Valarie Sion will launch her campaign for a record-equalling sixth Diamond League title in the women’s discus at the second meeting of the season in Xiamen on May 23.
Sion (previously Allman) completed a perfect Diamond League season in 2025, winning every single competition in the women’s discus en route to her fifth straight Diamond Trophy.
She returns to Diamond League action in 2026 hoping to make history.
A sixth title would see Sion draw level with fellow discus thrower Sandra Elkasevic, New Zealand shot put legend Valerie Adams and Colombian triple jump star Caterine Ibargüen, becoming the joint-most successful female athlete in Diamond League history.
The 31-year-old faces a tough test in Xiamen, as she goes up against an array of global medallists.
Dutch thrower Jorinde Van Klinken won silver behind Sion at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo last year and also beat her at the Diamond League meeting in Oslo in 2023.
The USA’s Laulauga Tausaga was world champion in 2023, beating Sion to gold in a dramatic competition in Budapest.
China’s Feng Bin is also a former world champion, having won gold at the 2022 Championships in Eugene.
She will be joined by fellow home favourite Wang Fang, who won silver at the Asian Championships in 2023.
Xiamen is the second leg of the 2026 Wanda Diamond League, which begins in Shanghai/Keqiao on May 16 and ends at the two-day series final in Brussels on September 4-5.
The series unites the biggest names in track and field in some of the world’s most iconic arenas, crossing four continents and 15 cities over the course of the season.
