Event by Event Preview: Shanghai/Suzhou Diamond League
On Saturday, April 27 Suzhou will host the Yangtze River Delta Athletics Diamond Gala, the second event of the 2024 the Wanda Diamond League series. This event will feature 25 world and Olympic champions among the top competitors. Here's our preview of each Shanghai Diamond League event.
Men’s pole vault:
Armand “Mondo” Duplantis will head to Suzhou to compete in the second Diamond League meeting on the Chinese soil.
Duplantis started his 2024 Diamond League season with his eighth world record of 6.24m on his first attempt in Xiamen last Saturday.
Armand Duplantis: “I expect a lot of things out of myself. I want to have high performances all the time and I want to keep jumping high. My expectations on myself always outweigh everything else. The indoor season was a little sloppier than expected. So I brought a bit of fire to this indoor season. I was really excited to get it started. It’s definitely possible to go even higher, conditions-willing. There are still some higher heights in me, for sure, as long as everything is in the right place”.
Duplantis cleared over the 6.00 metres barrier 78 times in his career. No athlete in history has cleared over the 6.00 metres so many times as Duplantis. He recently won his second consecutive world indoor gold medal with 6.05m in Glasgow last March.
The Swedish pole vaulter successfully defended his world outdoor title in Budapest with 6.10m last August. He has broken the world record seven times in his career. Last September he cleared 6.23m to win his third consecutive Diamond League title in Eugene.
Suzhou Meeting Director Ellen Van Langen: “I am happy to be back after five years in China with the Sizhou Diamond League meeting and and it is great to be able to announce Mondo Duplantis first, being the number one athlete in the world. I am curious what he will be able to perform with the support of the Chinese fans”.
Duplantis will take on two-time world champion Sam Kendricks and Christopher Nilsen.
Kendricks finished second to Duplantis with 5.82m at the Diamond League meeting in Xiamen last Saturday. Kendricks, two-time world outdoor champion in London 2017 and Doha 2019 and Olympic bronze medallist in Rio de Janeiro 2016, won the world indoor silver medal behind Duplantis in Glasgow in 2024 with 5.90m. Kendricks cleared a PB of 6.06m, but he thinks that Duplantis is at another level at the moment.
Sam Kendricks: “Mondo is playing with a different set of cards”.
Nilsen won the Olympic silver medal in Tokyo 2021 with 5.97m and two world outdoor medals (silver in Eugene 2022 with 5.94m and bronze in Budapest 2023 with 5.95m). During the 2024 indoor season the three-time US outdoor champion cleared 6.00m at the US Indoor Championships in Albuquerque.
The line-up also features Germany’s Bo Kanda Lita Baehre, Jacob Wooten from the USA and Ben Broeders from Belgium.
Bo Kanda Lita Baehre won the European silver medal with 5.85m behind Duplantis at the European Championships in Munich 2022 in front of his home fans and finished seventh at the World Championships in Eugene in the same year with 5.87m.
Wooten finished second at the US Indoor Championships in Albuquerque in 2023 with 5.86m and holds a PB of 5.90m. Another US vaulter Austin Miller equalled his PB with 5.90m when he placed third at the US Championships in Albuquerque in 2023.
Broeders placed fifth at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade 2022 with 5.75m and won the first Diamond League competition of his career with 5.80m in Paris in 2022.
Chinese fans will cheer on Yao Jie, who set a PB of 5.82m, and Huang Bokai, Asian Games silver medallist in 2023.
Men’s 100 metres:
Fred Kerley will take on world indoor record holder Christian Coleman and Ackeem Blake in the men’s 100 metres race.
Coleman won his first 100 metres world title in Doha 2019 improving his PB to 9.76. Kerley claimed the win in the 100 metres final at the World Championships in Eugene 2022 in 9.86 and won the Olympic silver medal in Tokyo 2021 in 9.84 behind Marcell Jacobs.
Coleman won two Diamond Trophies in 2018 and 2023. Kerley claimed two Diamond League titles in the 400 metres in 2018 and in the 100 metres in 2021.
Both Coleman and Kerley sit joint sixth on the world all-time list with 9.76. They are 2-2 in their four head-to-head clashes. Last week Coleman won his first 100m race of the Diamond League season in Xiamen in 10.13 ahead of Kerley (10.17) into a headwind of -06 m/s.
