At 5:45pm today, curtains of the beautiful Suhaim bin Hamad Stadium in Qatar will be opened to signal the beginning of the first 2018 IAAF Diamond League leg.
When the clock hits 6:04pm, the stadium will light up as the 4x100m women competitors hit the track. It is the first of the 14-leg series.
Six minutes later, women will then compete in Pole Vault as they seek to clear the greatest height and earn points in the highly-competitive Diamond League series.
At 7:13pm 12-time Diamond League meeting winner and three-time Diamond Trophy winner Eunice Sum will lead Kenyans in the 1,500m onslaught against 12-time Diamond League meeting winner and two-time Diamond Trophy winner and World Champion Caster Semenya.
“I am in top form. This will be a good start for me this season and I am confident I will perform better than I have done before,” said Sum.
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There will be no love lost between the two, as memories of last year’s performance in the 800m race linger on.
Last year, Semenya and Margaret Nyairera relegated Sum to third position with an impressive time of 1:58.76.
All-African Games Silver medalist Winny Chebet will be another athlete to watch out for in the race, as she boasts a Personal Best of 3:59.16 over the distance.
African Championships Bronze medallist Emily Tuei, Diamond League meeting winner Nelly Jepkosgei and Judith Kiyeng will also be in the race.
Ethiopia’s Besu Sado (3:59.47) and Gudaf Tsegay (3:59.55) will lead their quadruple from Africa's oldest independent country.
In men's 3,000m steeplechase, which will be a promotional event, Diamond League meeting winner Hillary Yego will lead eight Kenyans in search for glory.
At 8:02pm, action will shift to men's 1,500m category. In the promotional event, World Youth champion George Manangoi will lead eight Kenyans in the quest for a podium finish.
But World Indoor Championships Bronze medallist Bethwell Birgen has vowed to give Manangoi, and the rest of the team, a sleepless night.
“I am looking forward to running quick times this year in the diamond league. I have been to Doha competitions six times and I can confirm that the track and the fans are awesome," said Birgen.
"I am aiming for the podium and I know I will do it because I am fit. I will do Doha then Shangai and later concentrate on the trials for the African Championships."
In men's 800m race, four-time Diamond League meeting winner and World champion Elijah Manangoi will fight for points alongside Kenya’s Ferguson Rotich, Nicholas Kipkoech, Emmanuel Korir, Kipyegon Bett and United States Olympic Games Bronze medalist, Clayton Murphy.
