National 100m record holder Akani Simbine will lead a small South African contingent at the third leg of the World Athletics Diamond League series in Florence, Italy on Thursday.

Simbine, who clocked 9.99 seconds to win gold at the ASA Senior Championships in Pretoria in April, is one of only three athletes in the men’s 100m line-up who have dipped under 10 seconds this year, and he will turn out among the favourites for victory.

He will need to be at his best, however, against a field which includes Arthur Cisse of the Ivory Coast, who finished second behind Simbine at the 2018 CAA African Championships in Asaba, Nigeria as well as European indoor 60m champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs of Italy and British sprinter Chijindu Ujah.

Meanwhile, Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Wenda Nel will be eager to build on her return to form this season in the women’s 400m hurdles race.

She will enter the blocks next to the likes of Olympic silver medallist Sara Petersen of Denmark and in-form Dutch athlete Femke Bol.

National 400m champion Zakithi Nene, who holds a season’s best of 45.03, is the third fastest man this year in the men’s one-lap field.

He too, however, will face a strong challenge against the likes of Commonwealth Games champion Isaac Makwala of Botswana and World Championships silver medallist Anthony Jose Zambrano of Colombia.

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