Coleman started the 2024 season on a high note by winning his second world indoor title in the 60 metres in 6.41 ahead of Noah Lyles in Glasgow. The Atlanta-born sprinter holds the world indoor record in the 60 metres with 6.34. Last year Coleman finished fifth in the 100 metres at the World Championships in Budapest in 9.92 and claimed the win at the Wanda Diamond League Final in Eugene setting the fastest time in the world with 9.83 in both meetings.
Christian Coleman: “I feel really good about the fact I was able to stay composed, stay in my lane and put together a good race. I will take some positives from this and keep getting better. I am excited about coming to China to compete again. Last time I was there the Chinese crowd showed a lot of love and support. I was able to pull out my best performance of the year in front of a great crowd. I am looking forward to continuing my season with another great performance in China”.
Kerley has fond memories from Shanghai, where he won the 400 metres at the Diamond League meeting in 2019. Later that year he won the world bronze medal over this distance. He started the 2024 season with a win in the 100 metres in Coral Gables (Florida) in 10.03 and finished second to Coleman in 10.17 in in the first leg of the Diamond League in Xiamen last week.
Fred Kerley: “I am excited to come back to China. 2024 is a very important year with the Olympic Games taking place in Paris in August and it will be great to start my Diamond League season in China”.
Ackeem Blake recently improved his indoor PB to 6.45 at the World Indoor Tour meeting in Boston and won the world indoor bronze medal in Glasgow with 6.46. Blake will face his compatriot Antonio Watson, who won his first 100 metres Jamaican title in 9.91 last year.
Akani Simbine from South Africa finished fourth in the 100 metres Olympic final in Tokyo 2021, fifth in the World Championships in Eugene 2022 and won seven Diamond League races in his career, including two in 2023 in Stockolm in 10.03 and Chorzow in 9.97. Simbine was a former African record holder with 9.84 and set a seasonal best of 10.01 to win the South African title on 19 April.
The line-up features Emmanuel Eseme from Cameroon, Yoshihide Kiryu from Japan and Brandon Carnes from the USA.
Eseme set PBs of 9.96 in the 100 metres in Chaux de Fonds and 6.52 in the 60 metres semifinal of the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow.
Kiryu dipped under the 10 seconds barrier with 9.98 and won the silver medal in the 4x100 relay at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021 and two bronze medals at the World Championships in London 2017 and Doha 2019.
Carnes won the world gold medal in the 4x100 relay in Budapest 2023 in 37.38 and holds PBs of 10.01 in the 100 metres and 20.07 in the 200m.
Women’s 200 metres:
Sha’Carri Richardson will be aiming to bounce back from her second place to Torri Lewis in 22.99 in her first 200 metres race of the season in Xiamen last Saturday. Richardson is better known as a 100 metres sprinter, but she is competitive over the longer distance by winning the bronze medal in the 200 metres at the World Championships in Budapest in her PB of 21.92. Richardson also won two world gold medals in the 100 meters in her PB of 10.65 and in the 4x100 relay.
Sha’Carri Richardson: “I felt really good with my season opener in Xiamen. I was a little nervous, but once I got on the track, it felt like home. I know what I have got to work on, so I am excited for my next meet.
Darryil Neita from Great Britain will run her first 200 metres race of the season. The British sprinter finished fifth in the 200 metres in 22.16 and third with the 4x100 relay at the World Championships in Budapest in 41.97. She won the bronze medal in the 100 metres at the European Championships in Munich 2022 and finished third with the 4x100 at the past two editions of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro 2016 and Tokyo 2021.
Mujinga Kambundji from Switzerland will continue her 2024 season after finishing sixth in the Diamond League in Xiamen in 23.39 last week. The Swiss sprinter won the world 200m bronze medal in Doha 2019, the world indoor title in Belgrade 2022 and the European Indoor title in Istanbul in 2023.
The line-up also features sub-22 seconds sprinters Tamara Clark and Anavia Battle from the USA. Clarke finished sixth at the World Championships in the 200m in Eugene in 22.32 and set PBs of 10.88 in the 100 metres and 21.92 in the 200 metres at the US Championships in Eugene in 2022. Battle finished third in the 200 metres at the US Championships in Eugene in 2021.
