Reigning Olympic champions Yaroslava Mahuchikh, Haruka Kitaguchi and Valarie Allman are among the star names set to headline the women’s events at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Shanghai/Keqiao on Saturday (May 3).
High Jump
Mahuchikh enjoyed a dream year in 2024, becoming the European and Olympic champion in the high jump and the Ukrainian was also in unbeatable form in the Wanda Diamond League, winning all five meetings she contested, breaking the world record with 2.10m in Paris and also taking victory at the final in Brussels.
She got her 2025 outdoor season off to a strong start in Xiamen last weekend, clearing 1.97m to take victory. She again faces a world-class field in Shanghai/Keqiao, including the Olympic silver medallist and reigning world indoor champion, Nicola Olyslagers of Australia. The field includes two other women who have surpassed two metres in their careers: Eleanor Patterson and Yulia Levchenko.
Javelin
Kitaguchi, the reigning world and Olympic champion, is the star name in the women’s javelin, the 27-year-old competing in her first competition since taking victory in the Wanda Diamond League final in Brussels last September, where she threw a season’s best of 66.13m.
However, she will have to be near her best to take victory, facing the in-form Elina Tzengko, the Greek thrower who won last weekend in Xiamen with a 64.75m effort. South Africa’s Jo-Ane van Dyk, the Olympic silver medallist in Paris, is also one to watch, along with Victoria Hudson of Austria, the reigning European champion, and USA’s Maggie Malone-Hardin, who threw 65.00m last year.
However, the home crowd will be firmly behind a rising star of the javelin, Yan Ziyi of China, the reigning world U20 champion who smashed the world U20 record in March with a whopping 64.83m. This will be the 16-year-old’s debut in the Wanda Diamond League.
Discus
In the women’s discus, a non-Diamond League event, Allman will look to continue her winning streak and the two-time Olympic champion is in outstanding form, throwing a North American record of 73.52m earlier this month and winning last weekend in Xiamen with 68.95m.
Yaime Perez, the 2019 world champion, threw 66.26m to finish second in Xiamen and she will look to go one better this weekend, while 2023 world champion Laulauga Tausaga is also in the field along with Jorinde van Klinken and two-time Olympic champion Sandra Elkasevic.
Shot Put
Jessica Schilder will hope to continue winning ways in the women’s shot put, the Dutch athlete throwing a world-leading 20.47m to take victory in Xiamen last weekend. Two-time world champion Chase Jackson was second to her there with a best of 20.31m, while Canada’s Sarah Mitton, the reigning world indoor champion, should also feature. The field includes three other women who have surpassed 20 metres: Maggie Ewen, Jaida Ross and Song Jiayuan.
100m Hurdles
On the track, the women’s 100m hurdles looks set to be another close race with Jamaica’s Danielle Williams, a two-time world champion, arriving after an impressive win in Xiamen where she clocked 12.53. Reigning world indoor champion Devynne Charlton is also in the field along with world record holder and 2022 world champion Tobi Amusan of Nigeria, while Poland’s Pia Skrzyszowska and US trio Nia Ali, Tonea Marshall and Grace Stark are also in the line-up, along with South Africa’s Marione Fourie and China’s Wu Yanni.
200m
The women’s 200m is loaded with quality, with US athlete Anavia Battle coming into the race in superb form after a sub-11 second clocking for 100m earlier this month and a victory over 200m in Xiamen last weekend in 22.41. She is joined by US compatriots Jenna Prandini and Twanisha Terry. Britain’s Amy Hunt, Ireland’s Rhasidat Adeleke and Jessika Gbai of Ivory Coast should also feature strongly, while recent world indoor medallist over 400m, Henriette Jaeger, will step down in distance.
800m
The women’s 800m looks like an open race and recent world indoor silver medallist Nigist Getachew should feature strongly, along with her fellow Ethiopian Tsige Duguma, the 2024 world indoor champion. Former world champion Halimah Nakaayi is also in the field, along with Jamaica’s Natoya Goule-Toppin and USA’s Sage Hurta-Klecker.