Picture by Reuters
Can he raise the bar again? That’s the expectation whenever Mondo Duplantis takes his jumps.
After stunning the world with another world record in the men’s pole vault at the opening Diamond League meeting in Xiamen, the reigning Olympic and world champion heads to the Shanghai/Suzhou stop as the favourite to attack his newly set mark.
The world record holder is just one of the many track and field stars confirmed for the meeting taking place on Saturday 27 April.
Also present in the second Diamond League event in the People’s Republics of China will be reigning world champions Sha’Carri Richardson and Marileidy Paulino, alongside American sprint stars Christian Coleman, and Fred Kerley.
Read on to find out everything you can expect from the Round 2 of the 2024 Diamond League.
The reigning world 100m champion Richardson is once again entered in the 200m and will be looking to bounce back after the stunning loss in Xiamen to Australian record holder Torrie Lewis over the same distance.
It was a rather slow start for the American star to the season as she eyes her first Olympic team at the Paris 2024 Games.
In Shanghai/Suzhou, she will race against her 4x100m relay teammates TeeTee Terry and Tamara Clark, whom she led to gold at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest.
Olympic 100m hurdles champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn remains the favourite in the second stop of the Diamond League - dubbed the Yangtze River Delta Athletics Diamond Gala - with the world record holder Tobi Amusan and world indoor 60m hurdles champion Devynne Charlton also expected to be back on the start list.
Can Paulino race to a world lead after her 50.08 in Xiamen? That will be the hope when the Dominican races the 400m.
World champions Coleman and Kerley again headline the men’s 100m with the former looking for a second straight dash win this season. 2011 world champion Yohan Blake of Jamaica and South African Akani Simbine will open their season in Shanghai.
Ethiopian’s Selemon Barega, the reigning 10,000m Tokyo 2020 Olympics gold medallist, and steeple world record Lamecha Girma should go head-to-head in the men’s 5000m.
Girma kicked off his outdoor season with a comfortable victory last weekend at the Xiamen Diamond League 2024.
In the men's field event, there will be renewed focus on Duplantis, after the Swedish pole vaulter opened his season in superb fashion in China clearing a world record of 6.24m.
Conditions permitting, Mondo could easily add another centimetre and push his mark further for the ninth time, as he bids for his fourth consecutive Diamond League title this year.
There’s an equally high-quality field in the men’s high jump, where Qatari Olympic champion Mutaz Essa Barshim will seek to bounce back after being edged out by Shelby McEwen for the top slot in Xiamen.
In the women’s field events, home favourite Gong Lijiao is the top pick in the shot put after her season-opening win, and is fellow Olympic champion Valerie Allman in the javelin.
*Diamond League events in bold
Action will be streamed in a number of territories on the Wanda Diamond League YouTube page, but the livestream will NOT be available in all territories.
CCTV will broadcast the meet in China.
BBC has the rights in the UK and will broadcast it on BBC Two, while for audiences in the U.S., live coverage will be provided by NBC/Peacock.
SuperSport is the rightsholder for the 2024 Diamond League in most of Africa. Please check your local listings to find out more information.
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