The line-up also features US sprinters Kayla White, NCAA indoor champion in the 200 metres in 2019, Twanisha Terry, world champion with the 4x100 relay in Eugene 2022 and Budapest 2023, Anthonique Strachan, sixth in the 200 metres at the World Championships in Budapest 2023, and Caisja Chandler, who holds PBs of 10.99 in the 100 metres and 22.37 in the 200 metres.
Women’s 100 metres hurdles:
Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho Quinn from Puerto Rico will go head to head against world outdoor champion Danielle Williams from Jamaica, and world indoor champion and world record holder Deynne Charlton from the Bahamas in a blockbuster women’s 100 metres hurdles.
Camacho Quinn has won ten Diamond League races since 2021 but she is aiming to pick up the first Diamond Trophy of her career after finishing second in Zurich in 2022 in 12.49 and third in Eugene in 2023 in 12.38. Last week the Puerto Rican hurdler opened her 2024 Diamond League campaign with a win in Xiamen in 12.45. She won the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo in 12.37 after setting the Olympic record with 12.26 in the semifinal, the world bronze medal in Eugene 2022 with a wind-assisted 12.23 and the world silver medal in Budapest 2023 with 12.44.
Jasmine Camacho Quinn: “I still got things to improve on. Before I was telling my coach: ‘I don’t think I am ready, but I clocked 12.45 knowing it was not even a clean race. I am ready to go back and fix what I need to do”.
Charlton set the world indoor record in the 60 metres hurdles in New York with 7.67 and equalled this time in Madrid. One week later the Bahamian hurdler improved her own world record by 0.02 to 7.65 in the final of the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow. She also won the world indoor silver medal in Belgrade 2022 and narrowly missed out on a medal by finishing fourth at last year’s World Championhips in Budapest. Last week she finished second to Camacho Quinn in Xiamen in 12.49.
Danielle Williams from Jamaica won her second world gold medal in Budapest in 12.43 edging out Camacho Quinn by 0.01. The Jamaican hurdler won the Diamond League Final in Brussels in 12.32 and improved her PB to 12.32 in London 2019. Williams started her season with 12.55 in Gainesville and a fourth place in 12.56 in Xiamen. Another Jamaican hurdler in the field is Megan Tapper, who won the Olympic bronze medal in Tokyo.
Tobi Amusan won the world final in Eugene 2022 in a wind-assisted 12.06 after breaking the world record with 12.12 in the semifinal. The Nigerian hurdler won three consecutive editions of the Diamond League Finals in 2021, 2022 and 2023. She won two World Indoor Tour Gold races in Astana in the 60 metres hurdles improving the African record twice to 7.83 in Astana and 7.77 in Liévin and won the African Games title in Accra. She opened her Diamond League campaign with a fifth place in 12.58 in Xiamen.
The line-up features US hurdlers Masai Russell and Alaysha Johnson, who both hold sub-12.40 PBs and Swiss record holder Ditaji Kambundji.
Russell finished second at the NCAA Championships in Austin in 2023 in a wind-assisted 12.32 and fourth in the 60 metres hurdles in 7.81 at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow 2024. She finished fifth in 12.62 at the Tom Jones Invitational in Gainesville (Florida) on 13 April. Johnson won the US indoor title in the 60 metres hurdles in 7.83 in Albuquerque in 2023 and set a lifetime best of 12.35 at the 2022 US Championships in Eugene.
Kambundji won the European Indoor gold medal in Istanbul in the 60 metres hurdles and the European bronze medal in Munich 2022 in 12.74. The Swiss hurdler finished seventh in the World Championships in Budapest in 12.70 and improved her national record to 12.47 in Berne last year. She opened her 2024 season with a seventh place in 12.70 in Xiamen.
Four-time Chinese champion Wu Yanni will carry the hopes of local fans. Wu won the silver medal at the World University Games in Chengdu and improved her PB to 12.76 last year.
Men’s 110 metres hurdles:
The men’s 110 metres hurdles race features Hansle Parchment from Jamaica and Daniel Roberts from the USA, who won the silver and bronze medals respectively at the World Championships in Budapest 2023, and two more finalists Freddie Crittenden from the USA and Shunsuke Izumyia from Jamaica, who finished fourth and fifth in the world final in the Hungarian capital.
