The China Mail - Athletics at the Paris Olympics: Day 5 highlights

Rarely has one athlete been so dominant in an event in recent years and the question is whether the Swede can improve his own world record.

Also in action on Monday are Norwegian Karsten Warholm in the 400m hurdles heats, while Sifan Hassan continues her audacious bid for treble gold and Briton Keely Hodgkinson goes for gold in the final of the women's 800m

AFP Sport looks at five stand-outs on the fifth day of competition in the athletics programme.

Men's Pole Vault - Final

Duplantis is in a world of his own when it comes to the pole vault, but the Swede says he has got used to being the favourite whenever he steps onto the runway.

“Every competition I go to I’m going to be a big favourite. It is what it is. The reason for that is that I have been showing it as well," he said.

The 24-year-old has broken the world record eight times, notably twice at global championships.

"I go into every competition trying to jump as high as I possibly can. I think it should be enough to do what I know I can do. You get used to it and you know how to control it."

It would take a brave person to bet against the two-time world champion retaining his Olympic title.

Women's 5,000m - Final

Dutch long-distance star Sifan Hassan aims to complete the first leg of her unlikely Olympic treble by defending her 5,000m crown against a high-calibre field.

Hassan, 31, is attempting to become the first woman in history to win 5,000m, 10,000m and marathon gold at the same Games -- emulating the feat of Czech great Emil Zatopek who achieved the men's triple at the 1952 Helsinki Games.

Hassan qualified comfortably for Monday's final in Friday's heats, finishing second in 14min 57.65sec.

But the Ethiopia-born Netherlands runner will face a sterner examination in the final.

The main challenge is expected to come from Kenya's two-time Olympic 1,500m champion Faith Kipyegon, while Ethiopia's 5,000m world champion from 2022, Gudaf Tsegay, is also a danger.

Another Kenyan, Beatrice Chebet, is also firmly in the mix. Chebet, nicknamed "the smiling assassin", set a new 10,000m world record in May and is the 2022 Diamond League finals winner at 5,000m.

Women's 800m - Final

Until June, the women's 800m final had looked set to be three-way battle between defending champion Athing Mu, reigning world champion Mary Moraa and Britain's European champion Keely Hodgkinson.

But Mu's fell at the US trials, meaning the American star will be forced to watch from the sidelines as Hodgkinson and Kenya's Moraa battle it out.

All eyes are on the 22-year-old Hodgkinson to see if the Briton can finally land a major global title after silver medals at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics and the World Championships in 2022 and 2023.

Hodgkinson has been in the form of her life heading into the Olympics, clocking a British record of 1min 54.61sec at the London Diamond League meeting, the sixth-fastest time in history.

Moraa meanwhile has raced sparingly this year, competing in just two 800m races outside Kenya. One of those races came at the Prefontaine Classic in Oregon in May, where she finished second -- behind Hodgkinson.

Men's 400m Hurdles

Karsten Warholm ripping his shirt off in delight after setting a sensational world record when winning gold in the Covid-delayed Tokyo Games was one of the images of those Olympics.

The Norwegian recorded the mind-boggling time of 45.94sec, a time many 400m flat runners would struggle to record even without 10 hurdles in the way.

The three-time world champion comes into Paris under some pressure, however, having lost a couple of races to chief rivals Rai Benjamin of the US and Brazil's Alison Dos Santos on the Diamond League circuit.

"In Paris, everything will be about trying to be as sharp as possible," the 28-year-old said.

Women's Discus - Final

This could be the box office women's field event final.

Defending champion Valarie Allman is yet to be beaten this season.

She is also keen to put behind her surprise defeat to fellow American Laulauga Tausaga in last year's world championships.

The 29-year-old's previous visit to Paris resulted in victory last month.

However, she faces a loaded field including Croatian veteran Sandra Elkasevic (formerly Perkovic) searching for her third Olympic title having won in 2012 and 2016.

At 34 she may seem old but nothing compared to Frenchwoman Melina Robert-Michon, silver medallist in 2016, who is 45 and appearing in her seventh Olympics.

J.Thompson--ThChM