Must-Watch Record Chase: Women’s Mile

Monaco is the site of the current world record in the women’s mile (Sifan Hassan’s 4:12.33 from 2019) as well as the former record in the 1500m (Genzebe Dibaba’s 3:50.07 from 2015), so when you see Faith Kipyegon’s name on the start list with two WRs under her belt already this season, you have to think she’s targeting number 3. Kipyegon’s 3:49.11 1500m converts to a 4:07 mile so she should have quite the cushion to play with, but that doesn’t mean she won’t still have her work cut out for her to keep this incredible season going and stay as sharp as possible while still targeting gold in Budapest. Behind her, the company of Laura Muir, Konstanze Klosterhalfen, and Freweyni Hailu should keep the pressure on in the middle laps, and after a PB in Oslo, Nikki Hiltz has to be thinking about the American record of 4:16.71. But they may have to go through Elise Cranny to do it as the 10k/5k champ is moving down in distance here.

Must-Watch Momentum: Men’s 400m Hurdles

This race was initially billed as the three best 400m hurdles in the world throwing down before Worlds. But with Rai Benjamin’s withdrawal out of an abundance of caution as he returns to healthy training from a tough start to the season – only 2 of the 3 medalists from 2022 Worlds will be present. Reigning World champ Alison Dos Santos is still coming back from injury and only opened up his season five days ago with a flat 400m in Silesia, but he’s tackling the hurdles for the first time in 2023 here. Olympic champ and world record holder Karsten Warholm is back to his top form, on the other hand. Warholm’s 46.52 from Oslo in June is the fastest time recorded outside a championship setting in the event, and at that race he had no competition. Here’s hoping dos Santos or even CJ Allen is strong enough to apply some pressure late in the race to see just how low Warholm can go in mid-season fitness.

Must-Watch USA v. Jamaica: Women’s 200m

Shericka Jackson is staying busy and picking up appearance fees this summer. 5 days after her showdown with 100m rival Sha’Carri Richardson, she’s headed to Monaco to throw down with 200m world leader Gabby Thomas and NCAA champion Julien Alfred in her specialty event. Jackson has already run 21.71 this year and with World Championships gold and a 21.45 PB, she has to be considered the favorite even though Thomas has run 21.60, Alfred is undefeated in the 200m this year, and 2019 World champ Dina Asher-Smith is on home turf. Even without Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Richardson, this is probably the strongest 200m field we’ve seen toe the line this season and could easily be considered a preview of the final in Budapest.

Must-Watch Depth Chart: Women’s 400m

As pointed out by our own Kyle Merber on Twitter, a speedy day for the women’s 400m field could end in a record-breaking number of sub-50 performances. The record for one race is six, and with six entrants with sub-50 personal bests, 800m specialist Mary Moraa on the come-up, and 48.74 woman Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone to chase, we could potentially see a race of historic depth. It would be a stretch for all seven finishers to break 50 seconds, but nevertheless it will be thrilling to see NCAA champ and Irish record holder Rhasidat Adeleke’s pro debut and McLaughlin-Levrone’s first race post-USAs. After Marileidy Paulino’s surprise loss in Poland last weekend, many of these athletes have to be thinking that another spot on the Worlds podium just opened up. Delivering a top-3 performance in a field of this caliber would certainly make a compelling case.

Must-Watch Revenge Tour: Men’s 5000m

The recurring theme of USAs for Bowerman Track Club’s Cooper Teare was landing on the bad side of close races. First, the 2022 U.S. 1500m champ was unable to defend his title after missing the final with a fourth-place finish in his heat, only 0.04 seconds from advancing. He bounced back to a strong performance in the 5000m two days later but still ended up 5th, two spots and 1.04 seconds out of podium position. So it was exciting to see Teare added to the 5000m field for his second-ever Diamond League race (first outside the U.S.), where he should have ample opportunity to channel any lingering frustration into a shiny new PB. Teare’s 5000m best is 13:06.73 but that was achieved at a glorified time trial in California; with seven sub-12:50 men in this race, he’ll have plenty of strong competition to help him chase a sub-13 time. 12:58.78 is also the time to beat to land on the U.S. top-10 all-time list. If Teare, at 23 years old, does manage to crack the top 10, he’ll be the youngest addition to that list by a good margin (Teare’s teammate Grant Fisher is currently the youngest at 25 years and 4 months when he set his American record).

London Athletics Meet

This meet has had many names, dating back to its inception as the International Games in 1953, but the somewhat inauspiciously-renamed “London Athletics Meet” always delivers, no matter what you call it. Times were a little slow at least year’s meet on a cool, wet day in Birmingham, but with the event returning to the London Olympic stadium (also the site of the 2017 World Athletics Championships), we should be in store for some world-class performances as well.

Schedule & results | Streaming info

Must-Watch Showcase: Men’s 200m

We’ve already had a banner year for U.S. sprints, but one matchup we haven’t seen yet is U.S. champ Erriyon Knighton vs. World champ Noah Lyles in the 200m. We were supposed to get its debut here, but after Knighton suffered his first loss of the season in the 200m to the lesser-known Dominican Alex Ogando earlier this week, Knighton has withdrawn from the competition in London. Instead we'll see Lyles face off with Ogando, Bostwanan phenom Letsile Tobago, and red-hot Brit Zharnel Hughes. With Knighton's exit, Lyles should be the heavy favorite (as he likely was before), and with a few more weeks of healthy training post-USAs under his belt, all eyes will be on him to see just how low the American record holder can go in the middle of the season.

Must-Watch Rivalry: Women’s Long Jump

Speaking of American track and field rivalries, the Tara Davis-Woodhall/Quanesha Burks show is crossing the pond for another battle in the women’s long jump. Davis-Woodhall came out on top at USAs and has only lost once this season, to Larissa Iapichino at the Rome Diamond League on June 2nd, so she has to be considered the favorite. But you can’t count out Burks, who looked so strong opening her season in April but had a bit of a mixed bag, results-wise until pulling out a 6.82m second-place finish at USAs. They’ll face a strong field of international competition that includes European indoor champion Jazmin Sawyers, multi-event star Katarina Johnson-Thompson, and 3x global medalist Ivana Vuleta. Davis-Woodhall is the only jumper over 7 meters wind-legal this season but Vuleta and Australian Brooke Buschkuehl have PBs of 7.10m and 7.13m, so if they return to top form the battle for the win could be fierce.

Must-Watch Crowded Field: Men’s 1500m

It seems like everyone not named Jakob Ingebrigtsen is in this one: 2019 World champ Timothy Cheruiyot, OAC stars Mario Garcia Romo, Olli Hoare, and Yared Nuguse, Irish record holder Andrew Coscoran, British champ Neil Gourley, and 2021 U.S. champ Cole Hocker, to name a few. As much as we love watching Ingebrigtsen race, his absence arguably makes this event more exciting as it evens the playing field and makes things far less predictable. 14 of the 15 entrants in this one have personal bests between 3:28.28 and 3:31.56, and it’s hard to say anyone is the outright favorite. Cheruiyot and Australian Stewy McSweyn will likely get right on the rabbits and keep things honest, but with the blistering kicks of Nuguse and Hocker to contend with, someone like Hoare may want to lead a drive from 400 meters out or farther to take some of the sting out of the fast finishers’ legs. It’s easy to write off this race as a battle for world #2, but a dominant performance over this field could be a sign that someone might be rounding into the kind of form that would make Jakob sweat.