Masai Russell and Yan Ziyi marked an evening of world-class performances in Xiamen
The Diamond League in Xiamen produced one of the strongest athletics meetings in the early phase of the 2026 season, with a series of results that immediately reshaped the world lists. According to the official competition results and the World Athletics report, American hurdler Masai Russell ran the 100 metres hurdles in 12.14 seconds and thereby improved the American record once again. The result was achieved with a legal wind of +0.5 m/s, and it was also marked as the season’s best result, the meeting record and the Diamond League record. Russell thus came within just two hundredths of Tobi Amusan’s world record, while Amusan finished second in the same race with 12.28 seconds.
On the same evening, home athlete Yan Ziyi produced one of the most valuable throws in the history of the women’s javelin. According to the results of the competition in Xiamen, the 18-year-old Chinese athlete won with a throw of 71.74 metres, setting a world U20 record, an Asian record, a Chinese national record, a Diamond League record and a meeting record. After the competition, World Athletics pointed out that Yan and Russell had achieved the second-best performances of all time in their disciplines. In the case of the javelin, Yan finished 54 centimetres short of the world record held by Czech athlete Barbora Špotáková, which according to her World Athletics profile stands at 72.28 metres and dates from 2008.
Russell broke her own American record
The 100 metres hurdles race had been announced as one of the central events of the meeting because it brought together current and former world champions, Olympic winners and holders of major international titles. Russell, however, imposed a rhythm from the very start that the rest of the competition could not follow. The official results state that the American won in 12.14 seconds, ahead of Nigerian world record-holder Tobi Amusan, who ran 12.28 seconds, and Bahamian Devynne Charlton, who set a national record with 12.37 seconds. Behind them in the standings were Megan Simmonds, Ditaji Kambundji, Ackera Nugent, Danielle Williams, Yanni Wu, Tonea Marshall and Jingyang Liu.
The value of Russell’s result was further emphasised by the fact that she improved her own American record. According to the available data from the official results and reports by specialised athletics portals, the previous US record had also been held by Russell, after she had earlier in the season run 12.17 seconds. In Xiamen, she moved the mark by another three hundredths, confirming her status as one of the most consistent hurdlers in the world in the period after the Olympic Games in Paris. Since Tobi Amusan set the world record of 12.12 seconds at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, the 12.14-second result in Xiamen immediately gained wider historical significance. It is one of the rare races in which the winner came within just a few hundredths of the record.
For Russell, this was a continuation of an exceptionally strong start to the season. The Sports Examiner stated in its report from the previous Diamond League stop in China that Russell had won in Shaoxing in 12.25 seconds, then the season’s best result. In Xiamen, she improved that performance significantly and also won in a direct duel against Amusan, the world record-holder, and Charlton, the indoor world record-holder over 60 metres hurdles. Such an outcome gives the race additional weight because it was not merely an isolated fast result, but a victory against an exceptionally strong field.
Yan Ziyi threw the javelin to a historic 71.74 metres
The second major highlight of the meeting came in the women’s javelin throw. Yan Ziyi threw 71.74 metres and thereby produced a throw that, according to the World Athletics report, is the second-longest in the history of the event. The official results state that the throw brought a world U20 record, an Asian record, a Chinese national record, a Diamond League record and a meeting record. It is especially striking that Yan achieved a result that came close to the absolute world record in an event in which throws above 70 metres are extremely rare. According to the World Athletics profile, the world record is still held by Barbora Špotáková with 72.28 metres, set on 13 September 2008.
Yan won ahead of Norway’s Sigrid Borge, who threw 65.00 metres, and Serbian athlete Adriana Vilagoš, third with 63.64 metres. Poland’s Maria Andrejczyk finished fourth with 62.51 metres, while behind her were Flor Denis Ruiz Hurtado, Tori Moorby and Olympic champion Haruka Kitaguchi. Such a ranking further shows how much the Chinese athlete’s result stood out from the rest of the competition. The difference between the winner and the runner-up was 6.74 metres, which is an exceptionally large advantage at this level of competition.
In the context of Chinese athletics, Yan Ziyi’s result represents one of the most important moments of recent years. According to the report by Spain’s AS and the available results, her throw surpassed the previous Chinese record associated with Lyu Huihui, one of China’s best-known javelin throwers. World Athletics also stressed that Yan, although still a junior, had already entered a range of results comparable with the greatest names in the event. If this form is confirmed at major championships, Xiamen could be remembered as the competition at which the Chinese athlete first clearly established herself as a candidate for the biggest global titles.
Eight season-leading results in one evening
According to the published results, Xiamen produced a total of eight world-leading results for the season or equalled season’s best performances. In addition to Russell in the 100 metres hurdles and Yan in the javelin, some of the most valuable results came in the 400 metres, 400 metres hurdles, 5000 metres, 3000 metres steeplechase and long jump. Such a concentration of results confirms that the Chinese stop of the Diamond League was held in exceptionally strong competition and in conditions that enabled top-level performances. The meeting was the second major Chinese stop in May, after the Diamond League season had previously opened in Shaoxing.
In the men’s 400 metres race, Busang Collen Kebinatshipi of Botswana won in 43.92 seconds, which according to the competition results was marked as a meeting record and the season’s best result. Behind him finished Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga in 44.04 seconds, while South African Zakithi Nene was third in 44.40 seconds. Kebinatshipi’s result is particularly important because dipping below 44 seconds in the early phase of the season is considered a clear indicator of serious form. It also confirms the continued strong development of African sprinters over the full lap.
