Diamond League: Canadians look to build on strong start in Stockholm

Three Canadians will try to follow the lead of teammate Tim Nedow at the Diamond League meet in Stockholm on Thursday (CBCSports.ca, 2 p.m. ET).

The 25-year-old opened the two-day track and field event with a third-place finish in men's shot put on Wednesday, posting his best Diamond League result of the season with a throw of 20.44 metres.

• WATCH: Diamond League track and field from Stockholm
• SCHEDULE: Diamond League on CBC Sports, CBCSports.ca

Long jumper Christabel Nettey will start things for the Canadian contingent Thursday at 1:15 p.m., followed by Shawn Barber in pole vault (1:30 p.m.) and sprinter Kimberly Hyacinthe in the women's 200 (2:48 p.m.).

Nettey, 25, was second in Oslo with a leap of 6.68, matching her effort at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon last month, where the Surrey, B.C., native placed fifth. Her season best is 6.75, set in Shanghai.

Barber, 22, will try to defeat French rival Renaud Lavillenie for the first time in five attempts this season. Barber finished second to Lavillenie last week, clearing 5.73 but missing all three attempts at 5.80. That was the winning height for Lavillenie, the world-record holder who has won 11 of 13 head-to-head matches against Barber.

The reigning Olympic champion has exceeded six metres 19 times but hasn't had much success in Stockholm, where Lavillenie's streak of 22 straight victories came to an end two years ago, thanks in part to a troublesome wind.

Easy pickings

In Oslo, Hyacinthe didn't pose a threat to Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands, who cruised to victory in a world-leading 21.93 seconds. 

Hyacinthe, who hails from Montreal, was fifth in 23.13, not far off her season best of 23.02, set at the Pure Athletics Elite Meet in Florida on May 14.

One big-name athlete that won't race in Stockholm is Ethiopian Genzebe Dibaba, who was expected to try to improve her own 1,500 record of three minutes 50.07 seconds.

The reigning 1,500 world champion withdrew from the Eugene meet three weeks ago after suffering a toe injury in training, but no reason was given for last week's withdrawal from Oslo and this week's absence.

Here are some notable matchups in Stockholm:

Women's 100 hurdles

Kendra Harrison of the United States is the favourite after times of 12.56 and 12.42 in two of her three races this season. Also in the field of eight is American Kristi Castlin, second on the 2016 world list at 12.62, Susanna Kallur, Sweden's 2006 European champion, who will compete in her first 100 hurdles race since 2010, and 2012 Olympic champion Sally Pearson of Australia.

Men's triple jump

Many eyes will be on Christian Taylor, who has dominated the event in recent years and tops the nine-man field with a season-best jump of 17.76. In the past calendar year, the 2012 Olympic champion and reigning world champion has four jumps of 18 metres and nine consecutive victories. Fellow American Omar Craddock, who just missed the podium at last year's worlds in Beijing, China, is among a new generation of jumpers in Thursday's field.

Diamond League on CBC Sports

CBC Sports will provide live streaming coverage of all 14 Diamond League meets this season at CBCSports.ca and via the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices. TV coverage will be featured as part of the network's Road To The Olympic Games weekend broadcasts throughout the season.

The following is a list of upcoming Diamond League meets on CBCSports.ca and the CBC Sports app:

• Stockholm (Thursday, 2 p.m. ET)
• Monaco (July 15, 2 p.m. ET)
• London (July 22-23, 3 p.m., 10 a.m. ET)
• Lausanne (Aug. 25, 2 p.m. ET)
• Paris (Aug. 27, 2 p.m. ET)
• Zurich (Sept. 1, 2 p.m. ET)
• Brussels (Sept. 9, 2 p.m. ET)