Can Anyone Stop Beatrice Chebet? Rome Diamond League Preview

Beatrice Chebet, Fred Kerley, Valarie Allman, Quincy Hall, and Cordell Tinch have a lot to prove at the 2025 Rome Diamond League.

Jun 5, 2025 by Harry Prevor

Can Anyone Stop Beatrice Chebet? Rome Diamond League Preview

The 2025 Golden Gala Pietro Mennea meeting is set, and after an off-week the Diamond League returns with interesting matchups across the board. Along with Fred Kerley's return in the 100m, fans will be watching to see what Beatrice Chebet can do over 5000m following her 3000m #2 all-time performance in Rabat.

US Audiences can watch the Rome Golden Gala Diamond League Meeting LIVE on FloTrack.

Women's pole vault (1:15pm ET): Caudery needs to keep Doha momentum

'24 World Indoor champ Molly Caudery is coming off a nice win in Doha. She didn't show in Rabat where Katie Moon won, but without Moon in Rome she'll be hoping to maintain her outdoor winning streak. Vet Sandi Morris and Nanjing 5th-placer Gabriela Leon represent the US, with Leon (3rd) having beat Morris (4th) in Rabat.

For the host country, Roberta Bruni is the Italian record-holder at 4.73m, and her countrywoman Elisa Molinarolo tied with her for 7th at World Indoors this year.

Women's discus throw (1:30pm ET): Allman could notch her 25th consecutive win

Including prelims, 2020 and 2024 Olympic champ Valarie Allman has now won 24 consecutive discus competitions since her last loss in 2023, according to Tilastopaja. She's likely to make it 25 in Rome, but she'll have to beat Paris silver medalist Feng Bin of China to do it.

The last person to beat Allman, her countrywoman Laulauga Tausaga, is here too -- she's known for her inconsistent throwing style that can lead to surprising results when one lands just right. Italian national record-setter Daisy Osakue was the 2022 European Throwing Cup champion but has only a 64.57m PB.

Women's triple jump (1:48pm ET): The two last global champions line up

It's a perfect set-up as 2025 World Indoor champ Leyanis Pérez (Cuba) faces Thea LaFond, who won Dominica's first ever gold medal at the 2024 Olympics. It'll be their first duel outdoors this year since LaFond finished 4th in Nanjing, plus throw in top seed Shanieka Ricketts who beat LaFond in Doha.

The US sends Jasmine Moore, Paris bronze medalist in both the long and triple jump. Italian Dariya Derkach is a former multi-event athlete who was 8th at the Olympics since switching to the TJ.

Women's 400m hurdles (3:04pm ET): Syd and Femke have both laid marks down, can anyone challenge?

With both Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (52.07) and Femke Bol (52.46) having already laid down solid marks this year, can anyone in this field show they can compete? Jamaica's Rushell Clayton (5th in the hurdles at Philly Grand Slam) and Shiann Salmon (4th at Miami Slam 400H) are the only two with PBs in the 52s.

On the American side, veteran Cassandra Tate has had over ten years of experience since winning World Indoor 4x4 gold in 2014 and was 8th in Rabat. The Italian Ayomide Folorunso was 7th at both her Philly Grand Slam races last weekend.

Men's high jump (3:11pm ET): Kerr should win in Tamberi's absence

Italian high jump sensation Gianmarco Tamberi was originally scheduled to debut in Rome, but is no longer on the start lists. That leaves the door wide open for the likes of Olympic champ Hamish Kerr to take the title, or the inaugural What Gravity Challenger winner Sanghyeok Woo of South Korea.

USA's JuVaughn Harrison was only 9th at the Challenger, but has been honing in on high jump since making the U.S. Olympic team in both the high and long jump. Italy sends three jumpers in Stefano Sottile, Manuel Lando, and Matteo Sioli in place of Tamberi, with a lot of promise in Sottile as the 2015 World U18 champion.

Men's 1500m (3:16pm ET): Reynold has been besting his namesake Timothy Cheruiyot as of late

Timothy Cheruiyot might have the better hardware as a 2019 World champion over the distance, but his unrelated namesake Reynold has been having a fantastic season in 2025 including winning the Doha 5000m and placing runner-up at the Rabat 1500m. The two will face off, and they'll face Kenyan opposition in last year's Doha champ Brian Komen.

