Three recently crowned national champions will be in action in the Herculis Meeting International d’Athletisime in Monaco, the ninth stop on the Diamond League series and second to last before the start of the Olympic Games in Paris.

Triple jumper Shanieka Ricketts, sprint hurdler Rasheed Broadbell and intermediate hurdler Malik James-King are among the five Jamaicans who are down to compete. The others are Ackelia Smith and 200m runner Andrew Hudson.

Ricketts, who is hoping to win her first Olympic medal after placing fourth in Tokyo Japan, and Smith, are to face a tough field that also has at least six of the top 10 jumpers in the world taking part.

Dominica’s Thea Lafond, who is the only jumper over 15.00m this year in the indoor season; Cuba’s Leyanis Perz Hernandez and her compatriot Liadagamis Povea; and Spain’s Ana Peteteiro-Comoaore are poised to ensure a competitive event.

Ricketts, who ended the previous season with two jumps over 15.00m in her final three competitions, has a season’s best 14.58m, while Smith, who won the long/triple jump double in her final season in the NCAA, is not far behind with a best of 14.52m.

Broadbell, who won a close final at the JAAA Championships last month, will race in Europe for the first time this season. He is to face the might of the United States with world leader Grant Holloway, Cordell Tinch and Trey Cunningham. Italy’s Lorenzo Ndele Simonelli and France’s Sasha Zhoya are also expected to feature.

James-King, who is enjoying his best season as a professional, is to compete in back-to-back Diamond League events after a respectable third in Paris on Sunday when he ran 48.37 seconds.

Today the field is set to be much stronger with three men who have run under 47.00 seconds already this season — world leader Rai Benjamin of the USA, Brazilian Allison dos Santos and world record holder Karsten Warholm of Norway.

Andrew Hudson is to contest the men’s 200m, and will face Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, Uganda’s Tarsis Gracious Orogot and Alexander Ogando of the Dominican Republic, all of whom have run under 20.00 seconds this season.

Hudson’s season best 20.02 seconds was achieved when he placed second at the recent national championships behind Bryan Levell.

Rasheed Broadbell of Jamaica competes in the 110m hurdles during the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.