
Azu, Duplantis, Kipyegon in action at Diamond League opener
Who to watch out for in Xiamen
After winning the first global title of his career with world indoor 60m gold in March, Great Britain's Jeremiah Azu begins his push for outdoor success.The 23-year-old will have Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo, American Christian Coleman and South Africa's Akani Simbine for company in a stacked race.Swedish pole vault star Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis competes in the men's pole vault after breaking the men's world record for an 11th time in February.In Xiamen one year ago, Duplantis posted the earliest world record in a Diamond League season before going on to win a fourth trophy.Having announced this week that in June she will attempt to become the first woman to run a sub-four minute mile, three-time Olympic 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon will contest the women's 1,000m in Xiamen.The Kenyan, whose personal best is just 0.17 seconds slower than the world record of two minutes and 28.98 seconds, is joined in that race by Olympic 800m silver medallist Tsige Duguma and GB's Erin Wallace.Elsewhere, Britain's Amy Hunt lines up in the women's 200m against Jamaica's two-time world champion in the event Shericka Jackson, while Morgan Lake competes against Ukraine's Olympic high jump champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh.The inaugural Diamond League men's 300m hurdles features the event's world record holder Karsten Warholm, while four-time global champion Grant Holloway goes in the men's 110m hurdles.
Key Diamond League timings
10:15 BST - Women's high jump featuring GB's Morgan Lake and Olympic champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh10:35 BST - Men's pole vault featuring world record holder Mondo Duplantis11:40 BST - Men's 110m hurdles featuring Olympic champion Grant Holloway11:50 BST - Women's 200m featuring GB's Amy Hunt and Jamaica's two-time world champion Shericka Jackson 12:01 BST - Men's 100m featuring GB's Jeremiah Azu and Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo12:10 BST - Women's 1,000m featuring three-time Olympic gold medallist Faith Kipyegon and GB's Erin Wallace12:52 BST - Men's 300m hurdles featuring Norway's world record holder Karsten Warholm
How does the Diamond League work?
Athletes will compete for points at the 14 regular series meetings from April to August. Points are awarded on a scale from eight for first place to one for eighth place. After the 14th meeting in Brussels, the top six ranked athletes in the field events, the top eight in track events from 100m up to 800m, and the top 10 in the distances from 1500m upwards qualify for the final. The two-day finals are a winner-takes-all competition to be crowned Diamond League champion in each event.
Diamond League calendar 2025
26 April - Xiamen, China03 May - Keqiao, China16 May - Doha, Qatar25 May - Rabat, Morocco06 June - Rome, Italy12 June - Oslo, Norway15 June -Stockholm, Sweden20 June - Paris, France05 July - Eugene, USA11 July - Monaco19 July - London, England16 August - Silesia, Poland20 August - Lausanne, Switzerland22 August - Brussels, Belgium27-28 August - Zurich, Switzerland
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Times
2 hours ago
- Times
No plans for Gary Lineker to present ITV's World Cup coverage
Gary Lineker is not in ITV's plans to present next year's men's World Cup even if he joins the broadcaster to host a Saturday evening game show. It is understood that ITV Sport's plans to cover the tournament are already well advanced — and those plans do not include Lineker being a part of them. Lineker, 64, had been due to present the World Cup for the BBC but he left there in May after his last Match of the Day appearance following a controversy about a social media post. It would mean a big expense for ITV Sport — and a risk of potentially putting other presenters' noses out of joint if they are expecting to front the tournament's coverage — to change its plans and hire the former England striker. Lineker outside his house in London AFP In fact sources said a report in The Sun of Lineker being taken on to present a prime-time light entertainment show for ITV came as a surprise to those in its sports department. His deal to stay at the BBC to lead next year's coverage of the 2026 World Cup was scrapped after he shared an Instagram post about Zionism that included an illustration of a rat. He subsequently deleted the post and apologised saying he had not noticed the rat emoji. The Times revealed that there was no financial settlement for Lineker, who was paid between £1,350,000 and £1,354,999 in 2023/24, according to figures released by the BBC, and was their highest-paid presenter. There is little chance that beIN Sports, the Qatari broadcaster, will make an offer to Lineker to present their World Cup coverage either but he could be involved in the tournament through his successful podcast The Rest Is Football. Lineker has said he turned his focus to his podcast empire PA He secured a deal to cover this summer's new Club World Cup tournament — which included the right to show clips on the podcast's YouTube channel — and that may stand him in good stead with Fifa for next year's national teams' competition being hosted by the USA, Mexico and Canada. Lineker has previously stated he intended to draw a line under his career as a TV football presenter and would 'focus more on my podcast empire'. The latest accounts of his Goalhanger Podcasts company show it made a £1.4million profit last year.


