Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis, Julien Alfred, and Oblique Seville are set to headline the Monaco Diamond League on Friday. The star-studded track and field meet is the 10th of 15 on the elite circuit. AFP Sport has highlighted five events to watch at the Stade Louis II stadium.
Duplantis Eyes 16th World Record
Pole vault world record holder Duplantis has promised to target a 16th world record in Monaco. The double Olympic and triple world champion set his first world record of 6.17m back in 2020 and established the most recent mark of 6.31m in Sweden in March. Duplantis, who recently relocated to Monaco, said, 'Now that I'm here and train here, this is my home stadium and I feel that a world record is needed and it would be fantastic if I was able to do that here.'
Alfred and Thomas to Clash in 200m
Reigning Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred will face a stiff challenge in the longer sprint. Alfred, who won the first-ever medal for her Caribbean island homeland, has recorded 21.86 seconds. She will compete against American Gabrielle Thomas, the reigning Olympic 200m champion, who has run 21.70 seconds. The world leader is Adaejah Hodge, with 21.68 seconds.
Seville to Lead Men's 100m
Reigning world champion Oblique Seville of Jamaica will race in the men's 100m. Seville, the 2026 world leader with 9.82 seconds, will be the man to beat. His main rivals include world indoor champion Jordan Anthony and Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo. A dark horse is Italy's 2021 Olympic 100m champion Marcell Jacobs, who raced to an astonishing 9.67 seconds in the 100m at last week's Austrian Open Eisenstadt, albeit with a tailwind of 4.1m/s.
Competitive Men's 1,000m Expected
The men's 1,000m is expected to be highly competitive. Olympic 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya will face Algerian Djamel Sedjati, Britons Jake Wightman and Ben Pattison, and Spain's Mohamed Attaoui, the world leader over the distance this season. French two-lap specialists Azeddine Habz and Gabriel Tual will also be contenders.
Olympic Triathlon Champions in Action
The Monaco meet will feature two Olympic triathlon champions testing their running mettle on the track. Britain's Alex Yee will run in a loaded men's 5,000m, while French eyes will be on Cassandre Beaugrand in the women's 3,000m. Beaugrand, who recently broke the French 5,000m record, will compete against Kenyan legend Faith Kipyegon, Australia's Jessica Hull, Italy's Nadia Battocletti, and Ethiopia's Freweyni Hailu, the 2026 world leader.
