PB of 1:05:45 suggests she&rsquo;s capable of improving on her 2:26:09 marathon PB.
Joan Chelimo Melly has an even quicker half marathon PB, 1:05:04, making her one of the fastest women of all time for the distance. The Kenyan has started to move up to the marathon in recent years and has a PB of 2:20:57.
Other Kenyans in the line-up include Agnes Jeruto Barsosio, who was third in Seoul in 2016, Selly Chepyego Kaptich, and Celestine Chepchirchir, who was third in Seoul in 2019. Bahrain&rsquo;s Eunice Chumba, seventh at the Olympics last year, is another one to watch.
<h3>Elite field</h3>
Women Guteni Shone (ETH) 2:20:11 Sutume Asefa (ETH) 2:20:30 Joan Chelimo Melly (KEN) 2:20:57 Agnes Jeruto Barsosio (KEN) 2:20:59 Shure Demise (ETH) 2:20:59 Selly Chepyego Kaptich (KEN) 2:21:06 Eunice Chumba (BRN) 2:23:10 Celestine Chepchirchir (KEN) 2:23:38 Netsanet Gudeta&nbsp; (ETH) 2:26:09
Men Mosinet Geremew (ETH) 2:02:55 Herpasa Negasa (ETH) 2:03:40 Elisha Kipchirchir Rotich (KEN) 2:04:21 Philemon Rono (KEN) 2:05:00 Filex Chemonges (UGA) 2:05:12 Joohan Oh (KOR) 2:05:13 Moses Kibet (UGA) 2:05:20 Mark Korir (KEN) 2:05:49 Felix Kandie (KEN) 2:06:03 Kenneth Keter (KEN) 2:06:05 Daniel do Nascimento (BRA) 2:06:11 Benard Kipyego (KEN) 2:06:19 Solomon Kirwa Yego (KEN) 2:06:24 Martin Kosgey (KEN) 2:06:41 Vincent Kipsang Rono (KEN) 2:07:10 Lucas Kimeli Rotich (KEN) 2:07:17 Belachew Alemayehu (ETH) 2:07:55 Brian Kipsang (KEN) 2:09:07

Eight men with sub-2:06 PBs and five women with sub-2:21 lifetime bests feature in the line-up