In the men’s 400 metres hurdles, Brazil’s Alison dos Santos won in 46.72 seconds, also the season’s best result. Behind him was Norway’s Karsten Warholm in 46.82 seconds, while American Caleb Dean was third in 47.75 seconds. Dos Santos and Warholm have belonged to the top of this event for years, and their new head-to-head duel in Xiamen continued one of the most attractive rivalries in modern athletics. Considering that both had already run under 47 seconds in May, the race confirmed that the 400 metres hurdles will again be one of the strongest events this season.
From Kipyegon’s opening to victories in the long-distance races
In the women’s 3000 metres steeplechase, Olympic champion Peruth Chemutai of Uganda won in 8:51.06, which according to the results was marked as a meeting record and the season’s best result. Second was Winfred Yavi of Bahrain in 8:51.54, while Kenya’s Faith Cherotich finished third in 8:52.53. Three results under 8:53 in the same race confirm the exceptionally high level of the event. Chemutai also continued a series of strong performances in a season in which the top of the women’s steeplechase has again tightened around several athletes capable of major results.
In the men’s 5000 metres, Ethiopia’s Addisu Yihune won in 12:57.32, officially marked as a meeting record and the season’s best result. German representative Mohamed Abdilaahi was second in 12:57.90, and Biniam Mehary third in 12:58.51. The race was exceptionally deep, with several athletes under 13:10, and several runners achieved personal or seasonal bests. Such depth confirms that the long-distance events have already entered a rhythm in the spring part of the calendar that will be relevant for later major competitions.
In the women’s 1500 metres, Australian Abbey Caldwell won in 3:57.26. Behind her finished Ethiopia’s Birke Haylom in 3:57.79, while American Emily Mackay was third in 3:58.13. Although the winner’s result was not marked as world-leading, the race showed the depth of competition in an event in which running under four minutes has become increasingly frequent in recent seasons. Caldwell’s performance was especially important because she won in a field that included athletes with experience of major finals and international medals.
Shericka Jackson and Miltiadis Tentoglou among the winners of the evening
Jamaican Shericka Jackson won the 200 metres in 21.87 seconds, with a meeting record and a season’s best personal performance. Second was Bahamian Shaunae Miller-Uibo in 22.04 seconds, while American Anavia Battle finished third in 22.29 seconds. Jackson thereby confirmed that she remains one of the key sprinters in the half-lap races, especially after a period in which the women’s sprint has seen injuries, comebacks and changes in form. Given that Sha'Carri Richardson, McKenzie Long and Jenna Prandini also competed in the same race, the Jamaican’s victory came in very strong competition.
In the men’s long jump, Miltiadis Tentoglou won with 8.46 metres, a result marked as a meeting record and an equal season’s best. The Greek Olympic and world champion surpassed Jamaican Tajay Gayle, who jumped 8.32 metres, and Bulgarian Bozhidar Saraboyukov with 8.29 metres. Italy’s Mattia Furlani was fourth with 8.28 metres, showing how close the competition was behind the winner. Tentoglou once again demonstrated stability at a level above eight and a half metres, which continues to make him one of the most reliable jumpers at major meetings.
In the men’s 100 metres, Ferdinand Omanyala won in 9.94 seconds, ahead of Gift Leotlele in 10.00 and Trayvon Bromell and Kenny Bednarek, who both ran 10.03 seconds. In the men’s shot put, Jamaica’s Rajindra Campbell won with a national record of 22.34 metres, ahead of American Jordan Geist and world record-holder Ryan Crouser. These results were not as much in the foreground as the historic performances by Russell and Yan, but they further raised the overall quality of the meeting.
The Diamond League received an early peak of the season
The Diamond League is the highest series of one-day athletics meetings, and the results from Xiamen already set high standards in May for the rest of the season. According to the official information from the series, the calendar brings together elite athletes on several continents, and points from individual meetings lead towards the season final. In such a system, victories have double value: they bring prestige at the meeting itself, but also affect qualification for the final competition. For that reason, the results from Xiamen are not merely individual statistical achievements, but also an important signal of the balance of power ahead of the rest of the year.
The biggest impression, however, remains with two almost historic moments. Masai Russell lowered her mark to 12.14 seconds and opened the question of whether the world record in the 100 metres hurdles can be seriously attacked again already this season. Yan Ziyi threw the javelin 71.74 metres and, while still of junior age, entered the company of results that until recently had been reserved for the most experienced throwers in the history of the event. Xiamen therefore gained the weight of a meeting that will not be remembered only for the number of world-leading results, but also for performances that came close to the very limits of athletics records.
Sources:
- World Athletics – report on the Xiamen meeting and the historic results by Yan Ziyi and Masai Russell (link)
- Wanda Diamond League – official results and standings of the Xiamen 2026 meeting (link)
- OMEGA Timing – official results of the Wanda Diamond League Xiamen 2026 competition (link)
- Watch Athletics – overview of results, meeting records and season-leading performances in Xiamen (link)
- World Athletics – profile of Barbora Špotáková and confirmation of the javelin world record of 72.28 metres (link)
- The Sports Examiner – context of the opening of the Diamond League season in China and Masai Russell’s result in Shaoxing (link)