Mondo Duplantis, Masai Russell and Ja’Kobe Tharp Lead Star-Studded Lausanne Diamond League Field
A total of nine reigning Olympic champions, 11 world champions and 14 European champions will compete at this week’s 51st Athletissima meeting in Lausanne. The action begins with the men’s pole vault City Event on Thursday, 20 August, before the main programme takes place at Stade Olympique de la Pontaise on Friday, 21 August. The star-studded line-up includes Mondo Duplantis in the men’s pole vault, Masai Russell in the women’s 100m hurdles, Shericka Jackson in the women’s 200m, Andy Díaz in the men’s triple jump, Nina Kennedy in the women’s pole vault, Emma Zapletalová in the women’s 400m hurdles, Ja’Kobe Tharp in the men’s 110m hurdles, Rai Benjamin in the men’s 400m hurdles and Neeraj Chopra in the men’s javelin. All of Switzerland’s medallists from last week’s European Championships are also set to compete, including women’s 800m champion Audrey Werro. The men’s 800m promises to be another highlight, with Emmanuel Wanyonyi and Marco Arop heading the field. Friday’s meeting is sold out.
Women’s 800 metres:
The women’s 800m is shaping up to be one of the highlights of Athletissima 2026.
Audrey Werro claimed her first senior European outdoor title in Birmingham, setting a championships record of 1:54.81.
Werro secured her first Diamond League podium at last year’s Athletissima, finishing second in 1:57.34 behind Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson in front of her home crowd.
Werro comes from Fribourg, near Lausanne, and is an Athletissima ambassador. She could challenge the 1:55.69 meeting record set by Keely Hodgkinson in cold and rainy conditions last year.
One week later, the Swiss middle-distance runner won the 2025 Diamond League Final in Zurich, improving her national record to 1:55.91. Werro ended her successful season by placing sixth at the World Championships in Tokyo in 1:56.17.
Werro claimed world indoor silver in Toruń in a Swiss indoor record of 1:56.64. She then defeated Hodgkinson at the Stockholm Diamond League, setting Diamond League and Swiss records of 1:53.98, before winning again in Paris in 1:53.80—the third-fastest time in history. She became the first woman to break 1:54 twice in the same season. Werro also demonstrated her speed over shorter distances, winning the 400m in Fribourg in 51.33 and setting a European best of 1:22.85 over 600m in Biel.
Werro will go head-to-head with Kenyan world champion Lilian Odira and two-time world 400m hurdles champion Femke Bol.
Odira is looking to continue her good Diamond League season after winning the first race of her career in the circuit against Keely Hodgkinson at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene in a seasonal best of 1:56.19. The Kenyan 800m specialist claimed the world gold medal in Tokyo 2025 ahead of Georgia Hunter Bell and Keely Hodgkinson breaking Jarmila Kratochvilova’s 42-year-old championships record with 1:54.62.
Bol switched from the 400m hurdles to the 800m this year. The Dutch star finished second at the Diamond League meetings in Paris, clocking 1:55.60 behind Werro and missing Ellen van Langen’s Dutch record by six hundredths, and London, where she ran 1:56.46 behind Hodgkinson. Bol also won at the Continental Tour meeting in Hengelo in 1:57.41 before taking European bronze in Birmingham, equalling the Dutch record with 1:55.54.
She claimed her third win in the 400m hurdles at Athletissima in Lausanne in a meeting record of 52.25 following her wins at this meeting in 2021 and 2023.
Addison Wiley made a major breakthrough in 2026 when she won the world indoor bronze medal in Toruń. Wiley claimed her first Diamond League win in Doha in 1:57.98 last June.
The line-up also features Prudence Sekgodiso from South Africa, who won the world indoor title in Nanjing 2025 and set a PB of 1:56.83 in Paris, Oratile Nowe from Botswana, fourth at the Rabat Diamond League meeting in a seasonal best of 1:57.32, and USA’s Sage Hurta Klecker, fifth at the World Championships in Tokyo 2025 in 1:55.89.
Men’s pole vault:
The traditional men’s pole vault City Event will be held at Place de la Navigation in Ouchy, on the shores of Lake Geneva, on Thursday—one day before the main meeting at Stade Olympique de la Pontaise on Friday, 21 August. Admission to the City Event is free.
Armand Duplantis will aim to break the 6.15m meeting record he set at the same venue in 2024. The Swede also won at Athletissima in 2020, clearing 6.07m at Place de l’Europe to beat Sam Kendricks, and in 2022, when he cleared 6.10m at the Pontaise Stadium.
