The Diamond League Returns to Europe with Meeting in Lausanne

By Adam Kopet

Paul Chelimo came up just short in winning the 2-mile race at the Prefontaine Classic, finishing 0.05 seconds behind Uganda's Joshua Cheptegei, in what had been a massive comeback for the American distance runner. Chelimo will get another chance Friday to race Cheptegei at the Lausanne Diamond League meeting.

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Not that Chelimo and Cheptegei can call themselves favorites in the race. The Ethiopian quartet of Selemon Barega, Telehun Haile Bekele, Hagos Gebrhiwet and Abadi Hadis have all run under 13 minutes this year. Bekele owns the fastest time in the world this year at 12:52.98, but Barega ran 12:43.02 in last year's Diamond League final, ranking him fourth on the all-time performer list.

In other events, Noah Lyles returns to action in the 200 meters. His last 200-meter outing included a second-place finish to Michael Norman, running 19.72. This time he will face Canada's Andre De Grasse, who recently bested Christian Coleman over the same distance. World champion Ramil Guliyev of Turkey is also in the race.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica and Dina Asher-Smith of Great Britain will try to bounce back from less-than-ideal performances at the 45th Prefontaine Classic. The pair will race the 100-meter dash against Prefontaine 100-meter winner Marie-Josee' Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast. Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands and Kayla White are also in the field. White, the NCAA Division 1 indoor 200-meter champion and five-time All-America first-team honoree at North Carolina A&T, will be making her professional debut as a Nike athlete.

In the women's 400-meter hurdles, Shamier Little, Ashley Spencer and Kori Carter will take on two-time world champion Zuzana Hejnova of the Czech Republic. Carter is the reigning world champion. Little and Spencer stand fourth and fifth on the world list this year. Hejnova and Carter are a little further back on the list, but less than a second separates the four women by season's bests.

On the field, Will Claye returns to action after a strong weekend that saw him earn the editors' choice award from the DyeStat Performance of the Week as he became the third-farthest triple jumper of all-time. He will compete in the long jump against Juan Miguel Echevarria of Cuba and Luvo Manyonga of South Africa.

The men's pole vault features many of the big names in the world, including Armand "Mondo" Duplantis of Sweden and Sam Kendricks. The pair finished first and second at the Prefontaine Classic, with Duplantis earning the win with a final clearance at 19-5.50 (5.93m). Renaud Lavillenie of France is also set to compete, as he tries to bounce back from a last-place finish at the Prefontaine Classic.

The top three women's jumpers in the world this year will also be in action Friday. Colombia's Caterine Ibarguen and Venezuela's Yulimar Rojas are set to compete in the triple jump. Mariya Lasitskene, an authorized neutral athlete from Russia, will compete in the high jump.