Eight Jamaicans — led by sprinter Elaine Thompson, shot putter Danniel Thomas-Dodd and triple jumper Shanieka Ricketts — will be chasing International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) Diamond League titles in today’s first part of the two-meet final at the Weltklasse in Zurich, Switzerland.

Thompson will line up in the 200m and will also race in the 100m at the second final in Brussels next week Friday and will be joined by Thomas-Dodd, Ricketts and Kimberly Williams, Stephenie-Ann McPherson in the 400m, Janieve Russell in the women’s 400-m hurdles, Yohan Blake in the men’s 100m and the fast-rising Tajay Gayle in the men’s long jump.

Additionally, Jonielle Smith and Nataliah Whyte, who are expected to be part of the Jamaica women’s 4×100-m relay squad at the IAAF World Championships in Doha later this year, will contest a B 100-m race; Michael O’Hara will contest the 110-m hurdles, while a female sprint relay team made up of athletes from MVP Track Club are also down to compete.

Thompson, who returned to competition on Saturday with a win in the 100m at the Paris Diamond League meet, is the World leader in the 200m, but will go up against the Bahamian favourite Shaunae Miller-Uibo, who is unbeaten over the half lap in over two years and the two-time defending Diamond League champion.

Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare and Great Britain’s Dina Asher Smith are also legitimate contenders for the title.

Ricketts has been enjoying her best season ever as a professional with a personal best 14.77m at the Pan American Games and was fourth in Paris with a respectable 14.71m.

Venezuela’s Yulimar Roja has failed to win just once on the Diamond League circuit all year with a second-place finish in Lausanne and will be the odd-on favourite to continue to win today.

Two-time Commonwealth Games champion Kimberly Williams, Cuba’s Liadagmis Povea, who has had a series of top-three finishes, and American Keturah Orji, will make the triple jump exciting.

Thomas-Dodd is a proven “big occasion” performer and cannot be discounted, but faces the powerful American Chase Easley and Chinese Gong Lijiao, the only throwers ranked ahead of her on the IAAF rankings this year.

Thomas-Dodd threw a life time best 19.55m to win at the Pan American Games in July and has followed that up with a series of solid performances.

McPherson was a surprise winner in Paris on Saturday and followed up with another victory in Italy on Tuesday, but will face a tough field in the 400m led by Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser, the only runner in the field today who has gone under 50.00 seconds this year with a season best 49.17.

The USA duo of Kendall Ellis and Shakima Wimbley will also vie for a podium spot.

After failing to make the Jamaica team to the Doha World Championships, the Diamond League trophy will be the next best thing for Russell and she will be battling World record holder Dalilah Muhammad, her American teammate Sydney McLaughlin and the veteran Czech Zuzana Hejnova.

Blake has been running into form over the last few weeks and his win in Birmingham would have given him a lot of confidence but he faces an American foursome that includes World champion Justin Gatlin, Noah Lyles, Michael Rodgers and Zharnel Hughes, who made the Great Britain team last weekend after placing third at their trials.

A fast race has been predicted with six of the nine men in the field haveing run under 10.00 seconds this season with the ‘200-m specialist’ Lyles leading the way with 9.86 seconds, just ahead of Gatlin’s 9.87 seconds and South African Akani Simbine’s 9.93 seconds.

Gayle has emerged as the best Jamaican men’s long jumper in a while and his 8.32-m personal best has him ranked number six in the world and will face a quality field led by South African Luvo Manyonga, who will be going for a third straight Diamond League title today.

The enigmatic Cuban Juan Miguel Echevarria and another South African Zarck Visser are coming into the competition with longer marks than the Jamaican.