Preview: Mo Farah to lead a star-studded field in Doha Diamond League

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Mo Farah of Britain will compete for the first time in Doha as the 2015 IAAF Diamond League will raise the curtain on Friday in the Qatari capital.

As only the seventh man to claim the 5,000 and 10,000m double at the same Olympic Games when he managed the feat in London in 2012 and the reigning world champion in both distances, the 32-year-old Farah will compete in the 3,000m event in Doha.

Farah, who has clocked 59:32 to win at the EDP Lisbon Half Marathon in March and set a world indoor best of 8:03.40 for two miles in February, will face fierce challenge from traditional distance running powers Ethiopia and Kenya.

Ethiopia will come armed with Hagos Gebrhiwet, the 2013 World Championships silver medallist at 5000m who won the Doha 3000m that year, setting his still standing 7:30.36 personal best. And leading the Kenyan attack will be Isiah Kiplangat Koech, the 2013 World Championships bronze medallist and 2012 Olympic finalist.

Two years ago, in Moscow, Farah held firm to confirm his status as the best in the 5,000m distance when he beat Kiplangat to third with Gebrhiwet second at the World Championships. The trio have since avoided each other and will repeat their rivalry in Doha on Friday.

French pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie is supposed to start his 2015 IAAF Diamond League campaign in Doha, aiming to set a meet record and world leading mark, but a recent shoulder injury has forced the 2014 IAAF Athlete of the Year to withdraw and thrown the men's pole vault event wide open.

The meet record for men's pole vault in Doha is set in 2013 by Germany's Malter Mohr along with Greece's Konstadinos Filippidis, with the mark being 5.82 meters.

Filippidis, who cleared a season's best 5.75 to finish fifth at the European indoors, will still be a serious contender in Doha, while German Raphael Holzdeppe, the reigning world champion and bronze medalist at London Olympics, is also among the top favorites. The 25-year-old has topped 5.91 twice in his career, most recently in Rome in 2013.

Both Farah and Holzdeppe are among the world and Olympic champions assembled by the Doha organizers and the list also included Justin Gatlin of United States, the men's 100m gold medalist at the 2004 Olympic Games.

The 33-year-old veteran took the spotlight in 2014 as he remained unbeaten for the whole season and registered the fastest time of the year in both 100m and 200m, clocking 9.77 and 19.68 respectively.

The men's 100m event will also include seasoned sprinter Kim Collins, the 2003 world champion, who was unbeaten in nine 60m races this winter and improved his career best to 9.96 last season.

Qatar's sprinter Femi Ogunode, who will celebrate his 24th birthday on the day of the Doha meeting, is also a serious contender in Doha after he improved the Asian record to 9.93 en route to win at the Asian Games in Incheon last September.

The reigning Olympic 200m champion Allyson Felix, who has won 10 titles in Doha including three in the 100m, two in the 200m and five consecutively in the 400m from 2007 to 2011, will also start her outdoor season on Friday.

The 29-year-old American is aiming to vie for her third 200m title in Doha but will face tough challenge from Murielle Ahoure, of Cote d'Ivoire, who grabbed two silver medals in the 100m and 200m at the 2013 IAAF World Championships in Moscow, Russia.

"Starting my season in Doha is really a tradition for me, and I'm really looking forward to returning," said Felix. "I love running in Doha where we know the conditions will be just about perfect and the competition excellent."

Croatia's discus star Sandra Perkovic is also among the latest athletes who pledged to compete in Doha. The 24-year-old Olympic and world champion has already showed her sound form this season, throwing an impressive 70.08m at the Croatian winter championships, which was one meter shy of her personal best.

This time the in-form Perkovic stands a good chance to renew her own meet record of 68.23m set in 2013 and continues her Diamond Race winning run since three years ago.

The 2015 Diamond League Doha meet consists of 16 competitions including men's 100m, 800m, 3,000m, 400m hurdles, pole vault, triple jump, shot put, javelin throw as well as women's 200m, 400m, 1500m, 3,000m steeplechase, 100m hurdles, high jump, long jump and discus throw. Enditem