SHANGHAI NEWS (from quotes by organizers)
SHANGHAI (CHN): Swedish superstar Mondo Duplantis said he was “super excited” to open his outdoor season: “You always have a little bit of nerves going into your first outdoor competition, which I like, it gets you fired up and gives you a bit of energy,” said Duplantis, who will chase his sixth straight Diamond League title this season. Duplantis made a change to his approach indoors this year, taking 22 steps on the runway, which helped him to his 15th pole vault world record of 6.31m. He will repeat that approach on Saturday.
SHANGHAI (CHN): Kenyan superstar Faith Kipyegon will push herself out of her comfort zone at the meeting, stepping up to 5000m where she will be looking for the 30th Diamond League win of her illustrious career. “I’m so grateful to be back here in China for my season opener. It feels so crazy to start the season with endurance,” said Kipyegon, who won the world title over 5000m in 2023. “I know the 1500m is here, but I chose the 5000m because I want to see how my endurance is, so we’ll see how it will go. I think anything can be possible, but for the start of the season, it’s only to see how the body is and to start the journey to the final.”
SHANGHAI (CHN): Karsten Warholm, the reigning Diamond League champion in the 400m hurdles, will run his first race since last year’s World Championships. “You have five meters more to the first hurdle, and it’s on a straight, so the speed when you hit the first hurdle is higher,” he said. “That creates a little bit of a challenge. But I train a lot doing six, seven, eight hurdles. It’s a faster race and a little bit more technically demanding.” Cordell Tinch produced fireworks at this meeting last year, clocking 12.87 to win the 110m hurdles before going on to claim the Diamond League title and the world title in Tokyo. His reflection on the blazing run here last year? “It really came out of nowhere. We were just trying to figure out where we were. To run the best race of my life, it went pretty well. This year, it’s kind of the same plan: get in healthy, get out healthy, and hopefully put on another good show. As far as my form, I guess we’ll find out on Saturday.”
SHANGHAI (CHN): Sweden’s Andreas Almgren will also run his first track race since last year’s World Championships, where he claimed bronze over 10,000m. He will face a stacked field over 3000m, where his Swedish record of 7:31.42 could come under threat. “My strategy to win is to try to run fast,” said Andreas Almgren before the 3000 m. “I’m a strong runner, coming from base training, so I have very good endurance now, maybe not the best championship kick just yet. So a good, fast race would be the best for me.”
SHANGHAI (CHN): Another Swedish star, Daniel Stahl, will take on a loaded field in the men’s discus, and the reigning world champion knows it will take a big throw to claim victory as he plans to claim his first Diamond League title since 2021. “My hope for tomorrow is to go as hard as I can,” he said. “Tokyo final participants are there, and I’m really excited to meet the colleagues and try to do my best.” Dutch star Jessica Schilder had a dream year in 2025, claiming the Diamond League title and winning gold at the Tokyo World Championships. She showed strong form indoors this year, equalling her Dutch record of 20.69m. “I want to improve my national record,” she said. “Outdoors is what I love more than indoors, but my personal best indoors is better, and that doesn’t sit right with me.”
Complete presser for Shanghai Diamond League, May 15, 2026, from Diamond League!
Complete entry lists for Shanghai Diamond League (15 May 2026) :
