PREVIEW: Lyles return threatened as Simbine eyes major coup

The London Athletics Meet — the world’s biggest one-day athletics event — will welcome a sell-out crowd of 60 000 fans to the iconic London Stadium on Saturday.

Following thrilling Diamond League fixtures in Oregon and Monaco over the past few day, the London leg now promises to be a spectacular highlight of the season.

The athletes confirmed have an astonishing 75 medals between them from the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest and the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, across both individual and relay disciplines.

A firm favourite with athletes and fans alike, the Novuna London Athletics Meet is the 11th stop of the 2025 Wanda Diamond League, which features 15 of the sport’s most prestigious meetings across four continents and will award a record total of $9.24 million in prize money.

The series concludes with a two-day final in Zurich at the end of August.

TRACK STARS

NOAH LYLES (USA) – men's 100M

• Reigning Olympic 100m and 200m champion
• Recently beat Tebogo in Monaco over 200m
• Aiming to extend his dominance in the shorter sprint 1

LETSILE TEBOGO (Botswana) – men's 100M

• Olympic 200m gold medallist
• Looking to avenge his Monaco loss to Lyles
• One of Africa’s brightest sprint talents 2

JULIEN ALFRED (Saint Lucia) – Women’s 200m

• Olympic 100m champion, world #2 in both sprints
• Nearly unbeaten in 2025
• Faces Brittany Brown and Dina Asher-Smith2

FEMKE BOL (Netherlands) – Women's 400M hurdles

• World leader and Olympic champion
• Undefeated in London for two years
• Faces a strong Jamaican field 2

AFRICANS CONTIGENT IN LONDON

ZAKITHI NENE (South Africa) – men’s 400m

• Nene currently holds the world-leading time of 43.76 seconds in 2025.
• He is aiming to solidify his dominance against a strong field including Matthew Hudson-Smith and Jacory Patterson 1.
• Nene is only the second South African to break the 44-second barrier after Wayde van Niekerk.

HALIMAH NAKAAYI (Uganda) – women's 800m

• Nakaayi is the 2019 World Champion and 2022 World Indoor bronze medallist.
• She is the only Ugandan athlete at this year’s London meet 2.
• She is known for her strong finishing kick and tactical racing.

ETHIOPIAN CONTINGENT – distance events

• Several elite Ethiopian runners are expected to compete, including:
• Gudaf Tsegay – World champion and Olympic medalist in the 5000m.
• Medina Eisa and Birke Haylom – Rising stars in the 1500m and 3000m.
• Selemon Barega – Olympic gold medallist in the 10 000m, likely to feature in the 5000m