Shanghai/Keqiao 2025: Five things to look out for

The Wanda Diamond League continues with the second of two season-opening Chinese legs this Saturday. Here are five things to look out for when the world’s best athletes descend on Keqiao.

World-beating Warholm

Karsten Warholm delivered an explosive start to the 2025 season in Xiamen last weekend when he clocked a new world best performance of 33.04 in the men’s 300m hurdles. The Norwegian star is back in action in Keqiao, where he will compete in his first 400m hurdles race of the new Diamond League campaign. It might be too much to ask for the Norwegian to attack his own world record of 45.94 this early in the season, but he certainly heads to Keqiao in fine form and will be keen to make it back-to-back wins when he takes on US rival CJ Allen and two-time Diamond League champion Kyron McMaster.

Hall returns to action

Warholm will not be the only man looking to impressive over one lap in Keqiao, as Olympic champion Quincy Hall also returns to action in the men’s 400m flat. Hall’s last Diamond League performance was an impressive victory in Monaco on the eve of the Olympics last July and Keqiao will be his first race since his dramatic gold-medal triumph at the Olympic final in Paris last August. Now undisputably the man to beat, the American goes up against a tough field which includes compatriot Vernon Norwood, four-time Diamond League champion Kirani James and Xiamen winner Bayapo Ndori.

Kitaguchi kicks off

Last season, Haruka Kitaguchi kicked off her Diamond League title defence with a dramatic, last-gasp victory at the second meeting of the season in Suzhou. This year, the Japanese javelin star is back for more of the same as she opens her bid for a third successive title at the same meeting in Keqiao. Unseated as series champion since 2023, Kitaguchi has notched up nine victories in the Diamond League over the past few years. She goes into this season more confident than ever, having claimed her first Olympic gold medal in Paris last summer.

Local stars in action

In an interview with diamondleague.com last month, Ukrainian high jump star Yaroslava Mahuchikh said that Chinese fans were among the best in the world when it came to supporting athletes. The supporters in Keqiao will certainly have plenty to cheer about on Saturday, with a whole host of local stars in action across a range of disciplines. To name but a few: Qianqian Dai takes on Kitaguchi in the women’s javelin, Zhenye Xie will be up against the likes of Letsile Tebogo, Christian Coleman and Akani Simbine in the men’s 100m and Yanni Wu is part of a stacked field in the women’s 100m hurdles.

Hard hitters in the hurdles

That 100m hurdles race will be the headline event in Keqiao, and for good reason. As always in the Diamond League, this is a competition which unites the very best of the sprint hurdles, with two-time world champion Danielle Williams, world record holder Tobi Amusan, world indoor champion Devynne Charlton and 2016 Olympic silver medallist Nia Ali all joining Wu in the starting blocks. Williams may be favourite after her impressive win in Xiamen last week, but it would take a brave person to call a race as competitive and close as this.