• Moraa is in scintillating form, fresh off her victory at the Zurich Diamond League, where she clocked an impressive 1:57.08 to outpace Britain’s Georgia Bell (1:57.94) and USA’s Addison Wiley (1:58.16).
• The quartet of Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medallist Timothy Cheruiyot, 2023 African Champion Brian Komen, 2022 World U20 champion Reynold Cheruiyot and Boaz Kiprugut will feature in the men's 1500m.
Image: XINHUA
Kenya will be looking to assert their dominance at the Diamond League finals in Brussels on Friday and Saturday with their gazes firmly set on the trophy.
Leading the charge on Friday is Olympic 800m bronze medallist Mary Moraa, who is determined to end her season on a high.
Moraa is in scintillating form, fresh from her victory at the Zurich Diamond League, where she clocked an impressive 1:57.08 to outpace Britain’s Georgia Bell (1:57.94) and USA’s Addison Wiley (1:58.16).
Before Zurich, Moraa made headlines by smashing the 600m world record at the ISTAF Berlin meet, running a blistering 1:21.63 to eclipse the previous mark of 1:21.77 set by Caster Semenya.
Apart from her triumph in Zurich, Moraa has also recorded victories in Doha on May 10 (1:57.91) and Lausanne on August 22 (1:57.91).
She finished second at the Eugene meeting on May 25 (1:56.71), trailing Olympic champion Keeley Hodgkinson of Britain (1:55.78).
Moraa boasts 31 points, joint with Britain's Jemma Reekie, from her four League meetings whereas Reekie has competed in five.
In Brussels, Moraa faces familiar competition, including Bell, Jamaica’s Natoya Toppin and World indoor silver medallist Reekie.
The quartet of Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medallist Timothy Cheruiyot, 2023 African Champion Brian Komen, 2022 World U20 champion Reynold Cheruiyot and Boaz Kiprugut will feature in the men's 1500m.
Kenyans have found it hard to secure victories in the event at the Diamond League with the last triumph on May 10 at the Doha Diamond League, where Komen (3:32.43) led a Kenyan podium sweep.
Cheruiyot placed second in 3:32.67 with Reynold completing the podium in 3:32.96.
At the Oslo meet on May 30 and on July 12 in Monaco, Cheruiyot came close to victory, clocking 3:29.77 and 3:28.71 respectively for a second-place finish in both.
However, recent performances have been challenging with the Kenyans missing out on the podium in the last two League meetings.
At Lausanne, Reynold placed fourth (3:30.88) while Komen followed in fifth (3:31.41).
At the penultimate League meeting in Zurich, it was even tougher as Reynold finished sixth (3:32.15) with Cheruiyot (3:32.13) and Kiprugut (3:41.59) further back in positions 11 and 14 respectively.
Cheruiyot sits second with 21 League points from three meets trailing Ingebrigtsen, who has 38 points from five meets.
Komen is fifth (18 points from three meets) whereas Reynold follows in sixth (17 points from four meets).
The Kenyans face a daunting task from Olympic champion Hocker, Olympic 5,000m champion Ingebrigtsen and Nuguse.
In the men’s 5,000m, Olympic silver medallist Ronald Kwemoi will lead the Kenyan charge, supported by 2022 World silver medallist Jacob Krop, Nicholas Kipkorir and Cornelius Kemboi.
They face a tough field featuring Olympic 10,000m silver medallist Berihu Aregawi, Belgium’s Isaac Kimeli, and Switzerland’s Dominic Lobalu.
Saturday promises fireworks in the men’s 800m, where Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi will clash with Canada’s Marco Arop in one of the most anticipated showdowns of the finals.
Wanyonyi, who boasts the second-fastest time in history (1:41.11), will be out for revenge after Arop edged him during their last meeting in Silesia, running 1:41.86 to Wanyonyi’s 1:43.23.
In the 3,000m steeplechase, Abraham Kibiwot, Amos Serem and Wilberforce Kones will take on Morocco’s two-time Olympic champion Soufiane El Bakkali, in what promises to be another thrilling contest.