Los Angeles Grand Prix Preview: Tebogo, Richardson, Rogers and Russell Headline Star-Studded Fields
The 2026 USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix on Sunday, June 14 promises one of the strongest World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meetings of the season, bringing together Olympic and world champions across nearly every event. Olympic gold medallists Camryn Rogers, Masai Russell, Letsile Tebogo, Tara Davis-Woodhall, Ethan Katzberg, Cole Hocker and Sha'Carri Richardson lead a world-class line-up featuring multiple global medallists and Diamond League winners. From a blockbuster men's 100m showdown between Tebogo, Kenny Bednarek, Trayvon Bromell and Christian Coleman to elite clashes in the hurdles, throws and middle-distance events, the Los Angeles meeting offers another high-quality stop on the road toward this summer's major championships.
Women’s 100 metres hurdles:
Olympic champion Masai Russell is looking to continue her unbeaten streak this season after winning her previous four competitions in Austin in 12.72, Lexington in 12.40, in Xiamen in 12.25 and Keqiao in 12.14, a North American record, Diamond League record and the second fastest time in history. Russell missed Tobi Amusan’s world record by just two hundredths of a second.
Russell will face Grace Stark, world bronze medallist in Tokyo 2025 in 12.34 and winner at the Diamond League meeting in Paris in a PB of 12.21 last year, Kendra Harrison, former world record holder with 12.20 in London 2016 and second at this year’s Diamond League meeting in Rome in 12.54, Tonea Marshall, who set a PB of 12.24 at the Diamond League meeting in Chorzow last year and equalled her seasonal best of 12.76 in Rome. Cyrena Samba Mayela from France, European champion in Rome in 12.31 and Olympic silver medallist in Paris in 12.34, will run her second Continental Tour Gold race this season after finishing fourth in College Station in a seasonal best of 12.65.
Women’s long jump:
Olympic and world champion Tara Davis Woodhall will double up in the 100 metres and in the long jump. Davis Woodhall won the Olympic gold medal with 7.10m in Paris 2024 and the world title in Tokyo 2025 with 7.12m. The US star will make her seasonal debut in the long jump. She will face Claire Bryant, world indoor gold medallist in Nanjing 2025, and Monae Nichols, world indoor silver medallist in Glasgow 2024 and winner at the Continental Tour in Turku with 6.88m.
Men’s 100 metres:
Olympic 200 metres champion Letsile Tebogo will line up against world and Olympic silver medallist Kenny Bednarek in the men’s 100 metres, Trayvon Bromell and Christian Coleman.
Tebogo set a PB of 9.95 at the Golden Gala meeting in Rome and won his first Diamond League 200 metres race of the season in Oslo in a seasonal best of 19.84. Tebogo won the gold medal in the 200 metres in the African record of 19.46 and the silver medal in the 4x400 relay at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024, two medals at the World Championships in Budapest 2023 (silver in the 100 metres in 9.88 and bronze in the 200 metres in 19.81) and the won the world gold medal in the 4x400 relay in Tokyo 2025.
Bednarek, double Olympic silver medallist in Tokyo 2021 and Paris 2024 and two-time Diamond League winner, won two back-to-back Diamond League races in the 200 metres in Rabat in a seasonal best of 19.69 and Stockolm in 19.87.
Bromell, world bronze medallist in the 60 metres in Torun 2026, will be aiming to win his second consecutive Continental Tour Gold race in the 100 metres after placing first in a wind-assisted 9.85 at the Lone Star Grand Prix in College Station.
Coleman, world champion in the 100 metres in 2019, won the Diamond League final in Zurich in 9.97 last year. He set a seasonal best of 10.19 at the Keqiao Diamond League meeting.
Women’s 100 metres:
Sha’Carri Richardson will take on Cambrea Sturgis, Tamari Davis and Nigeria’s Favour Ofili in the women’s 100 metres.
Richardson won two world gold medals in the 100 metres in a PB of 10.65 and in the 4x100 relay and the Olympic silver medal in the 100m in Paris 2024 in 10.87. The US sprint star finished fourth in the 200 metres in two Diamond League 200 metres races in Keqiao in 22.42 and Xiamen in 22.38.
