Must-Watch Event: Women’s 400m

It’s been teased for months, and it’s finally (Hopefully! Keep refreshing that start list…) here. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, the undisputed greatest 400-meter hurdler in the world, is finally testing her potential in the flat 400m.

After her much-hyped 47.9 split on the 4x400m at the 2022 World Championships last summer, whispers of “world record part 2” grew louder. Marita Koch’s 1985 mark of 47.60 is one of the oldest records on the track still standing, and no one has even cracked 48 seconds in the open event since that day. But McLaughlin-Levrone fans are hoping her combination of generational talent, strong competition, and the legendary coaching prowess of Bobby Kersee will put her on a level few have ascended when she finally puts her mind to it.

McLaughlin-Levrone’s personal best is “only” 50.07, but given her 50.68 400H PB and the fact that her hurdles best was two full seconds slower at the time, most of the sane world considers her a 48-second caliber runner. Fortunately, she’ll have two strong challengers to face in Paris in Dominican Marileidy Paulino, the reigning Olympic and World silver medalist who’s already run sub-49 this year, and Bahrainain Salwa Eid Naser, who’s quietly returning to form after serving an 18-month ban for a drug-testing whereabouts failure. You should expect McLaughlin-Levrone to win but don’t expect a world record on the first attempt; more likely a strong 48-mid performance will serve as a rust-buster for the famously race-averse star as she gears up for Worlds in August. More interesting will be the ease with which she runs, and how seriously she is challenged by Paulino and Naser.

Must-Watch Athlete: Keely Hodgkinson

With Athing Mu focusing on the 1500m and/or missing in action, middle-distance fans will turn their attention to the other young 800m phenom, 21-year-old Brit Keely Hodgkinson whose short (so far) career already includes World and Olympic silver, the British indoor and outdoor 800m records, and a formidable 1:55.88 personal best. Hodgkinson had a strong start to the year, completing an undefeated indoor season highlighted by a world best in the 600 meters, and it will be fun to see how long she can keep the winning streak alive as she makes her debut outdoors.

It won’t come easy as the stacked 800m field features 2019 world champ Halimah Nakaayi of Uganda, notorious front-runner Natoya Goule of Jamaica, and a trio of savvy American racers in Raevyn Rogers, Sage Hurta-Klecker, and Ajee’ Wilson. Wilson is rocking a clean card of her own for 2023, undefeated across 7 races indoors and out, so she’s probably the woman to beat. Either way, someone’s winning streak is coming to an end and we’ll get a sense of whether Hodgkinson is in the kind of shape to make a reigning World and Olympic champion nervous.

Must-Watch Matchups: U.S. Field Stars

We’re getting another chapter of two of the great rivalries of the sport this weekend, as American pole vaulters Katie Moon and Sandi Morris square off alongside shot putters Maggie Ewen and Chase Ealey.

Moon and Morris are training partners and no stranger to competing against one another, with over 60 head-to-head matchups on the books. In 2023, Moon has the advantage 2-1 over Morris, but Morris can’t be counted out and is back up to 4.71 meters after missing the indoor season entirely. They’ll go another round in Paris but vaulters like Slovenian Tina Sutej or Canadian Alysha Newman could easily play spoiler and come out on top.

In the shot put, the only two throwers over 20 meters this season are Americans Ewen and Ealey. Ealey was dominant on the 2022 scene, capping an undefeated outdoor season with World and Outdoor titles, but 2023 has been a bit more up-and-down, her most recent result being an uncharacteristically poor performance in Hengelo last weekend. She has a lifetime head-to-head advantage of 25-17 over Ewen, but the latter is the world leader thanks to a 20.45-meter moonshot she launched at the LA Grand Prix. Whether she can replicate that performance and whether Ealey is dealing with health or technical issues are central questions that their showdown will help answer.

Must-Watch Debut: Abby Steiner

Abby Steiner raced a lot in 2022, and she’s already kicked off her season with a series of strong 100-meter races on the international circuit, but we’ve yet to see the NCAA champ and record holder race her signature 200-meter event in a Diamond League race. That changes Friday, where she’ll face off with World bronze medalist Dina Asher-Smith and Olympic bronze medalist Gabby Thomas in Paris. We’ll have to wait and see if the injury-prone Asher-Smith makes it to the starting line, as she withdrew from last week’s 100m at the last minute, but either way, Steiner will be in the hunt for her first Diamond League victory against a talented field.

Friday’s forecast for Paris is warm (which sprinters like) but rainy (which nobody likes), so if the weather doesn’t cooperate we may not see a sub-22 second victory, but the competition will certainly provide a window into who may be a podium contender later this summer.

Here's what she said to us after her race in Florence.