Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis heads up a stellar cast of athletes kicking off the 16th Diamond League season in Xiamen on Saturday amid a changing landscape that has seen Michael Johnson launch his Grand Slam track series.

Petr Stastny, CEO of the Diamond League, insisted that he welcomed competition, but added he thought the 15-meet circuit he oversees was the “backbone” of global athletics, with a record US$9.2 million in prize money on offer.

“You will get the most comprehensive coverage on the highest possible level of competition in our sport, in track and field. Great arenas, great big crowds,” Stastny said.

Former U.S. sprint star Johnson is the founder of Grand Slam Track, which debuted in Kingston earlier this month.

Conceived by Johnson as a way of reinvigorating interest in athletics outside of Olympic years, his four-event series aims to showcase more races between the world’s best runners, sprinters and hurdlers. There are no field events.

“We feel strongly that the sport is more than just track and we will continue growing the sport and not just a part of the sport,” said Stastny. “We see other events and series being established around us, which we are, generally speaking, happy about.

“But we are the backbone of the sport between the major championships, including the Olympics. We have track and field, that’s one. We are truly global.

“With one event in Jamaica and three in the United States I think it depends how you define global,” he said in reference to the Grand Slam Series.

“I see there a substantial difference. Being truly global means that you have athletes from a lot of countries and so far we’ve had it in the Diamond League — athletes from 142 countries competing. I don’t see that happening, at least for now, anywhere else.”

NEW DELHI: KL Rahul led from the front with a composed half-century as Delhi Capitals cruised to an emphatic eight-wicket victory over his former team, Lucknow Super Giants, on Tuesday. KL Rahul remained unbeaten on 57 off 42 deliveries, laced with three fours and three sixes, and in the process, crossed the 5,000-run milestone in the Indian Premier League. Delhi chased down the 160-run target with ease, reaching 161/2 in 17.5 overs to draw level with Gujarat Titans at the top of the table, both teams sitting on 12 points from six wins.
Abishek Porel played a key role in Delhi’s chase, hammering 51 off 36 balls in a free-flowing knock. Aiden Markram, who bowled his off-spin, was the only successful bowler for Lucknow, claiming both wickets for 30 runs.
After sealing the win, KL Rahul took to social media and shared a cryptic yet telling message.

“Always good to be back in Lucknow,” KL Rahul wrote.
Earlier in the evening, despite a strong 87-run opening partnership between Aiden Markram (52) and Mitchell Marsh (45) off 60 balls, Lucknow failed to capitalize and were restricted to 159/6. Delhi’s fast bowler Mukesh Kumar was the standout performer with the ball, finishing with impressive figures of 4 for 33.
Kumar struck at crucial intervals, beginning with a toe-crushing yorker that knocked over Marsh. He then removed Abdul Samad, who managed just 2 runs and never looked settled at the crease. Nicholas Pooran, one of LSG’s most consistent batters this season, fell to a clever slow short ball from Mitchell Starc and was dismissed for just 9.
Returning for the final over, Kumar removed Ayush Badoni (36), who had threatened to boost the total at the end. Rishabh Pant, who has struggled with form throughout the season, endured another poor outing—getting out for a duck after miscuing a reverse lap and dragging the ball onto his stumps against Mukesh.
Delhi’s clinical all-round performance keeps their momentum going as the playoff race heats up.