London Diamond League 2026 Preview: Duplantis, Hodgkinson, Kerr and Wanyonyi Lead Star-Studded Field
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The London Diamond League returns to the iconic London Stadium on Saturday with one of the strongest fields of the 2026 Wanda Diamond League season, featuring world record holders, Olympic champions and reigning world champions across nearly every discipline. Fans can look forward to Armand Duplantis' return to London, Keely Hodgkinson racing in front of her home crowd, Josh Kerr's ambitious mile world record attempt, and Olympic 800m champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi facing Marco Arop and Max Burgin. Sprint stars Julien Alfred, Gabby Thomas, Oblique Seville and Ja'Kobe Tharp headline a packed track program, while Karsten Warholm, Marileidy Paulino, Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Nicola Olyslagers add further star power to what promises to be one of the highlights of the Diamond League calendar.
Men's Pole Vault
World record holder Armand Duplantis returns to the London Stadium for the first time since 2018 as the overwhelming favorite. The two-time Olympic champion and seven-time world champion has dominated the event for the past five years, breaking the world record 15 times since 2020. He raised the mark to 6.31m at the Mondo Classic in Uppsala after clearing 6.30m at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, and arrives in London after Diamond League victories in Paris, Monaco and Budapest.
Duplantis first competed at the London Stadium as a 17-year-old at the 2017 World Championships, where he finished ninth.
Greek star Emmanouil Karalis makes his London Athletics Meet debut after clearing a national record of 6.17m indoors to become the second-highest vaulter in history behind Duplantis. The Olympic bronze medallist and reigning world indoor silver medallist has already won Diamond League meetings in Doha and Lausanne and has cleared 6.00m twice outdoors this season.
Australia's Kurtis Marshall completes a trio that reunited the podium from both the 2025 World Championships and the 2026 World Indoor Championships. Marshall enjoyed a breakthrough campaign, clearing 6.00m outdoors for the first time before ending Duplantis' 40-meet winning streak in Stockholm and following it with another Diamond League victory in Oslo.
Former world champion Sam Kendricks returns to London for the first time since 2018 after clearing a season's best of 5.82m. Norwegian record holder Sondre Guttormsen also arrives in strong form after improving his indoor best to 6.06m and clearing 5.92m outdoors this year.
The field is further strengthened by Olympic champion Renaud Lavillenie, Olympic silver medallist Christopher Nilsen, European indoor champion Menno Vloon and Britain's Owen Heard.
Women's 200 Metres
Julien Alfred returns to London looking to defend the title she won in spectacular fashion last year with a meeting record and world-leading 21.71. Since then, the Olympic 100m champion has continued her outstanding form, winning Diamond League races in Rome, Oslo and Monaco, where she clocked a world-leading 21.51 to move to third on the world all-time list, before adding another 100m victory in Budapest.
Standing in her way is Gabby Thomas, who returns for the first time since her 2024 victory in London. The American Olympic champion rebounded from an Achilles injury that sidelined her from the 2025 World Championships by running a world-leading 21.70 in College Station before winning in Budapest after finishing third in Monaco.
Former Olympic 400m champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo adds another world-class name to the field after opening her Diamond League campaign with runner-up finishes in Keqiao and Xiamen.
The home crowd will rally behind Amy Hunt, Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita. Hunt arrives after winning world silver in Tokyo and lowering her personal bests to 22.08 for 200m and 10.97 for 100m. Asher-Smith, a former world champion, finished runner-up in London last year and remains one of Britain's biggest sprint stars, while Neita continues to be a consistent finalist on the international stage.
Another athlete to watch is British youngster Eduan Success, who claimed the national title in Birmingham after defeating Hunt and continues to establish herself among the country's top sprinters.
Men's 110 Metres Hurdles
One of the deepest events in London features three of the fastest hurdlers in history led by sensational American Ja'Kobe Tharp.
Tharp stunned the athletics world by breaking Aries Merritt's 14-year-old world record with 12.75 at the NCAA Championships before winning the final in 12.90. He has since backed up that performance with victories in Budapest and the NCAA indoor title, establishing himself as the sport's newest superstar.
