What: Monaco Diamond League Meeting
When: Friday, July 19, 2013
Where: Stade Louis II, Monaco
Time: Meet starts at 11:45am CT, Main races from 1:00pm - 3:00pm CT
How to Watch: Universal Sports, starting at 1:00pm CT

Monaco: Races To Watch

From the beaches outside the hotel to the Monte Carlo Casino, there are many things that can draw people to Monaco. On Friday night, the Herculis Monaco will attract thousands of track and field fans to Stade Louis II for the penultimate Diamond League meeting before the IAAF World Championships in Moscow. 

Men’s 1,500-Meter Run - 1:15pm CT
Contenders (Season's Best)
Asbel Kiprop (3:31.13)
Leo Manzano (3:33.14)
Matt Centrowitz (3:36.51)
Bouabdellah Tahri (3:33.89)
Bethwell Birgen (3:31.90)
Collins Cheboi (3:32.85)
Mo Farah (NT)

The men’s 1,500-meter race is stacked with a  high caliber field filled with Olympic and World Championship medalists...throw Nick Symmonds in there for some 800-meter speed. Symmonds is serious about doubling in the 800-meter and 1,500-meter races at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro and on Friday gets his first test since winning at the Oxy High Performance Meet in 3:36. 

Among those defeated by Symmonds in May were last year’s Olympians Leo Manzano and Matthew Centrowitz. After hitting the “A” standard in Paris to finish third, Manzano looks for a personal best which he has yet to hit since 2010, when he ran 3:32.37 at the Belgacom Memorial Van Damme. 

Centrowitz stepped off the track in Paris, but has assured he is healthy. His Oregon Project teammate Mo Farah will join him for a speed test. Farah’s personal best of 3:33.98 was set at the 2009 Monaco meet, where he finished 10th. He has yet to race a 1,500-meter race in 2013, but ran a season best of 3:34.66 last year at the Oxy Invitational. 

They will all be challenged by a healthy Asbel Kiprop, who finished last in the Olympic final last summer yet holds 2013’s best time of 3:31.13. He’s coming off a 3:33.8 performance for second place finish at the Kenyan Trials. 

The pace is set for 1:51 through the 800 and 2:47 through the 1,200-meter mark.

Men’s 800-Meter Run - 1:35pm CT
Contenders
Duane Solomon
Ayanleh Souleiman
Timothy Kitum

The World Championship crown is for the taking in Moscow after world record holder David Rudisha has announced he will be unable to defend his title due to a knee injury. 

Duane Solomon’s world leading time of 1:43.27 still stands, weeks after the U.S. Championships wrapped up in Des Moines. 

Mohammed Aman attempted to change that, but fell short multiple times. He still has a 6-meet winning streak going into Moscow. His only loss on the year comes from his second place finish in Doha to Rudisha. Aman finished sixth in the Olympic final last year, but goes is now a podium favorite.

Timothy Kitum finished with a bronze medal in London, but was left off the Kenyan team for this summer after a sixth place finish at the trials and running in the 1:45-1:46 range all year. He is scheduled to race in Monaco. 400-meter hurdler convert Jeremiah Mutai has yet to prove himself on the Diamond League level, but will compete in Monaco after his third place finish in Nairobi. 

The American squad of Solomon, Symmonds and Brandon Johnson are all contenders for podium finishes in Moscow. Djibouti is a much smaller country than the United States, but could make noise with Ayanleh Souleiman’s medal chances as well. He has the third best time in the world with his 1:43.63 from a meet in Sollentuna, Sweden. He is just 20 years old. 

Some more young talent to watch would be Rafith Rodriguez of Colombia, who was just edged out at the line by Johnson in Lausanne, and Pierre-Ambroise Bosse, who won gold at the U-23 European Championships. 

Men’s 5,000-meter run - 1:55pm CT
Contenders (PR)
Bernard Lagat (12:53)
Galen Rupp 12:58)
Albert Rop (12:59)
Isiah Koech (12:48)
Augustine Choge (12:53)
Thomas Longosiwa (12:49)
Lawi Lalang (13:07)

Ryan Fenton, Alex Lohr and Mitch Kastoff debated whether or not the American Record will go down tomorrow. After speaking to Bernard Lagat on Thursday night, he said if everything goes according to plan he would not be surprised if he or Galen Rupp finished with a new personal best. 

Lagat has beat Rupp twice in their two meetings this year. The number of runners under the 13-minute barrier has decreased dramatically in 2013. The world leading time is 12:54.95 by Ethiopian Yenew Alamirew. 

