The stars of the track and field world championships are back

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Still enjoying the vibes from Canada's best-ever performance at the World Athletics Championships? Can't wait for next year's Olympics to watch your favourite stars compete again? Well, good news: many of them are right back in action this week in the Diamond League, a global series of one-day meets that make up the backbone of the track and field season.

With only three stops left before the Diamond League Final next month in Eugene, Oregon, the race is on for athletes to qualify for the prestigious season-ender. A lot of big names are slated to compete either Thursday in Zurich, Switzerland or Saturday in Xiamen, China, including three Canadians.

Here's who and what to watch in the two meets:

Zurich (Thursday)

With the world championships barely in the rearview, there's always the risk of last-minute withdrawals by athletes in need of a break after their biggest meet of the year. But the current startlists in Zurich are absolutely stacked.

The men's 200m (3:41 p.m. ET) is headlined by Noah Lyles, fresh off his triple gold in the 100, 200 and 4x100 in Budapest. The three-peat 200m world champion will face fellow Americans Erriyon Knighton and Kenny Bednarek (this year's and last year's silver medallists, respectively) along with reigning Olympic champion Andre De Grasse and Aaron Brown of Canada. Lyles, the defending Diamond League champ, ranks 10th in this year's standings after competing sparingly in the build-up to the world championships, so he needs points to climb into the eight-man Final in Eugene. Brown is tied for second and De Grasse is tied for eighth.

The wom