The Diamond League Heads to Rome for Fourth Stop

By Adam Kopet

The Diamond League continues Thursday in Rome for the fourth stop on the season-long series. Athletes will be hoping for better weather than they saw last week in Stockholm, where the biggest story was the cold wind.

ENTRIES

The men's 200 meters might be the highlight of the meet, with Noah Lyles and Michael Norman meeting for the second time since 2016 when they dazzled audiences at the U.S. Olympic Trials with fourth- and fifth-place finishes. Lyles broke the national high school record in 20.09 seconds, with Norman just behind in 20.14.

The two raced last year in Lausanne, again over 200 meters. Lyles once again got the better of Norman, winning in 19.69. Norman finished second in 19.88.

This year, both athletes are fully professional. Lyles elected to turn pro out of high school in 2016. Norman turned pro after winning the 400 meters at the 2018 NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Championships in a collegiate-record 43.61. However, he continued to wear his USC uniform during his short European tour.

In other events, Jenny Simpson will take on some of the world's best middle-distance runners in the 1,500 meters. She will face off against the likes of Great Britain's Laura Muir, Morocco's Rababe Arafi, Kenya's Winny Chebet and the Ethiopian trio of Genzebe Dibaba, Dewit Seyaum and Gudaf Tsegay. All of those athletes have broke four minutes. Elinor Purrier is also slated to race.

The women's pole vault also includes plenty of stars. Jenn Suhr will make a rare international appearance, competing against Sandi Morris and Katie Nageotte, as well as Greece's Olympic and world champion Katerina Stefanidi. Suhr is the world leader so far this year, having cleared 16-1.25 (4.91m).

Clayton Murphy and Donavan Brazier, training partners with the Nike Oregon Project, will race the 800 meters. There are 12 men on the start list, although at least one is likely a pacemaker. Also in the field is Botswana's Nijel Amos, Poland's Adam Kszczot and Canada's Brandon McBride, as well as the Kenyan trio of Wyclife Kinyamal, Jonathan Kitilit and Ferguson Rotich.

The women's 400-meter hurdles include a strong American trio of Dalilah Muhammad, Kori Carter and Shamier Little. Muhammad is the world leader with a 53.61 clocking this year. She was the 2016 Olympic champion. Carter is the reigning world champion.

Other notable American's competing in Rome are Joe Kovacs and Darrel Hill in the shot put, Kara Winger in the javelin, Brittney Reese in the long jump, Aleia Hobbs in the 100 meters and Ben True in the 5,000 meters, as well as Courtney Okolo and Kendall Ellis in the 400 meters.