The athletics season starts in China: Duplantis opens the Diamond League, Lyles runs in Tokyo a day later
The new major outdoor athletics season enters its central phase already this weekend, with two strong Asian meetings only 24 hours apart. According to the Wanda Diamond League calendar, the first stop of the elite one-day athletics circuit in 2026 takes place on Saturday, May 16, in Shanghai/Keqiao, China, while on Sunday, May 17, the Seiko Golden Grand Prix in Tokyo will bring together some of the best-known sprinters and javelin throwers. Once again, the spotlight is on Armand “Mondo” Duplantis, the world record-holder in pole vault, and Noah Lyles, the American sprinter returning to the stadium where, in recent years, he has written important moments of his career.
The opening of the Diamond League in China is especially important because it comes in a season without the Olympic Games and without a classic outdoor World Championships, so the fight for diamond trophies and victories at the biggest one-day meetings will impose itself as one of the main competitive frameworks of the year. Diamond League organizers state that athletes will fight for points during the season at 14 meetings in the series, with the final scheduled for September 4 and 5 in Brussels. This means that even the first performances in Shanghai/Keqiao carry weight: the result will not decide the season, but it can show who has already reached form in May for the greatest achievements.
Shanghai/Keqiao takes over the role of the first major test
According to the official Diamond League calendar, the 2026 season begins on May 16 in Shanghai/Keqiao, and the second Chinese meeting takes place a week later in Xiamen. In its preview of the meeting, World Athletics emphasizes that several Olympic and world champions will gather in China, among them Faith Kipyegon, Mondo Duplantis and Karsten Warholm, as well as global gold medallists such as Letsile Tebogo, Shericka Jackson, Cordell Tinch, Ditaji Kambundji and Daniel Ståhl. The official meeting website lists events such as the men’s pole vault, men’s 100 metres, men’s 300 metres hurdles, women’s 1500 metres, women’s 200 metres, women’s 100 metres hurdles, women’s long jump and women’s shot put.
The meeting in Keqiao is therefore not only the formal start of the season, but also an early check of the balance of power in events that have produced some of the strongest athletics stories in recent years. In the men’s pole vault, Duplantis has moved so far ahead of the competition that each of his competitions automatically turns into the question of whether the bar can again go a centimetre higher. In the 100 and 200 metres, the first serious insight into the sprinting form of part of the world elite is expected, while the middle and long distances will offer an answer to how ready Kipyegon and her rivals are for another season at a high rhythm.
According to the Diamond League announcement on the entry lists, among the names announced for the season opener are Faith Kipyegon, Mondo Duplantis, Letsile Tebogo and Tobi Amusan. In a separate preview, World Athletics also particularly highlights Karsten Warholm, who comes to China as a world record-holder and one of the most recognizable athletes of his generation. Such an entry list gives the meeting the status of an event at which not only victories are sought, but also early signals for the entire season: who is returning from preparation without interruption, who is experimenting with events, and who is already announcing in May an attack on their own limits.
Duplantis again under scrutiny because of a possible world record
The biggest individual question ahead of Saturday’s meeting concerns Armand Duplantis. The Swedish athlete has been pushing the boundaries of pole vault for years, and according to World Athletics data, his personal and world record is 6.31 metres, cleared on March 12, 2026, at the Mondo Classic in Uppsala. After that performance, Olympics.com reported that Duplantis had once again added a centimetre to his own record and continued a streak in which he has become synonymous with an event in which the record is no longer viewed as an exception, but as a realistic possibility almost every time he appears on the runway.
That is precisely why, ahead of Shanghai/Keqiao, the question is again being raised alongside his name as to whether a new world record could happen. However, such expectations should be viewed with caution. Pole vault is highly dependent on weather conditions, the runway, the rhythm of the competition and technical details that can change from attempt to attempt. In past seasons, Duplantis has shown several times that he can win even when he is not attacking a record height, and the beginning of the season often also serves to check the feeling, the choice of poles and the competitive rhythm after the winter part of the year.
