The Wanda Diamond League’s European swing got underway in spectacular fashion on Thursday night as the world’s best athletes delivered another memorable evening at Rome’s historic Stadio Olimpico.
Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles stole the headlines with a trademark late charge to win a stacked men’s 100m field, underlining once again why he remains one of the sport’s biggest stars. After a relatively cautious start, the American powered through the second half of the race to clock 9.88, holding off Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme (9.94) and Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo (9.95) in one of the deepest sprint races of the season.
The women’s 200m provided another world-class showdown as Olympic champion Julien Alfred continued her impressive 2026 campaign. The Saint Lucian sprint star defeated world champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden in 21.93, extending her momentum after an outstanding start to the year.
Elsewhere, the meeting delivered quality performances across the program. Ethiopia dominated the women’s 5000m, with Likina Amebaw securing victory in a dramatic finish, while Norway’s Henriette Jaeger impressed in the women’s 400m. Britain’s Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson continued her speed-focused preparations with a personal best over one lap. In the men’s 110m hurdles, Trey Cunningham broke the 13-second barrier for the first time in his career to take victory.
Rome represented the fourth stop of the 2026 Diamond League season and continued a year that has already featured standout performances across the circuit, including the season-opening meeting in Shanghai.
Next Stop: Stockholm
The Diamond League action returns quickly on Sunday as the world’s best athletes head north to the BAUHAUS-galan in Stockholm.
Much of the attention will focus on Swedish superstar Armand Duplantis, who returns to the Olympic Stadium where he famously cleared a world-record 6.28m last season. The reigning Olympic and world champion will once again compete on home soil, with a world-class field assembled to challenge him, including Sam Kendricks, Kurtis Marschall, Sondre Guttormsen and former world-record holder Renaud Lavillenie.
The Stockholm meeting has built a reputation as one of the most atmospheric stops on the Diamond League calendar, and another sell-out crowd is expected to witness a packed program featuring many of the stars who competed in Rome just days earlier.
With the season gathering momentum and athletes already beginning to position themselves for the Diamond League Final later this year, Stockholm promises another crucial chapter in what is shaping up to be an exceptional 2026 campaign.
Head over to www.diamondleague.com/where-to-watch/ to discover where you can watch the action unfold.
