Zurich and Brussels have the distinction of being called the Diamond League final, but Monaco typically ends the year as one of the best meets of the season. The track is quick, the fields are packed, and the meet takes place at a time in the year when athletes are sharp but not yet worn down. 

This year, it looks especially true. After this weekend, there will be a pause for the European Championships—a break that will certainly disrupt any rhythm developed over the past two months. While the stakes will be higher in Zurich and Brussels, Monaco seems likely to produce several races that we will be talking about all offseason. 

Here are six of the top matchups set to take place on Friday.  

1. Women's Steeplechase: Kenya vs the United States

Eight women in history have broken 9:05 in the steeplechase. One is retired. Another is reportedly under investigation for doping. 

The other six all are on the start list in Monaco, setting up what could be the best race in the history of the event. 

Kenyans Celliphine Chespol, Beatrice Chepkoech, Hyvin Kiyeng, and Norah Jeruto will be looking to reverse the results of the 2017 World Championships when Americans Emma Coburn and Courtney Frerichs took the top two spots. All six women have run their personal best in the last two years. 

Chespol has the fastest lifetime best (8:58.78) and is coming off a win at the U20 Championships. Chepkoech tops the yearly list with a mark of 8:59.36 in Oslo, while Kiyeng has victories in Rome and Oslo.

Emma Coburn wins 7th steeple title and shifts focus to going sub-9 in Monaco. pic.twitter.com/fjI0GpDIEz

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) June 24, 2018

The timing of the meet and the typical fast conditions in Monaco mean sub-nine is likely. Ruth Jebet’s world record of 8:52.78 is probably out of reach, but the race will be fast enough for Coburn and Frerichs to target Coburn’s American record of 9:02.58.  

Speaking of those two, their last matchup produced an entertaining race. Coburn won, as she has every time the two has faced each other, but Frerichs looks closer than she ever has been to Coburn.  

Frerichs teammate, Colleen Quigley, will be running her first steeplechase of the year.

2. Women's 800m: Caster Semenya vs World Record

After a 1:54 clocking in Paris and then two over-distance races, Caster Semenya looks ready to shave some more time off her personal best. Will it be enough time to get all the way down to the world record of 1:53.28? That seems like a stretch. She’s already taken a huge whack at her PR this year, going from 1:55.16 all the way to that 1:54.25 in Paris. That might be everything she has for 2018 (and if it is, I’m sure she’d take it), but the Monaco magic in the mid-distance races is real. 

Even if she can’t get all way to the world record, a time under 1:54 would move her from fourth to third all-time. 

Since time will be the focus much attention will go to the pacing. Interestingly, Semenya eschewed pacemakers in Paris. It worked, obviously, but perhaps that can be the extra bit of assistance that she needs to chip away at her personal best? 

Semenya has also been the victim of bad rabbiting in her career on numerous occasions, so there is the possibility that the inclusion of pacers leads her in the other direction. 

Behind Semenya, there’s the usual A-List of 800m runners—Francine Niyonsaba, Ajee Wilson, Natoya Goule, Habitam Alemu, and Margaret Wambui. They're all destined to finish behind Semenya but could leave Monaco with a personal best. 

3. Men's 200m: Noah Lyles vs His PR

Nobody in this race can touch Lyles, at least not in his current form. The 21-year-old (his birthday was on Wednesday) has run 19.69 twice on the season.

His 100m performances have also been strong, indicating that he will be able to move to another level in final six weeks of the season. Remember, this is Lyles’ first full year as a professional. Injuries disrupted his 2017 campaign and this year it still feels like he is winding up to something even faster.

The good part about Lyles’ come-from-behind racing style is that he can be dramatically better than everyone in the field and still get the benefit of playing catch-up. 

Ramil Guliyev, Jereem Richards, Aaron Brown, and Alex Quinonez have all broken 20 seconds this season and will be useful markers as Lyles tries to become the seventh man in history to break 19.60.

4. Men's Steeplechase: Evan Jager vs Sub-8

Jager hasn’t been shy about his goals for this year. He wants to break eight minutes in the steeplechase and has been clear that it’s the priority in this non-championship year. Other than a gold medal, it’s one of the few outstanding accomplishments for the man who made the men’s event relevant in the United States. 

Since there is no gold medal to win this year, logic follows that Jager will have all of his focus on running under eight minutes. His personal best still comes from the 8:00.45 in 2015 that he ran despite a fall on the final barrier in Paris. 

Evan Jager wants to check-off the sub-8 box. pic.twitter.com/iZYVoKCIug

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) June 23, 2018

Monaco will probably be his best chance for a sub-eight in 2018 provided the race goes fast enough. Last year, he won the race in 8:01.29, his second-best time ever. 

The track hasn’t gotten slower since last year and he will have runners to keep him company in Benjamin Kigen and Conseslus Kipruto. Kipruto is the established name, but Kigen is the hottest right now. Last week in Rabat, he ran 8:06.19 to grab the world lead. 

5. Women's 400m: Shaunae Miller-Uibo vs Salwa Eid Naser vs. Shakima Wimbley

There’s plenty to unpack in the women’s 400m. It’s only the third meeting ever between Shaunae Miller-Uibo and Salwa Eid Naser. Naser has broken 50 seconds four times this season and Miller-Uibo is the co-world leader. Before the U.S. Championships, they looked to be the top two in the world. 

Then, at the U.S. Championships, Shakima Wimbley popped a 49.52 and entered herself into the equation of the women’s 400m. The mark tied her with Miller-Uibo atop the yearly list and means that the three women will have season bests within 0.03 seconds of each other in Monaco. 

While Eid Naser has been steadily clocking times under 50 seconds, Miller-Uibo has been running a variety of distances in 2018. She’s run two 400s, six 200s and one 150m straight in the Boston street meet. Her two attempts in the 400m have both been fantastic (49.52 and 49.53)—a hint that her personal best of 49.44 might be vulnerable on Friday.

Outside of those three, the reigning world champion Phyllis Francis is also entered. She hasn’t been getting much attention due to the aforementioned three names, but she was in a similar position last year when she won the world championships. Since her massive personal best in Des Moines of 50.08, Jessica Beard finished second in both Paris and Lausanne Diamond League meets.

6. Men's 110m Hurdles: Sergey Shubenkov vs Sub 12.90

Shubenkov took flight last month and hasn’t looked back. After runs of 12.99, 12.92, and 12.95 in the 110m hurdles, the Russian has separated himself from the rest of the high hurdlers in the field. What was once a highly competitive event has evolved into Shubenkov against the clock. His margins of victory have been as impressive as his finish times. 

Now, he will try to become the fifth man in history to break 12.90 seconds in the event and move closer to Aries Merritt’s world record of 12.80. The field in Monaco is missing the reigning world and Olympic champion, Omar McLeod, the only man other than Shubenkov since the beginning of 2016 who has broken 13 seconds in the high hurdles.

Spain’s Orlando Ortega has the next closest season best to Shubenkov’s. And it’s all the way back at 13.17.