The event is the Diamond League season’s midpoint and France’s first major athletics meet since the Paris 2024 Olympics
The Stade Sébastien-Charléty in Paris is set to dazzle under the Friday night lights as the 2025 edition of the Paris Diamond League welcomes a constellation of the world’s top track and field athletes.
The event marks not only the midpoint of this year’s Diamond League calendar but also the first major international athletics competition on French soil since the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
With the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo looming large in September, Friday’s meet is expected to serve as a vital benchmark for form and fitness, as Olympic champions, world title-holders, and rising stars prepare for another shot at global glory.
Here are six standout athletes fans should be watching closely as the world turns its gaze once more to Paris.
India’s most celebrated athlete, Neeraj Chopra, returns to the French capital with one thing on his mind—redemption.
The 27-year-old javelin sensation, who captured hearts and history at the Tokyo 2020 Games with India’s first-ever Olympic track and field gold, experienced an uncharacteristic dip last year when he secured silver at Paris 2024.
Though still a monumental achievement, the result left Chopra with unfinished business. Now, as the reigning world champion following his victory in Budapest 2023, Chopra is focused on reclaiming his dominance in a stacked field.
Among his fiercest competitors in Paris will be Anderson Peters of Grenada, a two-time world champion and last year’s Olympic bronze medallist.
Peters and Chopra have established one of the most compelling rivalries in modern javelin, and their latest chapter is expected to be no less dramatic.
With the World Championships approaching, the Paris showdown offers a critical litmus test of Chopra’s current form—and a chance for him to reassert his supremacy on the global stage.
Few athletes embody the triumph of the Paris 2024 Games quite like Marileidy Paulino. The Dominican sprinter delivered one of the most emotional moments of last year’s Olympics, claiming gold in the women’s 400m and becoming her country’s first individual athletics Olympic champion.
Now 28, Paulino has dominated the one-lap event since 2022, claiming multiple Diamond League titles and a world championship gold in Budapest. Her consistency, grace under pressure, and technical brilliance have made her the undisputed queen of the event.
On Friday, Paulino will line up against formidable challengers, including Amber Anning of Great Britain and Lieke Klaver of the Netherlands.
With her eyes on defending her world title in Tokyo later this year, Paulino’s performance in Paris will give her fans and coaches a clear indication of how well her preparations are progressing.
The men’s 110m hurdles has been dominated in recent years by Grant Holloway, the dynamic American hurdler known for his explosive starts and silky technique.
Holloway, now the Olympic champion after clinching gold at Paris 2024, already boasts three world titles and an indoor world record.
Yet there is one accolade that continues to elude him—the outdoor world record of 12.80 seconds, held by Aries Merritt since 2012. Holloway’s personal best, an agonizing 12.81, makes him the second-fastest man in history.
After an injury-hampered start to his 2025 season, all eyes will be on whether Holloway has returned to peak condition.
He will face tough opposition from Trey Cunningham, the 2022 world silver medallist, making for a potentially electric race that could flirt with history if conditions are ideal.
In a sport often defined by milliseconds, Friday’s race could be the one where Holloway finally takes the record that has long been within reach.
Katie Moon, the USA’s iconic pole vaulter, returns to Paris as one of the most decorated women in her event’s history. The 34-year-old has claimed back-to-back world titles and added an Olympic silver in Paris last year to the gold she won at Tokyo 2020.
Despite being in the later years of her career, Moon shows no signs of slowing. A model of technical consistency and competitive calm, she remains the woman to beat.
In Paris, she’ll go head-to-head with longtime rival Sandi Morris, a fellow American and perennial podium threat with Olympic and world silvers to her name.
Their duel has been a recurring highlight of recent seasons, and with both athletes eyeing the Tokyo Worlds, expect the bar—literally and figuratively—to be raised once again.
After years of playing second fiddle to Norway’s Karsten Warholm and Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos, Rai Benjamin finally had his moment of Olympic glory in Paris 2024, capturing the gold medal in the men’s 400m hurdles.
The 27-year-old American, known for his blistering speed and fluid stride, has long been considered one of the most talented hurdlers of his generation. His win at the Olympics, following two silver medals and a bronze at previous world championships, has redefined his career narrative.
Friday’s race will offer Benjamin the opportunity to further solidify his status as the man to beat in Tokyo later this year.
While neither Warholm nor Dos Santos will be competing in Paris, the field still includes a strong mix of emerging talents and experienced campaigners, making it an ideal test of Benjamin’s readiness to dominate the world stage once more.
Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan stunned the world in 2022 when she broke the women’s 100m hurdles world record and went on to claim gold at the World Championships in Oregon. Since then, however, her journey has been marked by challenges.
Last year’s Olympics ended in heartbreak, as Amusan failed to reach the final in Paris, derailing what had been a promising campaign. But her pedigree remains unquestionable, with three Diamond League overall titles in her trophy case from 2021 to 2023.
In the absence of the Paris 2024 podium finishers, Amusan has a golden opportunity to reclaim her place among the elite and rebuild momentum ahead of the World Championships.
With her explosive start and clean hurdling technique, a strong showing in Paris could reignite Amusan’s bid for a second world title and set her up for a powerful second half of the season.
Beyond individual rivalries and record pursuits, the 2025 Paris Diamond League is a crucial checkpoint in what has already been an electrifying season.
With the World Championships in Tokyo set to begin in less than three months, every performance carries weight—not only for rankings and bragging rights but also for confidence and preparation.
The crowd at Stade Sébastien-Charléty will no doubt be eager to see their heroes back in action. For athletes who triumphed here last year, the meet offers a chance to recapture the magic. For those who faltered, it’s a shot at redemption.
Track and field fans around the world are in for a treat this Friday as Paris once again becomes the epicenter of global athletics.
The Diamond League meet promises fireworks, personal bests, and maybe even world records as a stellar line-up of athletes bring their best to one of the sport’s most iconic stages.
Whether it’s Chopra’s javelin artistry, Holloway’s high-speed hurdles, or Paulino’s powerful stride down the backstretch, the Paris Diamond League is poised to deliver an unforgettable evening of sporting excellence—one that will shape the road to Tokyo 2025.
This article was created using automation technology and was thoroughly edited and fact-checked by one of our editorial staff members
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