On the other hand, his advantage is that he is used to winning under pressure. According to the World Athletics profile and official results, Duplantis is a two-time Olympic champion, world champion and current world record-holder, and his performances regularly attract audiences beyond the narrow circle of athletics followers. If he secures victory early in Keqiao and conditions are stable, it is logical to expect that the audience and organizers will hope for an attempt at a height above 6.31 metres. At the moment, however, it has not been officially confirmed that an attack on the record will be part of his pre-announced plan; that will depend on how the competition develops.
Kipyegon, Warholm and Tebogo give the meeting the breadth required by a season opener
Although Duplantis is the most frequent magnet for headlines, the opening of the Diamond League has a much broader sporting context. In its meeting preview, World Athletics lists Faith Kipyegon among the main stars, and the Kenyan runner has marked recent seasons in the middle distances with records and dominant victories. Her performances in May are important because they show in which direction she will build her season: toward classic dominance in the 1500 metres, toward longer distances or toward a combination of appearances that allows her to control her form across several events.
Karsten Warholm comes to China as an athlete whose name almost always means an aggressive rhythm and the possibility of very fast times. According to the World Athletics preview, the Norwegian is part of the group of world record-holders at the season opener. His performance is also interesting because early hurdles races often reveal how much speed an athlete has managed to retain between seasons and how much competitive sharpness he still lacks. If Warholm already shows a high level in his first performance, that could set the tone for the rest of the summer.
Letsile Tebogo, Olympic champion and one of the most attractive sprinters of the younger generation, is also among the names highlighted by the Diamond League ahead of the opener. His performances are important because sprinting in 2026 enters a season in which more direct clashes with American, Caribbean, African and European sprinters are expected. In the early phase of the season, a result in the 100 or 200 metres does not have to be the peak of form, but it can show how well the transition from preparation to competition has gone and how ready the athlete is for fast races under the pressure of strong competition.
The Diamond League remains the most important one-day athletics circuit
According to the rules published by Wanda Diamond League, athletes in 32 events collect points at meetings in the series in order to secure a place in the final. The first eight places at an individual meeting bring points, from eight for the winner to one for the eighth-placed athlete, and the qualification system differs between technical events, sprints and longer races. In technical events, as a rule the six best athletes by points enter the final, in races from 100 to 800 metres the best eight, and in events from 1500 metres upward the best ten, with the possibility of wild cards according to the organizers’ rules.
The financial framework is also significant. The Diamond League states that in the 2026 season the total prize fund will amount to 9.24 million US dollars, with 500,000 dollars per regular meeting and 2.24 million dollars in the final in Brussels. The organizers also state that in certain events prizes are additionally increased through the Diamond+ Disciplines format, which was introduced to emphasize selected events at individual meetings. For athletes, this means that alongside sporting prestige, the economic importance of appearances in a series that connects Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East and North America is increasingly being taken into account.
Such a system makes every stop relevant, but not equally decisive. The start in China is important for entering the points rhythm, while later meetings in Rome, Stockholm, Oslo, Doha, Paris, Eugene, Monaco, London, Lausanne, Silesia and Zürich will gradually filter the candidates for Brussels. According to the World Athletics calendar, the final meeting is held on September 4 and 5 at the Baudouin Stadium in Brussels. There, not only impressions from the season are added up, but diamond trophies are awarded in a direct final showdown.
Lyles returns to the 100 metres in Tokyo
The day after the opening of the Diamond League, attention moves to Japan. World Athletics announced that Noah Lyles will compete on Sunday, May 17, at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix in Tokyo, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold-level meeting. The American sprinter has been announced for the 100 metres, the event in which he won Olympic gold in 2024. For Lyles, Tokyo is a place of special symbolism: there he won his first Olympic medal in 2021, and according to the World Athletics announcement, last year at the same stadium he also won his fourth consecutive world title in the 200 metres and a third gold in the 4x100 metres relay.
