DOHA (Qatar): The Doha Diamond League is set to feature exciting competition with an array of world class athletes targeting to end their campaign on a high.
The last meet of the curtailed Diamond League season, which starts at the Qatar Sports Club Stadium on Friday, will see one of the deepest line-ups in the event.
The 3000m field will feature a clash between world 5000m champion Hellen Obiri and world steeplechase champion Beatrice Chepkoech.
In fact, five medallists from four different disciplines at last year’s World Championships will be back in action in Doha – and even then, that only scratches the surface of the quality of the field.
Obiri opened her outdoor campaign in Monaco last month, winning the 5000m in a world-leading 14:22.12, just four seconds shy of her Kenyan record.
She has fond memories of Doha, too, as it is where she set a Kenyan 3000m record of 8:20.68 in 2014, following it with victories over 3000m at Doha’s Diamond League meeting last year and over 5000m at the World Championships at the same venue.
Chepkoech also opened her outdoor season in Monaco, clocking 14:55.01 for 5000m, and she followed it with a 9:10.07 run for second place in the steeplechase at the Continental Tour meeting in Berlin earlier this month.
The steeplechase world record-holder is one of four women in the field with a PB inside 8:30.
Other athletes in the field who stood on the podium in Doha last year include 5000m silver medallist Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi, 10,000m bronze medallist and 2015 world cross-country champion Agnes Tirop, and 1500m bronze medallist Gudaf Tsegay.
In fact, all 16 women in the field own a medal from a global or continental championship, or hold a world or continental record.
The quality is such that they all deserve a mention: 2015 world steeplechase champion Hyvin Kiyeng, world U18 champion Lemlem Hailu, world U20 champion Beatrice Chebet, African Games 10,000m champion Tsehay Gemechu, African 1500m champion Winny Chebet, African Games 1500m champion Quailyne Jebiwott Kiprop, European 5000m silver medallist Eilish McColgan, European 1500m bronze medallist Laura Weightman, European indoor bronze medallist Melissa Courtney-Bryant, and Oceania record-holders Genevieve Gregson and Jessica Hull. (Source: World Athletics)
