Summer track season explodes into action

Jakob Ingebrigtsen vs Yared Nuguse at the Diamond League in Rabat is just one of a number of exciting athletics events around the world this weekend

The much-anticipated sprint showdown between world 100m champion Fred Kerley and Olympic gold medallist Marcell Jacobs at the Diamond League in Rabat on Sunday may have disintegrated due to Jacobs’ sustaining an injury, but there is still plenty to look forward to in a power-packed weekend of athletics.

If you thought last weekend was busy with the Night of the 10,000m PBs, Great Manchester Run and Loughborough International, the next couple of days see the action ramped up several notches with lots of top athletes opening their season and hundreds of leading Brits in action at home and abroad.

The highlight is the second Diamond League meeting of the summer in Rabat, Morocco, on Sunday. Jacobs might be out of the men’s 100m, but there is still a great line-up with Kerley, fellow American Trayvon Bromell and in-form Kenyan Ferdinand Omanyala.

There is also an intriguing men’s 1500m with Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway making his 2023 outdoor debut against rising American star Yared Nuguse plus Australia’s Commonwealth champion Olli Hoare.

Elsewhere world champions Shericka Jackson, Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Grant Holloway are in action.

Soufiane El Bakkali will enjoy home support as he takes on Getnet Wale of Ethiopia and Conseslus Kipruto of Kenya in the 3000m steeplechase.

Brits in action include high jumper Morgan Lake, discus man Lawrence Okoye and 400m sprinters Matt Hudson-Smith and Alex Haydock-Wilson.

For viewers in the UK the meeting is on BBC Three with timetable and start lists here.

Warner, Vetter and KJT in Götzis

Damian Warner and Anouk Vetter return to defend their Hypomeeting titles at the world’s No.1 combined events meeting in Austria on Saturday and Sunday (May 27-28).

After her promising early-season results at the Loughborough International last weekend, Katarina Johnson-Thompson will be in action too with fellow Brit Jade O’Dowda.

READ MORE: KJT confident ahead of Götzis

The star-studded heptathlon and decathlon line-ups include not only Olympic champion Warner of Canada and Olympic silver medallist Vetter of the Netherlands but also fellow Dutch heptathlete Emma Oosterwegel, Carolin Schafer of Germany, Anna Hall and Annie Kunz of the United States, Adriana Sulek of Poland, world under-20 champion Saga Vanninen from Finland, Pierce LePage of Canada, Lindon Victor from Grenada and Simon Ehammer from Switzerland.

Warner will be going for his eighth victory in Götzis, whereas Johnson-Thompson won there in 2014 and 2019 and the meeting is due to be shown here.

Duplantis, Richardson, Crouser in LA

With Los Angeles gearing up to stage the Olympics in 2028, top-class athletics comes to the city on Friday and Saturday with the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix.

The event is also part of the Continental Tour Gold series and will be held at the Drake Stadium over two days.

On Friday night (May 26) there is British interest with miler Neil Gourley testing his stamina in the 5000m along with Jack Rowe, whereas Katie Snowden runs the 1500m, Zak Seddon the 3000m steeplechase and Thomas Staines the 800m.

On Saturday (May 27) Mondo Duplantis opens his outdoor season and takes on Sam Kendricks, the American returning from injury, plus fellow US athlete Chris Nilsen, whereas Katie Moon and Sandi Morris square off in the women’s pole vault.

Timothy Cheruiyot of Kenya faces Americans Cooper Teare and Matt Centrowitz among others in the 1500m.

After her blistering start to the season in Doha and Nairobi, Sha’Carri Richardson is back on her home soil and facing Marie Josée Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast in the women’s 100m, while Christian Coleman runs the men’s 100m.

In the women’s 100m hurdles, world champion and world record-holder Tobi Amusan of Nigeria runs against Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, the Olympic champion from Puerto Rico.

In what is being described as LA’s biggest athletics event for more than a decade, Ryan Crouser is in the men’s shot put along with fellow American Josh Awotunde and New Zealander Tom Walsh.

Results and start lists here with coverage live here on Friday and on Viaplay in the UK on Saturday.

Emsley Carr Mile at BMC GP Manchester

The highlight of the first British Milers’ Club Grand Prix meeting of the summer is the Emsley Carr Mile on Saturday (May 27).

The historic race was first held in 1953 and won by Gordon Pirie. Since then many of the sport’s best-known milers have won the event including Seb Coe, Steve Ovett, Jim Ryun, Haile Gebrselassie and Hicham El Guerrouj – to name just a few.

The last time it was held in Manchester was 2007 when it was won by American Jon Rankin at Stretford in 3:54.24. This time the line-ups at nearby Sportcity include Piers Copeland and Adam Fogg, whereas the Millicent Fawcett Mile has been turned into a ‘metric mile’, or 1500m, for this meeting with Sarah McDonald and Abi Ives among the entries.

The 2022 Emsley Carr Mile incidentally was part of the Night of the 10,000m PBs and won by Matt Stonier (above) with a late charge.

Emile Cairess and European under-20 cross-country champ Will Barnicoat are entered in the men’s 5000m, whereas the women’s 800m includes Ciara Mageean, Lynsey Sharp, Australia’s Abbey Caldwell, Khai Mhlanga and Phoebe Gill.

The event has Continental Tour ‘Challenger’ status and the timetable and entries are here with live coverage from vincosport.com from 3.20pm.

Brits descend on Belgium and Germany

Well over 100 Brits are set to compete in the EA Challenger Meeting in Oordegem on Saturday with a live stream expected here, whereas middle-distance runners Elliot Giles, Matt Stonier, George Mills, Aimee Pratt, Ellie Baker, Ben Pattison and others are set to race in Rehlingen on Sunday.

The above is just a snapshot of what is happening in the world of athletics this weekend too.

» Subscribe to AW magazine here