09 June, 2024

Road To The Final So Far: Part I

Photo: Matthew Quine

A look back at some of the biggest moments of the 2024 Wanda Diamond League so far, including Mondo Duplantis' world record in Xiamen and Prudence Sekgodiso's surprise victory in Marrakech.

The 2024 Wanda Diamond League season reached the halfway stage last weekend with the seventh of 14 meetings on the Road to the Final. It has been a vintage year so far, as the world's finest track and field athletes have jostled to get themselves into championship-winning form ahead of the all-important Olympic Games in Paris later this summer.

As always, the Wanda Diamond League has provided the perfect preparation for the biggest stage, allowing both established stars and upcoming talents to test themselves against the very best of their respective disciplines.

In July, the series will resume with meetings in Paris, Monaco and London as athletes look to accelerate into their very best form ahead of the Olympics and also secure qualification to the Wanda Diamond League Final in Brussels on September 13th-14th.

But with a month until the next leg of the Road to the Final, here's a look back at some of the highlights of the season so far.

Record books rewritten

After a record-breaking season in 2023, it was going to take something special for the Diamond League to pick up where it had left off when athletes returned to action for the first meeting of the season in Xiamen in April.

Mondo Duplantis, though, has a knack of delivering something special, and he didn't disappoint on his first ever appearance in China. Jumping outdoors for the first time in 2024, Duplantis immediately sailed over 6.24m at the first attempt, adding another centimetre to the world record he had last broken at the Wanda Diamond League Final in Eugene last September.

"It's my first ever time in China and this win is far more than I expected," said Duplantis after breaking the world record for the eighth time in his career.

He was not the only one who started 2024 with a bang. Ethiopia's Gudaf Tsegay also managed to continue her glistening 2023 form as she delivered what was arguably the performance of the night on the track in Xiamen. Just eight months after she broke the 5000m world record at the Wanda Diamond League Final in Eugene, Tsegay was back in the history books as she clocked 3:50.30 in the 1500m, the third-fastest time ever recorded.

Sprint surprises

Another of the headline performances in Xiamen was Torrie Lewis' stunning victory in the 200m. The 19-year-old Australian was unfancied as she lined up against the likes of 100m world champion Sha'Carri Richardson, Tamara Clark and Mujinga Kambundji, but she stormed to her first ever Diamond League win with a meeting record of 22.96.

That win set the tone for a string of sprint surprises in the early season, as American heavyweights like Richardson and 100m Diamond League champion Christian Coleman struggled to assert their dominance.

Richardson suffered another defeat to Great Britain's Daryll Neita in the 200m in Suzhou at the end of April, with Neita also going on to win the 100m in Doha two weeks later. Coleman, meanwhile, started his campaign with victory in Xiamen before he was beaten by South Africa's Akani Simbine in Suzhou.

There was also an early shift of power in the men's 110m hurdles, as veteran Olympic and Diamond League champion Hansle Parchment suffered back-to-back defeats to the USA's Daniel Roberts in Xiamen and Suzhou.

Statement wins

After such an early start to the season, the Seashore Doha Meeting in Qatar on May 10th was already the third leg of the 2024 season. For many athletes who had not competed in China, however, it was still the first opportuntiy to get points on the board and make an early statement in an Olympic year.

The most eye-catching performance came from former world and Wanda Diamond League champion Alison Dos Santos, who rampaged to a world lead and meeting record of 46.86 and his first Diamond League win since he claimed the title back in 2022. After a year in which he lost both his world and Diamond League crowns in 2023, it was a statement victory and an ominious sign of things to come from the Brazilian.

Kenya's Mary Moraa also showed signs of wanting to reclaim her Diamond Trophy this season as she kicked off her campaign with a season's best of 1:57.91 in Doha, while Diamond League men's javelin champion Jakub Vadlejch once again overcame Indian rival Neeraj Chopra.

Rising stars

The May meetings in Doha and Marrakech also gave us a first glimpse of some potential future Diamond League champions, as some of the rising stars of world track and field picked up their first wins in the sport's premier one-day series.

Serbia's Angelina Topic snatched back-to-back victories in the women's high jump, clearing a national record of 1.98m in Marrakech and heaping the pressure on reigning champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh ahead of her first appearance of the season in Stockholm.

Freshly-crowned men's discus world record holder Mykolas Alekna confirmed his status as title favourite when he claimed the first Diamond League win of his career with 70.70m in Marrakech, while there was another surprise in the sprints as Cameroon's Emmanuel Eseme overcame Andre De Grasse in the 100m.

Yet the most impressive first-time winner was South Africa's Prudence Sekgodiso, who pulled off a stunning 800m victory over Ethiopian favourite Habitam Alemu in Marrakech, clocking a personal best and then world lead of 1:57.26.

"I'm so excited, I'm over the moon. I cannot wait to speak to my coach. I feel like crying," she said.