After two consecutive Diamond League meets in Eastern Asia, the competition heads West toward the home of the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha. 

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With the World Relays having just finished a few days ago, the middle distance events, long distance events, and field events will take a step into the spotlight, with talented fields that are ready to shine.

Veteran Vs. Youth: Timothy Cheruyiot Takes On Talented, Young Field

After opening up his season in the 800 meters, running 1:46.56 in Nairobi, Timothy Cheruyiot is ready to take on his first test over 1500 meters in 2024. He’ll have some stiff competition to face, namely fellow Kenyans Abel Kipsang and Reynold Cheruyiot, along with the renowned middle-distance star Ethiopian Samuel Tefera, too. 

Timothy has been a star on the middle distance scene for quite some time now, having won the World Athletics Championship in the 1500 meters in 2019 in Doha. He battled some injury issues in 2023, which affected his performance at Worlds as he did not advance to the finals of the 1500 meters. He’ll be looking to spark a comeback in 2024 in his quest for an Olympic appearance.

Another strong name to watch out for is the youngster, Narve Gilje Nordas, who rose onto the scene in 2023 with a heroic effort at the World Athletics Championships in the 1500 meters, nearly snagging a medal as just a teenager. With one of the fastest PR’s in the field, at 3:29.47, Nordas gets a great opportunity to show what he’s got in his first Diamond League appearance of the season.

Fierce Competition In Men’s Javelin

An excellent field is being brought together in Doha for the Men’s Javelin, as some of the perennial top names in the event are taking the runway in this week’s Diamond League competition. 

Neeraj Chopra, the reigning Olympic Champion and world champion will make his season debut in Doha, looking to continue his reign on the world stage. He won this meeting in 2023 to open his season and should look to repeat once again. 

Jakub Vadlejch also was here in Doha in 2023, finishing 2nd behind Chopra, but has the top mark of the field in 2024 so far, throwing 87.00m back in March. He’s earned the bronze medal in two consecutive World Athletics Championships in this event and already seems in a good position this early into 2024. Expect a fine battle between Valdlejch and Chopra.

Mary Moraa And Jemma Reekie Square Off In Women’s 800m

We haven’t seen a solidly constructed field in a Women’s 800m race this outdoor season, but the Doha Diamond League will break open the competition, as reigning World Champion Mary Moraa will compete in her first Diamond League of the season. 

Moraa has had a busy 2024 thus far, already having run the 400 meters seven times! She ran 50.57 at the African Games, nearly matching her PR of 50.38, showing that her speed is already in a good place. Her season opener in the 800 meters, in which she ran 1:57.96, is a fantastic start, too. 

Jemma Reekie, coming off of an excellent indoor season, was the silver medalist at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in the 800 meters. She also ran quite fast at the UK Indoor Championships, running 1:58.24 to bring home that title, which is still the 5th fastest time in the 800 meters in 2024, regardless of indoor or outdoor track.

Moraa’s notable speed can serve to her advantage here, but Reekie, along with Natoya Goule-Toppin, Habitam Alemu, and Halimah Nakaayi will add to the depth of this field, which could result in a fast, competitive battle here in Doha. Might we see a new world lead?

Athletes To Watch

Beatrice Chebet

After winning the Senior Race at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships earlier this year, Chebet will be making her season debut on the track in the 5,000 meters at the Doha Diamond League.

Her last appearance on the track was a memorable one, as her unbelievable 14:05 at the Prefontaine Classic last September was runner-up only behind Gudaf Tsegay’s world record performance, as she ran 14:00 over 5,000 meters. 

Chebet is undeniably going to be a threat in the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters in this Olympic year, and she’ll be a favorite to compete for one, or even two medals this summer. 

It’ll be fun to see her battle with Ejgayehu Taye, whose 14:12 PR can certainly contend with Chebet.

Lamecha Girma

We saw him display his range in the 5000 meters in the Xiamen Diamond League meeting, bringing home the win in 12:58, but his best results have come in the Steeplechase, where he’s the reigning silver medalist from the World Athletics Championships.

This will be his first steeplechase since that silver medal– with a solid field behind him, he should be ready to throw down something good. With the current world lead sitting at 8:17, there would be little to no surprise that Girma should crush that mark and likely finish under the 8:00-barrier.

Molly Caudery

Soaring into stardom at the World Indoor Athletics Championships, Caudery brought home her first global medal by winning the world title in Glasgow, beating out some incredible women for the gold. 

It’ll be her first competition since then, as she looks to keep that momentum rolling from the highs of winning a global title. Her personal best comes from this indoor season at 4.86m– how close to the coveted 5.00m barrier will she be able to get this outdoor season.

FloTrack Archived Footage

Video footage from each event will be archived and stored in a video library for FloTrack subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscriptions.

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