Three-time Olympic champion Ryan Crouser will take on a stellar field in the men’s shot put at the 2026 Wanda Diamond League meeting in Xiamen on May 23.
The world record holder will square off with a slew of global medallists, including two-time world champion Joe Kovacs and 2017 world champion Tom Walsh, the New Zealander who recently won his fourth world indoor title.
Crouser faced a difficult year in 2025, battling an elbow injury that led to him only opening his season at the Tokyo World Championships in September, where he again showed his greatness by launching 22.34m to win his third consecutive world outdoor title.
The 33-year-old holds the four longest throws in history, led by his world record of 23.56m, and in Xiamen he will be looking for a victorious return to the Wanda Diamond League stage, having been runner-up in his last outing at the 2024 final in Brussels.
But Crouser will face a stiff challenge from two longtime rivals in Walsh and Kovacs. Walsh threw 21.82m to win the world indoor title in Poland last month and the 34-year-old has a best of 22.90m, which he threw to win bronze behind Kovacs and Crouser in the 2019 world final.
Kovacs’ best of 23.23m puts him second on the world all-time list and the 36-year-old US star showed strong form indoors this year, launching a 21.92m throw in February. He has won silver behind Crouser at the past three Olympics, adding to his world titles in 2015 and 2019. He is also a three time Diamond League Final winner.
Italy’s Leonardo Fabbri is also sure to contend in Xiamen, having thrown a world lead of 22.50m in South Africa earlier this year. His national record of 22.98m puts him fifth on the world all-time list and the reigning European champion has multiple global medals, including world indoor bronze in 2024, world outdoor silver in 2023 and world outdoor bronze in 2025.
Jamaica’s Rajindra Campbell, the 2024 Olympic bronze medallist, is also in the field, the 30-year-old holding a best of 22.31m and throwing an impressive 21.94m indoors this year.
Adrian Piperi, the 2025 world indoor bronze medallist, has a best of 22.29m and after missing the indoor season, he will be keen to lay down a strong early-season marker outdoors in Xiamen.
He will be joined by fellow US athletes Roger Steen and Jordan Geist. Steen recently won world indoor bronze to add to the silver he claimed at the same championships last year. He threw an indoor PB of 22.07m in February, just shy of his outdoor best of 22.11m. Geist also broke new ground this year, throwing an indoor PB of 22.04m in February and winning world indoor silver in March, his first global medal.
Mexico’s Uziel Muñoz enjoyed a huge breakthrough in 2025, winning silver at the Tokyo World Championships with a national record of 21.97m, and he will be keen to again mix it with the world’s best in Xiamen.
Xing Jialiang
The field is completed by China’s , who has shown impressive form in 2026, throwing a national indoor record of 20.95m last month.