The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Olympic hero, 48, following in footsteps of Eugenie Bouchard by taking up new sport – 21 years after becoming GB icon
TEAM GB heroine Gail Emms embarks on a new sporting challenge this weekend – and she is hoping that one day it will lead her to Andre Agassi. Emms – winner of Olympic silver in badminton at the Athens 2004 Games – is following Canada's former Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard into the emerging sport of pickleball. 4 4 The Milton Keynes star, a mum of two boys, will take part in the mixed doubles competition, in the over-35s category, on Sunday at the English Open in Telford. More than 2,300 players are involved in the five-day event, organised by Pickleball England, making this the largest Pickleball tournament outside of the United States. In England, there are over 800 venues and more than 50,000 people play the sport. Bouchard, 31, quit tennis last week, following her exit from the National Bank Open in her hometown of Montreal, and will now pursue a different type of racquet sport. Awareness globally has improved since eight-time tennis champion Agassi, 55, picked up a pickleball bat and competed professionally at the US Open Championships in April in Florida. Emms first witnessed the sport at her local David Lloyd leisure centre and her curiosity took over – once she had a go herself, she was hooked. The transition has been 'exhilarating' and with 'no prior singles training' she finished fourth in the 4.0 category at the English National Pickleball Championships in May. Emma, 48, told SunSport: 'This is the closest sport I've found to badminton. For one, it's the size of a badminton court, the same dimensions. 'Tennis has a bigger court. Padel has a cage. In pickleball, it's a lighter bat, lighter ball. 'I didn't want to play Masters badminton or anything like that. I couldn't be arsed. There was nothing appealing about it. 'I put badminton in the cupboard and was at peace with it. But then pickleball came along and I'm obsessed with it now. It suits me. This sport is addictive. 4 'I'm diving around the court. It's so funny. I'm seriously just flinging myself everywhere. 'I've got a new mixed doubles partner. We talk tactics and send each other videos. It's hilarious. 'You think you're at peace with professional sport. You have parked it. But then you can't change your personality. It's like finding a new flame. 'Victoria Pendleton, a cyclist, became a jockey, Chris Hoy went into motorracing. 'I'm loving life. I play tournaments and I'm so nervous. I think: 'Oh my god. What am I doing to myself?' It's literally the dream: If I'm on court playing Andre Agassi in pickleball, I might retire then and there! Gail Emms 'Fifty is the golden age. I've got two years and then I can go into the 50-plus age group. 'If I'm going to keep doing it, I want to make sure I'm fit, strong and able to play against the pros. 'I want to play Andre Agassi basically – that's the aim. He does play over-50s. 4 'That's literally the dream. If I'm on court playing Andre Agassi in pickleball, I might retire then and there! 'Him and Steffi (Graf) have just transitioned and he played at the US Open in mixed doubles. 'Eugenie Bouchard has gone to pickleball. Her brand wants to sponsor me. I haven't spoken to her directly, it was through an agent in the US. 'Pickleball has got a lot of tennis players going there. I've seen it take off in South Korea and China as well. Here we go again!' Twenty-one summers ago, Emms reached the final of the Olympics mixed doubles with Englishman Nathan Robertson but were denied gold in the Greek capital by Chinese duo Zhang Jun and Gao Ling. She is in the late stages of writing an autobiography and is keen to push awareness at government level of the England women's team that competed at the unofficially 1971 World Cup finals in Mexico.


