Great crowd and great opening match in Shanghai / Keqiao. The venue was the China Textile City Sports Center and the crowd was captivated by the sixteen events that delivered some fantastic performances.
The opening match of 2026 was supposed to be in Doha, Qatar, but due to the conflict in Iran, it was postponed until June 19.
Shanghai/Keqiao provided a great opening for the 2026 Diamond League. Here are our top five moments from the first match of the 2026 Diamond League.
- Masay Russell, the Olympic champion is on fire. He held off Devin Charlton at the final hurdle to win in 12.25. Toby Amusan, The world record holder battled not only the steeplechase runners, but also the tough travel route, finishing 4th in 12.41 minutes.
Masai Russell wins the 100m hurdles at 12.25pm in Shanghai, photo by Liam Blackwell for Diamond League AG. - Jessica Painter He is the champion of the 2025 European Championship from Apeldoorn. Chase Jackson and: Sarah Mitton both had gone over 20 meters. In the fifth round, the Dutch athlete threw 21.09 meters, the first time since 2012 that a woman has thrown more than 21 meters. This was the most significant performance of the Shanghai Diamond League match. Jessica Schilder had achieved her goal of a new PB. Jessica set a new PB outdoors and actually set a new Dutch NR with her brilliant 21.09m.
Jessica Schilder 21.09 meters DLR/WL, seven world leaders in Shanghai/Qeqiao - The 100 meters is so popular because fans love to watch athletes run fast and finish close. The 100 meters was awfully close, five people in a split second. Kenny Bednarek, Letsile Tebogo and Ferdinand Omanyala were to be considered the big stars of the race. The problem was, no one said Gift Leotlela what the script should have been. Leotlela took the win from Ferdinand Omanyala, who ran 9.98, and Kenny Bednarek, who also ran 9.98. Gift Leotlela just won with her 9.97. The smile on Gift Leotlela’s face told the story. The South African had a very satisfying win.
Gift Leotlela, photo courtesy of World Athletics - Five thousand meters is 12.5 laps on a 400 meter track. Faith Kipyegon ran 14 minutes for 5000 meters. Shanghai’s heat and humidity ruled out a world record attempt, and the tough pace kept several runners in contention. 4-time world champion Faith Kipyego, five thousand meters won by a scant seven hundredths of a second over Ethiopia’s Likina Amebau. Faith Kipyegon has started her season in earnest.
Faith Kipyegon, Breaking 4, photo by NIKE - Blocking has a 35 chance to fail. 28 obstacles and seven water jumps force the athlete to concentrate. Perut Chemutai, the Olympic champion showed a dangerous level of confidence in this very fast race. Faith Cherotich knows only one way to race. A grueling car almost beat Faith to the finish as Perut Chemutai started the celebration, shall we say, early. Perut Chemutai 8:51.47 held off Faith Cherotic’s 8:51.48; Peruth had won by hundredths of a second, this was not the 100 meters, but the sprint. Please, athletes, keep celebrating after the race is over.
Perut Cemutai holds off Faith Cherotic to 0.01 in the Seeplechase. Keqiao, photo by Liam Blackwell for Diamond League AG - Shanghai vs Keqiao Diamond League Full Match Results May 16, 2026 https://www.runblogrun.com/2026/05/wanda-diamond-league-china-textile-city-sports-center-shaoxing-keqiao-chn-16-may-2026.html
- Full replay of Shanghai/Keqiao 2026 by FloTrack. https://www.runblogrun.com/2026/05/2026-shanghai-keqiao-diamond-league-replay-from-may-16-2026.html
- Summary, Event by Event of the 2026 Shanghai/Keqiao match, by EME News. https://www.runblogrun.com/2026/05/jessica-schilder-21-09-dlr-wl-seven-world-leads-in-shanghai-kequiao.html
