The Women’s Discus Dog Fight Begins | 7:20 a.m. ET

On her recent appearance on ‘Out Of The Blocks’, 2023 world champion Laulauga Tausaga Collins told Jasmine Todd to “expect a dog fight” in the women’s discus in 2024. She shocked the world with her 69.49m launch to upset the favorites at the World Championships in Budapest and we’ll see all those same top dogs in action in China. Valarie Allman, 2023 World Championship silver medalist and reigning Olympic champion, opened up with a 67.98m throw and will be there. Yaimé Pérez, the 2019 World champion who defected from Cuba and missed the 2023 season, just recorded the farthest throw in the world since 1989 with a 73.09m toss in Ramona, Oklahoma. This will serve as an Olympic preview.

Aussies Chase The Standard And Lamecha Girma Tries Again | 7:25 a.m. ET

This meet’s 5000m field includes four men who have broken 13:00 but just two of the finalists from the 2023 World Championships in Australia’s Stewy McSweyn and Uganda’s Oscar Chelimo (who DNF’d in Budapest). We’re more likely to see the fastest 5000m performances of the year come in Oslo, Stockholm, or London before the Olympics but this will still be a good opportunity for McSweyn and Australian national champion Matthew Ramsden to get closer to that 13:05.00 Olympic standard and impress selectors for Paris.

Watch for 3000m steeplechase and indoor 3000m world record holder Lamecha Girma, who’s attempting a do-over at his 5000m debut. Last year, he tried the distance in Zurich but dropped out with two laps to go. For what it’s worth, his best runs last year show immense 5000m potential: 7:23.85 for 3000m is 12:41.46 for 5000m on the World Athletics Scoring Tables (and that’s based on an outdoor 3000m performance so an indoor one may correlate to a little faster) and 7:52.23 for steeple is 12:37.23 for 5000m 2:10 – which is just off Joshua Cheptegei’s 12:35.36 world record. That’s probably not happening in Xiamen, but the talent is there for something fast.

World Champion Sha’Carri Richardson Opens Up | 7:47 a.m. ET

We were slated to have a showdown between 100m world champion Sha’Carri Richardson and 200m world champion Shericka Jackson to start the season but the Jamaican scratched from the meet earlier this week. Last year was the best year of Richardson's career, highlighted by her 100m personal best of 10.65 and gold medals in the 100m and 4x100m and a bronze medal in the 200m. This year, she’ll look to make history as the first American woman to win gold in the 100m since Gail Devers in 1996. The world knows how good Richardson is in the 100m and the decision to run the 200m at the first two Diamond League meets could signal her decision to try and sharpen up a bit more in the half-lap event. Last year, she opened up with a 22.54 at altitude in Gaborone.

Make This Your Year, Marco Arop | 7:55 a.m. ET

Since the retirement of David Rudisha, the consensus has been that the men’s 800m needs a new dominant force to make the event more interesting. Last year, the top four fastest times of the year didn’t come until AFTER the World Championships! The field in Xiamen is pretty strong with the likes of Kenya’s Wycliffe Kinyamal (1:44.52 SB) and Elias Ngeny (1:44.79 SB), Australia’s Peter Bol (1:45.06) and 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Clayton Murphy. We’re calling on 2023 World champion Marco Arop to start this season off with a banger and take on that role of the guy. He’s the nicest man in-person. He’s got the hardware now and a 1:42.85 personal best from his runner-up finish in the Diamond League final. Why not you, Marco?!