Parchment won the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo 2021 and improved his PB to 12.93 to win the Diamond League final in Eugene last September. The 33-year-old Jamaican hurdler started his Diamond League campaign with a sixth place in Xiamen in 13.33.
Roberts will be aiming to win his second consecutive Diamond League race of the season after finishing first in Xiamen in 13.11. Roberts won the world outdoor bronze medal in Budapest 2023 in 13.09 and three US titles in 2019, 2022 and 2023.
Japanese record holder Shunsuke Izumiya will return to the Diamond League stage. Izumya broke the Japanese record with 13.04 last year and won his first Diamond League race in Lausanne in 13.20. He finished fifth at the World Championships in Budapest and fourth at the Diamond League final in Eugene.
Crittenden won the US indoor title in the 60 metres hurdles in 7.49 and finished fourth at the World Championships in Budapest last August.
Cordell Tinch, who finished third at the US Championships in Eugene in 2023 making the US team for the World Championships in Budapest and improved Grant Holloway’s NCAA record to 12.96 in Fayetteville last week. He reached the semifinals at the World Championships in Budapest. Tinch finished second in Xiamen in 13.16 last week.
The line-up features Jamal Britt, who won the NACAC Championships in Freeport 2022 in 13.08 and fourth at the 2022 US Championships in 13.09, Eric Edwards, second at the NCAA Championships in 2022 in 13.15, Zhuoyi Xu, second at the 2023 Asian Championships, and Zhu Shenglong, national champion in 2022.
Women’s 400 metres:
Reigning world and Diamond League champion Marileidy Paulino will take on two-time world outdoor champion Sada Williams from Barbados and world indoor bronze medallist Alexis Holmes from the USA.
Paulino is one of only 13 women in history to have broken the 49 seconds barrier and successfully defended her Diamond League title in Eugene last September in 49.58. She started her 2024 Diamond League campaign with a win in Xiamen in 50.08 ahead of Natalia Kaczmarek.
Paulino won her first world gold medal in her lifetime best of 48.76 in the Hungarian capital, two silver medal medals at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021 and at the World Championships in Eugene 2022.
Williams won two consecutive world bronze medals in Eugene 2022 in 49.75 and Budapest 2023 in 49.60. She set a national record of 22.59 in the 200 metres in Spanish Town last March.
Alexis Holmes anchored the US mixed 4x400 relay to world silver medal in Budapest 2023 and won the world indoor bronze medal in the 400 metres in 50.24 in Glasgow 2024.
The other athletes to watch are Talitha Diggs, US outdoor champion in 2022 and second at the US indoor Championships in 2024 in 51.23, Britton Wilson, NCAA champion in 49.48 in 2023 and third placer in Xiamen last week, Stephanie Ann McPherson from Jamaica, third at the World Championships in Moscow 2013 and fourth at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021 in 49.61, and Kaylin Whitney, world under 20 champion in Eugene 2014.
Women’s discus throw:
Olympic gold medallist and three-time Diamond League champion Valarie Allman will take on reigning world champion Laulaga Tausaga and China’s Feng Bin, world champion in Eugene 2022, in a re-match of the World Championships in Budapest 2023.
Allman is aiming to win her second Diamond League competition this year after finishing first in Xiamen with 69.80m. The US thrower won three consecutive Diamond Trophies in 2021, 2022 and 2023 and is aiming to win her fourth consecutive trophy. Allman won the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo and two medals at the World Championships.
Tausaga won a surprising world title in Budapest with her PB of 69.49m and finished third in Xiamen with 64.31m and second at the Diamond League Final in Eugene last year.
Bin Feng was crowned world champion in Eugene in 2022 with 69.12m. Feng finished third in Xiamen with 67.07m in Xiamen last week.
Yaime Perez, 2019 world champion, 2021 Olympic and two-time Diamond League winner, has returned to her best form. The Cuban thrower threw a world leading mark of 73.09m in Ramona (Oklahoma) and finished second at the Diamond League meeting with 68.83m.
