Reigning Diamond League high jump champion Hamish Kerr will kick off his title defence at the opening meeting of the season in Doha on May 8.
New Zealand star Kerr has dominated the men’s high jump in recent years, winning gold medals at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the Tokyo 2025 World Athletics Championships.
He also claimed his first ever Diamond Trophy last season, picking up victories in Rabat, Silesia and Zurich in one of the most fiercely contested title races of 2025.
The 29-year-old, who has a personal best of 2.36m, will be hoping to bounce back after finishing second in Doha last season.
“The Doha crowd support was amazing last year and while I was happy enough with my result, I obviously wanted more from a performance perspective,” said Kerr, who is currently preparing for the New Zealand Championships and a tilt at his tenth national title.
“It’s still early in the season so my training will be pretty heavy, but it’s about building momentum and confidence. I’ve always said you can chase easy or you can chase growth, and taking risks – even when it’s early season and it feels a bit scary – can be where you learn the most.”
“That all said, nothing beats the feeling of jumping high and I hope I can give the crowd something to really cheer about this time around.”
Kerr is the second major star announced for the Mazzraty Doha Meeting in 2026, after pole vault world record holder Mondo Duplantis confirmed his attendance earlier last month.
Doha is the first leg of the 2026 Wanda Diamond League, which will cross four continents and 15 cities en route to the two-day series final in Brussels on September 4-5.