His biggest challengers are fellow Americans Jamal Britt and reigning world champion Cordell Tinch. Britt has enjoyed an outstanding Diamond League season, winning in Paris and Eugene with a personal best of 12.86, while Tinch, the 2025 world champion, arrives after lowering his seasonal best to 13.06 in Budapest.
Trey Cunningham also enters in excellent form after breaking the 13-second barrier for the first time with 12.98 in Rome.
The field also includes Spain's Enrique Llopis, Jamaica's Orlando Bennett and Cuba's rising star Kendry Menendez, ensuring another high-quality sprint hurdles showdown in London.
Men's 100 Metres
Reigning world champion Oblique Seville returns to London aiming to defend the title he won here last year in 9.86, when he was the only sprinter to break the 10-second barrier. Since capturing world gold in Tokyo with a personal best of 9.77, the Jamaican has remained among the world's best, opening his 2026 season with victories in Kingston, the Jamaican Championships and Monaco after finishing runner-up at the Prefontaine Classic.
Seville will face two rising stars in Jordan Anthony and Nigeria's Kaynsola Ayaj. Anthony, the world indoor 60m champion, finished second behind Seville in Monaco, while Ayaj arrives after winning the NCAA title and the Prefontaine Classic in a wind-legal 9.84.
Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo returns to the London Stadium, where he broke the African 200m record in 2023, while fellow African Gift Leotlela enters after running a personal best of 9.87 and winning the Diamond League in Keqiao.
Home hopes rest with Zharnel Hughes, national champion Romell Glave and world indoor 60m champion Jeremiah Azu, giving the British crowd plenty to cheer in one of the fastest fields of the season.
Women's 400 Metres
Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino will chase her fourth Diamond League victory of the season after another dominant campaign. The Dominican star has already won in Doha, Paris and Monaco, setting a Diamond League record and two meeting records along the way, and remains the woman to beat over one lap.
Paulino faces a strong international field led by Norway's Henriette Jaeger, who claimed consecutive Diamond League victories in Rome and Oslo, Jamaican duo Nickisha Pryce and Stacey Ann Williams, Olympic bronze medallist Natalia Bukowiecka, and Britain's Yemi Mary John, who broke the 50-second barrier for the first time this season.
The field is completed by Cuba's Roxana Gomez, a finalist at the 2025 World Championships, and rising British talent Charlotte Henrich.
Men's 800 Metres
Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi headlines one of the most anticipated races of the meeting as he renews his rivalry with 2023 world champion Marco Arop and Britain's Max Burgin.
Wanyonyi returns as the defending London champion after setting a meeting record of 1:42.00 last year. The Kenyan recently broke Noah Ngeny's long-standing 1000m world record with 2:11.83 in Monaco and has continued his remarkable run after winning Olympic and world titles.
Burgin arrives full of confidence after claiming his first Diamond League victory in Rabat, where he defeated Wanyonyi, while Arop enters with the world lead of 1:41.86 after another outstanding season.
The supporting cast includes Jake Wightman, Ben Pattison, Mark English, Cian McPhillips, Peter Bol and Tobias Grønstad, making this one of the deepest 800m fields assembled this year.
Women's 800 Metres
Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson returns to her home Diamond League after missing last year's meeting through injury. The British star owns the London meeting record of 1:54.61 and enjoyed a superb indoor season, breaking the world indoor record before claiming world indoor gold in Torun.
This summer Hodgkinson has already lowered the British outdoor record to 1:54.33 and arrives eager to secure her first London victory since 2023 after runner-up finishes in Stockholm and Eugene.
Her challengers include Dutch star Femke Bol Broeders, who continues her successful transition to the 800m after lowering her personal best to 1:55.60, Olympic silver medallist Tsige Duguma, Shafiqua Maloney, Addison Willey and Sarah Billings.
The home challenge is strengthened by Isabelle Boffey and rising teenager Phoebe Gill, ensuring another memorable middle-distance contest in front of a passionate London crowd.
Men's Mile
The spotlight will shine on Josh Kerr as the Scottish star attempts to break Hicham El Guerrouj's long-standing mile world record in front of a home crowd. Kerr has dubbed his bid "Project 222," targeting a time of 3:42 to eclipse one of athletics' most iconic records.
