Diamond League season is officially underway. And with that comes not only a whole host of new personal bests and national records, but also more performances than I could possibly fit in this run through. But being spoiled for choice doesn’t spoil the fun, and the Shanghai Diamond League delivered on both counts.
1. Tsige Duguma makes a very fast 1500m debut
I’m not sure enough people are talking about Tsige Duguma. The words, ‘win’, ‘meeting record’ or ‘national record’ don’t come attached to her result but that doesn’t make it any less impressive. The 800m Olympic silver medallist made her 1500m debut at the Shanghai Diamond League, and by the looks of it, Saturday’s race is only the beginning of something very exciting.
Tsige Duguma raced the 1500m indoors for the first time this February, finishing 5th in 4:03.96. This weekend, she ran her first 1500m outdoors, and took 8 seconds off that mark to come second in 3:55.71. A debut that places Tsige Duguma at 31st on the all-time list, and makes breaking the 4-minute barrier seem as casual as ever. But it wasn’t just about the time. Tsige Duguma was only 0.15 seconds behind winner Birke Haylom, and togther they beat the likes of Olympic silver medallist Jessica Hull and world championship silver medallist Dorcus Ewoi.
To have the speed, and the tactics, to very nearly dominate your first ever 1500m race, is not something to be taken lightly. Those two elements don’t often go hand-in-hand, but it looks like Tsige Duguma has them wrapped around her finger.
2. Yemi Mary John sets a 400m European lead
There are two very different 400m stories to tell this week. One involves a rising star, and the other involves not a falling one, but maybe slightly faltering.
Last year, Salwa Eid Naser opened her season in 48.94, and as opposed to people’s initial reaction, did finish with an overall improvement, running 48.19 to win bronze at the Tokyo World Championships. This year, at the Shanghai Diamond League, she opened with 51.56 to finish 7th. Quite the difference. Salwa Eid Naser is known for going out hard. It’s why she came third at the 2025 World championships, and it’s likely why she hasn’t won gold since 2019 in Doha. Running 48s over 400m isn’t slow, far from it, but even at that pace any slight fading can cost you.
Going out hard is also why Salwa Eid Naser came 7th, and not 1st as maybe she should have come based on personal bests, in Saturday’s Diamond League race. The only difference this time was that she wasn’t in 48 second form that day, and the fading started long before the last 50m. Should we be worried? Probably not. It’s interesting, yes, and unexpected, too, but it’s still early season. Salwa Eid Naser has plenty of time for faster times.
Although it’s ironic that I should end it on that note because someone isn’t wasting any time in running fast is Great Britain’s Yemi Mary John. The 23 year old went sub-50 for the first time in her career to win the women’s 400m at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix, placing her at 7th on the UK all-time list and 1st on the European rankings for 2026. Could the World U20 and European U23 champion claim her first senior title this year?
3. Mohamed Abdilaahi shocks in the 3000m
One race, 5 national records. One man, 6 national records. Mohamed Abdilaahi claimed his latest German record at the Shanghai Diamond League, winning the men’s 3000m in 7:25.77, 5 seconds faster the previous 7:30.50 set by Dieter Baumann in 1998. And a whole 12 seconds faster than Mohamed Abdilaahi’s former personal best which up until Saturday, lay around the 7:37 mark.
In a tight battle in the home straight Abdilaahi managed to fend off World 1500m bronze medallist Reynold Cheruiyot who came through for second, while 5000m European record holder Andreas Almgren also won himself a national record in third. Not a single man in that race finished in anything short of a national record, personal best or season’s best. And Mohamed Abdilaahi himself is yet to finish a race in 2026 without either winning, or running his fastest time ever. Or both in one go. Track distance running might just have earned itself a new star. And just in time for the 2026 European Championships…
4. Faith Kipyegon is back in peak 5000m form
While Mohamed Abdilaahi for most people is a new face on the track distance scene, Faith Kipyegon on the other hand, is an incredibly familiar one. And an incredibly talented one too. She opened her track season over 5000m at the Shanghai Diamond League, and in a finish where all top 4 women were separated by just 1 second, managed to come out on top with a world lead of 14:24.14.
A world lead which also happens to be Faith Kipyegon’s fastest 5000m time since setting her personal best of 14:05.20 at the Paris Diamond League in 2023. The same year she also set the world record in the mile. So naturally, questions were being asked. Could Faith Kipyegon become just the second woman to break 14 minutes on the track in 2026? Could she even better Beatrice Chebet’s world record of 13:58.06? Faith Kipyegon’s answer was that her focus for the season was simply to perform the best she could, but for all we know that could easily be a yes without her even intending it to be.
5. Elhousine Elazzaoui wins his second Zegama-Aizkorri title
From the track, to the mountains. And very muddy mountains at that. But the one thing Elhousine Elazzaoui did have a firm grip on was his Zegama-Aizkorri title. The reigning 2025 champion is now also the 2026 champion, finishing in 3:45:07 with a 20 second margin over Daniel Pattis in second place.
Elhousine Elazzaoui has now become the first man to win two consecutive Zegama titles since Kilian Jornet last did in 2022. Speaking of Kilian Jornet, unfortunately, the conditions did prove too much for some. In his 13th appearance at the mountain marathon, the 11-times champion finished down the field in 43rd and wasn’t able to contend for the title. But with a legacy as powerful as his, Kilian Jornet isn’t going anywhere.
On the women’s side, we not only got a new champion, but, even more surprisingly given the conditions, a new course record too. 2025 winner Sara Alonso finished in third and instead it was Tove Alexandersson who took the win in 4:08:09, 8 minutes faster than the previous best time of 4:16:43.
Next stop: Xiamen
Another week, another Diamond League. If you thought Shanghai was good, that was only the beginning. Xiamen is for the rematches, and the re-breaking of records.
Written by- Rosana Ercilla
