Highlights and Quotes from the Press Conference – WDL Xiamen

Mondo Duplantis said the city of Xiamen has “a very special place” in his heart ahead of the opening meeting of the 2025 Wanda Diamond League on Saturday (26).

The Swede broke the world record in the pole vault at the same meeting last year, clearing 6.24m, and at the press conference on the eve of this year’s meeting, he raised hopes of another special night on Saturday.

“It’s an amazing stadium, amazing facility, a great track – I’m super excited to be back,” he said. “I try to be selective with the meets I go to so I can really attack hard and jump as high as possible and try to push some barriers. That’s why I’m here.

“I love competing here. Hopefully we can jump really high. If I can produce something like (the world record) again, that’d be really cool. I know what I’m capable of and I want to fulfil my full potential. You always want more.”

Karsten Warholm also has his eyes on a world record, looking to break his own mark of 33.26 in the 300m hurdles in what is his first race of 2025.

“I’ve done what I wanted in training, I skipped the indoor season to focus more on training and I’m feeling really good and looking forward to racing in Xiamen,” said Warholm, who added that the 300m hurdles is an “event I really enjoyed for quite a while, a very nice distance to start the season off with and it’s a distance I often do in training. I did a world best some years ago and I’ve been looking to better it. I tried in one race last year and hopefully this will be the time to try again. I will really push for it.”

Grant Holloway, the reigning Olympic and world champion, will be the favourite for the 110m hurdles in Xiamen and after being beaten at a low-key meeting in the US last weekend, clocking 13.18, he said he’s in Xiamen to “prove to myself and prove to my team that I’m that guy, and that I’ll always be that guy,” adding: “We’ll come out here with a great competition and get back on that high horse. The main goal is to find a way to win. All the great athletes find a way to win.”

Two-time world indoor champion Devynne Charlton will feature in a loaded women’s 100m hurdles field and will hope to go one better than her runner-up finish in Xiamen in 2024. “I haven’t won a Diamond League yet, I’ve been second quite a few times and chasing that first win is the big goal,” she said.

Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson will race at her first Wanda Diamond League meeting since last June, with injury interrupting last year’s track season.

“Things have been going really good, I’m healthy and I’m excited to be here,” she said. “Last year was really, really hurtful but mentally and physically, I had my coaches, my friends and family there. Coach and I sat down and had a conversation during the Olympics and we worked on the fine details and I took some time to get healthy. I’m excited. I want to cross the line healthy and want to work my way back in slowly. I’m not rushing anything.”

Kenyan superstar Faith Kipyegon could well break the 1000m world record of 2:28.98 in Xiamen and she said training has been “really good” in her preparation. “I’m so grateful to be here to start my season. I hope to run my best. I’m injury free, I’m healthy.”

Gudaf Tsegay had a superb win over 1500m in Xiamen last year and the Ethiopian will step up to the 5000m at this year’s meeting. “I had good preparation and the result, we’ll see together,” she said. Olympic champion Beatrice Chebet will be a huge rival and the Kenyan said: “I hope for a good result, then we’ll see how this season will be.”

Yaroslava Mahuchikh of Ukraine had a dream year in 2024 and the Olympic champion and world record holder will hope to start her outdoor season with a win in the high jump.

“After the Europeans I had a little injury but now it’s okay and I’m fully recovered,” she said. “Mentally, physically, I’m ready to jump higher. I feel good and I’m looking forward to the competition. It’ll be an early open to my season but it’ll be a great, competitive atmosphere.”

Bin Feng will have the home crowd behind her in the women’s discus, but the Olympic silver medallist cautioned that her recent training has “not been good,” though she added: “I’ll try my best to achieve.”

Valarie Allman arrives in spectacular form, having thrown a North American record of 73.52m recently, and the two-time Olympic champion is relishing her return to Xiamen. “I love coming to countries where the field has a home athlete, there’s great energy,” she said. “I’m looking forward to it. It’s a very exciting time that 70 metres is becoming more common and that’s the level you need to be at to feel like you can walk away with the win.”

The men’s 100m is loaded with quality and an in-form competitor is South Africa’s Akani Simbine, who said: “I came here for a win, I have great competitors but as a 100m runner, you don’t step on the line not wanting to win. I want to start the season off on a high note.”

Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo will step down in distance, having run a few 400m races last month to build a foundation for the season. “The 400s have put so much fitness into everything we’re building up for,” he said. “I’m ready for the 100m and to put down a good show. I’ll give it my absolute best.”

Former world 100m champion Christian Coleman won in Xiamen last year and he said: “The experience was amazing, this is my third time coming and with the fans, the support, the energy in the stadium, I’m excited to be back and hopefully I can come out with a victory.”

Xie Zhenye will carry the Chinese hopes in the 100m and the Asian 200m record holder said he is “so excited to compete against such high-level athletes. All the hard work we do is to compete against such high-level athletes, and I’ll do my best to give a good performance.”