In one month the 2024 outdoor season will be behind us and we have quite a wait ahead of us before the stars return to the track.

In the next few weeks, five more Diamond League meetings will take place across Europe to complete the professional circuit, culminating in the two-day meeting in Brussels.

Until then, there are many athletes who have something to prove before they turn their attention to the World Championships in Tokyo.

Here are a few stars who could be on the hunt for fast times to end their season on a high note.

Can Athing Mu finish their season like a year ago?

After finishing third in the 800-meter final at the World Championships in Budapest last September, Mu was retroactively nominated for the Prefontaine Classic, which served as the final of the 2023 Diamond League.

Not only did Mu beat the two women who beat her in Budapest, but she beat them in record-breaking fashion: she broke the American and meet records with a time of 1:54.97, and became the third woman since 2000 to break the 1:55 mark.

Her 2024 season was very different, as Mu failed in the final of the US Trials, ending her chance to defend her Olympic title in devastating fashion.

Last month, Mu was back on the starting line at the Holloway Pro Classic in Gainesville, Florida, finishing fifth with a time of 2:00.29 after faltering on the home stretch.

On Thursday, Mu will run on the track for only her fifth time this year in Lausanne, where she will face Olympic bronze medallist Mary Moraa of Kenya. British duo Jemma Reekie and Georgia Bell both have personal bests of 1:55.61 and 1:56.28, with Bell winning a bronze medal in the 1500m in Paris.

At this point it is impossible to predict Mu’s exact result in Lausanne, but we can only hope that she simply has fun on her return to racing.

Will Bryce Hoppel aim for another fast time after his fourth place in Paris?

On the one hand, Bryce Hoppel broke the American record and became the seventh fastest man in history, and on the other hand, he was the first man to leave the Olympic podium after finishing fourth with a time of 1:41.67.

In recent years, Hoppel has not only risen to the top of the American rankings, he has also become one of the fastest men in the world in the 800-meter run.

He is one of only ten men to ever run a time under 1:42, and yet he remains eluded by a medal at a global outdoor event.

Hoppel will have to wait at least a year before he can compete in Tokyo, but for now he can be expected to enter the race with a chip on his shoulder.

Hoppel has only a few opportunities left to compete this year, but has not yet confirmed whether he plans to run again in 2024.

Don’t be surprised if the American does a few more races because once he’s on the track he’ll put in another great performance.

Will Noah Lyles set more fast times before the end of the season?

The short answer is: no.

During his recent appearance on Nightcap, Noah Lyles told co-hosts Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson that his plan is to shut everything down and complete his 2024 season. This means Lyles will not participate in any of the remaining Diamond League meets.

As of Saturday, it had not been confirmed whether Lyles would compete in any more races this season following a lackluster finish to his second Olympic Games.

Admittedly, a gold and a bronze medal is by no means a bad achievement, but for a man chasing four gold medals, it was definitely not what he wanted.

The first half of Noah Lyles’ time at the Paris Olympics went according to plan. Lyles won Olympic gold in the 100m, defeating Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson 9.784 to 9.789. The second half of the Olympics for the four-time Olympic medalist was less than ideal, as he eventually contracted COVID-19 just two days before the final.

The 27-year-old won the bronze medal at the second Olympic Games in a row after eventually withdrawing from both the 4 x 100 m and 4 x 400 m events.

While we won’t see Lyles on the field anytime soon, we may see him outshine a certain Miami wide receiver.