Duplantis has been in outstanding form this year, winning his fourth European outdoor title in Birmingham with a championships record of 6.15m. He broke the world record for the 15th time in his career by clearing 6.31m in Uppsala, then claimed his fourth world indoor title in Toruń last March with a championships record of 6.25m. On this year’s Diamond League circuit, Duplantis won in Keqiao with 6.12m, Paris with 6.13m and Monaco with 6.07m. He finished second to Kurtis Marschall in Stockholm with 5.80m, ending his 40-meeting winning streak. Last month, he placed second in London with 5.95m before withdrawing with a thigh injury.
Duplantis will face Emmanouil Karalis from Greece, Sam Kendricks, Kurtis Marshall, Baptiste Thiery and Sondre Guttormsen. Duplantis is aiming to win the sixth Diamond League Trophy of his career.
Karalis returns to Lausanne with a fond memory one year after claiming the first Diamond League competition of his career with 6.02m. Later last year the Greek pole vault star finished second at the Diamond League Final in Zurich and at the World Championships in Tokyo behind Duplantis with 6.00m. Karalis won the European silver medal in Birmingham with 6.00m before making one final unsuccessful attempt of 6.20m.
Kendricks returned to winning a Diamond League competition in London with 5.95m. Kendricks won twice in Lausanne in 2016 with 5.92m and in 2017 with 5.93m and finished second in 2021 with 5.92m.
The other top US vaulters in the field are Christopher Nilsen, Olympic silver medallist in Tokyo 2021 and two-time world medallist (silver in Eugene 2022 and bronze in Budapest 2023) and Zachery Bradford, US Indoor champion with 6.01m in Staten Island and fifth at the World indoor Championships in Toruń in 2026.
Kurtis Marshall won his first Diamond League competition in Stockholm with 5.90m handing a rare defeat to Mondo Duplantis and claimed another win in Oslo with 5.82m. He also cleared the 6.00m barrier for the second time in his career at the World Indoor Championships in Toruń and won his third Commonwealth Games title in Glasgow with a Games record of 5.85m, becoming the most successful pole vaulter in the history of this event.
Baptiste Thiery from France won the European bronze medal in Birmingham 2026 with 5.85m behind Duplantis and Karalis. Thiery also performed well by finishing second in Paris with 5.93m and Monaco with 5.85m. Thiery was introduced to athletics by his father in Martinique. He started his career with decathlon setting a PB of 8057 points in August 2022. French fans will also support Renaud Lavillenie, who won five times in Lausanne in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2018 in his 14 appearances at Athletissima, and Thibaut Collet, who finished fifth at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest 2023 with 5.90m and second at last year’s edition of Athletissima with 5.82m.
Sondre Guttormsen from Norway set a national record clearing 6.06m in Rouen sharing the win with Karalis. Guttormsen claimed the Norwegian title clearing 6.00m in Trondheim in cold weather conditions and tied for sixth place with 5.70m at the European Championships in Birmingham.
Women’s 100 metres hurdles:
Olympic champion Masai Russell of the USA will clash against world record holder Tobi Amusan from Nigeria, European champion Nadine Visser, and world outdoor champion Ditaji Kambundji from Switzerland.
Masai Russell currently leads the Diamond League standings with 32 points ahead of Amusan, who is second with 28 points.
Russell has remained unbeaten so far this season. The US hurdler opened her 2026 season with a win in Keqiao in 12.25. She backed up this win with an impressive victory in Xiamen, where she set the second fastest time in history and the Diamond League record with 12.14. The Olympic champion equalled Kendra Harrison’s meeting record at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene with 12.24 and claimed her fourth Diamond League win in Monaco in another meeting record of 12.20. Russell added another win at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in Budapest in 12.33.
Russell finished second in 12.53 at last year’s edition of Athletissima held in torrential rain edging Kambundji by just one hundredths of a second.
The other athletes in the field are Aila Armstrong, Alaysha Johnson and Rayniah Jones.
Aila Armstrong won the US outdoor title in New York with 12.38 last July beating Alaysha Johnson and Olympic long jump champion Tara Davis Woodhall. Armstrong also claimed the US indoor title in the 60 metres hurdles in 7.82 and finished sixth at the Diamond League in Paris in 12.57.
Alaysha Johnson finished second at the US Championships in New York in 12.42. On this year’s Diamond League circuit she finished second in Monaco in 12.38 and third in Paris in 12.39.
Jones finished second to Alaysha Johnson in Zagreb setting her PB to 12.43 in Zagreb and in Budapest behind Russell in 12.47.
