Multiple Diamond League champion Lyles and Olympic champions McLeod and Stefanidi will be among 30 international superstars now confirmed for the Inspiration Games, which is scheduled to take place on July 9th.
On Wednesday, meeting organisers published a star-studded entry list which also includes Diamond League record champion Renaud Lavillenie, triple jump legend Christian Taylor and US sprint star Allyson Felix.
The unique event will take place over seven different venues across the globe, with timing and broadcasting coordinated centrally from Zurich’s Letzigrund Stadium.
Simultaneous women’s and men’s pole vault competitions will kickstart the programme, with Stefanidi taking on Diamond League record holder Sandi Morris and Sweden’s Angelica Bengtsson in the women’s event, and Lavillenie going head to head with world champion Sam Kendricks and Polish star Piotr Lisek in the men’s.
Elsewhere, multiple Olympic champion Taylor will take on Portuguese rival Pedro Pablo Pichardo and compatriot Omar Craddock in a mouth-watering three-way triple jump battle.
On the track, a 150m showdown between Felix, Switzerland’s Mujinga Kambundji and 400m Olympic champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo had already been confirmed as the headline event.
Felix and Kambundji will also join flying Dutchwoman Dafne Schippers in a 3x100m showdown, while world champion Dalilah Muhammad will take on Zuzana Hejnova and Lea Sprunger in the 300m hurdles.
In the men’s events, Lyles will face European stars Churandy Martina and Christophe Lemaitre in the 200m, while Jamaican hurdles star McLeod will test himself in the 100 yards flat against Andre De Grasse and Jimmy Vicaut.
Lemaitre and four Swiss athletes will compete in Zurich. The other venues include Aubiere (FRA), Bradenton, FL (USA), Karlstad (SWE), Lisbon (POR), Papendal/Arnhem (NED) and Walnut, CA (USA).
The Letzigrund Stadium will serve as the event’s control centre and start all competition. Live TV signals will be sent to Zurich, synchronised and edited for global broadcasting with split screens and a two-minute delay – a technical first in international sports.
For more information and the full entry lists, head to the Zurich Diamond League homepage.