•Korir yet to win a race in the Diamond League this season.
• Nicholas KImeli set to compete in the 5000m.
Image: /REUTERS
Africa senior 800m silver medalist and Emmanuel Korir and Ferguson Rotich go head to head in the Diamond League meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland next month.
The two Kenyans will be using the event to gauge their preparedness for the World Championships in Doha, Qatar in September.
Both have had inconsistent performances in the season so far, with Korir coming second to Africa senior 800m champion Nijel Amos of Botswana in the season opener in Doha in 1:44.50 with Amos clocking 1:44.29.
Korir and Amos renewed their rivalry in Rabat recently with Korir again relegated to second place in 1:45.60 behind Amos' 1:45.57. Ferguson Rotich came home fourth in 1:46.38.
Rotich had a sub-par performance in Rome finishing fourth in 1:44.11 in a race won by Donovan Brazier of USA in 1:43.63 with Amos second in 1:43.15 ahead of Brandon Mcbride of Canada in 1:43.90.
Mcbride will be in contention in Lausanne too, alongside Adam Kszczot of Poland. Nicholas Kimeli faces a stern test in the men's 5000m with Ethiopian trio of Telahun Haile Bekele, the fastest this season, Selemon Barega and Muktar Edris.
Olympic medallist Paul Chelimo is also in contention and Bahrain's Balew Birhanu will also be one to watch. Last year, Balew took the honours in a time of 13:01.09, a world best that stood until autumn.
There will be no less than 49 Olympic and world medallists, 28 European medallists, and a total of 46 athletes currently ranked in the top three of the world rankings.
Leading the star-studded line-up is Russian, Mariya Lasitskene, who is the best specialist in the women's high jump over the last few years. She has just jumped, in Ostrava, a spectacular 2.06m. She will be looking to break the stadium record at Athletissima, which she holds at 2.06m.