Nigeria’s world record holder Tobi Amusan will headline the country’s contingent at the final Diamond League meeting of the season in Zurich on Thursday.
Amusan will be joined by compatriots Ezekiel Nathaniel and Chukwuebuka Enekwechi as they compete against some of the world’s leading athletes at the prestigious meeting.
The Zurich event will begin on Wednesday with the women’s pole vault taking place at Zurich train station, while the main programme will move to the Letzigrund Stadium on Thursday.
The meeting represents the final opportunity for athletes to earn points and secure qualification for the Wanda Diamond League Final, scheduled to take place in Brussels on September 4 and 5.
Amusan has already secured her place in the season-ending final and will return to Diamond League action for the first time since June. She subsequently competed at the Commonwealth Games, where she won a bronze medal.
The Nigerian faces a strong field in Zurich, including Olympic champion Masai Russell, who is aiming to maintain her unbeaten record in the women’s 100m hurdles this season.
Russell clocked 12.14 seconds in Xiamen in May, a time just 0.02 seconds slower than Amusan’s world record.
The women’s 100m hurdles field also includes Alaysha Johnson, Nadine Visser and Swiss home favourite Ditaji Kambundji.
Meanwhile, Commonwealth Games champion Ezekiel Nathaniel will compete in the men’s 400m hurdles as he looks to boost his qualification chances.
Nathaniel currently occupies eighth position in the Diamond League standings with 10 points and will again face world-class rivals Karsten Warholm and Alison dos Santos.
The Nigerian recently competed against the pair at the Silesia Diamond League meeting in Chorzów, Poland.
In the men’s shot put, Enekwechi will also be aiming to strengthen his position in the standings. He currently sits ninth and faces a competitive field led by world number one Leonardo Fabbri of Italy.
Jamaica’s Rajindra Campbell and New Zealand’s Tom Walsh are among the other notable competitors in the event.
Other global athletics stars expected to compete in Zurich include Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, Julien Alfred, Audrey Werro, Femke Bol, Cole Hocker and Jakob Ingebrigtsen.
With Zurich serving as the final Diamond League meeting before the season-ending final, athletes still chasing qualification will be under pressure to deliver strong performances.
Following the Zurich meeting, the Diamond League Final in Brussels and the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest will be the major remaining events on the global athletics calendar in September.
