Aretha Thurmond and Ingvill Måkestad on start list for Paris stop on Samsung Diamond League tour...

PARIS, France--The start list for Friday's stop on the Samsung Diamond League series of elite track & field meets was issued Monday, and former Huskies Aretha Thurmond and Ingvill Måkestad are scheduled to compete in the Meeting Areva at the Stade de France.

Thurmond, a three-time US Olympian, is scheduled to throw the discus in a field that includes reigning Olympic champion Stephanie Brown Trafton from the USA, current USA champion Becky Breisch, last year's world champion Dani Samuels from Australia, and Yarelis Barrios of Cuba, who leads the standings in the race for the diamonds in the discus with 8 points, thanks to wins in Doha and last week in Gateshead.

Thurmond currently is in a tie for fourth with Samuels with three points, finishing third in Oslo, and second in New York (top three finishers in each of the Diamond League meets score 4-2-1; a complete explanation of the scoring system of the Diamond League can be accessed here).

Thurmond recently posted on her blog, arethathrows.com about life on the circuit, including a low key meet she and Becky Breisch competed in on July 11th in Brasschatt, Belgium. Throwing in a circle that wasn't the best for optimal competition, Thurmond finished second with a toss of 192-8/58.72m, behind Breisch's 198-0/60.35m.

Results from the meet in Brasschatt can be accessed here.

Måkestad, who ran in Diamond League meets in Doha (6th in PR 4:06.08), and Lausanne (10th in 4:07.41), is tuning up for the European Championships in Barcelona at the end of July.

She will face a field that includes Olympic champion and Diamond League leader (9 points) Nancy Langat of Kenya; Gelete Burka of Ethiopia, who stands second in the Diamond League 1500 standings with 7 points; and American Olympians Anna Pierce, Shannon Rowbury, and Christin Wurth-Thomas.

UniversalSports.com will stream the meet live, and Universal Sports (channel 115 on Seattle area Comcast) will provide same-day coverage.

The start list for the Meeting Areva can be accessed here.