The world’s best athletes will do battle in a sold-out, 60,000-capacity London Stadium this weekend as the Wanda Diamond League touches down in London for the 11th leg of the 2025 season. Here are five things to look out for at the last meeting before the mid-season break.
Lyles launches 100m bid
Noah Lyles got his Diamond League campaign off to a winning start in Monaco last weekend, beating fellow Olympic champion and major rival Letsile Tebogo in the 200m with an impressive 19.88. The American superstar will be out to make it back-to-back wins as he kickstarts his 100m campaign in London. Lyles has fond memories of the British capital, having won here in both the last two seasons, yet he will once again have to dig deep against a world-class field this time around. Tebogo will be out for revenge after his defeat in Monaco, Akani Simbine has been in formidable form this year and Zharnel Hughes will have the home crowd behind him. Oblique Seville, meanwhile, knows what it takes to beat Lyles, having done just that in Jamaica last year.
Hassan returns to the stage
Diamond League appearances from Sifan Hassan have been a rare delicacy in recent years, as the Dutch distance legend has switched her focus from track to road. Yet the three-time Diamond League champion returns to the rubber in London, lining up in the women’s mile against a fabulous field which includes, among others, Australia’s 2000m world record holder Jess Hull. Hassan will be chasing a first Diamond League win since 2022 and hoping to improve on her last performance at the London meeting, which saw her finish third in the 5000m back in 2023.
Mahuchikh in need of a boost
Yaroslava Mahuchikh’s Diamond League title defence got off to a flying start in the spring, as the Ukrainian notched up two early victories at the opening meetings of the season in Xiamen and Keqiao, clearing 2.00m. Yet as she herself noted earlier this year, competition in the Diamond League is relentless, and June saw a turn in Mahuchikh’s fortunes as she suffered back-to-back defeats to Australian rival Nicola Olyslagers in Stockholm and Paris. Having already qualified for the series final, Mahuchikh is under no pressure in terms of her title defence, but the Olympic champion will still be desperate to return to winning ways when she lines up in London this Saturday.
Bol eyeing qualification
While Mahuchikh has already booked her ticket to Zurich, other big names are still yet to qualify for the Wanda Diamond League Final and will be hoping that they can make the decisive step in London this weekend. One of those is Femke Bol, who has now racked up three successive wins in the 400m hurdles and extended her five-year Diamond League winning streak to 28 competitions. With 24 points already, Bol is all but guaranteed a place in the final, but she will be out to deliver another statement victory on a track where she has traditionally done well. The four-time Diamond Trophy winner clocked a world lead of 51.95 in Monaco last weekend and may well be setting her sights on the Diamond League record of 51.30 she set in London last season.
British clash in the 800m
Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson may be out injured, but women’s 800m will still be a highlight for the huge home crowd in London, as three British stars go head to head in Hodgkinson’s absence. Georgia Hunter Bell will be favourite after she claimed her first ever Diamond League win in Stockholm last month, but two-time Diamond League winner Laura Muir and her fellow Scot Jemma Reekie will also both be hoping to deliver for the British fans. It won’t be the only high-profile British clash on the track, meanwhile, as Olympic silver medallist Matthew Hudson-Smith and reigning Diamond League champion Charlie Dobson go head to head in the men’s 400m.
