TOP ATHLETES READY TO SHINE

A showcase of Olympic champions and a feast of athletic wonders — the world's premier track and field series is serving up a star-studded doubleheader in China to kick off its 2025 season.

Very rarely do fans get to see as many as 19 Olympic gold medalists — including 10 world record holders — pushing their limits in some of the most exciting track and field disciplines on one night, not to mention enjoying such a show twice within a week.

The first and second legs of the 2025 Diamond League, to be held one week apart in Xiamen, Fujian province, on Saturday and Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, on May 3, promise to be an intense display of sheer athleticism, with China's own elite runners, jumpers and throwers primed to challenge their celebrated international counterparts on home soil.

Leading the glittering international cast will be Sweden's two-time pole vault Olympic champion Armand "Mondo" Duplantis, reigning men's 110m hurdles Olympic champion Grant Holloway of the United States and women's high jump world record-holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh of Ukraine.

A high-profile overseas star among Chinese fans, Duplantis will revisit Xiamen's Egret Stadium, a venue soaked in sweet memories from last year's event, when he cleared 6.24 meters to set a then world record. That put him on track to win gold at Paris 2024, before setting a new world mark of 6.27m in Clermont-Ferrand, France on Feb 28.

"Xiamen is a special place for me," said the 25-year-old, who just extended his triumphant record in China by winning his third world indoor title in Nanjing last month. "It's where last season started on such a high note, and I'm looking forward to competing there again."

Duplantis' fellow Olympic champion Holloway, however, will return to the eastern Chinese city with a different mindset, raring to settle some unfinished business by leaping to gold in Xiamen after finishing third in his previous appearance at the venue in 2023.

"I'm thrilled to be back in Xiamen. This year, I'm ready to show what I'm truly capable of," said Holloway, who dominated the 2024 league circuit with four wins in Eugene in the United States, Monaco, Silesia in Poland and Zurich, Switzerland.

The league's new reward policy, to be adopted from Xiamen, will offer an elevated prize of $20,000 for each winner in four selected Diamond+ disciplines at each series meet, and up to $50,000 at the season finale in Zurich in July — which is twice the amount awarded for a regular discipline win.

Xiamen's decision to highlight the men's pole vault, 110m hurdles and women's 5,000m and high jump as its Diamond+ events has given the likes of Duplantis, Holloway and Mahuchikh some extra incentives to push harder at the beginning of the season.

A total of 14 disciplines, seven each for men and women, will be competed in Xiamen, while the second leg in Shaoxing will see heated action in eight men's and six women's disciplines.

Competing at home, with rousing local support, China's best will be hoping to get the season off to a winning start with some podium finishes in Xiamen, while evaluating their strengths and weaknesses against the world's finest in the lead-up to the big series finale in Zurich and September's Tokyo world championships.

An ambitious contingent of 16 Chinese athletes, led by men's 200m Asian record-holder Xie Zhenye, women's two-time shot put world champion Gong Lijiao and Paris 2024 women's discus silver medalist Feng Bin, will try to steal the show in Xiamen and Shaoxing.

As the meet's defending champion in Xiamen, veteran Gong, a three-time league final winner, will meet fierce competition from world No 1 Chase Jackson of the US at the Egret Stadium, where her compatriot Feng, discus winner at the 2022 worlds in Eugene, will seek revenge against her American archrival Valarie Allman, who edged her out to win gold in the Olympic final in Paris last summer.

On the track, Xie will continue to push his limits by attempting a demanding 100m and 200m sprint double over the course of the series, with his first test quickly approaching in Xiamen.

Xiamen's reigning 100m winner Christian Coleman of the US and defending 200m Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo of Botswana are expected to bring out Xie's best early in the season.

The 31-year-old Xie, who was part of China's silver-winning 4x100m relay team at the Beijing worlds 10 years ago, remains committed to achieving every extra margin of improvement, however small, having experienced quite a few ups and downs.

"I feel that I still haven't been able to deliver my very best at the highest-profile international events. This keeps me motivated and eager to prove myself," said Xie, who hails from Shaoxing, host of the second leg.

"I will try to race in both 100m and 200m this season, and will see how far I can go leading up to the world championships and the National Games, which are my top priorities and biggest goals this season," said Xie, who sprinted to an Asian record of 19.88 seconds at a London meet in July 2019.

Other notable Chinese contenders who have qualified for the Xiamen opener are men's Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medalist triple jumper Zhu Yaming, women's star 100m hurdler Wu Yanni and Paris 2024 women's shot put bronze medalist Song Jiayuan.