The Diamond League moves to Stockholm on Thursday for the third stop on the professional circuit. Here are five of the biggest questions from the track events in Stockholm.

Does Michael Norman go under 44 seconds again?

A 43.45 in April certainly recalibrates things. A month after dropping a historic time in his opener, Michael Norman is back in the 400m. Since his run at Mt. SAC, he’s only run one race--a 19.84 in Osaka that he won by a comically large margin, tying his personal best. 

Expecting Norman to improve on a mid-43 is both plausible and without precedent. With more racing and training under him, as well as a deeper field to compete against, it’s not crazy that he could shave off another tenth. But if he does drop time, then he’s running inexorably into a world record in early summer, a proposition that seems crazy on its face. This race will show us if we have to completely scrub our priors with Norman and toss out notions of any logical progression. 

The man who finished second to him at Mt. SAC, Rai Benjamin, will also be on the start line in Stockholm. The two are training partners and roommates. Benjamin’s 44.31 is the second-best mark of 2019. 

Without Semenya, who takes the women’s 800m?

Thursday is the first race since CAS ruled against Caster Semenya in her case with the IAAF. The decision means that the woman who has won 30 straight 800m finals won’t be on the start line in Stockholm (Semenya filed a lawsuit in a Swiss court on Wednesday).

The decision also impacts Francine Niyonsaba, who finished a consistent second place to Semenya. In short, the women’s 800m will be missing its two fastest runners. 

Other than new winners, a women’s 800m without Semenya/Niyonsaba means times will slow down. And not just at the top. Semenya served as a de facto rabbit in many races, pulling the rest of the field to lifetime bests. Even when there was a pacemaker, Semenya’s consistency towed the field through a solid 600m before she invariably broke away and won the race. 

Thursday’s race includes Americans Ajee Wilson and Raevyn Rogers as well as Habitam Alemu, Natoya Goule and Nelly Jepkosgei. 

Since the Rio Olympics, Wilson raced Semenya eight times. On each occasion, she finished in the top four (three times she placed second, four times she placed third, and once, she took fourth). In those eight races, only one woman beat her besides Semenya and Niyonsaba. 

Minus those two, Wilson should be at the front of the women’s 800m. But there are new names in the event, and third place behind two others doesn’t automatically guarantee a victory when they are no longer present. We will get our first glimpse at whether that is true on Thursday.  

Can The Manangois Beat The Ingebrigtsens?

The Manangoi family will have two entrants in the men’s 1500m field, George and Elijah, while the Ingebrigtsen will go “FullBrigtsen” with Jakob, Filip and Henrik. The family dynamic will be fun to track in this deep race that includes many of the top international names. 

Timothy Cheruiyot, longtime Elijah Manangoi foil, will try to rebound after a rare loss on the Diamond League circuit. He took second to Manangoi in Doha, a surprising result after going 10-2 in 1500m/mile finals in 2018. 

Stockholm will also mark the season debut of Samuel Tefera, the indoor world record holder in the 1500m. His 3:31.04 was actually faster than his outdoor PR. This will also be the first outdoor race for Jakob Ingebrigtsen. In his last race, he struggled down the stretch of the World Cross Country Championships, placing 12th in the junior race. Now, he’s at a more comfortable distance. Just four days after breaking the world record, Tefera lost to Ingebrigtsen in Dusseldorf. 

How many men will get the Olympic 10,000m standard?

This will likely be the fastest men’s 10,000m of the year, and thus, one of the few chances to achieve both the qualifying standard for the 2019 World Championships and 2020 Olympics. The Olympic standard is more ambitious, 27:28 versus 27:40 for the World Championships, but both marks require decent weather and solid pacemaking. 

This race is the first 10,000m for Paul Chelimo as a professional runner. His only previous 10,000m came at the 2011 NAIA Championships (which he won in 29:44). All of his previous success has come at the 5000m distance, though there’s little doubt he'll be favored to make the U.S. team if he chooses to run the 10,000m. His American Distance Project teammate Shadrack Kipchirchir already owns the World Championships standard (he’s one of two Americans who has it), but could help himself by knocking off the Olympic mark in Stockholm. 

The two other Americans in the field, Leonard Korir and Kirubel Erassa, are both capable of hitting at least one of the standards. This race will be the first on the track for Korir in 2019. Erassa ran a lifetime best of 13:17 in the 5000m at the beginning of the month.

Ethiopian Jemal Yimer was fifth in the fast 2017 World Championships 10,000m race, running 26:56. Hagos Gebrhiwet, also of Ethiopia, hasn’t run a 10,000m on the track but has a 5000m personal best of 12:45. Two weeks ago in Shanghai, he was third in the 5000m in 13:04. 

Rhonex Kipruto of Kenya is known more as a road racer, but his 26:46 on the roads of Prague last year offered clear evidence he could medal on the track. Thursday will be his first Diamond League meet. 

Does a favorite emerge in the women’s 200m?

Most of the big names are on the line in Stockholm in the women’s 200m--Dina Asher-Smith, Dafne Schippers, Elaine Thompson, Jenna Prandini. 

A complete field would include Shaunae Miller-Uibo, Tori Bowie and Marie-Josee Ta Lou, but there is enough talent here to draw some conclusions. Asher-Smith looked great in Doha, ripping a 22.26 for an easy win. That result, combined with her 2018, suggest that she’s the woman to beat in the event. But it’s still too early and a win against this field will carry weight in determining who is the best in the world.