Stewart McSweyn, Jye Edwards and Cameron Myers are among the top Australian middle-distance runners set to collide with British world champion Jake Wightman on home soil, after Athletics Australia lured the Scottish star Down Under.
Wightman, the gold medallist in the men's 1500m at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, will open his Olympic Games year at Melbourne's Maurie Plant Meet in February.
The 29-year-old's hopes of defending his world title in Budapest this year were dashed when he suffered a freak injury to his right foot in January.
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But he's on the comeback trail as he aims to follow up his World Championship triumph with Olympic Games glory at Paris 2024.
"I am really looking forward to getting back to racing in 2024 after missing 2023 with injury. It will be great to get going at the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne against Stewart McSweyn and Matt Ramsden, who I often cross paths with when they base themselves in Teddington during the European summer season," Wightman said.
"They are quality athletes so I know I will be tested immediately, which should make for a good spectacle for Aussie fans."
James Templeton, the manager of Edwards and Myers, confirmed with Wide World of Sports that the duo would race against Wightman at the Maurie Plant Meet.
McSweyn, Edwards, Myers, Ramsden, Oliver Hoare and Adam Spencer are the chief contenders for the Australian men's 1500m team for Paris 2024.
Callum Davies, who won 1500m and 5000m gold at the Australian Track and Field Championships in April, shapes as an outside chance of snagging his first green and gold singlet.
Wightman stunned Norwegian ace Jakob Ingebrigtsen in his World Championship victory last year, upstaging the reigning men's 1500m Olympic Games gold medallist at Hayward Field.
Wightman finished fifth at the 2019 World Championships and 10th at Tokyo 2020, before producing the race of his life in Oregon.
"Having Jake in Melbourne will be an awesome addition to the Maurie Plant Meet," McSweyn said.
"He's one of the world's best milers and a guy that will be right in the mix for the Olympic title next year.
"To have the chance to race him in front of a home crowd is going to be really fun.
"It's also going to be a great opportunity for us Australian middle-distance guys to have a good early-season indicator of how we match up against one of the world's best."
The luring of Wightman Down Under follows the appearance of world champion sprinter Fred Kerley in Australia this year.
This summer's Maurie Plant Meet will be held on Thursday, February 15.
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