Jorinde Van Klinken from the Netherlands is one of the three 70-metres throwers with a national record of 70.22m. Van Klinken won the European bronze medal in the shot put in Munich 2022 and finished fourth in the at the World Championships in Eugene 2022 and Budapest 2023. The Dutch thrower won the NCAA title in Austin and her first Diamond League competition in Oslo last year.
Men’s high jump:
Olympic champion Mutaz Barshim from Qatar will 2024 world indoor champion Hamish Kerr from New Zealand in the men’s high jump.
Barshim won medals at the last three Olympics, taking silver in London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016 and gold in Tokyo 2021, when he shared the Olympic gold medal with Gianmarco Tamberi with 2.37m. The Qatari jumper Is aiming to win his fourth consecutive Olympic medal next August in Paris. He won three world outdoor in London 2017, Doha 2019 and Eugene 2019, the world bronze medal in Budapest 2023 and the world indoor title in Sopot 2014 with 2.38m. No one has won more world gold medals in history than Barshim. The Qatari athlete has not competed since last October 2023 when he claimed his third Asian title in Hangzhou with 2.35m. Barshim won three Diamond League titles and 23 individual wins in the major one-day meeting circuit during his career. He won three times in the Shanghai Diamond League meeting in 2013, 2015 and 2017.
Mutaz Barshim: “I am happy to be back in China to start the new season. Last year I finished my season in China at the Asian Games and there was fantastic atmosphere. I have never been in Suzhou but I am looking forward to visit and compete there. I am looking forward to a great competition. I will do everything possible in the coming months to be ready to fight and reach the podium at the Olympic Games in Paris”.
Kerr cleared 2.36m to win the world indoor title in Glasgow last March. The high jumper from New Zealand also shared the world indoor bronze medal with Gianmarco Tamberi in Belgrade 2022. Later that year the Oceania record holder also won the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Last summer he won his first Diamond League competition in Stockholm with 2.24m in rainy conditions.
Hamish Kerr: “I am looking forward to making my first trip to China a successful one. After jumping 2.36m at the World Indoor Championships, I know that I am in good shape leading into the meeting. I can’t wait to compete against some of the other best jumpers in the world, in front of what will be an amazing crowd”.
Barshim finished second to Shelby McEwen on countback at 2.27m in wet conditions on the runway, which were not ideal for jumping. Fans can expect the best jumpers in the world jump higher, as warm and dry conditions are forecast on Saturday.
McEwen is aiming to win his second Diamond League competition. The US jumper won the 2022 US outdoor title in Eugene with 2.33m, the US indoor title in Albuquerque in 2024 with 2.28m and the world indoor silver medal in Glasgow with 2.28m.
The line-up also features Germany’s Tobias Potye, who finished fifth at the World Championships in Budapest with 2.33m and won the silver medal at the European Championships in Munich 2022, Thomas Carmoy from Belgium, European indoor bronze medal in Torun 2021, Douwe Amels, European indoor champion in Istanbul 2023 with 2.31m, Tomohiro Shinno from Japan, Asian Games bronze medallist in 2023 and fourth at the Diamond League meeting in Xiamen with 2.24m, Joel Baden from Australia, national champion with 2.32m in 2023.
Men’s long jump:
China’s Jianan Wang will take on Tajay Gayle from Jamaica, world champion in Doha 2019 with a national record of 8.69m, Mattia Furlani from Italy and Carey McLeod from Jamaica, who won the silver and bronze medal respectively at this year’s World Indoor Championships in Glasgow.
Wang won the world outdoor title in Eugene 2022 with 8.36m beating Miltiadis Tentoglou.
Furlani won the European under 20 gold medal in Jerusalem with 8.23m last year and jumped a wind-assisted 8.44m in Savona. The 19-year-old Italian jumper improved Andrew Howe’s national indoor record to 8.34m at the Italian Indoor Championships in Ancona last February and went on to win the world silver medal in Glasgow with 8.22m. Miltiadis Tentoglou also jumped the same mark, but he edged out Furlani on countback by virtue of a second best mark of 8.19m.
McLeod finished fourth at the World Championships in Budapest 2023 with 8.27m and won the world indoor bronze medal in Glasgow with 8.21m. The Jamaican jumper won the NCAA indoor title with 8.40m in Albuquerque and the NCAA outdoor title in Austin with 8.26m in 2023.
