SHANGHAI (Feb 21) – Olympic 100 metres hurdles champion Masai Russell will return to China this spring when she competes at the Shanghai/Keqiao Wanda Diamond League meeting on May 16.
The American, a three-time U.S. national champion and former Kentucky standout, will headline the women’s 100m hurdles field at the second stop of the 2026 Diamond League season. The series begins in Doha on May 8 and will conclude with the two-day final in Brussels on September 4–5.
Read More: World Record Holder Mondo Duplantis Confirmed For Shanghai/Keqiao
Russell holds the Diamond League record at 12.19 seconds, set last August in Silesia — the joint third-fastest time in history. That performance marked her first Diamond League victory and capped a standout 2025 campaign that also saw a runner-up finish in Lausanne and a near-podium at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
The 25-year-old U.S. star first raced in China in 2024, making appearances in Xiamen and Suzhou just months before storming to Olympic gold at the Paris Games. Her return to the country underscores a continued rise among the event’s elite hurdlers.
Russell becomes the second Olympic champion confirmed for the Shanghai/Keqiao meeting, joining Swedish pole vault world record holder Mondo Duplantis on the entry list.
The Wanda Diamond League brings together track and field’s leading names, including the likes of Usain Bolt, Noah Lyles, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Mondo Duplantis, and Yelena Isinbaeva, among others, across several continents and 15 cities.
Read Also: Mondo Duplantis to Open 2026 Indoor Season at Clermont-Ferrand’s All Star Perche