Virginia Tech's Vincent Ciattei was 6th in Rabat in a nice 3:32.94 time and would do great to match that. Italy is represented by Federico Riva, national champion over the distance and 11th at last year's World Indoors 3K.

Men's shot put (3:27pm ET): Americans pepper the field against Fabbri

There are 4 Americans (Joe Kovacs, Payton Otterdahl, Roger Steen, Tripp Piperi) in the field, but Italy's own Leonardo Fabbri, who was 4th at World Indoors, will be hoping to beat them all to win for his home crowd. Fabbri holds the second-best PB in the field, but PBs can be misleading as both Steen and Piperi threw farther than their official bests at the Shot Put World Series to place first and second earlier this year and the marks won't count due to the format.

Tom Walsh of New Zealand has been a force in the sport for over a decade and is the reigning World Indoor champion. The second Italian thrower Zane Weir was 8th in Nanjing.

**Women's 5000m (3:31pm ET): What can't Beatrice Chebet do?**

Double Olympic champ Beatrice Chebet is the class of any field she graces, and she proved that by stealing the show in Rabat for an 8:11 #2 all-time 3K. She's already gone sub-14 for 5K on the roads, but can she do it on the track? She'll have great competition to push her to the line in Ethiopians Gudaf Tsegay and Freweyni Hailu.

Shock Paris medallist Nadia Battocleti brought home the goods for Italy last year, and this will be a great chance to get her 14:31 PB up to speed with her ability. On the American side of things, Shelby Houlihan, Karissa Schweizer, and Josette Andrews are entered. Winning World Indoor 3K silver has vaulted Houlihan back up into world class territory, though she struggled at the Sound Running 1500m recently. Andrews is coming off an impressive 3rd-place Grand Slam Track 3K in Philly, while US 10K champ Schweizer will be making her season debut at the distance.

Men's long jump (3:38pm ET): Italian World Indoor champ Furlani is here

Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece is the 2020 and 2024 Olympic champ for a reason, which made Italian Mattia Furlani's upset win over him at World Indoors this year all the more impressive. We'll be seeing both make their Diamond League season debuts in Rome, with Furlani having the clear home advantage.

American Marquis Dendy was a former World Indoor champion himself back in 2016. He was 8th at the Shanghai DL and will look to improve.

Men's 400m (3:59pm ET): Quincy Hall showed some improvement in Rabat, can he look like an Olympic champion in Rome?

Quincy Hall's come-from-behind Olympic victory was a defining moment of Paris, but he's struggled in 2025 since then, pulling out of the Grand Slam Track and finishing last in Shanghai. He improved markedly to 3rd in Rabat -- is the next step up a win? Rabat winner Patterson isn't here, but runner-up Zakithi Nene is.

Vernon Norwood is 33 but is still making U.S. relay teams and coming in clutch when needed. Italy's Edoardo Scotti was a former European U20 400m champ who has contributed to the Italian 4x4 team.

Women's 200m (4:13pm ET): Top four seeds all Americans that have a reason to win

The top four seeds -- Mckenzie Long, Jenna Prandini, Brittany Brown, and Anavia Battle -- are all Americans that have something to prove and a reason to think they can win. Long is the reigning NCAA champ, Brown had a career season to win Olympic bronze, Battle scored a shock upset wins in Xiamen and Shanghai, and veteran Prandini was runner-up at the Kingston Slam, though she struggled in Philly.

Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith has several World Champs medals to her name and is always a threat as well. Dalia Kaddari was a European U23 champ for Italy.

Men's 110m hurdles (4:27pm ET): Cordell Tinch is in scary form

In a year with question marks over Grant Holloway, Cordell Tinch has been stepping up big-time with a 12.87 win in Shanghai. Yes, he just placed runner-up at Grand Slam Philly, but we can chalk that up to the irregular track or conditions. We'll be looking at the clock in Rome to see what more he can do against fellow Americans Freddie Crittenden and Daniel Roberts.

Miami Slam winner Sasha Zhoya will contend, along with Italy's Lorenzo Ndele Simonelli who won 60H silver at last year's World Indoors.

