Preview: Xiamen WANDA Diamond League
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Twenty medallists (including eight champions) from the World Championships in Budapest will be in the spotlight at the Wanda Diamond League in the Chinese city of Xiamen on Saturday, September 2. Both the men’s 110 metres hurdles and 800 metres feature all three medallists from the World Championships.
Men’s 110 metres hurdles:
Grant Holloway won his third world outdoor title in Budapest equalling his seasonal best with 12.98 and will run his first race since the World Championships.
Holloway has already secured the qualification for the Wanda Diamond League Final in Eugene thanks to his wins in Florence in 13.04, Paris (12.98) and London (13.01). The US hurdler will be looking to win his second consecutive Diamond League Trophy one year after his triumph in Zurich.
Holloway will line up against the other two world medallists Hansle Parchment and Daniel Roberts. Parchment beat Holloway in Tokyo 2021 to win the Olympic gold medal in 13.04 and claimed the silver medal at the World Championships in Budapest in 13.07. Roberts won the US title in Eugene in 13.05 and the world bronze medal in Budapest in 13.09.
The other Budapest World Championships finalists in the field are Freddie Crittenden from the USA (fourth in 13.16) and Wilhelm Belocian from France (eighth in 13.32).
Cordell Tinch will make his debut in the Diamond League after his breakthrough season, in which he broke the 13 seconds barrier for the first time in his career with 12.96 in Fayetteville and finished third in the US Championships in Eugene in 13.08. Tinch clocked 13.31 in the semifinal at the World Championships in Budapest. Earlier this season Tinch set PBs of 8.16m in the long jump and 2.21m in the high jump.
The men’s 110 metres hurdles will be the last competition of the evening.
Men’s 800 metres:
World 800 metres champion Marco Arop from Canada will go head to head against Emmanuel Wanionyi from Kenya and Ben Pattison from Great Britain, who won the silver and bronze medal at the World Championships in Budapest.
Arop finished second in 1:43.30 in Paris and third in 1:43.51 in Monaco. The Canadian athlete won the semifinal in 1:44.02 and the final in 1:44.24 at the World Championships in Budapest.
Wanyonyi, who won the world under 20 gold medal in Nairobi 2021, won at the Paris Diamond League meeting in 1:43.27 in Paris and at the Kip Keino Classic in 1:43.32. The 19-year-old Kenyan athlete won the silver medal in 1:44.53 after running the semifinal in 1:43.83 in Budapest.
Pattison improved his PB to 1:44.02 at the London Diamond League meeting and clocked 1:44.23 in the semifinal and 1:44.83 at the World Championships in Budapest.
The line-up features double Commonwealth Games champion Wycliffe Kinyamal, winner at the Monaco Diamond League meeting in 1:43.22, and Benjamin Robert from France, who placed fifth in 1:43.48 in Paris Charlety.
Women’s 400 metres:
Marileidy Paulino won her first individual world gold medal in the women’s 400 metres in a national record of 48.76. Paulino also claimed two Wanda Diamond League races in Doha in 50.51 and Paris in 49.12 and finished third in Chorzow in 50.00. The athlete from Dominican Republic is currently third in the Diamond League standings behind Natalia Kaczmarek and Lieke Klaver, but she has not secured her spot in the Diamond League final in Eugene.
Paulino will face Sada Williams from Barbados, double world bronze medallist in Eugene 2022 in 49.75 and in Budapest in 49.60, Candice McLeod from Jamaica and Talitha Diggs from the United States, who finished seventh and eighth at the World Championships in Budapest.
Men’s 100 metres:
Fred Kerley will be looking to bounced back from the disappointment at the World Championships in Budapest, where he did not get through to the final with his 10.02 in the semifinal. Kerley, Olympic silver medallist and world champion in Eugene 2022, won the world title in the 4x100 relay with 38.38. Kerley started his Diamond League campaign with two wins in Rabat and Florence with the same time of 9.94. Kerley will clash against Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs for the first time this season.
Jacobs finished seventh in 10.21 in Paris in his only Diamond League race this season and missed most of the season due to a back injury. The Italian sprinter made his come-back at the World Championships in Budapest, where he set a seasonal best of 10.05 in the semifinal and won the silver medal with the 4x100 metres in 37.62.
Christian Coleman, world champion in the 100 metres in Doha 2019, won the gold medal with the 4x100 relay in Budapest and finished sixth in the 100m at the World Championships in Budapest. Coleman also finished sixth in 9.96 at the US Championships in Eugene.
The line-up also features Rohan Watson, Jamaican champion in 9.91 and world bronze medallist in the 4x100 relay, Kishane Thompson, who improved his PB to 9.91 in the heats of the Jamaican Championships, Ackeem Blake, who set his PB of 9.89 in Los Angeles, Marvin Bracy Williams, world silver medallist in Eugene, and Brandon Carnes, world champion with the 4x100 relay in Budapest.
