2023 Rabat Diamond League: Preview, schedule, stars competing and how to watch 

The second event of the Diamond League athletics season takes place on Sunday 28 May with an elite field including Olympic and world gold medallists aiming for glory in Rabat, Morocco.

In the men’s 100m one of the most talked-about faceoffs in recent history is about to go down, with Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs of Italy taking on the USA’s reigning world champion Fred Kerley as the battle for the title of ‘world’s fastest man’ continues.

In the women’s 200m, Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson, who set the second-fastest time in history at the 2022 World Athletics Championships, returns to her favoured distance in Rabat following her Diamond League opener in the 100m dash.

They will be joined by Olympic champions Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway, Steven Gardiner of the Bahamas, Kenya’s Emmanuel Korir, Jamaica’s Hansle Parchment and many more in what is set to be one of the most exciting athletics events of 2023.

Athletes to watch at the 2023 Rabat Diamond League

Fred Kerley, Marcell Jacobs and Andre De Grasse in exciting 100m field

It’s been a while coming but Olympic 100m champion Marcell Jacobs and world champion Fred Kerley will finally race each other in the Diamond League meet in Rabat, as both look to show they are on top form a year out from the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

The two battled for gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, with the Italian coming home ahead of Kerley to take the gold medal.

However, since then Kerley has shown consistent strength in athletics’ blue riband event, winning world gold in 2022 and starting his season in 2023 with a 9.88 at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix.

The field in Rabat is stacked with sprinting talent, including Olympic 200m champion Andre De Grasse, the joint second-fastest 100m runner of all time Yohan Blake, world bronze medallist Trayvon Bromell and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Ferdinand Omanyala.

And the future fastest man on the planet may just be in this race too, with under-20 100m world record holder Letsile Tebogo of Botswana ready to test himself against the best sprinters on earth today.

Shericka Jackson returns to favourite event with 200m season opener in Rabat

Was there a better track performance in the world last year than Shericka Jackson’s victory at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon?

The reigning world gold medallist became the second-fastest woman in history over the 200m distance when she stormed home in 21.45.

It means only one woman stands ahead of her in the all-time list, with Flo-Jo’s 21.34 from the Seoul Olympics in 1988 now within her sights.

Jackson came second in the Doha Diamond League 100m race, the first edition of the elite series this season, but will be back on familiar ground when she takes on the half-lap distance in Rabat.

The race will be an excellent indicator of the sort of form the Jamaican is in before she looks to defend her world title in Budapest in August.

Olympic champ Hansle Parchment takes on world gold medallist Grant Holloway in 110m hurdles showdown

Grant Holloway looked in unstoppable form in 2022, winning the 60m hurdles World Indoor Championships and his second world 110m title in the space of six months. In Rabat, he will race against the reigning Olympic champion, Hansle Parchment of Jamaica, as well as Devon Allen, with the hurdler returning from a stint in the NFL in time for this year’s outdoor season.

Holloway has made it clear that his future goals include Olympic gold and the 110m world record. Could we see something special when he takes to the track in Rabat?

Dalilah Muhammad, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Yaroslava Mahuchikh, Steven Gardiner and more complete a world-class field in Rabat

If all of the above seems like more than enough reason to be excited about the Rabat Diamond League, it’s just the beginning.

Olympic gold medallist and record holder Jakob Ingebrigtsen takes on his first 1500m race of the season as he aims for the world title in Budapest this year.

In the men’s 400m, another Olympic champion will lace up his spikes, as Steven Gardiner prepares to race in Rabat.

Men’s 800m Olympic champion Emmanuel Korir is also on the start line after winning gold in the 2022 World Athletics Championships. He will be joined by former women’s 400m hurdles world record holder Dalilah Muhammad while Ukraine’s Olympic bronze medallist Yaroslava Mahuchikh leads a stellar field in the women’s high jump.

2023 Rabat Diamond League schedule

28 May 2023

All times local in Morocco (GMT+1)

18:37: Women’s shot put

19:04: Women’s 400m hurdles

19:05: Women’s high jump

19:15: Men’s 800m

19:29: Men’s 110m hurdles

19:38: Women’s 1500m

19:40: Women’s triple jump

19:52: Men’s 400m

20:02: Women’s 200m

20:11: Men’s 1500m

20:25: Men’s 100m

20:34: Women’s 800m

20:46: Men’s 3000m steeplechase

How to watch the 2023 Rabat Diamond League

The Rabat Diamond League will be broadcast in a number of territories on the WANDA Diamond League YouTube page. 

For a full list of global broadcasters, click here.