2023 Diamond League: 5 events to watch out for in Doha

With fourteen Diamond League events set to be keenly contested by athletes in their respective fields, here are 5 of those events to watch out for in Doha.

The 2023 Diamond League season will officially begin in Doha on Friday, May 5, 2023, having top athletes renew their rivalries in the Qatari capital as they get their World Championships season underway.

With fourteen Diamond League events set to be keenly contested by athletes in their respective fields, here are 5 of those events to watch out for in Doha.

Men’s 3000m

Lamecha Girma broke the world indoor 3000m record earlier in the season and will face a field that includes four winners of global titles. 

The Ethiopian clocked 7:23.81 in Lievin in February, so having a lineup that includes world and Olympic steeplechase champion Soufiane El Bakkali makes it very competitive. 

Olympic 10,000m champion Selemon Barega, 2021 Diamond League 5000m champion Berihu Aregawi and fellow Ethiopians Getnet Wale and Telahun Haile Bekele add further depth to the field, as do 2019 world 1500m champion Timothy Cheruiyot, world U20 cross-country champion Ishmail Kipkirui and Oceanian record-holder Stewart McSweyn.

The meeting record of 7:27.26 has stood for 12 years. However, with the caliber of runners listed, it may be erased on Friday.

Here are thirteen things you should know about the talented sprinter and jumper Tori Bowie, who had incredible accomplishments during her lifetime.

Women’s 100m 

The women’s 100m at the Doha Diamond League will be a firecracker as some of the world’s best female sprinters such as Shericka Jackson, Sha’Carri Richardson, and Dina Asher-Smith, have been selected to light up the tracks.

Jackson is the favourite to win after her huge statement at the Velocity Fest in Kingston, blazing to a world-leading time of 10.82s.

She will be gunning for another victory but will have a tough challenge from US sprints sensation Sha’Carri Richardson, who clocked a jaw-dropping windy 10.57s (4.1m/s) at the Miramar Invitational – the third fastest all-conditions time in world history.

Also listed is Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith, who will be making her outdoor debut in Doha. Asher-Smith had a fantastic indoor season where she smashed the British 60m record twice – first in Karlsruhe with 7.04s and lowered it to 7.03s in Birmingham.

Shericka Jackson tops the list of some of the world’s best female sprinters set to light up the track at Doha Diamond League.

Others listed are NCAA standouts turned professional athletes Melissa Jefferson and Abby Steiner, New Zealand’s Zoe Hobbs, and the US duo of Twanisha Terry and Teahna Daniels, all capable of causing a major upset.

Men’s 200m

A lineup with all athletes having Personal Bests of 20.00s below is a mouthwatering clash to watch out for on Friday.

World 100m champion Fred Kerley and world 400m champion Michael Norman will race in a field that includes Andre De Grasse, the Olympic champion at the distance. 

Kerley is the favourite, having raced twice this year. He ran an incredibly easy looking 20.32s over 200m in Melbourne, then won the 400m in Sydney two weeks later with 44.65. 

However, Aaron Brown is the fastest in the field this season with 20.00s recorded in Gaborone last week, while Liberia’s Joseph Fahnbulleh has the second-fastest time of 20.14s.

Olympic silver medallist Kenny Bednarek (20.37s), Alexander Ogando (20.22s), and De Grasse (20.41s) have clocked those times this year and are top contenders on the start list. 

Women’s 100m Hurdles

Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn takes on 2019 world champion Nia Ali, Olympic bronze medallist Megan Tapper, European indoor champion Reetta Hurske, and rising US duo Alaysha Johnson and Tonea Marshall.

Ali already has a win and a third-place finish this season, so will be gunning for a famous victory against Camacho-Quinn.

Men’s Javelin Throw

Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra will open his season in the javelin. The Indian superstar extended his national record to 89.94m last year and was incredibly consistent in the high 80s, so he will be keen to join the 90-meter club at some point this season.

Two men who joined that club for the first time at the 2022 Doha meeting will be back in the Qatari capital this week. Two-time world champion Anderson Peters threw 93.07m to win in Doha last year in a thrilling competition with world and Olympic medallist Jakub Vadlejch, who set a PB of 90.88m.

Trinidad and Tobago’s 2012 Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott and Kenya’s 2015 world champion Julius Yego – two more 90-meter performers – are also in the line-up, as are Germany’s European champion Julian Weber and Finland’s Oliver Helander.