NAIROBI, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Africa 1,500m silver medalist Timothy Cheruiyot will skip the Prefontaine Classic meeting on June 30, which is the next stop for the IAAF Diamond League over visa hitch.
Cheruiyot, who is eyeing to retain his Diamond League Trophy together with his coach Benjamin Ouma could not fly out of Kenya on Thursday.
This leaves teammate and world champion Elijah Managoi the lone wolf in flock of sheep as the competition moves to Eugene, the United States.
Manangoi boasts of the ninth fastest time in 1,500m of 3:28.80 set in Monaco in 2016.
"I want to run fast after shaking off the injury," said Manangoi. "However, it may not be a world record attempt."
Moroccan Hicham El Guerrouj holds the world record time of three minutes and 26 seconds set on July 14, 1998 in Rome.
Manangoi, who beat Cheruiyot in Doha last month, world indoor mile record-holder Yomif Kejelcha, Olympic champion Matthew Centrowitz, 2014 world indoor champion and 2018 Prefontaine Classic champion Ayanleh Souleiman and Norwegian wunderkind Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the European 1500m and 5000m champion will all be running in the US leg of the Diamond League.
In the women's 3,000m steeplechase, Kenya's world record-holder Beatrice Chepkoech will try to fend off the challenge from world champion Emma Coburn and North American record-holder Courtney Frerichs, but the assault will not be limited to the U.S. duo.
Chepkoech's compatriots Celliphine Chespol, who set the world U20 record at the 2017 Prefontaine Classic, Norah Jeruto, who beat Chepkoech in Oslo, and 2015 world champion Hyvin Kiyeng will certainly challenge.
In the 3000m flat, Ethiopia's world and Olympic 10,000m champion Almaz Ayana will be making her first competitive appearance on the track since 2017.
She is jumping right in at the deep end, too, as she will face world 1,500m record-holder Genzebe Dibaba and world 5,000m and cross-country champion Helen Obiri.
Dibaba, who won the 1,500m at the IAAF Diamond League meetings in Rome and Rabat, is in prime fitness and will want to avenge her loss to Obiri over 3,000m in Doha last month.
Obiri, meanwhile, will be keen to make amends after falling in the 5,000m in Stockholm and trailing home in 12th place.
"I feel strong and will take on my rivals. The target is to be at the peak in October so that I may defend my title at the World Championships in Doha, Qatar," said Obiri.
Others to keep an eye on are European 5,000m champion Sifan Hassan, who ran 3:55.93 to finish runner-up to Dibaba over 1,500m in Rabat, and Germany's Konstanze Klosterhalfen.
