No Noah, no party? It shouldn’t be that way, despite the reigning world 100m and 200m champion’s decision to remain at his training camp in Florida for extra work as he ramps up towards the Olympics. It’s still quite a stellar line-up with the men's 400m hurdles battle betweenworld and Olympic champion Warholm and American Rai Benjamin and Brazilian Alison Dos Santos, among other can’t miss events like Ingebrigtsen’s 1500m race or the 800m, where Algeria's Djamel Sedjati and local favourite Gabriel Tual will face off.

Still, the absence of the world’s fastest man in the most thrilling distance obviously takes some shine off the Diamond League weekend, just 15 days ahead of the Paris Games. "My coach, my entire team and I are very pleased with what we were able to achieve at the US Olympic Trials in Eugene, however, in order to put myself in the best possible position to succeed in Paris, we have decided to spend an extra week at our training base in Florida before traveling to Europe," Lyles said in a statement.

The Gainesville native claimed the sprint treble at the 2023 World Championships by winning the 100m and 200m distances along with the 4x100m relay and now hopes to go for poker in Paris by adding the 4x400m relay to his resumé, although his participation in the race is yet to be confirmed.

"I'm sorry to announce that I've withdrawn from this Friday's Meeting Herculis EBS in Monaco. I look forward to returning to race next year," said the heavy Olympic favourite for the 200m and fastest man in the world over the distance this season with a leading time of 19.53sec set at the US Olympic trials last month. In his absence, teammate Courtney Lindsey and Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo are considered the favourites.

After two world records last week, Monaco is the penultimate meet before the Games, the perfect opportunity for athletes to finetune their performance. Dos Santos won the 400m hurdles in the Paris meet, while Warholm claimed victory in Oslo. "The time can be improved, but we´re on the right path to continue to work towards the next competitions," Dos Santos said. "We are definitely working on maximising my best abilities. The only thing that is keeping me away from doing well at the Olympics is getting enough rest. We’ve put in all the work, now we need to be patient to see the results coming through."

As for Ingebrigtsen, he will compete in the 1500m and command quite the focus, but it was the 800m in Paris which produced one of the most memorable two-lap races ever run, registering the third, fourth and fifth fastest times of all time. Algeria's Djamel Sedjati won in 1min 41.56sec ahead of Kenyan Emmanuel Wanyonyi and France's Gabriel Tual. Sedjati and Tual will once again line up in Monaco, on a track known to be quick in the often balmy weather that accompanies the meet.

"I've prepared very well this season: I'm preparing for the Olympics. I'm very calm and, God willing, it'll be the gold medal," Sedjati said. "I 'm following my coach’s advice. I'm confident and up until now, all my training has paid off."

European champion Tual, who smashed the French record with 1min 41.61sec, said he was "over the moon" with his result in Paris. "It's crazy! In training you feel when you're capable of good times. I was saying to myself 1min 42sec, but to run 1min 41.6, I can't even believe it," he said. "We all know the reputation of this meeting and what the athletes achieve here: I am coming to give it my all and chase a big time. I can't wait to compete against the best. The form since the Europeans is still there, I want to confirm it!"

 Joining the stellar 800m field is Canadian Marco Arop, the world champion and twice a winner in Monaco. Other stand-outs include British sprinter Dina Asher-Smith in the women's 100m and American three-time world champion Grant Holloway in the 110m hurdles. "I'm looking forward to racing in Monaco, on a track where I have some very fond memories," said Holloway, who has a best of 12.99sec at Stade Louis II.