Sifan Hassan in action at the Prefontaine Classic (© Getty Images)
Dozens of medal winners from the recent Tokyo Olympic Games will be back in action at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Eugene when Hayward Field hosts the Prefontaine Classic on 21 August.
Based on the announcements made so far by the meeting organisers, five events will feature a full set of Olympic medallists from Tokyo.
Double Olympic champion Sifan Hassan headlines the women’s 5000m field and she’ll take on two-time world champion Hellen Obiri and world indoor 1500m record-holder Gudaf Tsegay, the silver and bronze medallists in Tokyo over 5000m.
All three medallists from the men’s 5000m will also be in action as Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei, Canada’s Moh Ahmed and USA’s Paul Chelimo clash over two miles.
Teenage stars Athing Mu and Keely Hodgkinson, the top two finishers in the 800m in Tokyo, will be back in action over two laps, along with world and Olympic bronze medallist Raevyn Rogers, world champion Halimah Nakaayi, Britain’s Jemma Reekie, Jamaica’s Natoya Goule and USA’s Ajee Wilson and Kate Grace.
World record-holder and two-time Olympic champion Ryan Crouser will look to maintain his winning streak in the shot put when he takes on world champion Joe Kovacs and 2017 world champion Tom Walsh. Brazil’s Darlan Romani and US duo Darrell Hill and Payton Otterdahl are also in the line-up.
Jamaican sprint stars Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson – who filled the 100m podium in Tokyo – will face USA’s Sha’Carri Richardson and Marie-Josee Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast.
The men’s 100m, meanwhile, features Olympic silver and bronze medallists Andre De Grasse and Fred kerley, along with world indoor bronze medallist Ronnie Baker, 400m specialist Michael Norman and African record-holder Akani Simbine.
Two-time Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon will once again line up against Olympic silver medallist Laura Muir and Canadian record-holder Gabriela DeBues-Stafford, while world champion Timothy Cheruiyot will clash with Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the men’s Bowerman mile.
In the women’s steeplechase, world champion Beatrice Chepkoech takes on world leader Norah Jeruto Tanui, Olympic silver medallist Courtney Frerichs and 2017 world champion Emma Coburn.
Other global stars confirmed so far include world 400m hurdles champion Dalilah Muhammad, Olympic triple jump champion Pedro Pablo Pichardo and world indoor triple jump record-holder Hugues Fabrice Zango.