Amusan won two Diamond League races this year in Rabat in 12.28 and in Paris in 12.33. The Nigerian hurdler won the world gold medal in Eugene in a wind-assisted 12.06 after breaking the world record with 12.12 in the semifinals. In her previous three appearances at Athletissima Lausanne Amusan finished second in 2022 in 12.45 and in 2023 in 12.47.
Visser won the world indoor silver medal in the 60 metres hurdles in Toruń in 7.73 and the European outdoor gold medal in Birmingham in 12.67. Visser set a seasonal best of 12.41 in the heats at the Diamond League meeting in Paris before finishing second in the final in 12.44. The Dutch hurdler placed third in Rabat with 12.47, in Rome with 12.58 and in Monaco with 12.49.
Visser will renew her rivalry against Pia Skrzyszowska from Poland, who won silver at the European Championships in Birmingham in 12.67, just one thousandth of a second behind Visser.
Kambundji won the European indoor gold medal in Apeldoorn in a European indoor record of 7.73 in the 60 metres hurdles and the world outdoor title in Tokyo in a Swiss record of 12.24. Tthis year she finished fourth at the World Indoor Championships in Toruń 2026 and finished fifth in Xiamen in 12.62 and Keqiao in 12.82 and sixth in Rabat in 12.66 but she sustained a strain to her left biceps. She finished fourth in the final of the European Championships in Birmingham in 12.75 in her comeback competition.
Men’s 800 metres:
World and Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi will return to the Pontaise Stadium where he set the joint second fastest time in history with 1:41.11 in 2024, missing David Rudisha’s world record by just 20 hundredths of a second. Wanyonyi finished second behind Josh Hoey in 1:43.29 in last year’s edition of Athletissima. The Kenyan star will chase his first Diamond League of the season in the 800 metres. Wanyonyi broke Noah Ngeny’s world record in the 1000 metres with 2:11.83 at the Diamond League meeting in Monaco. In his three 800m appearances in the Diamond League this year Wanyonyi finished second in Rabat in 1:43.56 and Oslo in 1:42.09 and fourth in London in 1:43.31.
Wanyonyi will renew his rivalry against Canada’s Marco Arop, who won the Olympic silver medal in Paris 2024 behind his Kenyan rival in a national record of 1:41.20 and finished second in Lausanne later that year in 1:41.72. Tthis year Arop won the 800m at the Paris Diamond League meeting in a seasonal best of 1:41.84 and finished second in Stockholm in 1:43.11 and third in Oslo in 1:43.33. The Canadian athlete clocked 1:42.13 in his most recent race of this season in Edmonton.
USA’s Brandon Miller will chase his second Diamond League race of his career after winning in London ahead of Wanyonyi in a PB of 1:42.19. With this performance he has moved to fifth place on the US all-time list. Miller also won the 800 metres at the Prefontaine Classic in 1:43.68 beating 17-year-old world indoor champion Cooper Luktenhaus, US record holder Bryce Hoppel and US champion Donovan Brazier.
Djamel Sedjati from Algeria won the Olympic bronze medal in Paris 2024 in 1:41.50 and is currently fifth on the all-time list with his lifetime best of 1:41.46 set at the Monaco Diamond League meeting.
The line-up features three European Championships finalists in Birmingham 2026: Marino Bloudek from Croatia, David Barroso from Spain and Francesco Pernici from Italy.
Bloudek won the European silver medal in Birmingham in 1:45.62, claiming Croatia’s first European track medal in 32 years and set a PB of 1:44.01 in Madrid 2025.
Barroso finished fourth at the European Championships in Birmingham in 1:45.75 and improved his PBs to 1:43.60 in the 800m in Budapest and 3:35.26 in the 1500m in Lignano Sabbiadoro.
Pernici ran the 800 meters in 1:43.60 breaking the oldest Italian record in track and field in Nancy. The 23-year-old Italian athlete surpassed after 53 years the previous national record of 1:43.7 set by Marcello Fiasconaro on 27 June 1973 in Milan. Pernici won the Italian title in 1:44.89 in Florence with his trademark front running tactic. He will run the third Diamond League race of the season after clocking 1:44.40 in Rabat and 1:43.97 in Rome.
Gabriel Tual from France won his first Diamond League race in Rome in 1:43.66 last June and finished fourth in Rabat in 1:44.03 and sixth in Stockholm in 1:43.72.
