After an explosive start to the season in Shanghai/Keqiao and Xiamen in May, the Road to the Final turned to Africa and Europe in the early summer.
As records continued to tumble in Rabat, Rome and Stockholm, the likes of Audrey Werro and Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage also grabbed wins that would set the tone for the rest of the season.
Rabat: El Bakkali makes it five
The Diamond League meeting in Rabat always delivers one of the most electric atmospheres in athletics, and never more so than when Soufiane El Bakkali lines up in the men’s 3000m steeplechase.
The two-time Olympic and world champion has made a habit of winning on home soil in recent years and 2026 proved to be no exception.
The Moroccan star held off a spirited challenge from reigning Diamond League champion Frederik Ruppert to clock a world lead of 7:57.25 and send the home crowd into raptures once again.
It was his fifth win in a row at the Moroccan leg of the Diamond League and his sixth overall, cementing one of the most impressive home records in series history.
Rabat also saw a string of US athletes break meeting records, with Kenny Bednarek, Jacory Patterson and Yared Nuguse dominating on the track, Joe Kovacs beating Ryan Crouser in the shot put and Valarie Sion extending her winning streak in the discus.
There was also a maiden Diamond League win for Emma Zapletalová, the Slovakian landing the first blow in the battle to succeed Femke Bol as queen of the women’s 400m hurdles.
Rome: Breakthrough for Pathirage
Noah Lyles may have brought the stardust at the first European meeting of the season in Rome, but it was Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage who stole the headlines.
Having become the most successful track athlete in Diamond League history with a sixth title the previous season, Lyles opened his 2026 campaign with a comfortable win in the men’s 100m.
Yet it was Pathirage’s night at the Stadio Olimpico, as the young Sri Lankan javelin thrower made an emphatic arrival on the international stage with his first ever Diamond League victory.
After some eye-catching early-season form, the 23-year-old had flown under the radar with a second-place finish in Rabat a few days before.
In Rome, his javelin flew to a world-leading 92.62m, moving Pathirage to eighth in the all-time list.
Back on the track, meanwhile, Julien Alfred grabbed a statement victory over world champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden in the women’s 200m.
Alfred clocked 21.93, ending Jefferson-Wooden’s 13-month unbeaten streak and setting the stage for another chapter of their epic rivalry in 2026.
Stockholm: Werro wows the world
If the season was already firing on all cylinders after China, Rabat and Rome, it reached another gear in Stockholm.
The 2026 edition of the storied BAUHAUS-Galan proved to be one for the ages, with a major shock in the men’s pole vault and a groundbreaking win in the women’s 800m.
A year on from breaking the world record on home soil for the first time, Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis arrived in Stockholm with expectations running high.
Yet just a week out from his wedding, the Olympic and world champion looked out of sorts in Stockholm and ultimately failed to jump higher than 5.80m.
That meant a first defeat in three years for the world record holder, and an emotional first Diamond League win for his Australian rival Kurtis Marschall.
Even Duplantis’ shock defeat was overshadowed later on, however, as Audrey Werro claimed a stunning victory over two laps.
The Swiss star set a new Diamond League record with 1:53.98, becoming the third-fastest woman in history and overtaking British rival Keely Hodgkinson in the race to break the world record.
It was a win which marked a new era in the women’s 800m, and it proved to be only the beginning for Werro in 2026…
