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The 2021 season of the Diamond League series will continue, with the action being shifted to Doha on Friday. The series commenced with Gateshead hosting its first meeting on May 23rd and will be followed by Rome/Florence on June 10th.
The 2021 Doha Diamond League will see top athletes from across the world vying for competitive points to book a berth at the Diamond League final in Zurich. In Doha, a total of 14 out of 32 senior events will take place.
In this article, we take a look at the top 10 athletes to watch out for at the 2021 Doha Diamond League.
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#10 Sandi Morris - Pole Vault women
The women's pole vault event will kick off at the 2021 Doha Diamond League and all eyes will be on USA's Sandi Morris. She has a season's best jump of 4.80m and would like to improve her performance to touch the personal best mark of 5.00m.
The 2016 Rio silver medallist will face stiff competition from her countrymate Katie Nageotte and Russia's Anzhelika Sidorova. Sandi finished second at the 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships behind Anzhelika, who surprised everyone with a personal best of 4.95m.
#9 Sandra Perkovic - Discus Throw women
Following the women's pole vault event, the 2021 Doha Diamond League will continue with the women's discus throw event. Heading into the event as the favorite, Croatia's Sandra Perkovic has a personal best score of 71.41m. No woman has thrown the discus at a larger distance in the last 29 years.
The two-time Olympic gold medallist, however, has a personal best of only 65.25m this season. Cuba's Yaime Perez (68.99m) and USA's Valaria Allman (66.46m) have better throws this season and will be her key competitors in the women's pole vault event.
#8 Yulimar Rojas - Triple Jump women
Venezuela's Yulimar Rojas will return to the 2021 Diamond League in Doha after missing the Gateshead Grand Prix. The 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championship winner in the women's triple jump category has a personal best of 15.43m.
Columbia's Caterine Ibarguen and Kazakhstan's Olga Rypakova are the only other athletes to have breached the 15m mark in their careers and will take the field in Doha. Shanieka Ricketts, who won the first leg of the Diamond League, would also like to repeat her feat by continuing her form in Doha.
#7 Rai Benjamin - 400m Hurdles men
USA's Rai Benjamin will take the field as the favorite to clinch gold in the 400m men's hurdles race after Norway's Karsten Warholm withdrew from the 2021 Doha Diamond League. Rai has a personal best of 46.98 seconds and a season's best of 47.13 seconds in the event.
The 2019 IAAF World Athletics silver medallist will lock horns with Qatar's Samba Abderrahman, who also has a personal best of 46.98 seconds, for the top prize. Rai said Kevin Young's long-standing world record in the men's 400m hurdles race could be broken this year. It remains to be seen if Doha will be the venue.
#6 Mutaz Essa Barshim - High Jump men
Although no crowds are allowed in the 2021 Doha Diamond League, Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim will like to make the most of his home advantage and jump hope with a gold medal.
The 2017 and 2019 IAAF World Athletics championship winner in the men's high jump category has a personal best of 2.43m and a season's best of 2.30m. His main competitors on Friday will be the 2016 Rio Olympic gold medallist Derek Drouin and Russia's Ilya Ivanyuk.
#5 Justin Gatlin - 200m men
After losing the 100m race to Fred Kerley in the Golden Spike meet in Ostrava, USA's Justin Gatlin would like to make amends at the 200m event in the 2021 Doha Diamond League. The veteran has a personal best of 19.57, quickest on the entry list, and will be racing his first 200m sprints this season.
Competing against him in Doha will be his countrymate Kenneth Bednarek, who ran a sub-20 race at Gateshead to win gold. Canada's Aaron Brown and Andre De Grasse complete the star-studded line-up.
#4 Amel Tuka - 800m men
Bosnia's Amel Tuka will fight for top honors in the men's 800m category after American Donavan Brazier decided to skip the Doha leg of the Diamond League. The 2019 IAAF World Athletics silver medallist has a personal best of 1:42.51 minutes and a season's best of 1:46.64 minutes.
Amel, however, needs to be wary of the threat posed by the Kenyan trio of Cornelius Tuwei, Wycliffe Kinyamal, and Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich, who have a season's best of 1:44.63, 1:46.09, and 1:45.64 minutes respectively.
#3 Kirani James - 400m men
Kirani James will carry expectations of the entire nation of Grenada on his shoulders when he takes the field at the men's 400m race in Doha. The 2012 London gold medallist and 2016 Rio silver medallist has a personal best of 43.74 seconds and a season's best of 44.74 seconds.
Kirani's path, however, will not be laid on roses. The American duo of Michael Norman and Fred Kerley, who have a season's best of 43.64 and 43.45 seconds respectively, will pose as tough competition.
Kirani James is yet to win a medal since his silver in Rio 2016 in major competitions and Doha will be a nice venue for the Grenadian to prove his detractors wrong.
#2 Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce - 100m women
Veteran Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce would like to avenge her women's 100m loss at the Gateshead Grand Prix by winning gold at Doha. The Jamaican clocked 11.51 seconds and finished fourth, while Dina Asher-Smith of Great Britain won the race with a timing of 11.35 seconds.
The six-time Olympic medallist has a personal best of 10.70 seconds and a season's best of 11.51 seconds in the event. Shelly-Ann recently said that her season's goal is to break her personal best of 10.70 seconds. It remains to be seen if she can achieve that in Doha.
ALSO READ| Doha Diamond League 2021: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce aims to run below 10.70 this year in women's 100m
#1 Hellen Obiri - 3000m women
The Diamond League event in Doha will end with the women's 3000m race. Kenya's Hellen Obiri has a personal best of 8:20.68 minutes and will run her first race of the season at the aforementioned distance.
The 2016 silver medallist at the Rio Games in the women's 5000m race will face competition from countrymates Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi and Lilian Kasait Rengeruk. A gold medal in the Doha Diamond League will give a huge boost to her Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games preparations.
Which of these 10 athletes do you think will win gold medals in the 2021 Doha Diamond League? Sound off in the comments section.
