The Wanda Diamond League season entered its decisive final stage when the series returned from its mid-season break in August, with two more world records falling on the final legs of the Road to the Final.
The sport’s biggest stars returned to action on a chilly night in Lausanne before a flood of records in Silesia and a night in Zurich that rewrote the athletics history books.
Lausanne: Werro, Yavi and Russell shine in the cold
After the sweltering heat of mid-season, the stars of the Diamond League had chance to cool off as the series resumed in Lausanne on August 21.
The meeting began under bright sunshine on the shores of Lake Geneva, with both Mondo Duplantis and Manolo Karalis clearing 6.16m in one of the greatest pole vault competitions in history.
The temperatures dropped for the main event the following night, but the chilly conditions did nothing to dampen the atmosphere in the Stade de la Pontaise.
Fresh from her remarkable fightback at the European Championships in Birmingham, Audrey Werro electrified the home crowd with a meeting record of 1:55.33 in the women’s 800m.
It was one of three meeting records to fall in Lausanne, with Winfred Yavi and Masai Russell delivering the other two.
Yavi clocked 9:00.04 to win the women’s 3000m steeplechase, while Russell notched up her fifth meeting record in five Diamond League appearances with 12.27 in the women’s 100m hurdles.
Other highlights included a brief, winning return to the 400m hurdles for Rai Benjamin after his switch to the 400m flat and a first Diamond League 800m win of the season for Emmanuel Wanyonyi.
Silesia: Flood of meeting records
No fewer than eight athletes set meeting records at the next leg of the Road to the Final in Silesia.
Rising US long jump star Alyssa Jones got the ball rolling at the city event, snatching a dramatic late win with 6.98m on only her second Diamond League appearance and her first outside the US.
The city event also saw drama in the men’s high jump, where Gianmarco Tamberi clinched last-ditch qualification for the Diamond League Final with 2.31m.
The meeting records continued to tumble in the Slaski Stadion the following day, with Collen Kebinatshipi (400m), Masai Russell (100m hurdles) and rising Ethiopian star Gemechu Godana (3000m steeplechase) among the outstanding performers.
The biggest fireworks came in the men’s discus, however, as Mykolas Alekna obliterated his own Diamond League record with a huge 72.58m.
It was almost a full metre beyond his previous record and the furthest throw outside of Ramona, Oklahoma in twenty years.
Zurich: Russell and Dos Santos break world records
As the last chance for athletes to qualify for the final, Zurich was always going to deliver fireworks.
It turned out to be the most explosive night of the entire Diamond League season with two world records in the space of 40 minutes.
At around 20:42 local time, Alison Dos Santos sent shockwaves around the world when he clocked 45.80 in the men’s 400m hurdles, beating rival Karsten Warholm for the third time in 2026 and snatching Warholm’s world record in the process.
At 21:19, it was Masai Russell finally completed her season-long quest to break the world record, clocking 12.09 to become the fastest woman in history in the 100m hurdles.
It was the fifth time that two world records have fallen at the same Diamond League meeting and the first in which the reigning world record holder was on the startlist in both races.
A third world record almost fell in the women’s 800m, with Audrey Werro falling less than half a second short with 1:53.70.