Men’s triple jump:
Andy Diaz Hernandez from Italy won his first European outdoor gold medal in Birmingham with a world seasonal best and Italian record of 18.15m in his second attempt moving to fourth place on the world all-time list behind Jonathan Edwards (18.29m), Jordan Diaz (18.18m) and Christian Taylor (18.15m). Diaz unleashed a very long jump which appeared to land next to Edwards’ historic world record of 18.29m, but it was a foul jump, as his foot overstepped the line by just three cm. Diaz won at the Diamond League meeting in Rome with 17.59m and finished second in Oslo behind Jordan Scott with 17.59m and claimed the Italian title in Florence with 17.87m.
Diaz will renew his rivalry against Pedro Pablo Pichardo from Portugal and his compatriot Andrea Dallavalle. Pichardo won the European silver medal with 17.76m to complete his collection that includes gold medals at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021 with 17.98m, two world gold medals in Eugene 2022 with 17.95m and Tokyo 2025 with 17.91m and the European title in Munich 2022 with 17.50m. Pichardo won the Diamond League competition in Doha with 17.71m.
Dallavalle won the world silver medal in Tokyo 2025 with a PB of 17.64m and the European silver medal in Birmingham 2026 with 17.37m. Dallavalle leapt to 17.19m in the Doha Diamond League meeting and leapt to a wind-assisted 17.59m in Madrid.
Yasser Triki from Algeria finished third in Oslo with 17.43m and in Doha with a national record of 17.67m. He leapt to a wind-assisted 17.50m in Madrid.
Jordan Scott, world indoor silver medallist in Toruń 2026 with 17.33m, won in Oslo beating Diaz with 17.66m and finished second in Doha with 17.69m. During the 2025 Diamond League season the Jamaican jumper claimed four Diamond League competitions in Xiamen (17.27m), Oslo (17.34m), Paris (17.27m) and Monaco (17.52m).
The line-up also features Lazaro Martinez from Cuba, two-time world medallist (silver in Budapest 2023 with 17.41m and bronze in Tokyo 2025 with 17.49m), and Russell Robinson of the USA, who improved his PB to 17.54m in Memphis 2026 and won the US title in 2025.
The meeting record set by Christian Taylor with 18.06m since 2015 could be under threat.
Men’s long jump:
The three medallists of the European Championships in Birmingham will renew their rivalry in Lausanne, as reigning Olympic and European champion Miltiadis Tentoglou from Greece will go head-to-head with Simon Ehammer from Switzerland and Bozhidar Sarabyoukov from Bulgaria.
Tentoglou won his fourth consecutive European gold medal in Birmingham 2026 with 8.44m equalling Heike Drechsler for the most continental titles in the long jump. Tentoglou won two Diamond League competitions in Xiamen with 8.46m and in Monaco with 8.61m. He equalled the Greek record with 8.66m at the National Championships in Volos, adding one cm to his previous PB set when he won the European gold medal in Rome 2024.
Simon Ehammer won the world indoor title in the heptathlon in Toruń 2026 with a world indoor record of 6670 points. Ehammer leapt to a Swiss record of 8.51m during the Hypo Meeting in Goetzis improving the world all-time best in the long jump during a decathlon competition. Ehammer won the decathlon competition with a Swiss record of 8778 points becoming the first Swiss athlete to win the decathlon in the 51-year-old history of the Hypo meeting. Ehammer leapt to 8.32m in the Diamond League meeting in Monaco, but he felt a sharp pain in his right hamstring and was forced to withdraw from the competition. He recovered in time to win the European silver medal in the long jump with 8.29m. Ehammer won the Diamond League Final in Zurich with 8.32m.
Saraboyukov won the European Indoor gold medal in Apeldoorn 2025 and the world indoor bronze medal with 8.31m in Toruń. During the Diamond League season the Bulgarian athlete finished second in Keqiao with 8.07m and third in Xiamen with 8.29m before claiming the first Diamond League win of his career with 8.26m ahead of Tentoglou. He won the bronze medal with 8.26m against a tough headwind securing Bulgaria’s first European outdoor medal in the men’s long jump in eight years.
Gerson Baldé from Portugal won the world indoor gold medal in Toruń 2026 with a PB of 8.46m. During the outdoor season Baldé won the Portuguese title with a wind-assisted 8.42m and finished fourth at the European Championships in Birmingham with 8.18m.
Luka Boskovic from Serbia finished second in the long jump competition at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in Zagreb with 8.23m. Boskovic leapt to a wind-assisted 8.33m in the qualifying round at the European Championships in Birmingham before finishing fifth in the final with 8.08m. The 20-year-old Serbian athlete is coached by Dragutin Topic, the father of high jumper Angelina Topic.
