The penultimate event of the 2013 IAAF Diamond League will be held on Thursday at the Weltklasse Zurich meet. The meet is traditionally one of the best in the world, and a quick glance at the meet records confirms this. On the men’s side, from 400m to 5000m, the records are as follows: 43.29, 1:41.24, 3:26.45, 12:41.86. Those times are really, really fast.

Unsurprisingly, the entry fields for the 2013 version are loaded with studs, highlighted by a duel between Ethiopia’s recent World champions Meseret Defar and Tirunesh Dibaba in the women’s 5000m. In all, 19 of the gold medalists from Moscow will be competing in Zurich and the Diamond League title – and the $40,000 bonus that comes with it – will be decided in 16 events.

There are marquee matchups everywhere you look. The men’s 400m, 110m hurdles, 3000m steeplechase and high jump are all stacked with plenty of World and Olympic medalists. On the women’s side, the 800m will be a great race to watch as Olympic champ and World silver medalist Mariya Savinova makes a rare trip to the Diamond League circuit to square off against World champ Eunice Sum, Olympic silver medalist Caster Semenya and AmericansAlysia Montano and Ajee Wilson. Since the top two runners in the DL standings, Francine Niyonsaba and Brenda Martinez, are not racing here, the winner will also take home the DL title. The women’s 200m and pole vault also figure to be very competitive.

What: Zurich Diamond League
When: Thursday, August 29th
Where: Letzigrund Stadium, Zurich, Switzerland
Time: Meet starts at 12:00pm ET, main races from 2:00pm – 4:00pm ET
How to Watch: Universal Sports, starting at 2:00pm ET

Here are three more events that are so good I had to give them their own sections:

Women's 5000m



Forget best race of the meet. This might be one of the best races of the year, and that includes the World Championships. The reason for this is the matchup between World 5000m champion Meseret Defar and World 10000m champion Tirunesh Dibaba. This is just the second meeting between the two in the last four years (Defar beat Dibaba in last year’s Olympic 5000m, shown below) and the winner will claim not only bragging rights, but the DL title as well. The two have a history of dodging each other – at the New Balance Grand Prix in Boston last year, Dibaba ran the 2 mile while Defar ran the 3000m, a situation that made sense to no one. And while the Ethiopian federation ostensibly kept Dibaba out of the 5000m at Worlds this year to give younger runners a chance, that claim rings hollow. Ideally, the goal of every athletics federation is to come back from a global meet with as many medals as possible. By holding out one of the best runners in the world, Ethiopia was intentionally weakening its chances at a medal (even if 21-year-old Almaz Ayana did win bronze behind Defar).

Politics aside, both women are clearly in phenomenal shape. If the DL title wasn’t on the line and there were some committed pacemakers, both would have a shot Dibaba’s 14:11.15 world record from 2008. As it stands, expect a winning time in the 14:20s or 14:30s and a hellacious kick for the $50,000 prize ($10,000 for winning the race, $40,000 for winning the Diamond League). Behind the Ethiopian studs, the silver medalists from the 5000m and 10000m in Moscow, Mercy Cherono and Gladys Cherono of Kenya (no relation) also figure to be in the mix.

American fans will be more interested in the showdown between Moscow 1500m silver medalist and US 5000m champion Jenny Simpson and American record-holder and Worlds sixth-placer Molly Huddle. Huddle’s American record of 14:44.76 is the goal here, and both are more than capable of taking it down. Simpson has had a great season with a DL win in Monaco and a silver at Worlds. If she gets the American record in Zurich, Simpson would have a very good case for the most versatile female runner in US history. She set the American record in the steeplechase, running 9:12.50 in 2009 – no other US runner has come within 10 seconds of that mark – and she won worlds in the 1500m in 2011. Even though the women’s steeplechase is a relatively new event, if you add a fast 5000m to what Simpson’s already accomplished, it would be hard to say that any American woman has ever excelled more across three different events.

Of course, Simpson may not even finish as the top American in this race. Huddle’s sixth place in the 5000m was the highest ever by an American at Worlds and she ran her last half of that race at 14:34 pace despite getting dropped. Huddle will have people to run with here and should end up with a very fast time. Americans Gabriele Anderson, Jordan Hasay and Chelsea Reilly will also be on the start line in Zurich.

Men’s 1500m

Last week’s 1500m in Stockholm was a bit of a disappointment as Djibouti’s Ayanleh Souleiman pulled away over the final 300m to win the race (and the Diamond League title) in 3:33.59. Asbel Kiprop, the two-time defending World champion, showed that he is mortal, finishing sixth in 3:35.49. Now that Kiprop, Souleiman and the rest of the field (which includes the top nine from Moscow) has had a week of race, expect a much faster – and much more interesting – race. In all, 18 runners will toe the line in Zurich, and while big fields can be a problem in the 1500m, I think it could actually benefit the fans here. With so many guys in the race, there is an incentive for the top guys to push the pace, stringing out the field and ensuring that they get to run in lane 1 as much as possible. Additionally, the DL title has already been decided, so there is no reason for the race to turn tactical.

Worlds silver medalist Matt Centrowitz is also in this race and has a good opportunity to lower his 3:31.96 PR from last year. Centrowitz hasn’t raced since the 1500m final at Worlds on August 18, so he should be fresh here. Olympic silver medalist Leonel Manzano is also in the field.

Men’s 100m

The main appeal of this race could be summed up in one word: Bolt. But since this is a preview, I’ll spend a few more explaining the other reasons to watch the 100m in Zurich. Triple world champion Usain Bolt is obviously the big draw and he will look to lower his relatively modest season’s best (for him) of 9.77 seconds. Behind Bolt, the top six from Moscow are all in this race along with Walter Dix (making his return from injury) and young European talents Adam Gemili and Jimmy Vicaut. The 19-year-old Gemili is a big talent as he won last year’s World Junior Championships and finished fifth in the 200m in Moscow. 

Justin Gatlin needs only a top-three finish to win the DL title as victories in Doha, Rome and Monaco put him on top of the standings heading into the competition. Worlds bronze medalist Nesta Carter is the only man who could catch Gatlin, and to do that he would have to win and have Gatlin finish fourth or lower. With Bolt in the field, such a scenario is unlikely. Still, with so much sprinting talent on display, including the Greatest of All Time, the 100m will definitely be an event to watch.