Lausanne is the Olympic capital. The IOC calls the city home, the Olympic Museum sits on Lake Geneva's shoreline, and every summer the world's best track and field athletes descend on Stade Olympique de la Pontaise for Athletissima.
This year they arrive with new medals in the bag. The Commonwealth Games wrapped in Glasgow. The European Championships wrapped in Birmingham. Now the Wanda Diamond League is back, with only four meets left in the 2026 season - Lausanne on August 21, Silesia on August 23, Zurich on August 27 and the finals in Brussels, in early September.
US Audiences can watch all of the action LIVE on FloTrack, on August 20 and 21.
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The storylines are stacked in Lausanne. Amy Hunt arrives fresh off becoming the first athlete ever to win four golds at a single European Championships. Audrey Werro comes home as the third-fastest 800m woman in history, with a new European gold around her neck. Mondo Duplantis lines up against a pole vault field that now includes newly-crowned 2026 US champion Chris Nilsen and the men's javelin start list may be the deepest the Lausanne Diamond League has ever hosted.
Every event carries a headline of its own.
Amy Continues Her Hunt, Fresh Off a Historic European Championships
Amy Hunt just did something extraordinary. Something no one has ever done. Over five days at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, the 24-year-old British sprinter won four gold medals at a single European Championships - the 100m (11.00), 200m (22.19), women's 4x100m (42.05), and mixed 4x100m relay (39.97). She also did this all after claiming silver over 100m (10.98) at the Commonwealth Games in late July.
She lands in Lausanne as one of the stories of the season and she also lands in a strong 200m field.
Shericka Jackson will be there. She is the second-fastest 200m woman in history at 21.41 seconds and is going after her third Diamond League win of the season. Brittany Brown (21.89 PB), Anavia Battle (21.95 PB), and Kayla White (21.92 PB) headline the American charge.
Hunt beat Jackson at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo - silver in 22.14, to Jackson's bronze in 22.18. Merlene Ottey's Athletissima meeting record of 22.07, set in 1995, sits well within range of these women - there is a lot to play for and Friday in Lausanne, we find out just how far Hunt's momentum will carry her.
Audrey Werro to Race 800m at Home in Switzerland
This year Audrey Werro has become one of the biggest names in the running world and if you ignore the untimely fall she had in the semi-finals at the European Championships just a few days ago, the 22-year-old has not lost a race this outdoor season.
In Paris just a few months ago, she clocked 1:53.80, the third-fastest women's 800m in history - no woman had run faster over two laps for more than four decades. She improved her own Swiss record, she owns four of the five fastest times in the world this year, and the only two sub-1:54 800m runs since the 1980s.
Then, at the European Championships this past week, she was leading her semifinal with 120m to go when her foot got caught and she went down. She still finished the race, grabbing at her chest to the finish line.
The drama.
Her appeal was approved and she went through to the final where she ran 1:54.81 - a championship record - and beat reigning Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson for the European title.
Now she comes home. Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, a sold-out crowd, and a field of talented women waiting to race her. Lilian Odira, the reigning 800m world champion, who holds a personal best of 1:54.62, will be there. Femke Broeders-Bol, the 30-time consecutive Diamond League winner over the 400m hurdles, who just equaled the Dutch national record over 800m (1:55.54) for a European bronze, is in the field. Sage Hurta-Klecker and Addison Wiley are also lining up.
The fairytale looks to add another magical chapter on Friday.
Mondo Duplantis Meets a US-Champion-Loaded Pole Vault
Mondo Duplantis has cleared 6.31m this year, to extend the world record he already owned. He is the reigning Olympic, world and European champion, having won yet another title in Birmingham a few days ago, in a championship record of 6.15m.
In Lausanne, the competition will look to push him to even higher heights.
Chris Nilsen, fresh off his fourth US outdoor title at the USATF Championships in New York, arrives on the Swiss track after a count back win over Sam Kendricks at 5.82m. Both will be on the runway on Thursday, in a unique city-centre pole vault competition. Kendricks is a six-time US outdoor champion, a former world champion, a multiple-time Olympic medalist and the American record holder at 6.06m.
Emmanouil Karalis of Greece, one of only a handful of men to clear 6.00m outdoors this year, rounds out a headline-heavy field, that also includes Sondre Guttormsen and Kurtis Marschall. Karalis has been a consistent challenge to Duplantis on the circuit and at the European Championships took an attempt at 6.20m.
The bar climbing above 6.00m at Athletissima is not a question, but what is, is who will be joining Duplantis on the other side of it.
Chopra Meets Pathirage in a Star-Studded Javelin Competition
The throws are deep at Athletissima. Rumesh Pathirage owns the 2026 world-leading mark of 92.62m and it's the one everyone is chasing. He also won Sri Lanka's first ever Commonwealth Games athletics gold just a few weeks ago.
Right behind him is Julian Weber, who has thrown 90.40m this year, but holds a career best of 91.51m. Anderson Peters, a two-time world champion (2019, 2022), is also in the field and has a personal best of 93.07m, as are Jakub Vadlejch (90.88m PB) and Keshorn Walcott (90.16m PB).
Then there is Neeraj Chopra. The 2020 Olympic champion and 2023 world champion, and one of the biggest names in the event since Tokyo, has a personal best of 90.23m.
Most of the recent Olympic and World Championship javelin medallists will be on the same runway. Let's see what happens.
Cockrell, Zapletalová and a 400m Hurdles Field Made for Fast Times
Emma Zapletalová just made history in Birmingham. Her 52.91 in the European Championships 400m hurdles final was the only sub-53 clocking of the race - enough for a gold medal and the first European Championships gold of any kind for a Slovak woman. She comes to Lausanne having already won multiple Diamond League races this season and still holds the world lead of 52.30, which is also a national record.
Anna Cockrell (51.87 PB) brings the American résumé - Paris 2024 Olympic silver medallist, multiple-time NCAA champion at USC, and one of the most consistent finishers over ten hurdles in the world. Jasmine Jones (52.08 PB), Gianna Woodruff (52.66 PB) and Rushell Clayton (52.51 PB) are also in the mix.
Zapletalová's European gold makes her the woman to beat, but Cockrell's personal best says she can be beaten.
Arop, Wanyonyi, Sedjati and a Stacked Men's 800m
Marco Arop (1:41.20 PB) and Emmanuel Wanyonyi (1:41.11 PB) have traded medals across the last few global championships. Arop took world gold in 2023, Wanyonyi took Olympic gold in 2024 and Djamel Sedjati (1:41.46 PB) has been right there with them.
All three will be in Lausanne - three of the fastest 800m runners in history.
The rest of the field is anything but filler. Brandon Miller (1:42.19 PB), Gabriel Tual (1:41.61 PB) and Mohamed Attaoui (1:42.04 PB) will push the pace. Mark English - who just became the first Irishman to ever win European 800m gold - completes a solid lineup.
Fast times will come on Friday, the field guarantees it.
Also Worth Watching
The women's 100m hurdles includes Paris 2024 Olympic champion Masai Russell, who will line up against world record holder Tobi Amusan.
The men's 5000m brings depth with Grant Fisher, Jacob Krop, Balew Birhanu, and Nico Young.
Letsile Tebogo lines up in the men's 200m, with Sinesipho Dambile and Zharnel Hughes challenging.
In the women's steeplechase, Faith Cherotich and Winfred Yavi headline.
Katie Moon and Sandi Morris will meet in the pole vault.
Fast laps and long throws and jumps are certain in Lausanne, but just where the clock and tape measure lands is what keeps the story alive.
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