The best US jumpers in the field are Marquis Dendy (world indoor champion in Portland 2016 and two-time world indoor bronze medallist in 2018 and 2022) and Will Williams, NCAA Indoor champion in 2018.
Women’s long jump:
Multiple global medallist Ese Brume from Nigeria leads the line-up in the women’s long jump. Brume won the Olympic bronze medal in Tokyo 2021 with 6.97m, and two world outdoor medals (bronze in Doha 2019 with 6.91m and silver in Eugene 2022 with 7.02m) and the world indoor silver medal in Belgrade 2022 with 6.85m.
Brume will take on Alina Rotaru Kottmann from Romania, 2023, world outdoor medallist in Budapest 2023, Fatima Diame from Spain, world indoor medallist in Belgrade 2022, USA’s Quanesha Burks, fourth at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene with 6.88m, Marthe Koala from Burkina Faso, seventh at the World Championships in Budapest and second at the Diamond League meeting in Xiamen with 6.79m.
Women’s shot put:
Olympic champion Gong Lijao from China will take on seven of the top eight finishers at the World Championships in Budapest, including two-time world outdoor champion Chase Jackson.
Gong Lijao won two world gold medals in London 2017 and Doha 2019 and the Olympic title in Tokyo 2021. With her world bronze medal in Budapest 2023 the Chinese shot putter has won medals at eight consecutive world championships since 2009.
Jackson has won the last three Diamond League finals and successfully defended her world title in Budapest. The US shot putter won the world indoor bronze medal in Glasgow with 19.67m. She won in Miramar with 19.88m and finished third in Xiamen with 19.62m in her first two outdoor competitions of the season.
Sarah Mitton from Canada won the 2023 world outdoor silver medal in Budapest and the world the 2024 world indoor gold medal in Glasgow 2024 beating Germany’s Yemisi Ogunleye and Jackson. Mitton will aim to add another win against Ogunleye and Jackson in Suzhou.
The line-up will feature Danniel Thomas Dodd, world bronze medallist in Doha 2019, Maggie Ewen, Diamond League champion in Zurich 2021 and Jessica Schilder from the Netherlands, European champion in Munich 2022 and world bronze medallist in Budapest 2023.
Women’s javelin throw:
The women’s javelin throw will reunite the three medallists of the World Championships. The field is led by Haruki Kitaguchi from Japan, who won the world gold medal with 66.73m and the Diamond League title with 63.78m in Eugene. She set a national record of 67.38 at the Diamond League meeting in Brussels last year.
Kitaguchi will renew her rivalry against Flor Ruiz Hurtado, world silver medallist in Budapest 2023 with a South American record of 65.47m and third placer at the Diamond League meeting in Xiamen last week, and Mackenzie Little from Australia, world bronze medallist in Budapest with 63.38m.
Elina Tzengko from Greece won the European gold medal in Munich 2022 with 65.81m and the European under 23 title in Espoo 2023.
Chinese thrower Dain Qianqian will chase her second Diamond League title this season after finishing first with 61.25m in Xiamen in front of her home fans. She will face her compatriot Lyu Huihui, who won two bronze medals in 2017 and 2019 and silver in 2015 and finished fifth at the Olympic Games in 2021.
Kathrin Mitchell won the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast 2018 with her PB of 68.92m and finished sixth at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021. The Australian thrower set a seasonal best of 62.12m at the Maurie Plant meeting in Melbourne las February.
Latvia’s Lina Muze Sirma won her fourth national title last year coming close to her Latvian record with 64.78m. She finished second in Xiamen last week.
The other athlete to watch is eight-time national champion Tori Peeters from New Zealand, who holds a PB of 63.26m.
Women’s 3000 metres steeplechase:
World record holder Beatrice Chepkoech from Kenya will take on reigning Olympic champion Peruth Chemutai from Uganda, 2022 world champion Norah Jeruto, 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Jackline Chepkoech from Kenya, 2017 world champion Emma Coburn and two-time European gold medallist Gesa Felicitas Krause from Germany.