Sturgis started her 2026 season with a second place at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in Nairobi in a PB of 21.93 in the 200m and won her first Diamond League race over this distance in Rabat in 22.21.
Davis set a seasonal best of 10.99 at the Lone Star Grand Prix in College Station last Saturday.
Men’s 110 metres hurdles:
World champion Cordell Tinch will go head-to-head against Trey Cunningham and Jamal Britt in the men’s 110 metres hurdles.
Tinch won the world title in Tokyo 2025 in 12.99 and claimed five Diamond League races in Xiamen, Keqiao, Silesia, Lausanne and in the Zurich final. The US moved to fourth in the world all-time list with his PB of 12.87. He finished second in 13.10 in Keqiao and fifth in 13.28 in Xamen.
Trey Cunningham won at the Diamond League in Rome breaking Allen Johnson’s meeting record with 12.98, the first sub-13 time of his career. Cunningham is third on the world seasonal list behind Ja’Kobe Tharp, fresh world record holder with 12.75 at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, and Kendrick Smallwood, second at the NCAA Championships in 12.95.
Britt clocked a PB of 13.07 four times and won back-to-back Diamond League races in Keqiao and Xiamen.
Men’s 400 metres:
Jacory Patterson, Diamond League champion in Zurich in 2025 in a PB of 43.85, will face 2025 world indoor champion Chris Bailey and 2012 Olympic champion Kirani James from Grenada.
Patterson won at the Diamond League meeting in Rabat in a seasonal best of 44.11.
Bailey won the 400m at the Lone Star Grand Prix in College Station in a seasonal best of 44.35.
James won a full set of Olympic and world medals and claimed four Diamond League titles in 2011, 2015, 2022 and 2023. The Grenadan athlete will open his season in Los Angeles.
Women’s 400 metres:
Ella Onojuvwevwo leads the line-up in the women’s 400 metres with her PB of 49.47 set at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in College Station. The Nigerian athlete will take on 2025 NCAA champion Aaliayah Butler, who dipped under the 50 seconds barrier in he past two races in Keqiao with 49.78 and Rome with 49.83.
Women’s 400 metres hurdles:
Anna Cockrell, Olympic silver medallist in Paris 2024, will lead the line-up in the women’s 400 metres hurdles. Cockrell finished second in two consecutive Diamond League races in Rabat in 53.18 and Rome in 52.77.
Cockrell will face Dalilah Muhammad, Olympic champion in Rio de Janeiro 2016in 53.13, world gold medallist in Doha 2019 in 52.16 and Olympic silver medallist in Tokyo 2021 in a PB of 51.58. Muhammad finished fourth in Rome in 53.39. The line-up will also feature Gianna Woodruff from Panama, seventh at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021 and fifth at the World Championships in Tokyo 2025 after improving the national record to 52.66 in the semifinal, Shamier Little, two-time world silver medallist in Beijing 2015 and Budapest 2023, Kemi Adekoya from Barhein, fourth at the World Championships in Budapest 2023 in the Asian record of 53.09.
Women’s hammer throw:
The women’s hammer throw will bring together the top nine performers from last week’s Continental Tour Grand Prix in College Station and all medallists from the past four global championships. World and Olympic champion Camryn Rogers broke the North American record to 81.13m at the Texas Relays on 3 April and won three Continental Tour Gold competitions in Nairobi with 80.03m, Turku with 80.09m and College Station with 79.36m. The Canadian athlete won two global gold medals at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024 with 76.97m and at the World Championships in Tokyo 2025 with 80.51m.
Rogers will renew her rivalry against USA’s Rachel Richeson, who improved her PB to 79.33m to finish second three cm behind Rogers in College Station. The line-up will also feature Chinese throwers Zhao Jie and Zhang Jiale, who won silver and bronze at the World Championships in Tokyo 2025, Brooke Andersen, world champion in Eugene 2022, DeAnna Price, world gold medallist in Doha 2019, Janee Kassanavoid, world silver medallist in Budapest 2023, and Annette Echikunwoke, Olympic silver medallist in Paris 2024.
