With just under three weeks to go before the London leg on home soil, British athletes head to Eugene to take on the world’s elite at one of the most hotly-contested meetings of the season. The Diamond League stop at Hayward Field, renowned for its lightning-fast track, with several events already shaping up like Olympic finals. There’s no shortage of British talent making the trip either, with podium potential across multiple events from sprints to middle distance.
Red-hot sprint fields, as British ambition meets American depth.
In the men’s 100 metres, it’s a stacked line-up that awaits Brits Jeremiah Azu and Zharnel Hughes. Azu enters with a season’s best of 10.17, but he’ll need to be close to his 9.97 personal best to stay in contention against the likes of Jamaican rocket Kishane Thompson (9.75 this season), Ackeem Blake (9.88), and American stars Trayvon Bromell, Christian Coleman and Brandon Hicklin : all of whom have broken 9.85 in their careers. In a race where there’s no margin for error, all eyes will be on Hughes. While he’s clocked 10.05 this year, his lifetime best of 9.83 puts him firmly in the mix in a field where every single entrant has dipped under 10 seconds.
The one-lap event promises just as much drama. The UK boasts impressive depth in the men’s 400 metres with Charles Dobson and Olympic silver medallist Matthew Hudson-Smith. The latter is among the favourites with a PB of 43.44, but will have to fend off some of the best in the world. Quincy Hall — who edged him out last summer returns, alongside former Olympic champion Kirani James and American standout Khaleb McRae, all of whom have dipped under 44 seconds this year. Dobson, enjoying a consistent season (44.64), will look to build on his form in a race where US experience could prove decisive. In the women’s event, Amber Anning (49.96 this year) is set to line up against the imperious Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and a fearsome American contingent including Talitha Diggs, Kennedy Holmes and Alexis Holmes, all capable of sub-50 clockings.
Middle-distance madness from the 800 to the Mile
The biggest fireworks might come in the middle distances. The women’s 800 metres will have a field worthy of a global final, even in the absence of Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson. Jemma Reekie, who’s run 1:58.66 this year, will be aiming to reassert herself among the world’s best. She’ll face the return of Olympic champion Athing Mu : ninth fastest of all time, though her form is uncertain following injury, as well as the ever-dangerous Mary Moraa (1:56.03) and Olympic silver medallist Tsige Duguma. Reekie may well need to approach her 1:55.61 PB to trouble the podium here.
Over 1500 metres, Georgia Bell and Erin Wallace have their work cut out. Bell, who ran a sensational 3:52.61 in the Olympic final, will square off against Olympic champion and world record holder Faith Kipyegon (3:49.04), Australia’s Jessica Hull (3:50.83), Nikki Hiltz, and Ethiopia’s Freweyni Hailu. No fewer than six athletes in the field have lifetime bests under 3:55 : highlighting the sheer depth of the race. The men’s Bowerman Mile is just as mouth-watering: Jake Wightman, the 2022 world 1500m champion, makes his return against American duo Yared Nuguse (3:43.97) and Olympic champion Cole Hocker, as well as former world champ Timothy Cheruiyot and rising stars Niels Laros (Netherlands) and Cameron Myers (Australia) — both already sub-3:49. Britain’s Neil Gourley, in solid form this year (3:47.74), is another to watch in a field where even the slightest tactical slip could be costly.
Full schedule of British athletes in Eugene (local time) :
• 12h27 – Women Shot Put
• 12h30 – Men Pole Vault
• 12h35 – Women 100 m (Invitational)
• 12h38 – Women Long Jump
• 12h44 – Women 100 m hurdles
• 12h51 – International Mile Men
• 13h04 – men 400 m hurdles
• 13h12 – men 100 m→ Jeremiah Azu et Zharnel Hughes (UK)
• 13h20 – Women 5000 m
• 13h43 – Men 400 m→ Charles Dobson, Matthew Hudson-Smith (UK)
• 13h46 – Women Discus Throw
• 13h51 – Women 400 m→ Amber Anning (UK)
• 13h56 – Men Shot Put
• 13h58 – Women 1500 m→ Georgia Bell, Erin Wallace (UK)
• 14h09 – 3000m Steeplechase Women
• 14h25 – Men 200 m
• 14h34 – Women 800 m→ Jemma Reekie (UK)
• 14h44 – Women 100 m→ Dina Asher-Smith (UK)
• 14h50 – Men Bowerman Mile → Jake Wightman et Neil Gourley (UK)
