Diamond League 2021: Dina Asher-Smith and Karsten Warholm among stars set to dazzle

Karsten Warholm, Dina Asher-Smith and Elaine Thompson-Herah will all be looking to impress

Athletics fans will certainly be able to avoid the post-Olympic blues courtesy of a mouth-watering line-up of Diamond League meetings en route to the series final next month.

Here, we highlight the top head-to-heads coming up, and where to catch the unmissable action.

Thursday, 26 August - Athletissima Meeting, Lausanne

The Swiss city of Lausanne looks set to provide a night of mesmerizing athletics, headed by man of the moment Karsten Warholm, the enigmatic 400m hurdles world-record breaker.

Eager to capitalise on the astounding form that propelled him to a phenomenal Olympic victory which obliterated the world record, the 25-year-old Norwegian is an intriguing entrant in the 400m flat discipline here.

With a 44.87 lifetime best, the two-time world champion over the barriers will target the 25-year-old European record of 44.33 and few would bet against him during the season of his career.

Compatriot Jakob Ingebrigtsen is also expected to create fireworks as the 20-year-old goes for the 3,000m European record to follow up his Tokyo 1500m triumph, achieved in a record Olympic time.

With the European 1500m and 5,000m records to his name, Ingebrigtsen will face silver medallist and reigning world champion Timothy Cheruiyot of Kenya, in a race which fascinatingly boasts all the medallists from the 1500m, 5,000m, 10,000m and 3,000m steeplechase in Tokyo.

Tokyo and Rio 2016 100m and 200m champion Elaine Thompson-Herah, who ran the second-fastest 100m of all time on Saturday, and her Jamaican compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce - the two-time Olympic winner who took 100m silver in Japan - will again compete in the 100m.

In the city centre on the eve of the event, Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim and Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy return from their heart-warming high jump antics in Japan, where the duo decided to share the gold medal.

Watch live on BBC Two, iPlayer and online from 19:00-21:00 BST

Saturday, 28 August - Meeting de Paris

Dina Asher-Smith lines up in the 100m determined to banish her Tokyo injury demons. The Briton looks to improve upon her 10.91 season's best - and will almost certainly need to eclipse her 10.83 British record to stay in touch with Thompson-Herah who competes again.

In the pole vault, Sweden's Mondo Duplantis follows his appearance in Lausanne as he aims to better his 6.18m world record in the shadow of his Tokyo gold-medal win.

The 21-year-old has a 6.10m season's best and he will come up against American Sam Kendricks who was heartbreakingly forced to withdraw from the Games on the eve of the competition because of a positive Covid-19 test.

Watch live on BBC Two, iPlayer and online from 19:00-21:00 BST

Friday, 3 September - Memorial van Damme, Brussels

In the penultimate series meeting, Karsten Warholm will take centre stage in his specialist 400m hurdles event, with another world record hoped for if the inevitable end-of-season fatigue has yet to set in.

European record holder Jakob Ingebrigtsen starts in the 1500m, while Dina Asher-Smith tackles the 100m again and Sha'Carri Richardson competes this time over 200m.

Following her 5,000m record attempt in Eugene, Sifan Hassan goes after the world 10,000m record. Having broken the global all-time best mark back in June, the Dutchwoman lost the record a mere two days later at the same Hengelo track to Ethiopia's Letesenbet Gidey, prompting Hassan to seek revenge.

And after her history-making 5,000m and 10,000m Olympic double (and 1500m bronze) in Tokyo, it seems likely she will reclaim the record in the Belgian capital.

Watch live on BBC Two, iPlayer and online from 19:00-21:00 BST

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