Kwemoi chases first Diamond League win since 2017 in Xiamen showdown

Olympic 5,000m silver medallist Ronald Kwemoi will step squarely into the spotlight when he locks horns with two-time 5,000m Diamond League finals champion Berihu Aregawi of Ethiopia and world 10,000m bronze medallist Andreas Almgren of Sweden at the Xiamen Diamond League on May 23.

‎Organisers have already billed the men’s 5,000m as one of the headline acts of the Xiamen meeting, a race laced with pedigree and raw speed.

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‎“Some of the world’s best male long-distance runners will go head-to-head in the men’s 5,000m at the third Wanda Diamond League meeting of the season in Xiamen on May 23,” organisers said in a statement.

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‎Kwemoi heads into the clash off a relatively quiet 2025 campaign, but the Kenyan remains a proven championship performer capable of rising to the occasion when the stakes spike. ‎Last season, he opened his campaign at the Grand Slam Track event in Kingston, Jamaica, where he doubled up in the 3,000m and 5,000m.

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‎In the longer distance, he clocked 14:40.64 to finish fifth in a tightly packed race won in 14:39.14 by American Grant Fisher, with compatriots Cooper Teare (14:39.31) and Dylan Jacobs (14:39.56). ‎Over 3,000m, Kwemoi came close to the podium, finishing fourth in 8:04.12 behind Ethiopia’s Hagos Gebrhiwet (7:51.55), Telahun Bekele (8:00.68) and Fisher (8:03.85).

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‎He later featured at the Florida Grand Slam, placing sixth in the 3,000m (8:19.48) and fourth in the 5,000m (13:46.35), before rounding off his season with an 8:06.03 run over 3,000m at the Philadelphia Grand Slam. ‎The 2014 Commonwealth 1,500m silver medallist will be hunting his first Diamond League victory in eight years, having last tasted glory at the 2017 Prefontaine Classic, where he stormed to Mile victory in 3:49.04.

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‎But Xiamen presents a stern examination. ‎Aregawi, a two-time Diamond League Finals winner (2021, 2024), arrives in red-hot form, already stamping his authority on the 2026 season. The Ethiopian claimed silver at the World Cross Country Championships (28:36) before powering to victory at the Elgoibar Cross Country in Spain in 29:33.

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‎Almgren, meanwhile, brings proven track credentials after shattering the European 5,000m record at the Stockholm Diamond League last season, clocking a scintillating 12:44.27. The field is further bolstered by Germany’s Mohamed Abdilaahi, Bahrain’s Birhanu Balew and rising star Biniam Mehary, all ranked inside the world top 20 and collectively boasting three Diamond League wins.