The best non-European athletes in the field are Jamaican jumpers Wayne Pinnock, silver medallist at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024 with 8.36m and at the World Championships in Budapest 2025 with 8.50m, and Tajay Gayle, world champion in Doha 2019 with the national record of 8.69m and Commonwealth Games in Glasgow 2026 with 8.15m, Cuba’s Jorge Hodelin, who broke Mattia Furlani’s world under-20 record with 8.46m and finished third in two Diamond League meetings in Rome with 8.18m and Monaco with 8.36m, and Anvar Anvarov from Uzbekistan, who won in last year’s edition of Athletissima with 7.84m in rainy and cold weather conditions, and claimed the first place at the Continental Tour meeting in Zagreb with 8.29m.
Women’s pole vault:
Swiss fans will cheer on Angelica Moser, who claimed her second consecutive European outdoor medal in Birmingham clearing a seasonal best of 4.80m after clearing all heights on her first attempt. Tthis year Moser won the world indoor bronze medal with 4.70m in Toruń. She performed well in the Diamond League winning in Paris with 4.77m and finishing third in Rabat with 4.70m, in Rome with 4.80m and Monaco with 4.62m.
Moser will renew her rivalry against Olympic champion Nina Kennedy from Australia, three-time world champion Katie Moon, Sandi Morris and Wilma Heltela from Finland, who won the European silver medal in Birmingham with 4.75m four years after claiming the gold medal in Munich 2022 with a PB of 4.85m.
Kennedy shared the world gold medal with Moon in Budapest 2023 with 4.90m and won the Olympic gold medal one year later in Paris 2024. The Australian pole vaulter made a successful comeback from a serious injury by setting the Oceanian record with 4.95m at the Monaco Diamond League meeting last July. She also placed second in Rabat with 4.80m and Rome with 4.70m and third in Paris with 4.70m in her other Diamond League competitions.
Moon finished second in two Diamond League competitions in Rabat with 4.70m and in Eugene with 4.80m. Moon won the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo 2021 with 4.90m and three world gold medals in Eugene 2022 with 4.85m, Budapest 2023 and in Tokyo 2025 with the same height of 4.90m.
Morris won at the Prefontaine Classic with 4.85m and her sixth US outdoor title in New York with 4.90m this year. Morris won three world silver medals in London 2017, Doha 2019 and Eugene 2022, the Olympic silver medal in Rio de Janeiro 2016 and two world indoor gold medals in Birmingham 2018 and Belgrade 2022. She cleared 5.00m in Brussels 2016 becoming the third best pole vaulter in history.
Tina Sutej won her second world indoor silver medal with 4.80m in Toruń 2026 claiming the eighth international medal of her career. The Slovenian athlete will aim to bounce back from the disappointment at the World Indoor Championships, where she did not advance from the qualifying round.
Hana Moll cleared 4.88m in Seattle last January becoming the second best woman in NCAA history behind her twin sister Amanda. Moll won the NCAA Indoor title in Fayetteville with 4.82m. She opened her outdoor season by clearing 4.80m in Walnut and finished second behind her sister Amanda at the NCAA outdoor Championships in Eugene with 4.74m.
The other top pole vaulters in the field are Eliza McCartney and Imogen Ayris, who finished first and third with 4.65m and 4.55m respectively at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Ayris improved her PB to 4.81m at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in Turku.
Women’s 200 metres:
European champion Amy Hunt from Great Britain will go head-to-head with Shericka Jackson in the women’s 200 metres.
Hunt claimed four European gold medals at the European Championships in Birmingham in the 100 metres in 11.00, in the 200 metres in 22.19, in the women’s 4x100 relay in 42.05 and in the mixed 4x100 relay with the European record of 39.97. She has become the first athlete ever to win four gold medals in a single edition of these championships. Hunt improved her 100m PB to 10.97 at the Diamond League meeting in Stockholm breaking the 11 seconds barrier for the first time in her career and won the silver medal in the 100m at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Shericka Jackson returned to her best shape this year by winning two back-to-back Diamond League races in the 200 metres on Chinese soil in Keqiao in 22.07 and Xiamen in a seasonal best of 21.87. Jackson won the Jamaican title in the 100 metres in a seasonal best of 10.81. She won two consecutive world gold medals in the 200m in Eugene in 21.45 and in Budapest in 21.41 becoming the second fastest sprinter over this distance and three Diamond League titles in the 200m in 2022 in Zurich in 21.80 and in 2023 in Eugene in the 100m in 10.70 and 200m in 21.57.
The three US sprinters in the field are Brittany Brown, Olympic bronze medallist in the 200 metres in 22.20 and winner at both Diamond League meetings in Lausanne in 22.23 and in Zurich in 22.13, Anavia Battle, fourth at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo 2025 and third at three Diamond League meetings in Keqiao, Xiamen and Rome, and Kayla White, second at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in Budapest in a seasonal best of 21.92.
