by Alfonz Juck
Renaud Lavillenie, Mondo Duplantis, Sam Kendricks all competing at Meeting de Paris, photo by Diamond League AG
Allyson Felix, photo by Diamond League AG
This is the event-by-event preview on the Meeting de Paris, by EME News.
Elaine, Mondo after Lausanne ready to win again
PARIS (FRA): Olympic champions Hansle Parchment, Armand Duplantis, Elaine Thompson-Herah, Mariya Lasitskene, Soufiane El Bakkali and Valerie Allman headline the antepenultimate Diamond League meeting of the season. In several events it will be also about qualification for the DL final. First post olympic top steeple will also be staged.
Short previews
Men
100m (non-DL): In-form Marvin Bracy will try to fight off the challenge of Julian Forte, Jimmy Vicaut and Cejhae Greene.
200m: Kenny Bednarek looks to make it two successive wins after Lausanne but can Fred Kerley push him closer? Isaac Makwala is in his first 200m since the start of July.
800m: Marco Arop goes for this third post-Tokyo DL victory, seeking to hold off Ferguson Cheruyiot, Patryk Dobek, Wycliffe Kinyamal and Clayton Murphy.
3000m steeplechase: Olympic gold and bronze medallists Soufiane El Bakkali and Benjamin Kigen face world champion Conseslus Kipruto, who is making his comeback after dropping out at the Kenyan Championships.
110m hurdles: Olympic champion Hansle Parchment hopes to spring back from his Lausanne mishap with the winner there, Devon Allen, returning and Pascal Martinot-Lagarde gaining the home support.
Pole vault: After his surprise fourth in Lausanne, Armand Duplantis takes on the man who won there, Chris Nilsen. Renaud and Valentin Lavillenie will have home support with KC Lightfoot and Sam Kendricks adding to a quality field.
Triple jump: Hugues Zango is a strong favourite with Yasser Triki as likely closest challenger.
Javelin: World No.1 Johannes Vetter seeks to continue his winning ways with Tokyo medallist Jakub Vadlejch and Vitezslav Vesely and world champion Andersen Peters in the field.
Women
100m: Elaine Thompson-Herah is the standout, with no Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce this time. World record under threat again? Shericka Jackson and Ajla Del Ponte are there, while Dina Asher-Smith goes over 100m for the first time since Tokyo.
400m: Olympic silver and bronze medallists Marileidy Paulino and Allyson Felix go head to head, with the latter chasing her 25th career DL win. Femke Bol will hope to challenge and go quicker than her 50.37 PB.
3000m: Francine Niyonsaba is the athlete to beat after she just missed the world two miles record in Eugene. Konstanze Klosterhalfen, Eilish McColgan, Beatrice Chebet and Margaret Kipkemboi are also running.
100m hurdles: Olympic bronze medallist Megan Tapper, Tobi Amusan and Nadine Visser are among five Tokyo finalists in the line-up.
400m hurdles: Shamier Little should be favourite but Olympic fourth-placer Janieve Russell and Anna Ryzhykova should push her.
High jump: The top three from Tokyo and Lausanne are reunited again in Mariya Lasitskene, Yaroslav Mahuchikh and Nicola McDermott.
Discus: Olympic medallists Valerie Allman, Kristin Pudenz and Yaime Perez face off and, with Sandra Perkovic too, the field has three of the top four in the world this year.