Scottish Sun
4 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
‘Provided I know I am on my deathbed' – Brit legend Jonathan Edwards hopes world record lasts until the day he dies
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) JONATHAN EDWARDS hopes his triple jump world record remains his until the day he dies. Thirty years ago today, the Brit hopped, skipped and jumped his way to gold at the 1995 World Athletics Championships in Gothenburg. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 Jonathan Edwards made triple jump history thirty years ago Credit: REUTERS 5 Edwards set a new world record at the 1995 World Athletics Championships in Gothenburg Credit: REUTERS 5 Edwards shattered the previous world record with an astonishing 18.29 metres leap Credit: Rex 5 Edwards hopes his record will stand until teh day he dies Credit: PA His unprecedented mark of 18.29 metres – or 60 feet – was the best ever in history, smashing the previous best of 17.97 metres set by American Willie Banks in June 1985. It is one of the longest-standing world records in track and field for both male and female competitions. It is a moment that has withstood the test of time, proving untouchable at the next eight summer Olympics and 14 world championships. Bermudan Brian Wellman could only muster 17.62 metres as he finished second, coming 67 centimetres behind. Prior to his incredible jump, which was his second attempt of the 12-man final, he had actually gone 18.16 metres with the first, which was a world record in itself. Edwards, now 59, is the only British athlete to hold a world record in an Olympic-distance event and it is unlikely that anyone is going to surpass him any time soon. Speaking on an episode of PUMA's Go Wild podcast series, the London-born, Devon-raised ace – who became Olympic champion in Sydney 2000 – hopes the record lasts for a long, long time. Asked by former hurdling world-record holder Colin Jackson how he would feel if someone else went further, Edwards said: 'I'd be upset, for sure. SUN VEGAS WELCOME OFFER: GET £50 BONUS WHEN YOU JOIN 5 Jonathan Edwards' historic triple jump saw him win the 1995 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award Credit: REUTERS 'I mean, it's been so long. It's almost part of me. Athletics, in essence, is about the demonstration of human capability. And, of course, your own capability. 'The excitement of breaking a personal best is always the biggest excitement. Noah Lyles sends clear message to sprint rival Kenny Bednarek after being shoved during fiery 200m race 'And when that personal best is the best there has ever been, it's a remarkable thing. It's a mindblowing thing. 'So, for that to go and not to be the world-record holder, but I don't think that will be easy. "I'd hoped it would get to 30 years. 'It's more than I could ever hope to achieve in sport. 'I'll be fine, I'll be fine, but yeah, it will be a sad day. I mean it would be pretty cool to be on my deathbed and still be a world-record holder. 'I'll take that. Provided I know I am on my deathbed. Just a thought, to die as world-record holder would be pretty cool.' Edwards, who describes himself as a 'late developer', famously declared 'he would never jump on a Sunday' due to his religious beliefs – though he later 'lost my faith'. He might have the world record yet the triple jump record at his secondary school is 'held by a guy called Stephen Ojomoh who went on to play rugby for England, he was like 6ft 3in when he was 13 or 14'. Jonathan Edwards In his career, he won Olympic, world, European and Commonwealth titles outdoors -- a tremendous feat. On his physical appearance as an athlete – he was nicknamed Titch for being small and slight – he said: 'There was nothing remarkable about me. 'I remember a newspaper article once. One of the journalists described me as looking more like a geography teacher than a triple jumper. 'So, there's nothing about me physically which would make you think that I was going to be a world-record holder. 'And I think all of my competitors looked at me and thought: 'God, if Edwards can do it, surely we can do it, because what's special about him?' 'When people say to me, what was it that made you so good at triple jumping? I say: 'Well, I wasn't a jumper. I was a sprinter. And I could bounce.' 'I could maintain my speed on the contacts. So my final jump in the world record was seven metres. 'So, my ability was perhaps different from everybody else's and I think that's probably why it hasn't been broken.'