Birmingham Diamond League: who and when to watch

This Sunday is the Birmingham Diamond League, and you’ll be able to watch the action on cbcsports.ca. The Canadians racing are Andre De Grasse in the 100m, Melissa Bishop-Nriagu in the 800m, Gabriela DeBues-Stafford in the mile, and Gen Lalonde in the 3,000m steeplechase. Here’s a look at who their competition will be, who’s not racing, and what else is going on.

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With Caster Semenya out of the picture, that opens things up somewhat for Bishop-Nriagu, who is on the comeback trail after having her first child last year. Bishop-Nriagu, who ran a season’s best 2:01.10 at the Speed River Inferno in June and finished second to Madeleine Kelly at Canadian nationals, doesn’t yet have the speed that Americans Ajee Wilson (who has run 1:57.72) and Raevyn Rogers and the UK’s Lynsey Sharp have shown this season (they’ll also be on the start line in Birmingham), but that’s OK–she’s looking to achieve world championship standard of 2:00:60. The race goes at 10:41 a.m. ET at cbcsports.ca.

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De Grasse was defeated by Aaron Brown in a dramatic photo-finish at the Canadian nationals in Montreal last month, but has a very respectable season’s best of 9.98, going up against the American, Christian Coleman, and the Jamaican, Yohan Blake. De Grasse is in the second of two heats at 8:55 a.m. ET, with the final (assuming he qualifies) at 10:32 a.m. ET on cbcsports.ca.

RELATED: Aaron Brown upsets Andre De Grasse in national 100m final

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Stafford, who has set no fewer than five Canadian records this year, has run 4:17.87 for the mile this season, which is significantly faster than the competition she’ll face in the women’s mile on Sunday. 5,000m stud Konstanze Klosterhalfen of Germany is also in the mix. The only miler on the start list who’s come close to Stafford this season is Axumawit Embaye of Ethiopia, at 4:18.58. The race starts at 9:23 a.m. ET on cbcsports.ca.

(The UK’s Laura Muir, Stafford’s training partner, has a calf injury and is out for both the Diamond League and the British championships. Shelby Houlihan, Sifan Hassan, Genzebe Dibaba and Faith Kipyegon also are not racing.)

RELATED: Gabriela DeBues-Stafford sets fifth Canadian record of 2019

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Gen Lalonde is fresh off her Pan Am Games record in the 3,000m steeplechase. She will face world record-holder Beatrice Chepkoech and Celliphine Chespol of Kenya and Denmark’s Anne Emilie Møller on Sunday at 9:55 a.m. ET on cbcsports.ca.

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8:55 ET–De Grasse’s 100m heat
9:23 ET–DeBues-Stafford in the women’s mile
9:55 ET–Lalonde in women’s 3,000m steeplechase
10:32 ET–100m final
10:41 ET–Bishop-Nriagu in women’s 800m