Zurich 2026: Five key storylines at the Wanda Diamond League

Five storylines will shape Weltklasse Zürich as the 2026 Wanda Diamond League season reaches its penultimate meeting. Six of the world’s top 10 pole vaulters are set to compete in Zurich, where qualification places and major rivalries will dominate the programme.

The women’s pole vault qualification race remains open. Angelica Moser and Nina Kennedy have secured places in the Diamond League Final in Brussels, while nine athletes will compete for the remaining four spots. Tina Šutej, currently third, is only nine points ahead of Sandi Morris in 10th, leaving every successful height potentially important when the event begins at Zurich’s central train station on Wednesday evening.

Karsten Warholm will try to end Brazil’s Alison dos Santos’s unbeaten Diamond League run against him in the men’s 400m hurdles this season. Dos Santos has won all three of their meetings on the circuit in 2026, including Sunday’s race in Silesia, where Warholm produced a season’s best but still finished behind his rival. The Norwegian will seek his first victory over Dos Santos this year.

A second home athlete, Simon Ehammer, faces another difficult challenge in the men’s long jump. Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou has beaten the Swiss athlete at the European Championships in Birmingham and again in Lausanne last Friday. Ehammer has previously won the Diamond League title at Weltklasse twice in the last three years, giving him a strong record at the venue.

The women’s 100m will bring another meeting between world champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and Olympic champion Julien Alfred. Jefferson-Wooden defeated Alfred in Silesia on Sunday and secured her place in the Diamond League Final. Alfred had earlier beaten her rival in the 200m in Rome and will have another chance to respond in Zurich on Thursday.

Audrey Werro’s return will complete the meeting’s main storylines. The Swiss 800m runner won the Diamond League title at Letzigrund with a national record and has since set Diamond League records in Stockholm and Paris. She became the third-fastest woman in history, recovered from a fall to win European Championships gold and now leads the world rankings. Already qualified for Brussels, Werro will race at home again after a season of major progress.