This is the athletes that will be running the half lap; ranked by personal bests, and with the World Ranking position in parentheses:
Erriyon Knighton (2) from the USA. 19.49 as a personal best. Number five at the All Time World List. Number three in the World Championships 2022.
Andre de Grasse (-) from Canada. 19.62 as a personal best. Number nine at the All Time World List. 2021 Olympic champion.
Kenny Bednarek (3) from the USA. 19.68 as a personal best. Number two in the 2021 Olympics and the 2022 World Championships.
Luxolo Adams (8) from South Africa. 19.82 as a personal best.
Andrew Hudson (10) from Jamaica. 19.87 as a personal best.
Alexander Ogando (4) from the Dominican Republic. 19.91 as a personal best.
Fillippo Tortu (14) from Italy. 20.10 as a personal best. Ranked as the best European.
Six of the top seven
We double the distance and actually raise the quality even further as we go from half to a full lap. Because with six of the seven best in the World Ranking present, this is sheer world class.
We have already launched Olympic champion Wayde van Niekerk. However, the South African will not face any easy opposition in his debut at Bislett Stadium.
As in the 200 metres, we present the field ranked by personal bests and with the position in the world rankings in parentheses:
Wayde van Niekerk (4) from South Africa. World record holder with 43.03, achieved when he won the 2016 Olympics.
Champion Allison (5) from the USA. 43.70 as a personal best, which gives him tenth place in the All Time World List.
Kirani James (2) from Grenada. 43.74 as a personal best. Has gold, silver and bronze from both the Olympics and World Championships.
Muzala Samukonga (6) from Zambia. 43.91 as a personal best and 2023 season best as he tops the 2023 World List at the moment.
Anthony Zambrano (-) from Colombia. 43.93 as a personal best. Number two in the World Championships 2019 and the Olympics 2021.
Matthew Hudson-Smith (3) from Great Britain. 44.35 as a personal best. Number three in the World Championships 2022. European champion in 2018 and 2022.
Vernon Norwood (7) from the USA. 44.35 as a personal best.
