From Paris Olympics champion Letsile Tebogo to Fred Kerley to line up at Lausanne Diamond League 2024 - 200m preview

Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo from Botswana will be competing with 100m bronze medalist Fred Kerley of the USA for the top honors at the men's 200m event in the Diamond League meet to be held at Lausanne on 21 and 22 August respectively.

The two sprinters had competed against each other in the men's 100m at the Paris Olympics and would like to test their mettle again, given that Noah Lyles wouldn't be able to participate in this event amid his ongoing recovery from COVID-19.

The 2024 Lausanne Diamond League is scheduled to be held at the Stade Olympique de la Pontaise in Lausanne, Switzerland, on August 21-22 respectively. This is the 11th meeting of the IAAF Diamond League, before the 2024 season officially concludes in Brussels, Belgium, on September 14, 2024.

Undoubtedly, many athletes will be testing their form after the Paris Olympics, including the likes of Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis, and Neeraj Chopra to name a few. However, the center of attraction at the Lausanne Diamond League 2024 will be the men's 200m, which will be held on the night of August 22, 2024.

Eight athletes will be taking part in this event, among whom the center of attraction will be Letsile Tebogo of Botswana, who surprised everyone by winning the 200m Olympic gold medal, and Fred Kerley, who won the bronze medal in the 100m event.

Apart from the above, athletes like Erriyon Knighton, who stood fourth in the 200m finals at the Paris Olympics, Joseph Fahnbulleh of Liberia, and Alexander Ogando of the Dominican Republic are the only members of the 200m finals at the Paris Olympics who will be a part of the 200m event at the Lausanne Diamond League.

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Letsile Tebogo's performance at the Diamond League

Letsile Tebogo of Botswana [Extreme Left] in action during the Men's 400m at London Diamond League 2024 [Image Source: Getty]

At the previous edition in 2023, Letsile Tebogo participated only twice in the men's 200m event. At the Herculis leg of the Diamond League, Tebogo finished second in the 100m event, with a timing of 9.93 seconds.

Subsequently, at the London leg of the IAAF Diamond League 2023, Tebogo finished second behind Noah Lyles, with a timing of 19.50 seconds. Interestingly, at the Lausanne leg of the Diamond League in 2023, Tebogo won the race, with a timing of 20.01 seconds.

Many fans were expecting a face-off between Noah Lyles and Letsile Tebogo at the Lausanne Diamond League. However, Lyles had to pull out of the Diamond League after testing positive for COVID-19.

So the only major competition Tebogo will receive at the Lausanne Diamond League is from Fred Kerley and Erriyon Knighton. Kerley's personal best in 200m is 19.76 seconds, which he clocked at an athletic meet in Nairobi in 2021. He had previously competed with Tebogo only a few weeks ago, in the men's 100m at the Paris Olympics, where Kerley clocked 9.81 seconds to win the bronze medal.

On the other hand, Erriyon Knighton had missed the Olympic podium by a whisker at the Paris Olympics in the men's 200m finals, finishing fourth overall. Knighton's personal best in this discipline is 19.49 seconds, making him the sixth-fastest male sprinter of all time in this discipline.