Kwemoi to chase first Diamond League victory in nine years in Xiamen

Kenya’s Ronald Kwemoi will look to secure his first Diamond League win in nine years, when he lines up for the Xiamen leg on Saturday, 23 May.

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This comes after the 2024 Paris Olympics silver medalist was announced as part of a rich field that will battle for the 5,000m crown at the third Wanda Diamond League meeting of the season.

Kwemoi, who last won a Diamond League race in 2017, will come up against two-time series champion Berihu Aregawi of Ethiopia, Sweden’s Andreas Almgren, Germany’s Mohamed Abdilaahi, Bahrain’s Birhanu Balew and another Ethiopian in Biniam Mehary.

Aregawi, who is the current world record holder in the 5000m road race, won the Diamond League title in 2021 and 2024, and was also Olympic silver medallist over 10,000m at Paris 2024.

Almgren, on the other hand, broke the European record over 5000m at the Diamond League meeting in Stockholm last season, timing an impressive 12:44.27.

Abdilaahi, Balew and Mehary are meanwhile all ranked in the world top 20, and have three Diamond League wins between them.

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Kwemoi’s last win on the Diamond League circuit came on 27 May 2017, when he won the men's Bowerman Mile at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene with a time of 3:49.04.

Earlier that same month, the 30-year-old also won the 3000m at the Doha Diamond League, clocking 7:28.73.

All through 2025, the 2014 Commonwealth Games silver medalist, who was earlier this year linked to a nationality switch to Turkiye, did not take in any Diamond League race, prioritizing the Grand Slam Track, which he participated in for five races, spread across Kingston, Miami and Philadelphia.

His last Diamond League race was back in September 2024, when he placed 10th in the 5000m at the season-ending event in Brussels, Belgium. Then, he clocked 13.35.84.

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