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Posted On: 23 September 2020 10:28 am
Updated On: 12 November 2020 02:08 pm

Top world athletes from 8 different countries take centre stage at Wanda Doha Diamond League this Friday

Nabeela
Nabeela
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Doha’s Suhaim bin Hamad Stadium (Qatar Sports Club) is all set to welcome athletics champions of the world and the Olympics this Friday on 25 September 2020 at the 2020 Wanda Doha Diamond League. This will be the 24th edition of the annual outdoor track and field meeting in Doha and will host Olympic and World medallists from all over the world.

The competition will take place without an audience this year in compliance with the country's precautionary measures for the coronavirus (COVID-19).

What kind of events will this year's Wanda Doha Diamond League witness?

As a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) this year, the event has been revised. There will be 12 events this season which include sprint hurdles and 800m for both men and women; 100m, 3000m and long jump for women; and 200m, 400m, 1500m and pole vault for men. (Wanda Diamond League)

Check out the programme of events for the Wanda Doha Diamond League here: https://doha.diamondleague.com/programme-results-doha/

op world athletes take centre stage for Wanda Doha Diamond League this Friday

Who will take part in this year’s Wanda Doha Diamond League?

10 Olympic medallists from Rio 2016 and 17 World Championship medallists from the last Doha 2019 edition will grace the track. These include Elaine Thompson-Herah, Marie Josee Ta Lou, Sam Kendricks, Kipruto, Soufiane El Bakkali, Mondo Duplantis, Timothy Cheruiyot and Hellen Obiri among other world-class athletes.

Which countries are being represented in this year's Wanda Doha Diamond League?

The following countries are coming together to be part of the 2020 Wanda Doha Diamond League:

Kenya

The men’s 1500m will see Olympic and world 3000mSC Conseslus Kipruto in action along with Olympic 3000mSC silver medallist Hyvin Kiyeng, and world 5000m runner-up Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi.

Timothy Cheruiyot, world 1500m champion, will race over 800m. The 24-year-old, who has a best of 1:43.11 from August 2019, clocked an impressive 3:28.45 to win the 1500m in Monaco, just four one-hundredths of a second outside his lifetime best.

In the women’s 3000m, an exciting field brings together Kenyan quartet Hellen Obiri and Beatrice Chepkoech, 2019 world champions over 5000m and 3000mSC respectively. Obiri, Olympic 5000m silver medallist and 2019 World Cross Country champion, proved her recent good form with a world-leading 14:22.12 to win the 5000m at the Wanda Monaco Diamond League in August.

op world athletes take centre stage for Wanda Doha Diamond League this Friday
Image: Hellen Obiri- 5000m Women - Shanghai 2017

Faith Kipyegon, Olympic 1500m champion, will star in the women’s 800m. The 2017 world 1500m champion, runner-up in Doha 2019, set a national record of 2:29.15 for 1000m in Monaco, narrowly missing the world record for the rarely-run distance.

World 10,000m bronze medallist Agnes Jebet Tirop is also part of the lineup from Kenya.

Ethiopia

From Ethiopia, two athletes will be showing their running skills: world silver medallist over 5000mSC Selemon Barega and 3000mSC Lamecha Girma. Also attended are world 5000m runner-up Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi; world 1500m bronze medallist Gudaf Tsegay

Jamaica

From Jamaica, Double Olympic sprint champion Elaine Thompson-Herah will be participating in the women's 100m. Her 10.85 season’s best - set at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Rome - is the fastest time of the year to date.

op world athletes take centre stage for Wanda Doha Diamond League this Friday
Image: Elaine Thompson - Women's 100m Final - Birmingham 2017

Ivory Coast

Multiple World Championships medallist Marie-Josée Ta Lou (Ivory Coast) will go head-to-head in the women’s 100m.

op world athletes take centre stage for Wanda Doha Diamond League this Friday
Image: Marie-Josée Ta Lou - Women's 100m - Lausanne 2018

Morocco

World 3000m Sprint Champion bronze medallist Soufiane El Bakkali is participating from Morocco.

USA

The reigning world champion from the USA Sam Kendricks is all set to take on the event.

op world athletes take centre stage for Wanda Doha Diamond League this Friday
Image: Sam Kendricks - Men's Pole Vault - Doha 2019

Mike Rodgers from the USA 4 x 100m world relay gold medallist, will line up in the 100m.

France

London 2012 Olympic gold medallist Renaud Lavillenie is also part of the lineup.

Sweden

In the men’s pole vault, world record holder Mondo Duplantis - World Championships silver medallist in Doha 2019 - will again be the one to watch. Having set an outright world record of 6.18m at the World Indoor Tour meeting in Glasgow in February, he is now officially the best vaulter in history following his incredible 6.15m clearance at the Wanda Rome Diamond League on 17 September. His outdoor best exceeds Sergey Bubka’s previous record of 6.14m which stood for a remarkable 26 years.

op world athletes take centre stage for Wanda Doha Diamond League this Friday
Image: Armand Duplantis - Men´s Pole Vault – Brussels 2020

Qatari athletes will not be participating in this event because, according to the President of the Qatar Athletics Federation, they are preparing for the Tokyo Olympics 2021.

Olympic silver medallist Dafne Schippers (Netherlands) has withdrawn.

What is the Diamond League?

The Diamond League is composed of 15 athletes that are the best in invitational track and field meetings in the world and the top tier of the World Athletics one-day meeting competitions. The meetings are spread across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the USA, and compose the top tier of the World Athletics' global one-day meeting competition structure. The Diamond League encompasses 24 Diamond Disciplines, following a championship style model. (Wikipedia)

op world athletes take centre stage for Wanda Doha Diamond League this Friday
Image credit: Diamond League

Athletes earn points at the qualification meetings to qualify for the final of their discipline. Each of the disciplines is staged six times before the Final. At all of the 14 qualification meetings, these athletes are awarded 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1 points for ranking 1st to 8th respectively. The top 8 or 12 athletes (depending on the discipline) are awarded a star at the Final. In case of a tie, the best legal performance of the qualification phase wins. (Wanda Diamond League)

The winner at the Final of each Diamond Discipline will become "IAAF Diamond League Champion" and be awarded a Diamond Trophy, US$ 50,000 prize money and a wild card for the World Athletics Championships (certain conditions apply).

Sources: Wanda Diamond League, Wikipedia, Lamecha Girma, Conseslus Kipruto, Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi, Elaine Thompson-Herah, Marie-Josée Ta Lou, Soufiane El Bakkali, Sam Kendricks, Mike Rodgers, Renaud Lavillenie, Mondo Duplantis, Sergey Bubka, Dafne Schippers and Wanda Diamond League.