Mo Farah, Allyson Felix and Elaine Thompson headline a Diamond League meet in London on Sunday, while world-record watch is on for two athletes who aren’t Olympians.
NBC Sports Gold coverage starts at 7:20 a.m. ET. Universal HD’s broadcast is at 9 ET.
Farah, Felix and Thompson, who own a combined 12 Olympic gold medals, are ramping up for the world championships from Aug. 4-13, also at London’s Olympic Stadium.
Also keep an eye on American Keni Harrison, who broke the 100m hurdles world record at this meet one year ago, two weeks after shockingly failing to make the U.S. Olympic team. Harrison’s recent form suggests another world record is possible Sunday.
Then there’s Russian high jumper Mariya Lasitskene, who was locked out of Rio due to the Russian track and field ban that is still in effect. But Lasitskene, the 2015 World champion, is now competing as a neutral athlete after appeal to the IAAF with a sufficient clean doping record.
On Thursday, Lasitskene had the highest clearance in the world since 2011 and then took three failed attempts at a world record at a Diamond League meet in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Here are the London entry lists. Here’s the schedule of events (all times Eastern):
7:20 a.m. — Women’s Pole Vault
7:25 a.m. — Women’s 400m Hurdles
7:30 a.m. — Men’s Discus
8:03 a.m. — Men’s Long Jump
8:14 a.m. — Men’s 400m
8:40 a.m. — Women’s 800m
8:50 a.m. — Men’s 1500m
9:03 a.m. — Men’s 400m Hurdles
9:10 a.m. — Women’s High Jump
9:13 a.m. — Men’s 200m
9:27 a.m. — Women’s Javelin
9:37 a.m. — Women’s Long Jump
9:40 a.m. — Women’s 100m
9:49 a.m. — Women’s 400m
9:58 a.m. — Men’s 800m
10:07 a.m. — Men’s 100m
10:17 a.m. — Women’s 100m Hurdles
10:28 a.m. — Men’s 110m Hurdles
10:38 a.m. — Women’s Mile
10:48 a.m. — Men’s 3000m
Here are five events to watch:
Women’s High Jump — 9:10 a.m. ET
Russian Mariya Lasitskene went on a tear after being shut out of the Olympics due to Russia’s anti-doping problems. Lasitskene, who hasn’t had any public doping issues of her own, is the only woman to clear two meters outdoors this year, which she has done nine times, according to Tilastopaja.org.
Lasitskene had the highest clearance for any woman since 2011 in Lausanne on Thursday and has taken six attempts at a world record in the last month. In London, Lasitskene faces U.S. champion Vashti Cunningham (ranked No. 2 in the world outdoors this year) and Olympic champion Ruth Beitia of Spain.
Women’s 100m — 9:40 a.m. ET
The three fastest women in the world this year face off in a potential world championships preview — Olympic champion Elaine Thompson (10.71), Trinidad and Tobago’s Michelle-Lee Ahye (10.82) and Ivorian Murielle Ahoure (10.83).
Thompson puts a two-year, 15-meet 100m winning streak on the line (save one race she did not finish). She could take a crack at her shared national record of 10.70 seconds. An interested spectator could be Olympic silver medalist Tori Bowie, who has not decided which race(s) she will enter at worlds.
Women’s 400m — 9:49 a.m. ET
This is Allyson Felix‘s last scheduled meet before worlds in August. It also marks her second 400m since she took silver in Rio behind a diving Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas.
Miller-Uibo isn’t in the London field. Neither are any of the three U.S. women who will join Felix on the world team. With the world’s four fastest women this year absent, Felix has a fine opportunity to win, but it will definitely take faster than the 50.52 she clocked in Kingston on June 10.
Women’s 100m Hurdles — 10:17 a.m. ET
The top three from the USATF Outdoor Championships headline, led by world-record holder Keni Harrison. Harrison shockingly missed the Rio Olympic team and clocked the world record 12.20 two weeks later at the London Olympic Stadium.
This season, Harrison’s first six races were between 12.54 and 12.60, all victories but far off her unbeatable form. Then came Tuesday, when she ran 12.28 in Hungary with miniscule tailwind. Another world record in London could be in the cards.
Men’s 3000m — 10:48 a.m. ET
Mo Farah is the only individual British Olympic medalist competing in London with the retirement of Jessica Ennis-Hill and injury to long jumper Greg Rutherford. This will mark one of Farah’s final track races, as he prepares to move to road racing and marathons after worlds in London in August.
The field here sets up well for a Farah victory. It doesn’t include Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha, whom Farah held off by a half-second to win the Pre Classic 5000m on May 27. No Ethiopians at all, actually. Nor anybody who has shared an Olympic or world championships podium with Farah.
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