Favour Ofili from Nigeria finished sixth in the 200 metres in 22.24 and set a PB of 21.96 in 2022.
The surprise could come from Swiss rising star Fabienne Hoenke, who finished fourth at the European Championships in Birmingham 2026 with 22.55 after improving her PB to 22.46 in the semifinals and won the silver medal with the 4x100 relay in 43.12. Hoenke made her debut in the Diamond League in Monaco where she finished in 22.50 and won at the Continental Tour Silver in Lucerne with 22.78 and at the Swiss Championships in Zurich in 22.66. The other Swiss sprinter in the field is Léonie Pointet, European silver medallist with the 4x100 relay in Birmingham.
Men’s 110 metres hurdles:
World record-holder Ja’Kobe Tharp of the USA will take on compatriot Jamal Britt and newly crowned European champion Jason Joseph of Switzerland.
Tharp broke Aries Merritt’s world record by clocking 12.75 in the semifinalss of the NCAA Championships in Eugene before winning the final in 12.90. Tharp became the first collegiate athlete to set a world record at the NCAA Championships since 1976. The US hurdler finished second in Eugene in 12.91 on his seasonal debut in the Diamond League and won the first race in this circuit in London in 12.89. He became the first athlete in athletics history to run five consecutive sub-13-second times. Tharp won the world under-20 title in Lima 2024 the US title in 2025 and swept back-to-back NCAA indoor and outdoor titles in 2025 and 2026. He broke Grant Holloway’s previous NCAA indoor record with 7.32 moving to third on the world all-time list.
Britt started his Diamond League season with two back-to-back wins in Keqiao and Xiamen where he clocked the same time of 13.07. He broke the 13 seconds barrier with 12.99 at the Los Angeles Grand Prix. He broke the 13 seconds barrier clocking 12.98 in Zagreb, 12.89 in Paris. He won at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene in 12.86 moving to fifth on the world all-time list.
Cuban 20-year-old hurdler Kendry Menendez showed his consistency by improving his PB three times to 13.07 in Bydgoszcz, 13.02 in Zagreb and 13.01 in London.
The line-up will feature Orlando Bennett from Jamaica, world silver medallist in Tokyo 2025 in 13.08 and third at the Diamond League in Xiamen in 13.20, Japanese hurdlers Shunsuke Izumiya, who finished fifth at the World Championships in Budapest 2023 and improved his PB to 13.00 in Zagreb last June, and Tatsuki Abe, who won the World University Games in Bochum and set a seasonal best of 13.18 at the Japanese Championships in Nagoya in 2026, and Elie Bacari from Belgium, national champion in 13.25 and Belgian indoor record holder with 7.50 in 2026.
Jason Joseph won his first European outdoor senior gold medal in the 110 metres hurdles in 13.12 upgrading from his previous performance at the European Championships in Rome 2024, where he won the bronze medal. Joseph also won the European indoor gold medal in the 60 metres hurdles in Istanbul 2023 setting a Swiss record with 7.41. He became one of the few hurdlers to win gold medals at under-20, under-23 and senior level.
Men’s 200 metres:
Letsile Tebogo is aiming to improve the meeting record set by Noah Lyles in the 200m with 19.50. Tebogo claimed two consecutive wins in Lausanne in the 200 metres in 2023 in 20.01 into a headwind of -1.4 m/s and in 2024 in 19.64 a few weeks after his Olympic title in Paris. The Botswanan sprinter won the Olympic gold medal in the 200 metres in Paris setting the African record of 19.46 and the Olympic silver medal in the 4x400 relay in the African record of 2:54.53, the world gold medal with the 4x400 relay in Tokyo 2025, two individual world medals at the World Championships in Budapest 2023 (silver in the 100m in 9.88 and bronze in the 200m in 19.81).
Tebogo will go head-to-head with Sinesipho Dambile from South Africa, Makanalaishe Charamba from Zimbabwe and José Figueroa from Puerto Rico.
Dambile won his first Diamond League race in the 200m in Doha setting a PB of 19.74 and the gold medal over this distance in Glasgow in 19.96 after clocking a wind-assisted 19.83 in the semifinals. He won at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in Nairobi in 19.77 and finished second in Stockholm in 20.10 and Oslo in 20.12 and third in Rabat in 20.03.
Makanakaishe Charamba from Zimbabwe finished second behind Dambile at the Diamond League meeting in Doha in a PB of 19.88 and finished third in Eugene in 20.11 behind Tate Taylor and Letsile Tebogo.
