World record holder Faith Kipyegon is set to return to the meeting where she first made history by setting her world 1500m record.

This year’s event will take place at its traditional home in Rome, rather than Florence.

Faith Kipyegon’s form

Kipyegon, who recently secured her third consecutive Olympic 1500m title in Paris with a Games record of 3:51.29, just two seconds off her own world record of 3:49.04, will face a strong field as she looks to build on her Olympic success and secure a spot in the Wanda Diamond League Final in Brussels on September 13-14.

Kipyegon will be joined in Rome by Jess Hull, the Australian runner who finished behind her in both her world record run and at the Olympic Games.

The competition will also feature World Indoor Champion Freweyni Hailu and Ethiopian rising star Birke Haylom.

After rewriting history with world records in three different disciplines last season, Kipyegon has continued her exceptional form in 2024, most notably with her third Olympic gold medal.

Her only Diamond League appearance this season was in Paris, where she broke her own 1500m world record with a stunning 3:49.04.

Currently sitting 11th in the Diamond League standings, Kipyegon needs another strong performance in Rome to secure her qualification for the final and defend the Diamond League title she claimed in Eugene last year.

The men’s 5000m race in Rome promises to be equally competitive, with five of the top six finishers from the Olympic final set to compete.

Kenya’s Ronald Kwemoi and USA’s Grant Fisher, who claimed Olympic silver and bronze respectively, will challenge world leader Hagos Gebrhiwet, European 10,000m champion Dominic Lobalu, Ethiopian teenager Biniam Mehary, Canada’s Mohammed Ahmed, and Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha.

In the sprints, Kishane Thompson of Jamaica, who narrowly missed out on the Olympic 100m crown by just five-thousandths of a second, is set to return to action in Rome.

Thompson, who clocked a world-leading 9.77 earlier this year, was forced to withdraw from the recent Diamond League meeting in Silesia due to tightness during warm-up.

He will now face Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, the 200m champion from Paris, as well as 2022 world champion Fred Kerley, 2021 Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs, world indoor champion Christian Coleman, world indoor bronze medallist Ackeem Blake, and African record-holder Ferdinand Omanyala.

In the women’s 100m hurdles, Jamaican record-holder Ackera Nugent will renew her rivalry with Olympic champion Masai Russell, following their recent clash in Silesia.

The line-up also includes Olympic silver medallist Cyrena Samba-Mayela, USA’s Alaysha Johnson, Swiss record-holder Ditaji Kambundji, former world record-holder Kendra Harrison, and Nadine Visser of the Netherlands.

The women’s 400m hurdles will see Anna Cockrell, the Olympic silver medallist who ranks fourth on the world all-time list, lead the field.

She will compete against compatriot and two-time world medallist Shamier Little, as well as Jamaican Olympic finalists Rushell Clayton and Shiann Salmon.

Diamond League 400

In the men’s 400m, Olympic bronze medallist Muzala Samukonga will go up against Jereem Richards, the 2022 world indoor champion, and Kirani James, the 2012 Olympic champion. All three athletes finished under 43 seconds in Paris.

Meanwhile, USA’s Brittany Brown, an Olympic bronze medallist, will headline the women’s 200m event, where she will face European gold and silver medallists Mujinga Kambundji and Daryll Neita.

The Wanda Diamond League, the premier one-day meeting series in athletics, consists of 15 of the most prestigious events in global track and field. Athletes compete for points at the 14 series meetings in a bid to qualify for the two-day Wanda Diamond League Final in Brussels on September 13-14.