Kenyan stars to light up IAAF Shanghai meeting today

[PHOTO: COURTESY]

If it was the one-lap stars - on both the flat and over hurdles - who shone in the opening leg of the IAAF Diamond League circuit in Doha last Friday, it could well be sprinters over the shorter distances or for that matter the sprint hurdlers, who catch the eye as the second stop of the tour hits Shanghai today.

Rising Kenyan star and recently minted Commonwealth 800m champion Wycliffe Kinyamal could be the one to beat over two-laps as the 20-year-old makes his Diamond League debut.

Standing in opposition will be Kinyamal’s compatriot Jonathan Kitilit, the second fastest man in the world this year, and experienced Pole Marcin Lewandowski, the World Indoor 1500m silver medallist in Birmingham in March. World Indoor 800m silver medallist Drew Windle and his US teammate Clayton Murphy, the 2016 Olympic bronze medallist, will also look to be in the mix.

Justus Soget of Kenya, who placed third in the 1500m in Doha in a non-Diamond League event, will once again be gunning for a top three spot in the metric mile.

Timothy Cheruiyot, the world and Commonwealth silver medallist, boasts outstanding credentials as does Ethiopia’s rising teenage talent Samuel Tefera, who stormed to 1500m gold at the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham.

The World indoor bronze medallist Abdelaati Iguider of Morocco and the 34-year-old Ethiopian Aman Wote, who finished one place behind in Birmingham, also compete.

Four reigning world champions are on show in the field led by Mariya Lasitskene who is aiming for a 39th successive victory in the women’s high jump. The reigning world indoor and outdoor champion was last defeated in June 2016 and expect fireworks and a possible 2.00m plus jump as the 25-year-old makes her 2018 Diamond League debut.

Arguably, the race of the meeting is the men’s 110m hurdles – an event with a long and rich tradition at the premier Chinese one-day meeting. In a stellar field, which would grace any world or Olympic final, the star attraction is world and Olympic champion Omar McLeod, who is seeking a hat-trick of Diamond League wins in Shanghai.

Nonetheless, the Jamaican hurdle king faces formidable opposition and knows should he put a foot wrong a classy line up of opponents will be certain to pounce, led by 2017 world silver medallist and Diamond League winner Sergey Shubenkov.

Other stellar names on show include: world 110m hurdles record-holder Aries Merritt of the US.