One is a defending champion, the other a world record-holder and their winning height should vary by over 3.5 metres.
But when the spotlight shines on both Bohdan Bondarenko and Renaud Lavillenie in Beijing, the pair will have something much closer in common as European athletes ready to stamp their authority on their event again.
High jumper Bondarenko is bidding for his third successive major outdoor gold medal in a row and while he goes to these IAAF World Championships as Europe’s No 1 with his 2.37m from Kawasaki in May, he trails both his great Qatar rival Mutaz Essa Barshim (2.41m) and China’s Guowei Zhang (2.38m) on the global lists.
But that will not trouble the brilliant Ukrainian who, since finishing seventh at the London Olympics in 2012, has become the dominant force in the two summers which have followed.
Twelve months on from London he was crowned world champion in Moscow (2.41m) and then last year won his first European title in Zurich (2.35m) to show that no matter what happens during the season, when the championships arrive, he is the man with the golden touch.
Now 25, Bondarenko will have to wait until the last day of the championships on Sunday August 30 for his final to prove that point again (qualifying is on the 28th), which he will be determined to do as he counts down to next year’s Olympics in Rio.
As captain of the French side, many people might not think there is a piece missing in the magnificent athletics jigsaw of Lavillenie’s career.
He is the Olympic champion, the triple European champion outdoors, four-times European champion indoors, the world indoor champion and, with his stunning 6.16m from February 2014, the world indoor record-holder.
Yet among those nine golds, the one title missing is that of world champion.
Will this be his moment?
The sport will discover that answer fairly quickly, with qualification on Saturday, the day the championships open, and the final on Monday.
Lavillenie, 28, was beaten on countback by Germany’s Raphael Holzdeppe in Moscow in 2013, both men clearing a best of 5.89m, while in Berlin in 2009 and Daegu in 2011 he won bronze.
This summer he once more dominates the rankings, with best vaults of 6.05m and 6.03m, with Holzdeppe next on the lists with 5.94m.
And Lavillenie has talked about feeling capable of clearing 6.10m and beyond.
If he does that, those in the Bird’s Nest Stadium really will be treated to something special.