The strength of European athletics will once more be on show at the IAAF Continental Cup in Marrakech.
Twenty-nine gold medallists from the European Athletics Championships in Zurich will spearhead a strong squad to take on Africa, the Americas and Asia-Pacific.
Four years ago Europe won 13 of the 40 disciplines and the team is again sprinkled with enough of its biggest names to repeat, if not improve upon, that figure.
The men’s squad includes Russian Sergey Shubenkov, who defended his 110m hurdles title in style at the Letzigrund Stadium, pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie, of France, who has had one of the years of his life after his indoor world record in February, and Ukraine’s high jump world champion Bogdan Bondarenko.
Dafne Schippers, of the Netherlands, who won the sprint double in Zurich, will run in both events in Marrakech while teammate Sifan Hassan will be looking to enhance her reputation in the 1500m as Jo Pavey, who has found an amazing lease of life at the age of 40, competes in the 5000m having won 10,000m gold at the European Athletics Championships.
Schippers has transformed herself in 2014. The outdoor season began with her as one of the favourites for the heptathlon but such was her speed in the sprints, and particularly at the IAAF Diamond League in Glasgow where she won at both distances, that she opted for the individual events in Zurich.
She won her two golds by showing so much power and along with European teammate Myriam Soumaré, of France, she will face Jamaica’s Veronica Campbell-Brown, the 2007 world champion, in the 100m and quick American Joanna Atkins in the 200m.
Great Britain’s Martyn Rooney finally ended his wait for a major gold medal when he won the 400m in Zurich and he meets American LaShawn Merritt, the newly-crowned Diamond Race champion, while the high jump could be one of the events of the weekend.
Bondarenko and Mutaz Essa Barshim, of Qatar, have had a sensational summer of rivalry - with Cuban Javier Sotomayor’s elusive world record of 2.45m still so near, yet so far.
In New York, as they both went over 2.42m, equalling the European record while at the final Diamond League meeting of the season in Brussels last Friday, Barshim won with an Asian record of 2.43m.
All the field events look so strong for Europe, with 12 of the Zurich gold medallists present in Marrakech.
The continent is represented in the sprint relays by the triumphant British teams from the European Athletics Championships and the women's 1500m should be some race, too, as Hissan, who was superb when she beat Sweden's world champion Abeba Aregawi in Zurich, now meets Kenya’s African champion Hellen Obiri.
Zurich gold medallists in Marrakech
MEN
100m – James Dasaolu (GBR)
400m – Martyn Rooney GBR)
800m – Adam Kszczot (POL)
1500m – Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad (FRA)
110mh – Sergey Shubenkov (RUS)
400mh – Kariem Hussein (SUI)
Triple jump – Benjamin Compaore (FRA)
High jump – Bohdan Bondarenko (UKR)
Pole Vault – Renaud Lavillenie (FRA)
Shot put – David Storl (GER)
Hammer – Krisztian Pars (HUN)
Javelin – Antti Ruuskanen (FIN)
4x100m relay – Great Britain
WOMEN
100m – Dafne Schippers (NED)
200m – Schippers
400m – Libania Grenot (ITA)
800m – Maryna Arzamasova (BLR)
1500m – Sifan Hassan (NED)
3000m – Meraf Bahta (SWE) – she won the 5000m in Zurich
5000m – Jo Pavey (GBR) – she won the 10,000m in Zurich
100mh – Tiffany Porter (GBR)
400mh – Eilidh Child (GBR)
Long jump – Eloyse Lesueur (FRA)
Triple jump - Olha Saladukha (UKR)
Shot put – Christina Schwanitz (GER)
Discus – Sandra Perkovic (CRO)
Hammer – Anita Wlodarczyk (POL)
Javelin – Barbora Spotakova (CZE)
4x100m relay – Great Britain