Emmanuel Vagnoni, Marco Arop and others could close in on Kenya’s long-time mark in Lausanne, while Jakob Ingebrigtsen has a chance to exact revenge on Cole Hawker.
David Rudisha’s 800m world record could be in jeopardy when Olympic champion Emmanuel Vagnon heads a strong line-up at the Diamond League in Lausanne on Thursday (August 22).
Rudisha’s mark of 1:40.91 stands for 12 years but in Kenya Vagnoni ran 1:41.19 to win in Paris Canadian Marco Aropitz, the 2023 world champion who clocked 1:41.20 for silver in Paris.
Also in the field is France’s Gabriel Tual, who has a season’s best of 1:41.61, plus 1:41.67 runner Bryce Hoppel (USA), 1:42.04 of Spain’s Mohamed Atoui and Great Britain’s Elliot Giles.
If Rudisha’s mark holds, it is likely to be attacked again three days later when the Diamond League moves to Silesia, Poland. Also in the field for the occasion are Ben Pattison and Max Burgin, who are half-hearted on Seb Coe’s long-standing British record of 1:41.73.
The men’s 800m rankings have undergone a major overhaul this year, with Coe dropping from third to eighth on the all-time world list.
Meanwhile, the women’s 800m in Lausanne is missing Keeley Hodgkinson as she returns to training after a well-deserved post-Olympic break, but in her absence there is still a strong line-up with Kenya’s Mary Moraa and Britain’s Georgia Bell and Gemma. Ricky:
The Athletissima meet also gives Jakob Ingebrigtsen a chance to get back on track as he faces Olympic 1500m champion Cole Hawker in the 1500m.
Also included are Hobbs Kessler (USA), Azedine Habz (France), Timothy Cheruiyot (Kenya) and George Mills (UK).
Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, the 200m Olympic champion, is one of the leading sprinters. With Noah Lyles already closing out his season, Tebogo faces Americans Fred Curley and Erion Knighton.
Britain’s Daryl Neita and Dina Asher-Smith will compete with Ivory Coast’s Marie-José Tha Lou-Smith and Swiss star Mujinga Kambundji in the women’s 100m, while Matt Hudson-Smith and Charlie Dobson will compete in the men’s 400m with Muzala Sambuk and Muzala Samyuk. Vernon Norwood from the United States.
The men’s long jump features two-time Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglu of Greece against Jamaica’s Wayne Pinnock, Italy’s Mattia Furlani and Switzerland’s Simon Ehamer.
READ MORE. David Rudisha in his biggest race
More than 13,000 spectators are expected at a sold-out stadium in La Ponte, and in Oshie, several thousand fans are expected to watch the free street pole vault event with Mondo Duplantis on August 21.
Elsewhere, Olympic champions Jaroslava Mahuchych, Grant Holloway and Yemisi Ogunle compete in the high jump, sprint hurdles and shot put.
The match will be shown live on BBC2 from 7-9pm on Thursday 22 August.
Schedule and results here