Men’s hammer throw:
World and Olympic champion Ethan Katzberg from Canada set up a hammer throw showdown against Olympic bronze medallist Mykhaylo Kokhan and US record holder Rudy Winkler. Katzberg won two world titles in Budapest 2023 with 81.25m and Tokyo 2025 with a championships record of 84.70m (the fifth longest throw in hammer throwing event) and the Olympic gold medal in Paris 2024 with 84.12m. He became the youngest Olympic men’s hammer champion at the age of 22 and Canada’s first Olympic gold medallist in a throwing event in 120 years.
Katzberg won his only competition of the 2026 season at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in Nairobi with a world-leading mark of 82.43m claiming his third consecutive Kip Keino Classic.
Women’s shot put:
Two-time world outdoor champion Chase Jackson will take on two-time world indoor champion Sarah Mitton from Canada and Sweden’s Axelina Johansson, NCAA indoor champion and world indoor bonze medallist in Torun 2026. Jackson won the world indoor gold medal in Torun with 20.14m and claimed the win at the Diamond League in Oslo with 20.74m on 10 June improving the meeting record held by Valerie Adams.
Mitton placed third at the Keqiao Diamond League with a seasonal best of 20.42m.
Women’s discus throw:
Double Olympic champion Valarie Sion will face European silver medallist Jorinde Van Kinken from the Netherlands and 2023 world champion Laulaga Tausaga.
Sion secured back-to-back wins in the Diamond League in Xiamen with 68.45m, Rabat with 68.75m and Stockolm with 68.60m. She claimed five consecutive Diamond League Trophies.
Van Klinken set a Dutch record of 70.99m in Ramona and finished second in Rabat with 66.72m and Stockolm with 66.57m.
Tausaga placed third in Rabat with 65.94m and Stockolm with 65.89m.
Men’s shot put:
Two-time world champion Joe Kovacs will face Olympic bronze medallist Rajindra Campbell from Jamaica and 2022 world bronze medallist Josh Awotunde.
Kovacs started his season with a meeting record of 22.58m in Rabat securing the 19th win in his career at a Diamond League meeting and finished second in Rome with 21.87m. Kovacs has thrown beyond the 22 metres barrier for eleven consecutive seasons.
Men’s 3000 metres:
USA’s Cole Hocker, Olympic champion in the 1500m in Paris 2024 and world gold medallist in the 5000m in Tokyo 2025, will take on South Africa’s Tshepo Tshite.
Hocker set the second fastest indoor time with 3:45.94 over the mile distance in Winston Salem and the Olympic and the North American record of 3:27.65 in Paris 2024.
Tshite set a South African record of 3:31.35 at the Diamond League meeting in Paris in 2024. Last winter he improved the national indoor record in the 3000m twice in Ostrava with 7:38.17 and in Liévin with 7:36.90 and won the 3000m in 7:39.11 at the World Indoor Tour meeting in Madrid.
Men’s 800 metres:
Two-time world indoor 3000m champion Josh Kerr from Great Britain will face USA’s Donovan Brazier, world champion in Doha 2019, NACAC champion Handal Roban from St. Vincent and Grenadine, and 19-year-old Ko Ochiai, Japanese record holder with 1:43.45 in Tokyo.
Kerr won the Olympic silver medal in the 1500m setting a British record of 3:27.79 and the world title in the 1500m in Budapest 2023. The Scottish athlete successfully reclaimed his world indoor gold medal in Torun 2026 in the 3000m in a PB of 7:35.56. He set a PB of 1:44.60 in Los Angeles last May.
Brazier won the world title in Doha in 1:42.34 and the Diamond League final in Zurich in 2019. He made his come-back from a serious injury last August when he won the US title in a PB of 1:42.16. This year the US middle distance runner set a seasonal best of 1:44.03 in Rabat.
Women’s 1500 metres:
Ethiopia’s Birke Haylom, world under 20 champion in Cali 2022, will face her compatriot Worknesh Mesele, Olympic finalist in the 800 metres, and USA’s Emily Mackay, world indoor silver medallist in the 3000m in Torun 2026.
Haylom won the 1500 metres at the Keqiao Diamond League meeting with a world leading time of 3:55.56 improving the previous meeting record set by Faith Kipyegon. She continued her winning streak by winning the 1500m in Stockolm in 4.00.68.
