Race will be the double Olympic champion’s first since doping allegations were made against his coach, Alberto Salazar, at the beginning of June

Mo Farah returns to competitive action at Lausanne’s Athletissima meeting on Thursday evening (July 9) and will face a tough challenge as he lines up as part of a top 5000m field.

The double Olympic, world and European track champion is set to face the likes of Kenya’s Commonwealth Games champion and world indoor 3000m gold medallist Caleb Ndiku, who returns to action following injury, as well as world silver medallist Hagos Gebrhiwet, who beat Farah over 3000m in Doha, Rome winner and 5000m world-leader Yomif Kejelcha and their fellow Ethiopians Muktar Edris and Yenew Alamirew.

The Athletissima 5000m will be Farah’s first race since doping allegations were made against his coach, Alberto Salazar, at the beginning of June.

Farah had been due to race the 1500m at the Sainsbury’s Birmingham Grand Prix on June 7 but withdrew saying he had been left “emotionally and physically drained”.

Salazar has denied any wrongdoing and has since published a lengthy response to claims made by BBC’s Panorama and website ProPublica that he broke doping rules, while there is no suggestion that Farah has violated any rules.

Also racing the 5000m at the Diamond League meeting is Farah’s fellow Briton Andy Vernon, who contests the event five days after claiming silver at the British Championships.

Other Athletissima action will see Cuba’s Pedro Pablo Pichardo and USA’s Olympic champion Christian Taylor go head-to-head in the triple jump as they search for yet more jumps over 18 metres, while Renaud Lavillenie will look to return to his winning ways in the pole vault after his recent defeat in Paris.

The men’s 100m will see world No.1 Justin Gatlin go against the likes of his fellow American Tyson Gay and Jamaica’s Asafa Powell, while the 200m features British champion Zharnel Hughes, American Isiah Young and Jamaica’s Nickel Ashmeade. USA’s Olympic champion Allyson Felix, European champion Dafne Schippers of Netherlands, Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare and Britain’s Bianca Williams contest the women’s 200m.

David Rudisha, Mohammed Aman and Nijel Amos face off in the 800m, while British champ Tiffany Porter goes in the 100m hurdles against the world’s top two, Sharika Nelvis and Jasmin Stowers of the USA. Other British athletes in action include Shara Proctor in the long jump, Anyika Onuora in the 400m and Isobel Pooley in the high jump.

An event timetable can be found here, while athleticsweekly.com-sponsored coverage of the meeting will be shown live on British Eurosport 2 from 7pm UK time

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