Men's 100m (4:38pm ET): Kerley has put down good times stateside and is looking for an international win

Fred Kerley has no choice but to race the Diamond League since his ban from Grand Slam Track, and he's been making good use of the opportunity with two 3rd-place finishes in the 100m and 200m at Rabat. He put down a windy 9.87 in Asuza earlier and the win could be his if he runs like that in Rome.

He's joined by '16 World Indoor 60m champ Trayvon Bromell and Tebogo-slayer Courtney Lindsey. Internationally, Kenya's Ferdinand Omanyala could pose a threat with a 9.7 PB while Filippo Tortu of Italy set an impressive 9.96 PB last year. Italian 4x1 anchor Filippo Tortu "anchors" the field in Rome, while 2021 Olympic champ Marcell Jacobs is absent.

Women's 1500m (4:49pm ET): It's a fairly wide-open race to close the night

Without Faith Kipyegon or even Rabat and Doha champ Nelly Chepchirchir here, East African rivals will need to step up. The good news is that the runner-ups from those meetings -- Susan Ejore in Doha and Worknesh Mesele at the non-DL Rabat event -- are both in Rome and could contend for the win. And that's not to mention Birke Haylom, who was 5th at World Indoors over 3K.

Australian Sarah Billings normally wouldn't be listed here, but she shocked to place runner-up over 800m in Shanghai and has to be considered a factor in a kick. On AC's Sinta Vissa set the Italian outdoor 1500m record last year and has been racing up a storm in the United States this year, while compatriot Marta Zenoni set the indoor national record of 4:03 this year.

Click here to enter the Wanda Fantasy Diamond League contest for Rome by 1:15 PM U.S. Eastern Time on Friday

To help you watch along, you'll be able to pick your favorite athlete in Wanda Fantasy Diamond League game for each Diamond Discipline event. Here's how to enter and a guide for each DL event.

How does it work?

Build Your Squad. Compete Globally. Win Weekly.

Pick your dream team of Diamond League athletes and earn points every meet based on their real-world performances. Climb the leaderboard, claim bragging rights, and win prizes.

How to Play:

Pick three athletes per event discipline
Choose from sprinters, distance stars, jumpers, and throwers competing in the FloTrack main 2-hour streaming window.
Save your picks
Click "Save Picks" on the Wanda Fantasy Diamond League website, fill out your new account details, and click "Register" (or "Submit / Update Picks" for existing accounts). You should be able to see your username on the "Submissions" page to confirm they were received.
Score points
Your team earns based on finishes of your top two athletes per discipline (providing some insurance against DNSes). Compete and win!

The competition will be taking place mid-day Friday U.S. time, and you'll have to get your picks in before then if you want to see how your winners stack up. Here's a brief guide on what to look out for.

Full Rome Diamond League Schedule (ET)

1:15 PM - Women's Pole Vault
1:30 PM - Women's Discus
1:48 PM - Women's Triple Jump
3:04 PM - Women's 400mH
3:11 PM - Men's High Jump
3:16 PM - Men's 1500m
3:27 PM - Men's Shot Put
3:31 PM - Women's 5000m
3:59 PM - Men's 400m
4:13 PM - Women's 200m
4:27 PM - Men's 110mH
4:38 PM - Men's 100m
4:49 PM - Women's 1500m

Diamond League 2025 Schedule

Here's the full Wanda Diamond League schedule in 2025.

Don't Miss A Second Of The 2025 Diamond League

This year, the Diamond League is streaming live on FloTrack and the FloSports app, and FloTrack is giving fans more Diamond League access than ever before. For the first time ever, the Diamond League is streaming to fans all the feeds, not just the traditional world feed.

Fans will have uninterrupted coverage for every throw, leap and run during the meets as well as the traditional broadcast.

Where To Watch Diamond League?

The Wanda Diamond League will be broadcast on FloTrack and the FloSports app starting with the 2025 season.

FloTrack Is The Streaming Home For Many Track And Field Meets Each Year

Don’t miss all the track and field season action streaming on FloTrack. Check out the FloTrack schedule for more events.

FloTrack Archived Footage

Video footage from each event will be archived and stored in a video library for FloTrack subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscriptions.

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