The Seiko Golden Grand Prix is not part of the Diamond League, but as a Gold meeting of the continental tour it has an important role in the seasonal calendar. The official competition website and Tokyo sports information state that the 2026 edition is held at MUFG Stadium, that is, the National Stadium in Tokyo. In its preview, World Athletics emphasizes that alongside Lyles, a number of strong Japanese athletes will also compete, including Olympic javelin champion Haruka Kitaguchi, Japanese record-holder in the 110 metres hurdles Rachid Muratake and Yuki Joseph Nakajima, the Japanese record-holder in the 400 metres.
Lyles’s performance in Tokyo will be followed especially closely because the 100 metres at this stage of the season serves as an early check of the start, acceleration and finish, but also as a message to the competition. His style of competing is often aimed at peaking later in the season, but a victory or a fast time in May can create a psychological advantage before the European meetings. Olympics.com states that Lyles also has appearances in Rome and Paris on his calendar, which means that the Tokyo race is not an isolated event, but the beginning of a series of checks at the highest level.
Tokyo again uses the momentum of major athletics events
The Tokyo meeting comes after Japan in recent years hosted several important athletics events, including the 2021 Olympic Games and the 2025 World Championships. According to information from Tokyo sports authorities, the 2025 World Athletics Championships attracted approximately 620,000 visitors, and the Seiko Golden Grand Prix 2026 has been presented as the return of some of the world’s stars to the same national stadium. For Japanese athletics, it is an opportunity to place domestic national team members once again alongside global names, especially in events in which Japan has a strong base, such as sprinting, hurdles, jumps and javelin throwing.
Haruka Kitaguchi, Olympic javelin champion, will be one of the key domestic stars. World Athletics states that the Japanese line-up also includes Rachid Muratake, Yuki Joseph Nakajima, Ryoichi Akamatsu, Tomohiro Shinno, Yuki Hashioka and Nozomi Tanaka. Such a list shows that the organizers are not counting only on the arrival of international stars, but also on a strong domestic framework. In combination with Lyles and other announced foreign athletes, the Tokyo meeting can serve as a bridge between the Asian start of the elite season and its European continuation.
For Lyles, the context of Tokyo is additionally important because he is returning to the place where his international reputation went through several phases: from Olympic bronze in the 200 metres to later world successes. Although he will run the 100 metres on Sunday, his performance will inevitably be viewed through the wider picture of the sprint season. In an event decided by hundredths of a second, every early race provides data on reaction at the start, the transition to maximum speed and the ability to finish the race without a drop in rhythm.
The first weekend will not provide all the answers, but it can steer the season
The athletics weekend in China and Japan should not be viewed as a final verdict on the form of the biggest stars, but it can provide important initial answers. If Duplantis in Shanghai/Keqiao again moves toward record heights, the season will immediately get a strong symbolic beginning. If Kipyegon, Warholm or Tebogo achieve convincing victories, their results could set standards for the summer. If Lyles wins the 100 metres in Tokyo against strong competition, his return to the Asian scene will gain additional weight before the continuation of the season in Europe.
According to the available official information, 2026 brings a compressed but very high-quality season of elite athletics. The Diamond League begins in China and ends in Brussels, while Continental Tour Gold meetings such as the one in Tokyo provide additional opportunities for points, ranking and direct clashes of stars. In such a schedule, May performances may look early, but for athletes targeting major victories and a stable season they are the first public test of what has been done during months of preparation.
Sources:
- Wanda Diamond League – official 2026 season calendar and meeting schedule (link)
- World Athletics – preview of the Diamond League opener in Shanghai/Keqiao 2026 (link)
- Wanda Diamond League – announcement of entry lists for Shanghai/Keqiao 2026 (link)
- Shanghai Diamond League – official information on the meeting programme in Keqiao (link)
- Wanda Diamond League – rules and points format toward the final (link)
- Wanda Diamond League – prize fund and prize structure for 2026 (link)
- World Athletics – announcement of Noah Lyles’s appearance at the 2026 Seiko Golden Grand Prix in Tokyo (link)
- Sports TOKYO Information – official information on Seiko Golden Grand Prix Athletics 2026 Tokyo (link)
- Olympics.com – report on Duplantis’s world record of 6.31 metres in Uppsala 2026 (link)