The second Diamond League meet of the week takes place on Sunday in Rabat, Morocco with Genzebe Dibaba, Salwa Eid Naser, Nijel Amos, Emmanuel Korir, Jenny Simpson and burgeoning American sprint star Kenny Bednarek all in action. Here are five events to watch. 

Men’s 200m

The last time he raced, Kenny Bednarek was competing at the NJCAA Championships in Hobbs, New Mexico. The freshman from Indian Hills Community College in Iowa had given clear signals of his potential, but his inconspicuous location this season lessened the spotlight. 

That changed a month ago in those championships in New Mexico. Bednarek ran a 19.82 in the final of the 200m (a day earlier he popped a 19.49 with a massive +6.1 wind behind him) and 44.73 in the 400m. Those were all-time performances for a collegian and ones that established him as a contender for spots on the US team this year.

Now, the stage gets astronomically bigger and the competition gets exponentially better. 

In his first Diamond League race, Bednarek will race against a world champion, an Olympic silver medalist and a man who has run 19.69.  But, Bednarek could still win. 

Ramil Guliyev, the 2017 world champion, ran 19.99 in his first race this season but hasn’t come close to breaking 20 seconds since. Andre De Grasse, who took silver in the 2016 Olympics in this event, has run 20.20 this year and is still searching for the form he had before he suffered an injury on the eve of the 2017 World Championships. Clarence Munyai of South Africa had an outlier performance of 19.69 last year, but that is the only time he has run under 20 seconds. 

Women’s 1500m

World record holder Genzebe Dibaba is back at the top of this event--at least for the time being. She’s coming off a big victory in Rome, where she ran the fastest time of the year (3:56.28) and got a victory over Laura Muir. She will try to get another win against a quality field in Rabat. 

Opposing her are five women with lifetime bests under four minutes. Sifan Hassan has turned her focus to longer distances, but still has the ability to turn the wheels over. Three weeks ago, she ran close to four flat in Nanjing. Gudaf Tsegay won that race in Nanjing in 3:59.57 and was third behind Dibaba and Muir in Rome. Rababe Arafi won the Shanghai 1500m in May in 4:01.15 and has a lifetime best of 3:59.15. In Rome, she was only ninth. 

American Jenny Simpson was fourth in Rome 4:01.18. She was five seconds back of Dibaba and Muir, but has to be satisfied with the result. That was Simpson’s first 1500m of the year and only her third race of 2019. 

Men’s 800m

At the beginning of the year, the men’s 800m looked wide open. Thus far, nothing has refuted that assumption. 

The two Diamond League 800s have produced the two different winners and just three men have broken 1:44 this season. Nijel Amos won in Doha and placed runner-up in Rome--the best resume of anyone in 2019. But, as past year’s show, Amos is far from a sure thing. 

Emmanuel Korir had the fastest time of 2018, 1:42.05, and was second to Amos in Doha. He hasn't had the consistency of others, but he is a huge talent. 

Two other men in this field have lifetime bests under 1:43, Clayton Murphy and Ferguson Cheruiyot. Murphy is race sharp, this will be the fifth race of his outdoor season. His most recent was a 3:52 mile from Thursday’s Bislett Games in Oslo. 

It’s been more than four years since Cheruiyot ran 1:42, but he’s still relevant in the event. He was fourth in Rome in 1:44.11.

Women’s 100m

Sha’Carri Richardson and Elaine Thompson have done their part to ramp up this event in 2019. Neither are entered in this race, though their fast marks have had reverberations throughout women’s sprinting. This field features three women who have lifetime bests under 10.90. Marie-Josee Ta Lou has had a quiet outdoor season, only sixth in Rome, but was one of the best sprinters in the world last year. 

Blessing Okagbare ran 11.07 in her only 100m of the year, good for second in Shanghai. Dafne Schippers hasn’t run a Diamond League 100m, but has run two, 200s. Her most recent, in Oslo, was a win in 22.56. It’s still more than three months until the World Championships, but the performances of the past week have given an indication of the type of performance it will take to medal in Doha.  

Women’s 400m

Salwa Eid Naser hasn’t lost a 400m this year and is the woman to beat in this field. The 2017 silver medalist has victories in two Diamond Leagues, Shanghai and Rome, and a season-best of 50.26. The only woman who has been capable of beating her the last couple years is Shaunae Miller-Uibo. Miller-Uibo isn’t racing in Rabat and thus, this will be Naser’s race to lose. 

Phyllis Francis has been consistent in her two 400s this year, running 50.86 and 50.85. Francis is one of three Americans in the race along with Kendall Ellis and Jaide Stepter. 

Most of the running world is not familiar with Aminatou Seyni of Niger. But she ran a remarkable last 100m earlier this week in Poland. Keep an eye on her--no matter how far back she is in the field. 

Bydgoszcz #MemoriałSzewińskiej
400m 51.11 Amina Seyni ??
Her splits are unreal
13.5 - 26.2 - 38.4 - 51.11
13.5 + 12.7 + 12.2 + 12.7
Negative split 26.2 + 24.9 !

12.7 last 100m = fastest ever know: Jearl Miles-Clark ?? NC 1995
12.8 - 25.6 - 38.2 - 50.90
12.8 + 12.8 + 12.6 + 12.7 pic.twitter.com/qwlWCyUiJe

— PJ Vazel (@pjvazel) June 12, 2019