Big show in Shanghai and Nyayo: Athletics Rudisha set to light up DL meet as Prisons meet continue

Kenya's David Lekuta Rudisha runs in round one of the men’s 800m at the World Athletic Championships at the Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2015. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Olympic and world champs in clinical battle as London Worlds beckon.

Two-time Olympic 800m champion David Rudisha will lead a legion of Kenyan stars to the second stop of IAAF Diamond League meeting at Shanghai Stadium in China this afternoon.

Back home at Nyayo Stadium, little-known Cornelius Kangogo beat 2012 Olympic 5,000m bronze medalist Thomas Longosiwa in 10,000m final in 28:26.7.

Longosiwa (28:31.9), Josphat Kipchirchir (28:36.7) and Emmanuel Ngatuny (28:38.5) followed as Cosmas Birech (28:53.8), Leonard Lang’at 28:55.8) and Peter Emase (29:05.5) sealed top seven spots.

Vincent Kosgei, the 2010 Commonwealth Games 400m hurdles sensation, won 400m hurdles heat one in 52.9 ahead of Haron Tonui (53.3) and Erick Kiptoo (53.9).

Stephen Tenai (52.6), Geoffrey Mutai (53.0) and Stephen Rotich (53.2) topped 400m hurdles heat two. There are plenty of mouth-watering clashes on the card today. In Shanghai, Rudisha is expected to lead four top Kenyans in the chase for early IAAF Diamond League points as he gears up for IAAF World Athletics Championships in London on August 4-12.

He will face off with Ferguson Rotich, the 2016 IAAF Diamond League Trophy winner and former world junior 800m champion Alfred Kipketer as well as Polish pair of Adam Kszczot and Marcin Lewandowski.

Olympic 1,500m champion Faith Chepng’etich, who broke the national record at the meet last year, will be up against Olympic finalists Dawit Seyaum and Besu Sado of Ethiopia.

Olympic 5,000m silver medalist Hellen Obiri will square it out with Ethiopia’s Senbere Teferi and Sofia Assefa, the London Olympics 3,000m silver medalist, who will be seeking to make their mark in the first women’s 5000m of the IAAF Diamond League season.

Teferi was third in Shanghai in 2015 and fifth in the Olympic final last year while Assefa will compete in her first 5000m race in 10 years.

World 3,000m steeplechase champion Hyvin Kiyeng must prove that her win in Doha last Friday against Bahrain’s Olympic champion and record-holder Ruth Jebet, was no fluke.

Kiyeng, who came out on top in their first clash of 2017 ran the fastest time in the world this year to win in Doha last Friday.

Celliphine Chespol headed to Shanghai with confidence after she equalled the world U20 record in Doha. The 18-year-old world U20 champion finished fourth in 9:05.70 and longs to improve on her seventh-place finish in Shanghai last year.