Ostrava (Czech Republic) (AFP)
Duplantis, Cheptegei, Gatlin, Taylor, Zango, Richardson ...: Ostrava hosts Wednesday the first big meeting of the year which will allow to judge the state of form of several sizes of world athletics within two months of the Tokyo Olympics.
The Diamond League will not start until Sunday in Gateshead (Great Britain) but it is in the Czech Republic that the summer season will really kick off.
A popular destination for top executives, where legend Usain Bolt used to be, Ostrava this time offers an even more impressive cast than usual, like a foretaste of the Olympics.
Several duels are already mouth watering, starting with the one between the pole vault the Swedish prodigy Armand Duplantis (21) to the double American world champion Sam Kendricks.
The world record holder (6.18 m) made a very decent outdoor re-entry (5.90 m) on April 24, but he hopes to regain his usual standards at more than 6 m after having crossed 6.10 m this winter indoors.
The other clash to follow will pit the American Christian Taylor, double Olympic gold medalist and quadruple world champion in the triple jump, against the rising star of the discipline Hugues-Fabrice Zango.
The Burkinabé, protégé of Teddy Tamgho, entered the big leagues by becoming on January 16 the first man over 18 m indoors (18.07 m) and seems determined to end Taylor's supremacy in Tokyo. .
The 100m will also be one of the highlights of the meeting with the American veteran Justin Gatlin (39 years old) against his compatriot Fred Kerley, holder of the 2nd time of 2021 (9 sec 91), with the Canadian Andre De Grasse, 3rd of the Rio Olympics in 2016, in the role of referee.
It will also be necessary to keep an eye on the new king of the middle distance Joshua Cheptegei.
The Ugandan, who broke the world records in the 5,000m and 10,000m in 2020, will line up for the 3,000m, a distance not run in major championships.
On the women's side, the last nugget of the US sprint Sha'Carri Richardson (21) will face two-time world champion (2015, 2017) Dafne Schippers over 200m.
# photo1
On the French side, Alexandra Tavernier will have her sights set on her French hammer record (75.38 m), broken on February 21, while the world record holder Anita Wlodarczyk (82.98 m) intends to gain momentum, she who made a tentative return to competition in early May after a nearly two-year hiatus with a knee injury.
© 2021 AFP