Fireworks Expected in Field Events at Xiamen Diamond League

April 18, 2024

Diamond League - Armand-DUPLANTIS — Armand DUPLANTIS becomes the Diamond League Champion with a victory in the Men's Pole Vault with a height of 6.23m in a new World Record at the 2023 Prefontaine Classic

The field events at this year’s Wanda Diamond League meeting in Xiamen, China, on 20 April 2024, should produce fireworks.
The men’s triple jump features Burkina Faso’s Hugues Fabrice Zango, the reigning world indoor and outdoor champion, and Portugal’s Pedro Pichardo, the reigning Olympic champion.

ALSO, Xiamen Diamond League Live Stream , Mt. SAC Relays Live Stream , Kip Keino Classic Live Stream

Pichardo dominated outdoors in 2021 and 2022, winning both the Olympic and world titles. However, the 30-year-old athlete withdrew from last year’s World Championships due to a back injury. He has not participated in any competitions for the past 11 months, with his last jump being a wind-assisted 17.91m (2.1m/s) in Doha in May last year. Despite this, all triple jump fans will be excited to see him back on the runway in Xiamen.

The local fans will fully support China’s Zhu Yaming, who achieved a personal best of 17.57m while winning a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2021. He also won a bronze medal at the World Championships in Oregon two years ago but narrowly missed a medal in Budapest last year, finishing fourth. Nevertheless, he bounced back and won the Asian Games title in Hangzhou. Zango, Pichardo, and Yaming will have a challenging task ahead as they strive to beat one of the most promising athletes in the event, Jordan Alejandro Diaz Fortun. He has already won the world U18 and U20 titles representing his native Cuba, but since 2022, he has been representing Spain, where he now lives. Diaz Fortun, now 23 years old, set the Spanish record of 17.87m in 2022. Unfortunately, he missed the outdoor season last year due to injury. However, he returned this year, competing indoors in Madrid, where he bounded to 17.52m.

The men’s pole vault should be captivating. Armand Duplantis, widely known as “Mondo,” has captured the attention of sports enthusiasts worldwide with his impressive pole vaulting skills. He recently won the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, adding to his growing list of accomplishments. Duplantis is one of four men to have cleared six metres, and he will face strong opposition from two of the other three Americans, Christopher Nilsen and Sam Kendricks.

The 24-year-old Swedish athlete is eager to kick off his outdoor season with a bang as he sets his sights on winning his second Olympic title in Paris. During his last appearance at the Wanda Diamond League, in last year’s final in Eugene, he cleared 6.23m, marking the seventh time he’s broken the world record.

The meeting held in Xiamen last year was a great success among the locals, with nearly 30,000 people attending. This year, an even bigger crowd is expected, as many of the country’s top athletes, including A-listers, will compete.

Feng Bin, the women’s discus world champion of 2022, will be eager to set the tone for the season as she competes against two formidable US athletes: the reigning Olympic champion Valarie Allman and the reigning world champion Laulauga Tausaga.

In the women’s shot put, Gong Lijiao hopes to beat a few rivals who could stand in her way to win a second consecutive Olympic title in Paris. She will compete against the world champion Chase Jackson from the USA, the world indoor champion Sarah Mitton from Canada, and Jamaica’s Danielle Thomas-Dodd.

In the men’s high jump, Jamaica’s Christoff Bryan, who has a season’s best of 2.25m, will be looking forward to his jump with three-time world champion Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar, who will make his season debut.