Africa will be well represented at the Diamond League Final, with 63 athletes from the continent competing at the top-flight season finale in Brussels on Friday and Saturday.
The African contingent at the two-day meeting will be confident of securing titles in a range of events, spearheaded by five Olympic champions.
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All eyes will be on Kenyan stars in women’s middle-distance events.
In the 1 500m race, world record holder Faith Kipyegon will be confident of adding the Diamond League title to the Olympic crown she won at the Paris Games last month.
Over the longer 5 000m distance, her compatriot Beatrice Chebet will also toe the line as the firm favourite in the women’s 5 000m race after winning the 5 000m/10 000m double in the French capital.
Men’s events
In addition, there will be lots of interest in the men’s 200m race, with Letsile Tebogo of Botswana having flaunted his form in Paris by winning gold in an African record of 19.46 seconds.
Kenyan athlete Emmanuel Wanyonyi, also fresh off winning an Olympic title, will line up as the pre-race favourite in the men’s 800m battle.
The largest African contingent at the meeting will turn out in the men’s 3 000m steeplechase, with 10 athletes from the continent in the entry lists, led by Olympic champion Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco.
Other athletes to watch
Akani Simbine (South Africa) and Emmanuel Eseme (Cameroon) are in the men’s 100m sprint, while Gina Mariam Bass Bittaye of Gambia will enter the blocks in the women’s 100m dash, and Marie Josee Ta Lour-Smith and Maboundou Kone of Ivory Coast will go in the women’s 200m event.
Other African athletes to watch include the likes of Ronald Kwemoi (Kenya), Hagos Gebrhiwet and Yomif Kejelcha (Ethiopia) in the men’s 5 000m contest, as well as Muzala Samukonga (Zambia) in the men’s 400m sprint, middle-distance runner Mary Moraa (Kenya) in the women’s 800m race, and Peruth Chemutai (Uganda) in the women’s 3 000m steeplechase.
The main programme at the Diamond League Final in Brussels will be held between 8pm-10pm on Friday and Saturday.
