The women’s 100m hurdles will feature the last two world outdoor champions in Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan and Jamaica’s Danielle Williams, the last two world indoor champions in France’s Cyrena Samba-Mayela and Devynne Charlton of the Bahamas, along with the reigning Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico.
Charlton, who set a world indoor record of 7.65 to win the 60m hurdles in Glasgow last month, will be keen to convert that form outdoors, while 100m hurdles world record holder Amusan will be keen to return to her record-breaking form of 2022, having recently won the African Games title. Samba-Mayela, Williams and Camacho-Quinn will all provide stiff opposition and will hope to lay down an early-season marker against their chief rivals on the path to the Paris Olympics.
The field also includes US stars Masai Russell and Alaysha Johnson, who have both run under 12.40, while home fans will be cheering for Yanni Wu, a World University Games silver medallist and four-time national champion of China.
It's just one of several loaded sprint events that will light up the spectacular Egret Stadium, which hosted the inaugural Wanda Diamond League meeting in Xiamen last September.
The men’s 100m will feature a riveting clash between sprint superpowers USA and Jamaica, with the US charge led by former world 100m champions Fred Kerley and Christian Coleman, who will be keen to get one over on Jamaican rivals such as Yohan Blake, the former world 100m champion and Olympic silver medallist; Ackeem Blake, who recently won world indoor 60m bronze; and Rohan Watson, who won the Jamaican title last year in 9.91.
Coleman has good memories of this stadium, having set a world-leading time of 9.83 when winning in Xiamen last year, and as the US Olympic Trials loom into view, the 2019 world 100m champion will be keen to take victory over Kerley, who won the world 100m title in 2022. Coleman had another fine indoor season, clocking 6.41 to win his second world indoor title, while Kerley also showed promising signs by setting a 60m PB of 6.55.
The women’s 200m will also be a headline attraction given the presence of Sha’Carri Richardson. The US superstar may be better known as a 100m sprinter, but she proved in Budapest last year she can also contend over the longer sprint, winning bronze in a PB of 21.92 to back up her 100m gold. In Xiamen, she will race the 200m where the chief threat might come from fellow sub-22-second athletes Tamara Clark and Anavia Battle of USA, while Switzerland’s Mujinga Kambundji, USA’s Kayla White and Twanisha Terry and Anthonique Strachan of the Bahamas are also in the line-up.
The women’s 400m serves up an intriguing rematch between the three medallists from last year’s world final, with Marileidy Paulino of Dominican Republic taking on Natalia Kaczmarek of Poland and Sada Williams of Barbados. The field includes three other sub-50-second athletes: USA’s Britton Wilson and Lynna Irby-Jackson, along with Stephenie Ann McPherson of Jamaica.
Paulino clocked a national record of 48.76 to win in Budapest last year and was an impressive winner in Xiamen just after, clocking 49.36. Kaczmarek chose not to compete indoors this year but clocked a blazing 35.52 for 300m at altitude in South Africa in January while Williams, the two-time world bronze medallist, set a national record last month over 200m of 22.59.
Another US athlete that will be in the line-up in Xiamen is Alexis Holmes. Holmes was showing impressive form at the World Indoor Championships , clocking 50.24 to finish third and winning bronze. She also anchored the US mixed 4x400m to gold in Budapest last year, and will be a contender in the strong field in Xiamen.
The men’s 110m hurdles will see reigning Olympic champion Hansle Parchment of Jamaica take on world bronze medallist Daniel Roberts of USA, while there is plenty of depth in the field, given the presence of Cordell Tinch of USA, who’s run 12.96; Shunsuke Izumiya of Japan, who’s run 13.04; and Freddie Crittenden of USA, who’s run 13.00.
Parchment has good memories of the stadium in Xiamen, having turned the tables on world champion Grant Holloway here last year, clocking 12.96 to win ahead of the US star before going on to win the Wanda Diamond League final in Eugene in 12.93. Roberts finished between Parchment and Holloway in Xiamen last year, clocking 13.03, and the three-time national champion will be keen to get an early-season win and perhaps go under 13 seconds for the first time in his career.