Women’s long jump:
Serbia’s Ivana Vuleta won her first world outdoor gold medal in Budapest with the world seasonal best of 7.14m adding this title to her collection that includes the European outdoor title in Munich 2022 with 7.06m, two world indoor gold medal in Birmingham 2022 and Belgrade 2022, the European Indoor gold medal in Belgrade with her indoor PB of 7.24m, the Olympic bronze in Rio de Janeiro 2016, two world outdoor bronze medals in Moscow 2013 and Beijing 2015 and the European indoor bronze medal in Istanbul 2023.
Vuleta will take on Ese Brume, Olympic bronze medallist in Tokyo and world silver medallist in Eugene, USA’s Quanesha Burks, Marthe Koala from Burkina Faso and Broole Bushkuehl from Australia.
Burks finished fourth at the World Championships in Eugene with 6.88m and won her first Diamond League competition in London with 6.98m last July.
Koala finished seventh at the World Championships in the long jump in Budapest with 6.68m. The African athlete set PBs of 6.94m in the long jump in Kinshasa in 2023 and 6250 points in the heptathlon in Goetzis in 2021.
Men’s triple jump:
Fabrice Zango won his first world gold medal in the men’s triple jump in Budapest with 17.64m following his bronze medals at the World Championships in Doha 2019 and at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021 and his silver medal at the World Championships in Eugene 2022. In this year’s edition of the Diamond League the African jumper won in Monaco with 17.70m and finished second in Doha with 17.81m and in Florence with 17.66m.
Andy Diaz is still awaiting his transfer of allegiance from Cuba to Italy and was unable to compete at the World Championships in Budapest. Diaz, who won the Diamond League final in Zurich last year, finished third in Doha with 17.80m and won at the Golden Gala in Florence with 17.75m improving the Italian record held by his coach Fabrizio Donato.
Women’s high jump:
The top two of the World Championships final Yaroslava Mahuchik and Eleanor Patterson will highlight the women’s high jump.
Mahuchik won her first world outdoor gold medal in Budapest with 2.01m before making three attempts at 2.07m and the European Indoor gold medal in Istanbul last March. The Ukrainian jumper claimed a win in the Diamond League meeting in Rabat with 2.01m and cleared 2.00m in Nairobi and Hengelo.
Patterson made a come-back from injury by winning the world silver medal with 1.99m in Budapest. The Australian jumper won the world gold medal in Eugene with 2.02m.
The line-up also features Yuliya Chumachenko from the Ukraine, World University Games champion in Neaples 2019, Lia Apostolovski from Slovenia, third at the European Under 23 Championships in Tallin 2021.
Men’s 400 metres:
Matthew Hudson Smith from Great Britain and USA’s Quincy Hall will renew the rivalry for the first time since the World Championships in Budapest. In the Hungarian capital Hudson Smith improved Thomas Schoenlebe’s European record with 44.26 in the semifinal before winning the world silver medal in 44.31 in the final. Hall won the world bronze medal in Budapest in 44.37.
The line-up also features Kirani James, three-time Olympic and world medallist, Rusheen McDonald from Jamaica, who set a seasonal best of 44.03 in 2023, but missed out on an individual spot for the World Championships in Budapest.
Women’s 400 metres hurdles:
The women’s 400 metres hurdles line-up features the three Jamaican hurdlers, who reached the final at the World Championships in Budapest: bronze medallist Rushell Clayton, two-time Commonwealth champion Janieve Russell (national champion in Kingston in 53.75), Andreanette Knight (winner in Szekesfehrvar in 53.26)
Another Italian athlete in the field is Ayomide Folorunso, who improved her own Italian record to 53.89 in the semifinal before finishing sixth in 54.19 at the World Championships in Budapest.
Men’s 3000 metres steeplechase:
Soufiane El Bakkali won his third consecutive global title at the World Championships in Budapest following his wins at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021 and at the World Championships in Eugene 2022.
El Bakkali will face world bronze medallist Abraham Kibiwott from Kenya, and Ryuji Miura, Japanese record holder with 8:09.91 in Paris 2023 and sixth at the World Championships in Budapest.
Women’s discus throw:
USA’s Laulaga Tausaga will compete for the first time since she won a surprising world gold medal in the women’s discus throw in Budapest. Tausga will take on six-time Diamond League champion Sandra Perkovic, who will be looking to bounce back from the disappointment at the World Championships in Budapest, where she finished fifth.
The Chinese crowd will cheer on local star Bin Feng world champion with 69.21m in Eugene 2022 and world bronze medallist with 68.20m in Budapest.
Women’s 3000 metres:
Last year’s Diamond League champion Beatrice Chebet from Kenya leads a strong line-up that features three-time world under 20 champion Melknat Wudu and Kenyan runners Margaret Akidor and Caroline Nyaga. This year Chebet won the 3000 metres in Oslo in 8:25.01 and the 5000 metres in Stockolm with 14.36.52 and finished second in London with 14:12.92.
Women’s 1500 metres:
The favourite is Nelly Chepchirchir from Kenya, who finished fifth at the World Championships in Budapest setting a PB of 3:57.90. The Kenyan athlete will face three athletes who broke the 3:58 barrier this year: Linden Hall from Australia (3:57,27 in Chorzow), Freweyni Hailu (3:57.65 in Rabat) and Worknsesh Mesele (3:57.00 in Chorzow).
