World 3,000 steeplechase record holder Beatrice Chepkoech leads a quality field for the Diamond League meeting in Oslo next month.
Chepkoech will face, among others, world champion Emma Coburn, world U-20 champion Celliphine Chespol and 2015 world champion Hyvin Kiyeng.
Chepkoech, who smashed the world record in Monaco last year with 8:44.32, will be competing in Oslo for the first time.
When the meeting record of 9:07.14 was set by Milcah Chemos in 2012, it was the fourth-fastest performance in the history of the distance. It has now slipped outside the top 50 performances of all time but it looks set for serious revision on June 13.
Chepkoech’s compatriot Kiyeng will be making her third appearance in Oslo, having won the steeplechase there in 2016 and 2018.
USA’s Coburn will also be back in the Norwegian capital after finishing a close second to Kiyeng last year by just 0.07 seconds.
Chespol, the third-fastest woman in history for the event, and fellow Kenyan Norah Jeruto are both members of the exclusive sub-nine-minute club.
Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai and Bahrain’s Winfred Mutile Yavi, who finished second and third to Chespol at the 2018 IAAF World U20 Championships, add further quality to the line-up.
Two-time European champion Gesa Felicitas Kraus of Germany is also in the field. There will also be huge local interest in Norway’s multiple European medallists and Olympic finalist Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal, who has her eyes firmly focused on her Norwegian record of 9:13.35.
Elsewhere, World and Commonwealth Games 1,500-metre champion Elijah Manangoi renews his rivalry with World silver medallist Timothy Cheruiyot at the in the mile event at the Prefontaine Classic.
The duo has dominated the world miling scene since Manangoi led 1-2 Kenyan sweep at the London World Championships two years ago.
The duo will be alongside Bethwell Birgen and will face the world 1,500-metres bronze medallist Norwegian Filip Ingrebrigsten, Ethiopia Samuel Tefere is also in contention and Olympic 1,500 champion Matthew Centrowitz alongside compatriot Clayton Murphy and Ayanleh Souleiman of Djibouti.
