Richardson returns
After missing out on what would have been her first Olympic Games, US sprint prodigy Sha'Carri Richardson will be raring to go when she returns to Wanda Diamond League action on home soil in Eugene. The 21-year-old is still waiting for her first Diamond League victory, and will face a tough test with the likes of Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah and Jamaican legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce also in the starting blocks in the 100m. She wil also feature in an equally star-studded 200m line-up against Allyson Felix, Dina Asher-Smith and Marie-Josée Ta Lou. Having missed out on a shot at Olympic gold, the Diamond Trophy is now Richardson's only chance of a major international title in 2021.
Ingebrigtsen v Cheruiyot
Timothy Cheruiyot has dominated the 1500m in recent years with three successive Diamond League titles from 2017 onwards and World Athletics Championship gold in 2019. Yet there appears to be a changing of the guard taking place in the middle distance, with Norwegian starlet Jakob Ingebrigtsen cruising to the gold medal and an Olympic record in Tokyo. Ingebrigtsen has just one win to Cheruiyot's three on the Wanda Diamond League circuit so far this year, and the Kenyan will be looking to reestablish himself as the firm favourite for the Diamond Trophy when the two go head to head again in the Bowerman Mile in Eugene.
Kipyegon v Muir
The women's 1500m will also see a gold versus silver rematch as Kenyan Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon takes on British star Laura Muir, who claimed her first ever Olympic medal with a second place finish behind Kipyegon in Tokyo. While Muir won the season opener in Gateshead, Kipyegon also got crucial points under her belt with a (since-bettered) national record in Monaco. Sifan Hassan, who won bronze in Tokyo, will be running the 5000m in a non-Diamond League event in Eugene, where she hopes to attack the world record.
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Shot put heavyweights
Another man who has dominated his discipline in recent years is New Zealand's Tom Walsh. The 2017 world champion has won three of the last four Diamond League titles in the men's shot put, and has two wins out of two on the circuit in 2021 so far. In Tokyo, he had to settle for the bronze medal behind US rivals Ryan Crouser and Joe Kovacs, but Eugene will provide an immediate opportunity to set the record straight and stay on course for a Diamond League clean sweep this season. Walsh remains favourite to win the Diamond Trophy, a prize which has so far eluded Olympic champion Crouser.
High-class 100m
The women's 100m will not be the only sizzling sprint battle in Oregon, with a whole host of Olympic medallists also set to take to the blocks in the men's race. 200m gold medallist Andre De Grasse takes on Fred Kerley, who edged him to the silver medal in the 100m in Tokyo, while other Americans such as Ronnie Baker and Trayvon Bromell will be looking to make up for Olympic disappointment by resuming their title charge in the Wanda Diamond League. Bromell picked up his first Diamond League win in Gateshead just before the Olympics, while Baker has two wins on the circuit so far this year.
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