Figueroa won three titles at the LAI Athletics Championships, clocking 20.06 in the 200m, 44.49 in the 400m and 38.67 in the 4x100m relay. The Puerto Rican sprinter improved his PB to 19.76 in the semifinalss before winning the CAC Games final in Santo Domingo in 19.98.
Zharnel Hughes from Great Britain won the silver medal in the 200 metres in 20.16 and two gold medals in the men’s 4x100 and the mixed 4x100 relay at the European Championships in Birmingham.
The line-up will feature Courtney Lindsey, who set a seasonal best of 9.89 in the 100m in Winter Garden and finished fifth in 9.97 at the US Championships in New York in 2026, Brandon Hicklin, who improved his PB to 19.92 in Winter Garden last June.
Swiss fans will cheer on Timothé Mumenthaler, who won the European bronze medal in Birmingham with 2026 two years after claiming gold in Rome.
Women’s 400 metres hurdles:
Emma Zapletalova from Slovakia will aim to win her fifth Diamond League race this season after claiming previous victories in Rabat with 52.82, Rome in 52.58, Oslo with 53.13 and Doha with 52.30. Zapletalova won the European gold medal in Birmingham in 52.91 last week adding this title to her collection which also includes the world bronze medal in 53.00 in Tokyo 2025 and the European under-23 title in Tallinn 2021.
The other two European Championships finalists are Fatoumata Diallo from Portugal, and Paulien Couckuyt from Belgium, who finished second and fourth in Birmingham setting national records of 53.55 and 53.87.
The two US top hurdlers in the field are Anna Cockrell and Jasmine Jones.
Cockrell won the Olympic silver medal in Paris 2024 with 51.87 and finished fourth at the World Championships in 53.13. Cockrell won the US title in New York with 52.94 and at the Los Angeles Grand Prix in 53.43 and finished second at the Diamond League meeting in Rome with 52.77.
Jones won the world silver medal in Tokyo 2025 with a PB of 52.08 and finished fourth at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024 with 52.29. She won at the Continental Tour meeting in Budapest setting her seasonal best of 52.91.
Gianna Woodruff from Panama won the gold medal at the Central American Games in 53.98 and set a seasonal best of 53.58 at the Rome Diamond League meeting. She finished fifth at the World Championships in Tokyo 2025.
Men’s 400 metres hurdles:
Rai Benjamin will run his only race of the season in the men’s 400 metres hurdles in a non-Diamond League scoring event. Benjamin is focused on the 400 metres flat distance. Benjamin set his PB of 44.05 at the London Diamond League in his most recent race. He also finished second in Eugene in 44.11 and third in Monaco in 44.13.
The race will also feature Türkiye’s İsmail Nezir, the 2026 European bronze medallist in 48.26; Germany’s Owe Fischer-Breiholz, the 2025 European under-23 champion and fifth-place finisher in Birmingham; and Slovenia’s Matic Ian Guček, who set a national record of 48.03 in the semifinalss at the European Championships in Birmingham.
Men’s javelin throw:
Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage will clash against two-time European champion Julian Weber from Germany.
Pathirage and Weber threw beyond the 90 metres barrier this year. Pathirage made a major breakthrough when he improved his national record to 92.62m at the Diamond League in Rome. He also claimed wins at meetings in Nairobi with 89.28m, Ostrava with 86.57m and Doha with 88.68m and at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow 2026 with 89.75m ahead of Chopra.
Weber made his comeback from injury by winning in Lucerne with 87.04m. The German thrower won his second European gold medal breaking Steve Backley’s championships record with 90.40m. Weber won last year’s Diamond League final in Zurich with a 91.51m.
The line-up will bring together the winners of the past four titles: Anderson Peters (Doha 2019 and Eugene 2022), Neeraj Chopra from India (Budapest 2023) and Keshorn Walcott (Tokyo 2025).
Chopra won twice in Lausanne in 2022 with 89.08m (the first Diamond League competition of his career) and in 2023 with 87.66m. The Indian thrower claimed the Diamond League Trophy in Zurich in 2022 with 87.66m.
Peters also has a fond memory of Lausanne, as he won at this meeting in 2024 with 90.61m improving the Athletissima record set by 2012 Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott with 90.16m in 2015.
Women’s javelin throw:
Flor Deniz Hurtado from Colombia is aiming for victory in Lausanne a few weeks after retaining her title at the Central American and Caribbean Games with a South American record of 67.34m. Hurtado won the world silver medal in Budapest 2023.