Back in 2010, Lagat set the American record in Monaco. He was coming off an indoor season where he ran 13:11.5 and it was his first outdoor 5,000m race. His seasonal best is 13:07, which ranks 14th in the world. Rupp is just two slots behind him with his 13:08.69. 

The Kenyan contingent will be there led by Isaiah Koech, who could be a favorite in Moscow as his country’s fastest runner over the 5,000-meter distance. Just behind him is 18-year-old Albert Rop, who started his season with a 13:52 in Doha and is coming off a solo effort 12:59.43 in Heusden. 

Speaking with Indiana graduate Andy Bayer, we joked saying he is also in the American Record hunt by default along with Ben True. Bayer could be in line for a big personal best. Lawi Lalang still has NCAA eligibility and could improve upon that 13:07.13 from Ostrava...the boys in Austin even debated the possible of sub-13 AND beating Lagat. 

Men’s 100-meter dash - 2:40pm CT
Contenders (Season Best Mark)
Justin Gatlin (9.89)
Nickel Ashmeade (9.99)
Michael Rodgers (9.96)
Kemar Bailey-Cole (9.96)
Kim Collins (9.97)
Jimmy Vicaut (9.95)
 
Justin Gatlin competes for the first time since the U.S. Championship and news broke about Tyson Gay’s positive test. Kemar Bailey-Cole and Nickel Ashmeade will represent the Jamaicans for the meet. Watch for veteran Kim Collins to get out fast from the gun. The 2003 World Champ is 37 years old and recently was left off the Saint Kitts and Nevis World Championship squad. After all the doping news of the week, the world lead is now 9.87 by Nesta Carter.

The race contains the entire US squad with Charles Silmon and who should soon-to-be announced teammate Michael Rodgers. Florida State's Dentarius Locke, who's in the US 4x100 relay pool, will also be in that field running at one of the biggest meets of his career.

Women’s 1500-meter run - 2:25pm CT
Contenders
Hellen Obiri
Jenny Simpson - '11 World Champ
Nancy Langat - '08 Olympic Champ
Brenda Martinez - '13 US 800m Champ
Trienere Moser - '13 US Champ
Maryum Yusuf Jamal - '09 World Champ

This is the largest amount of US 1500m runners we've ever seen in Monaco...and maybe in a Diamond League event! Defending world champion Jenny Simpson returns to the 1,500-meter run. She remains the fastest American time on the year after her 4:02.30 in Rome, which is also the ninth best in the world. She will race against U.S. champion Treniere Moser for the first time since the Olympic Trials, where Moser placed 11th and ran 4:17.41. A lot has changed since. 

Brenda Martinez will join Moser in her first race since Des Moines. The opposite is the case for Gabriele Anderson, who’s been in several 1,500-meter races, but not always gone the distance. She recently paced a race in Lignano. 

Shannon Rowbury ran the 1,500-meter race in Lausanne and will get one last speed test before the 3,000-meter run in London.

They will all be tested by a strong international field underscored by Hellen Obiri, the Kenyan national champion. She opened her season with a 4:12 in Nairobi and progressed well after a second place finish at the Adidas Grand Prix. She set a personal best of 3:58.58 at the Prefontaine Classic and followed up with wins in Rabat (4:03.55) and the Kenyan Trials (4:16A and 4:05.3A) before the Trials (4:06.91A.)

2012 Olympic Bronze medalist and 2009 World Champion Maryam Yusuf Jamal is in the race. She's only run 4:09 this season but has a PR of 3:56 from a few years ago. If her head is in the game she is tough over the final lap of this race. Another past champ to note is 2008 Olympic Champ Nancy Langat. So far this season she's run 4:01.41 which is just over a second off her PR. Most interesting thing is that its her fastest time in the last three years.

Women's 3,000m Steeplechase (#TheChase) - 2:47pm CT
Story to Follow
Shalaya Kipp
Jaime Cheever

By the end of the night, there will be a clearer picture who will be headed to Moscow for the steeplechase. While they may not be favorites to win, Shalaya Kipp looks to secure her spot by running 9:43.0 or better. Jaime Cheever, who finished fourth in Des Moines has met the requirement and would take her spot, if Kipp fails to hit the mark. 

World leader Lidya Chepkurui (9:13.75) and fellow Kenyan Milcah Chemos who is ranked number three in the world (9:16.14) will be in the field so expect the pace to be fast up from.