Kenya’s two-time world and Olympic 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon will return to the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Doha on May 5 looking to kick-start her season.
The 29-year-old ran the second-fastest women’s 1500m of all time in Monaco last year, clocking 3:50.37 for a performance just three-tenths of a second off Genzebe Dibaba’s world record.
That came a few weeks after she won her second world gold in Oregon and she went on to complete a hattrick of Diamond League title wins in Zurich in September.
“I'm delighted to come back again to the Doha Diamond League,” said Kipyegon, who started her 2022 season with a 3000m runner-up finish in Qatar's capital city.
“After a winter of focusing on endurance and strength, it's a great chance for me to start real racing in Doha and to see where I am at in my build-up towards the World Championships later on in the season.”
Kipyegon will have the chance to defend her title at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 in August.
The 2023 Wanda Diamond League calendar includes a total of 15 meetings, starting with the event in Doha and concluding with the two-day final in Eugene on September 16-17.
Elsewhere, Commonwealth Games and Africa 100m champion Ferdinand Omanyala will compete at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix on April 29.
Omanyala, who beat American world champion Fred Kerley to win last year's Kip Keino classic will be joined by women's world 100m champion Shelly-Anne Fraser-Price of Jamaica.
The Jamaican sprint queen is a two-time Olympic champion from Beijing 2008 and London 2012.
2012 Olympic 400m champion Kirani James of Grenada will also compete for the first time on African soil.
Kiran, the 2011 world and 2014 Commonwealth Games 400m champion, said he is looking forward to competing against the best on the continent during the one-day event.
