The eight gold medallists from the Paris Olympics will travel to Rome to attend the Golden Gala on Friday (30th) as the Italian capital hosts the 13th Wanda Diamond League tournament of the season.
The Olympic champion eight includes world record holders Faith Kipyegon and Ryan Crowther, Botswana sprinter Letsile Tebogo, Bahraini steeplechaser Winfred Yavi, Jamaican discus thrower Roger Stoner, American sprint hurdler Masai Russell, Australian pole vaulter Nina Kennedy and American long jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall.
Kipyegon will be returning to the event where he set his first 1500m world record, but this year the event is back in its traditional venue of Rome rather than Florence. The Kenyan won his third consecutive 1500m title in Paris, improving his own Olympic record to 3:51.29, just two seconds shy of the world record of 3:49.04 he set at the Diamond League meet in Paris earlier this year.
In Rome she will be accompanied by Australian Jess Hull, who has followed her on both the world record and Olympic streak, while world indoor champion Freweini Haile will also compete, as will Ethiopia's Bilke Khairom, while Olympic 10,000m silver medallist Nadia Battocleti will have retired from the long distance events.
The women's steeplechase sees three Olympic medallists face off again, with world and Olympic champion Yavi taking on Uganda's Pers Chemutai and Kenya's Faith Cherotic, with the course record of 9:00.71 at stake.
The men's 5,000m will be contested at a similarly high level, with five of the top six finishers from the Olympic final taking to the start line: Olympic silver medallist Ronald Kuemoi of Kenya and bronze medallist Grant Fisher of the United States will face world leader Hagos Gebrhiwet, European 10,000m champion Dominic Lobalu, Ethiopian teenager Biniam Mehari, Canada's Mohamed Ahmed and Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha.
Thompson vs Tebogo
Kishane Thompson missed out on the Olympic 100m crown by just half a second. The Jamaican, who clocked a world-leading time of 9.77 seconds earlier this year, was hoping to make her post-Olympic comeback at the recent Diamond League meet in Silesia, but was unable to compete after experiencing some tightness while warming up.
He will return to action in Rome, however, to face Botswana's Letsile Tebogo, who won the 200m title in Paris in an African record time of 19.46 and placed sixth in the 100m final in a national record time of 9.86. 2022 world champion and Olympic bronze medallist Fred Curley is also on the field, along with 2021 Olympic champion Marcel Jacobs, world indoor champion Christian Coleman, world indoor bronze medallist Hakeem Blake and African record holder Ferdinand Omanyala.
Jamaican record holder Akela Nugent beat Olympic gold medallist Masai Russell in Silesia last weekend and they will face off again in the women's 100m hurdles in Rome this week. But it's not just a race between the two, as Olympic silver medallist Silena Samba Maiera, Aleisha Johnson of the United States, Swiss record holder Ditaji Kambundji, former world record holder Kendra Harrison and Nadine Visser of the Netherlands are also competing.
Anna Cockrell, who won silver at the Paris Olympics and has risen to fourth on the world list, leads the women's 400m hurdles competition in Rome. Cockrell will face compatriot and two-time world champion Shamire Little, as well as Jamaican Olympic finalists Rachelle Clayton and Sian Salmon.
In the men's 400 metres, Olympic bronze medallist Muzahla Samukhonga will face two runners who finished just behind him in the Olympic final, 2022 World Indoor Champion Jerim Richards and 2012 Olympic Champion Kirani James. All three finished within 43 seconds of each other in Paris.
Another Olympic bronze medalist, Brittany Brown of the United States, leads the women's 200 meters. She will face gold medalist Mujinga Kambundji and silver medalist Daryl Neita of Europe.
Stoner to make Diamond League debut
Perhaps it's an indication of how big a surprise his Olympic victory was that Jamaica's Roger Stona has never competed in a Diamond League event: The 25-year-old, who won the men's discus in Paris with a personal best of 70.00 meters, will become the first athlete in history to make his Diamond League debut after winning an Olympic gold medal.
He will face some of the tournament's strongest contenders, including world record holder Mikolas Alekna, 2022 world champion Christian Choi, Olympic bronze medalist Matthew Denney and world champion Daniel Staal.
Meanwhile, Stoner's coach, Ryan Crowther, will compete in the men's shot put. The three-time Olympic gold medallist and world record holder will be looking to avenge his recent loss to Joe Kovacs in Silesia. Also competing will be European champion Leonardo Fabbri and Olympic bronze medallist Rajindra Campbell.
Olympic gold medallists Nina Kennedy and Tara Davis-Woodhall will headline the women's jumping competition, with Kennedy competing in the pole vault alongside Olympic bronze medallist Alisha Newman and European champion Angelica Moser.
Meanwhile, Davis-Woodhall will compete in the long jump alongside US teammate Jasmine Moore, who won bronze in Paris.
Andy Dias is one of Italy's top athletes hoping to delight his home fans on Friday, when the Olympic bronze medallist takes on world champion Hugues Fabrice Zango in the triple jump.
Meanwhile, European champion Gianmarco Tamberi will face 2022 world indoor champion Woo Sang-hyuk and Italy's Stefano Sottile in the men's high jump.
Another Italian, the reigning European champion, Lorenzo Simonelli, will compete in the men's 110m hurdles along with America's Cordell Tinch, Spain's Enrique Llopis, France's Sascha Joya and Jamaica's Orlando Bennett.