Chepkoech will chase her second consecutive race over this distance after winning in Xiamen in 8:55.40 last week. The Kenyan athlete won the world silver medal in Budapest 2023 in 8:58.98 and finished second in 8:51.67 at last year’s Diamond League final in Eugene. This year she won the world indoor bronze medal in Glasgow and the African Games title in Accra.
Chepkoech won the world under 20 title in Nairobi 2021 and claimed the win in two Diamond League races in Brussels in 2022 in 9:02.43 and in London in 2023 in 8:57.35. She finished fourth in Xiamen last week.
Men’s 5000 metres:
Reigning 10000 metres Olympic champion Selemon Barega will go up against 3000m steeplechase world record holder Lamecha Girma and Oscar Chelimo from Uganda, world bronze medallist in the 5000 metres in Eugene 2022.
Girma broke the world 3000 metres steeplechase record with 7:52.11 in Paris a few months after taking over a second off Daniel Komen’s 25-year-old world 3000m indoor record with 7:23.11 in Liévin during a successful 2023 season. Girma started his 2024 season with a win in the 5000m at the Diamond League meeting in Xiamen in a PB of 12:58.96. The line-up will also feature Lamecha Girma’s younger brother Kuma Girma, who finished fourth in the 5000 metres at the African Games in Accra this year.
The line-up will feature Kenya’s Nicholas Kipkorir, who finished fourth in the Olympic 5000 metres final in Tokyo 2021, set a 5000m PB of 12:46.33 in Rome and won the Diamond League final in Zurich in 2022, Samwel Masai Chebolel, fifth at the World Cross Country Championships in Belgrade, and Benson Kiplagat from Kenya, world under 20 champion in the 5000m in Nairobi 2021, Nibret Melak from Ethiopia, gold medallist in the 10000 metres at the African Games in Accra 2024 and 12:54.22 performer in Hengelo in 2021, 17-year-old Ethiopian athlete Biniam Mehary, who set a world under 20 indoor record with 3:34.83 in Torun last February.
Men’s 800 metres:
Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati, world silver medallist in Eugene 2022 in 1:44.14, leads the men’s 800 metres field. Sedjati won two Diamond League races in 2023 in Stockolm in 1:44.59 and Brussels in 1:43.60 and finished third at the Diamond League final in Eugene improving his PB to 1:43.06 last September.
Sedjati will face double Commonwealth Games champion Wycliffe Kinyamal, who won six Diamond League races in his career. He won five of these races with sub-1:44 times. Kinyamal started his 2024 season with a second place in 1.43.66 at the Diamond League meeting in Xiamen.
The line-up will feature Algeria’s Slimane Moula and Tshepiso Maselela from Botswana. Moula ran 1:43:38 in Paris and 1:43:40 in in Monaco and finished fifth at the World Championships in Budapest in 2023. Maselela finished sixth at the World Championships in Budapest 2023 and clocked 1:43.88 in Xiamen last week.
The line-up will also feature Andreas Kramer from Sweden, world indoor silver medallist in Glasgow 2024, Alex Ngeno Kipngetich from Kenya, who won at the Trials for the African Games in 1:44.07 in Nairobi, Elias Ngeny, who set a lifetime best of 1:43.84 in Nairobi in 2021, and Clayton Murphy, Olympic bronze medal in Rio de Janeiro 2016.
Women’s 5000 metres:
Former world record holder Letesenbet Gidey from Ethiopia leads the field. Gidey won the world title in the 10000 metres in Eugene 2022 and set the world records over this distance with 29:01.03 in Hengelo in 2021 and in the half marathon with 1:02:52 in Valencia in 2021. She will face Faith Cherotich, world bronze medallist in the 3000 metres steeplechase and 2023 World Athletics Rising Star of the Year.
The other top African athletes in the field are Teresiah Gateri Muthoni from Kenya, world under 20 in the 3000 metres in Nairobi 2021, Ayal Dagnachew from Ethiopia, world under 20 gold medallist in the 800 metres in Nairobi 2021, and Edinah Jebitok from Kenya, eighth at the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst 2023.
Megan Keith from Great Britain will run the second Diamond League of her career after clocking 14:56.98 in London in 2023. Keith won the European under 23 gold medal in Espoo and two consecutive European under 23 cross country gold medals in Venaria Reale 2022 and Brussels 2023.
