Look no further than the last two events of Saturday’s Diamond League meet in Birmingham, Great Britain.
The women’s 200m field includes eight women with a sub-22 personal best, led by recent triple European champion Dina Asher-Smith, plus all three world medalists in the event. Two-time Olympic 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was to race here, but she withdrew Friday.
Several minutes later, American stars Christian Coleman and Noah Lyles are expected to duel over 100m for the second time in their pro careers.
The sprints headline Saturday’s meet, live on NBC Sports Gold at 8 a.m. ET and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA at 9.
Here are the Birmingham entry lists. Here’s the schedule of events (all times Eastern):
8 a.m. — Women’s Pole Vault
8:19 — Men’s Long Jump
8:32 — Women’s 100m Hurdles
8:47 — Women’s Shot Put
9:03 — Women’s 400m Hurdles
9:13 — Men’s 400m
9:18 — Men’s High Jump
9:22 — Women’s 1500m
9:33 — Men’s 3000m Steeplechase
9:45 — Men’s Javelin
9:49 — Women’s 3000m
9:52 — Women’s Long Jump
10:06 — Men’s 110m Hurdles
10:14 — Men’s Mile
10:24 — Women’s 1000m
10:34 — Men’s 800m
10:44 — Women’s 200m
10:53 — Men’s 100m
Here are five events to watch:
Men’s Long Jump — 8:19 a.m. ET
Possibly the final jumps of Brit Greg Rutherford‘s career. The 2012 Olympic champion will retire at the end of the season and may not enter another meet after Saturday. Rutherford, 31, has struggled with ankle, foot, groin and stomach problems while finishing one of the greatest long jump careers: gold medals at the European and world champs along with his two Olympic medals. The favorite Saturday is Olympic silver medalist and world champion Luvo Manyonga of South Africa.
Women’s 1500m — 9:22 a.m. ET
Olympic 800m champ Caster Semenya was originally entered here but is no longer on the start list, reportedly due to illness. The field is still strong with Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan and Ethiopian Gudaf Tsegay, who rank Nos. 3 and 4 in the world this year, and U.S. Olympians Kate Grace and Brenda Martinez.
Men’s 800m — 10:34 a.m. ET
The fastest man in the world this year (Emmanuel Korir) takes on the world champion at 1500m (Elijah Manangoi) in a matchup of Kenyans. Korir, a 23-year-old who ran for UTEP, last month clocked the world’s fastest 800m since David Rudisha‘s world record at the 2012 Olympics. Manangoi moves down and takes a break from his recent 1500m rivalry with Timothy Cheruiyot. Rudisha won’t be there. He hasn’t competed since July 4, 2017, due to injury. Saturday’s field does include U.S. Olympic bronze medalist Clayton Murphy.
Women’s 200m — 10:44 a.m. ET
All eight women in the field have a personal best of sub-22.2 seconds (and rank in the top 60 all-time), which IAAF statman Jon Mulkeen believes may be a first. The favorite has to be Brit Dina Asher-Smith, who last week swept 100m, 200m and 4x100m titles at the European Championships. Her winning 200m time, 21.89, made her fastest in the world this year by .15. She faces the three 2017 World medalists — Dafne Schippers, Marie-Josée Ta Lou and Shaunae Miller-Uibo — and U.S. champion Jenna Prandini.
Men’s 100m — 10:53 a.m. ET
Christian Coleman and Noah Lyles, ushering the new generation of U.S. sprinters since the Rio Games, take on some of the world’s best here. There is Jamaican Yohan Blake, the second-fastest man of all time who hasn’t been near that form in five years. There is Brit Zharnel Hughes, a former Usain Bolt training partner who just won the European title. Coleman owns the world’s fastest 100m since Rio (a 9.82 in June 2017), but he ranks 17th in the world this year, slowed by hamstring problems. Lyles shares the world’s fastest time of 2018 (9.88) but so far has looked better at 200m, given his slow starts. Coleman beat Lyles by one hundredth in the first pro 100m duel on July 13.
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