The reigning world indoor 3000m champion and 2023 world 1500m champion already ranks sixth on the all-time list after running a British record of 3:45.34 in Eugene. He returns to London in outstanding form following another successful indoor season.
Kerr will face Olympic bronze medallist Yared Nuguse, the second-fastest American in history at 3:43.97, along with Germany's Mohad Abdilahi and Robert Farken, who have both enjoyed breakthrough seasons.
The historic Emsley Carr Mile returns to the London programme for the first time since 2024. First staged in 1953, the race has been won by legends including Kip Keino, Sebastian Coe, Steve Ovett and Hicham El Guerrouj, adding even greater significance to Kerr's world record attempt.
Men's 400 Metres Hurdles
World record holder Karsten Warholm returns to the London Stadium for the first time since 2019, when he set what was then a European record and still stands as the meeting record. The Norwegian claimed his first world title in London in 2017 and is looking for his first Diamond League victory of the season after finishing runner-up to Alison dos Santos in Keqiao, Xiamen and Oslo.
Warholm remains the only man in history to break the 46-second barrier and returns eager to extend his remarkable London legacy.
Germany's Emil Agyekum arrives after winning in Budapest in 47.58, the second-fastest performance in German history. The field also includes Nigeria's Ezekiel Nathaniel, Americans Trevor Bassitt and Caleb Dean, and Brazil's Matheus Lima, all of whom have broken the 48-second barrier and are capable of challenging for victory.
Women's High Jump
A world-class showdown awaits as reigning world champion Nicola Olyslagers faces Olympic champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh.
Olyslagers returns to London for the first time since the 2017 World Championships after capturing world outdoor and Diamond League titles last season, highlighted by an Oceanian record of 2.04m. Mahuchikh, meanwhile, has remained unbeaten throughout 2026, winning the world indoor title and leading the world rankings with 2.03m after victories in Rabat, Hengelo and Zagreb.
The battle for victory also features world champion Eleanor Patterson, British record holder Morgan Lake and Olympic bronze medallist Iryna Gerashchenko, giving London one of the strongest women's high jump fields of the season.
Women's 3000 Metres
Olympic silver medallist Jessica Hull returns to the Diamond League just one week after pacing Agnes Ngetich to the third-fastest 3000m in history in Monaco.
The Australian, who owns the world record for 2000m, headlines a field featuring Medina Eisa, Georgia Griffith, Laura Muir and European 10,000m bronze medallist Megan Keith in what promises to be another high-quality distance race.
Women's Long Jump
European indoor champion Larissa Iapichino headlines a stacked long jump field alongside Olympic silver medallist Malaika Mihambo, world indoor champion Agate De Sousa and American world indoor champion Claire Bryant.
Iapichino arrives after breaking the long-standing Italian record with 7.12m and has continued her consistency with another strong Diamond League campaign. Mihambo returns seeking a third consecutive London victory after producing one of the meeting's most memorable comebacks last year, while De Sousa and Bryant add further world-class depth to an outstanding field.
Men's 400 Metres
Olympic and world 400m hurdles champion Rai Benjamin continues his flat 400m campaign after lowering his personal best to 44.11 in Eugene.
Benjamin will face Olympic silver medallist Matthew Hudson-Smith, who set the European record of 43.74 in London two years ago, and Diamond League Finals champion Jacory Patterson, who has already won in Rabat and finished runner-up in Monaco this season.
Britain's Charles Dobson also returns after finishing runner-up in London last year, while Jereem Richards, Khaleb McRae, Vernon Norwood and Ben Jefferies complete another exceptionally competitive one-lap field.
Women's Discus Throw
Two-time Olympic champion Valarie Allman arrives as the clear favourite after another dominant Diamond League season. The American has already claimed victories in Xiamen, Rabat, Stockholm and Eugene and leads the world this year with 73.10m, putting Sandra Perković's meeting record of 69.94m under threat.
Her main challengers include world silver medallist Jorinde van Klinken, former world champion Laulauga Tausaga, Alina van Daalen and three-time European bronze medallist Shanice Craft.
