Fresh from winning her first Wanda Diamond League race at last weekend’s Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, Jamaica’s Dejanae Oakley will seek to make it back -to-back victories when she lines up in the women’s 400m at today’s 10th stop in the global series at the Meeting International d’Athlétisme Herculis at Stade Louis II in Monaco.

Oakley, who is ranked number two in the world, is set to clash with Jamaican national record holder Nickisha Pryce for the first time this season, after both runners skipped the recent National Senior Championships.

They are among eight Jamaicans, who are scheduled to compete in the meet, including men’s 100m world leader Oblique Seville, who will be seeking to rebound from his loss in Eugene last week.

National champions Demisha Roswell, Ackelia Smith, Romaine Beckford and Tajay Gayle are all set to line up today.

Oakley, who held off her training partner, American Aaliyah Butler last week to win at Hayward field, is expected to be in better condition, as she had said after her win, that she had missed some training time after undergoing a dental procedure. She and the rest of the field will have to be at their very best if they are to beat world leader Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic, who ran 48.48 seconds a week ago.

Pryce, Lurdes Gloria Manuel of Czechia and Lieke Klaver of the Netherlands are expected to battle for the podium places.

Seville was beaten by Nigeria’s Ajayi Kayinsola last week and will take on newly-crowned Pan-American champion Ronal Longa of Colombia, who ran 9.85 seconds, ranked number three in the world, Sam Blaskowski of the USA and Olympic Games 200m champion Letsile Tebogo of Botswana, who was also upset at Prefontaine.

Roswell was seventh in her first Diamond League meeting, in Paris on June 28th, and will hope to make amends, but faces world leader Masai Russell of the USA, who is unbeaten in seven 100m hurdles races all season.

Nadine Visser of the Netherlands and Americans Rayniah Jones and Alaysha Johnson along with Poland’s Pia Skrzyszowska are also down to compete.

Smith, the national double champion in the women’s long and triple jumps, will contest the ‘hop, step and jump’ event today and faces a tough field led by Olympic champions Thea LaFond of Dominica, who jumped a world-leading 15.25m on June 26th and will be one of two athletes to go over the 15.00m mark, who will line up, with Cuba’s Davisleydi Velazco being the other.

Two other Cubans, Leyanis Perez Hernandez and Liadagmis Povea, as well as Senegal’s Saly Sarr will make the event competitive.

Beckford, who was a creditable third at the Rome Diamond League, has won consecutive events coming into today’s meet but he may need to go higher than 2.25m if he is to get on the podium.

Oleh Doroshchuk of Ukraine, Kimani Jack of Great Britain and Sarvesh Anil Kushare of India have gone over 2.30m already this season, while Tobias Potye (Germany), Matteo Sioli of Italy and Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar will also add quality to the field.

Gayle, who has a season’s best 8.37m and Wayne Pinnock, 7.93m, are set to contest the men’s long jump, where they will meet Simon Ehammer of Switzerland, who recently set a Decathlon long jump world record of 8.51m, the leading jump in the world so far.

Olympic Games and World Championships gold medallist Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece, Mattia Furlani of Italy and Cub’s Jorge Hodelin, who broke the World Under-20 record with 8.46m a month ago, have all jumped over 8.45m this season.

Dejanae Oakley will look for success at the Monaco Diamond League today. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)