Sara Kolak from Croatia won the European gold medal in Birmingham with 62.43m ten years after winning the Olympic gold medal in Rio de Janeiro 2016.
Adriana Vilagoš will return to Lausanne where she won at last year’s edition with 63.02m in rainy conditions. The Serbian athlete finished third at the European Championships in Birmingham with 60.93m after winning two silver medals in Munich 2022 and Rome 2024. She finished second at this year’s Diamond League meeting in Paris with 63.83m.
Haruka Kitaguchi from Japan won gold medals at the World Championships in Budapest 2023 and the Olympic Games in Paris 2024. Under the guidance of her new coach Jan Zelezny the Japanese athlete set a seasonal best of 63.01m at the Diamond League meeting in Paris
Swiss fans will cheer on Leonie Hügli, who improved Geraldine Ruckstuhl’s national record with 61.94m in Halle last May and added 24 cm to this mark with 62.18m in Lucerne.
The line-up also features Anete Sietiņa from Latvia, world silver medallist in Tokyo 2025 with 64.64m, Mackenzie Little from Australia, two-time world bronze medallist in Budapest 2023 and Tokyo 2025, and Madison Wiltrout, US champion in New York 2026 with 61.53m.
Sigrid Borge from Norway finished second at the Diamond League meeting in Xiamen with 65.00m and fourth at the European Championships in Birmingham.
Women’s 3000 metres steeplechase:
Winfred Yavi from Bahrain will go head-to-head with Faith Cherotich from Kenya and Marwa Bouzayani from Tunisia.
Yavi won the Olympic gold medal in Paris 2024 in the Olympic record of 8:52.76 and claimed the Diamond League title in Zurich in 2023. She set the second fastest time in history at the Diamond League meeting in Rome in 2024 with 8:44.39 missing Beatrice Chepkoech’s world record by seven hundredths of a second. She won the first world gold medal in Budapest 2023. Yavi is still chasing her first Diamond League win this year after finishing second in Xiamen in 8:51.54 and in Eugene in 8:52.84. She claimed the only 3000m steeplechase win of this season at the Continental Tour Bronze meeting in Heusden Zolder in 8:52.57.
Cherotich won her first world gold medal in Tokyo 2025 and the Olympic silver medal in Paris 2024. She claimed the Diamond League title last season. After recovering from early season injuries the Kenyan athlete won her first Diamond League race of the season at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene in 8:51.74 beating Tokyo 2021 Olympic champion Peruth Chemutai. Cherotich claimed Kenya’s second gold medal at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in a Games record time of 9:01.76.
Marwa Bouzayani won her first ever Diamond League title in Stockholm with a meeting record of 8:59.28. Bouzayani improved her Tunisian record to 8:54.32 in Eugene. She broke the 9 minutes barrier four separate times during the 2026 season and leads the Diamond League overall standings with 25 points.
Doris Lemngole returns to Lausanne where she won her first Diamond League race last year. Lemngole won two NCAA titles in 2024 and 2025 and finished fifth at the World Championships in Tokyo 2025. Lemngole improved her PB to 8:57.89 at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene.
Kena Tufa from Ethiopia will aim at another sub-9 minutes barrier after setting a PB of 8:59.66 in Keqiao.
Gesa Felicitas Krause will be in action again one week after winning her third European title in Birmingham in 9:12.69. The other top European athletes in the field are Olivia Gürth, European bronze medallist in Birmingham, European silver medallist in Munich 2022, and Elise Thorner from Great Britain, silver medallist at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow with a PB of 9:05.45.
Men’s 5000 metres:
Five athletes on the start line have broken 12:50 this season: Grant Fisher, the Olympic bronze medallist over 5000m and 10,000m in Paris and winner of the Paris Diamond League 5000m in 12:54.80; Birhanu Balew of Bahrain, who finished second in Oslo in a PB of 12:47.73 and third in Monaco in 12:52.91; Graham Blanks, sixth in Oslo in 12:49.99; Parker Wolfe, who ran 12:49.45 in Oslo; and Mathew Kipsang.
Dominic Lobalu will target back-to-back Diamond League wins following his victory in Monaco in 12:52.54. The Swiss athlete won the European silver medal in the 10000m in Birmingham two years after claiming the continental win over the same distance in Rome 2024.
Women’s 4x100 relay:
Home fans will cheer on the Swiss 4x100 team formed by Geraldine Di Tizio Frey, Fabienne Hoenke, Leonie Pointet and Salomé Kora, who won the European silver medal in 43.12 in Birmingham.
Switzerland will take on France, Austria, the Netherlands and Portugal.
