Lausanne Diamond League meet Thursday will feature 18 Olympic and World Champions

The Lausanne Diamond League (DL) meeting taking place on Thursday, August 22, and will showcase a number of Paris Olympians. The meet will feature eighteen current Olympic or World Championship gold medallists.

Featured starters

In the men’s 800-metre Emmanuel Wanyonyi from Kenya and Canadian Marco Arop who won silver will renew their rivalry. Also in the race are American Bryce Hoppel, and Mohamed Attaoui from Spain.

Jakob Ingebrigtson, the Norwegian distance great over 1500m, and 5000m is racing. He earned gold in the Tokyo Olympic Games over the metric mile and gold in the 12.5-lap 5000m event in Paris. But he has been beaten in global championships in the 2022 Eugene and 2024 Budapest editions. Also, in Paris where he finished a shocking fourth. In July, in the Monaco edition of the DL, he improved the Norwegian and European 1500m record with a 3:26.73 performance.

The men’s 200m sprint will feature Olympic gold medallist Letsile Tebogo of Botswana. He will be up against American sprinters Erriyon Knighton and Fred Kerley.

The women’s 100m event features Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita. Seven of the eight entrants have run sub 11.00 seconds. Five have gone sub 10.90.

While there is no Keely Hodgkinson in the women’s 800m event, the race will be compelling. Kenya’s Mary Moraa will be looking for redemption after being bettered by Hodkinson in Paris. Moraa who entered the Olympic final as the pre-race favourite for silver and possibly gold, took bronze. Nine of the entrants have run sub 1:58, all sub 2:00.

Jemma Reekie of Great Britain is the fastest seen at 1:55:51 run earlier this season.

Also looking for redemption is Femke Bol of the Netherlands. She went into the Paris Olympic final, like Moraa, expecting silver and with a small chance at gold. She finished third and in a much slower time than she is capable of. Her PB is 50.95. Expect her to run sub 51.00. The race should not be close.

The meet

Over 13,000 spectators are expected at La Pontaise stadium. Seventeen competitions are on tap. Lausanne is stop 11 of 15 DL meets that take place throughout the world.

The meet will also feature the greatest men’s pole vaulter in history. Armand “Mondo” Duplantis, Olympic gold medallist and world record holder will be vaulting.

Meanwhile, World Athletics reports that two pole vault legends have announced their retirement. “Two of the standard bearers of European pole vaulting in recent years Pawel Wojciechowski from Poland and Germany’s Raphael Holzdeppe, the 2011 and 2013 world champion respectively, have both announced their retirements.”

Start Lists

100m Women

200m Women

800m Women

3000m Women

100m Hurdles Women

400m Hurdles Women

High Jump Women

Shot Put Women

MEN’S START LISTS

200m Women

400m Men

800m Men

1500m Men

110m Hurdles Women

Long Jump Men

Pole Vault Men

Javelin Throw Men