In a 45-hour span this weekend, a bevy of the biggest stars in track and field will compete, some chasing records and others in showdowns that will be previews of next month’s world championships.
Peacock airs live coverage of Diamond League meets in Monaco (Friday, 2-4 p.m. ET) and London (Sunday, 9-11 a.m.). CNBC airs highlights on Saturday from 1-3 p.m. (Monaco) and Sunday from 2-4 (London).
Start with Monaco, annually one of the top two one-day meets in the world.
This year, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is entered in the 400m, two weeks after running the second-fastest time in American history in an event she began focusing on in the last year.
McLaughin-Levrone, who is eschewing her trademark 400m hurdles to race the flat 400m at next month’s worlds, won the U.S. title in 48.74 seconds, just four hundredths off 2012 Olympic champion Sanya Richards-Ross’ American record.
McLaughlin-Levrone lowered her 400m personal best in all three of her meets this season, so Richards-Ross’ record is under threat.
Also in Monaco, Kenyan Faith Kipyegon could target a third world record this season. Kipyegon, a 29-year-old mom, already broke the 1500m and 5000m world records on consecutive Fridays in June.
She’s entered in the mile in Monaco, a distance she last contested in 2016. The world record is 4:12.33, set by Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan in 2019 at this meet.
Sunday’s meet in London is headlined by sprints. The women’s 100m entries include the three fastest women this year — Jamaican Shericka Jackson, American Sha’Carri Richardson and Ivorian Marie-Josée Ta Lou.
American Noah Lyles, the world’s fastest man in the 200m this year, and Brit Zharnel Hughes, the world’s fastest man in the 100m this year, are entered in the 200m. Lyles can break his tie with Usain Bolt for the record of 34 times breaking 20 seconds in a wind-legal 200m.
Start lists are here: Monaco | London. Here are five events to watch:
Men’s Pole Vault — Friday, 1:10 p.m. ET
Mondo Duplantis has taken six world record attempts since he last upped the record to 6.22 meters on Feb. 25. In Monaco, the field includes the top five world championships seeds as things stand. Nobody has beaten Duplantis since last September.
Men’s 400m Hurdles — Friday, 2:04 p.m. ET
Olympic gold medalist and world record holder Karsten Warholm of Norway faces world champion Alison dos Santos of Brazil, the third-fastest man in history. American Rai Benjamin, the Olympic and world silver medalist, provisionally entered Monaco, then withdrew. He went eight weeks without clearing a hurdle before running three rounds in three days at nationals two weeks ago. Like Benjamin, Warholm and dos Santos have fought injury over the last year-plus. Warholm was seventh at last year’s worlds in a rushed comeback from a torn hamstring. This is dos Santos’ first 400m hurdles since Sept. 12 after he had February knee surgery.
Women’s 400m — Friday, 2:15 p.m. ET
McLaughlin-Levrone became the 10th-fastest woman in history with her U.S. title-winning time two weeks ago, lowering her personal best by 77 hundredths. Only two women have ever broken 48 seconds, and that’s not out of the question at some point this summer given McLaughlin-Levrone’s trajectory this season and her penchant for delivering her best at global championships. Also in this field: NCAA champion Rhasidat Adeleke of Ireland, who is fourth-best in the world this year.
Women’s Mile — Friday, 2:35 p.m. ET
Kipyegon’s personal best from 2015 is 4.38 seconds slower than Hassan’s world record, but, again, Kipyegon hasn’t raced the mile since 2016. Recall that she broke the 5000m world record in her first time racing that distance in eight years. This field includes the top four women from Kipyegon’s 1500m world record run last month, led by Olympic 1500m silver medalist Laura Muir of Great Britain.
Women’s 100m — Sunday, 10:40 a.m. ET
Jackson, Richardson and Ta Lou were originally slated to face off at last Sunday’s meet in Silesia, Poland, but Ta Lou was a late scratch. They’ve combined to clock the 12 fastest times in this world this year, led by Jackson’s 10.65. Richardson beat Jackson in their two head-to-heads this season, then took her first defeat of 2023 at a lower-level meet on Tuesday. Winner here is likely the world championships favorite.
