Reigning Olympic 3000m steeplechase champion Soufiane El Bakkali will return to Wanda Diamond League action at the second meeting of the season in Shanghai/Keqiao on May 3.
Despite fierce competition, Morocco's El Bakkali has been one of the African continent's most successful athletes in recent years, claiming back-to-back Olympic gold medals in Tokyo and Paris and successive world titles in Eugene and Budapest.
He has also been a dominant figure in the Diamond League in recent years, with ten victories in the series since 2022. The 29-year-old has not won the Diamond Trophy since 2022, however, and will be out to banish the ghosts of last year's final when he returns to Diamond League action in Keqiao.
The Moroccan was firm favourite to win the title in Brussels last September, only for his three-year winning streak to come to a surprise end as he was outgunned on the final stretch by Kenya's Amos Serem.
El Bakkali has good memories of China, having won at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Xiamen back in September 2023, and will be out to get his season off to a winning start as he gears up for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September.
The Wanda Diamond League is the elite one-day meeting series in global athletics. It comprises 15 of the most prestigious events in global track and field. Athletes compete for points at the 14 series meetings in a bid to qualify for the two-day Wanda Diamond League Final, which will be held in Zurich on 27th and 28th August 2025.
