Multiple Olympic, world and European champion Mondo Duplantis (SWE) will be hoping it’s third-time lucky when he competes at the Mazzraty Doha Meeting – the opening meeting of the 2026 Wanda Diamond league series – at the Qatar Sports Club on Friday 8 May.
A two-time Olympic gold medallist, the dominant 26-year-old has been crowned world champion six times at senior level (three times outdoors, three times indoors), won a hattrick of senior European outdoor titles and won five successive Diamond league titles from 2021-2025 inclusive.
He has broken the world record 14 times since 2020, most recently clearing a gravity-defying 6.30m at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo where he successfully defended his global title.
He is also unbeaten in this Doha Diamond League fixture, but it’s been far from plain sailing. The 2020 event was postponed due to the pandemic (he won the rescheduled competition with a best of 5.82m), while in 2022 the men’s pole vault was delayed by one day and moved indoors due to high winds. Duplantis cleared 6.02m for the win on that occasion – a mark that still stands as the meeting record.
“We’ve had a couple of challenges in the past for sure, but I’ve always loved coming to Doha,” said the 2025 World Athlete of the Year.
“Last year was amazing for me. I ticked off a couple of really big goals, stuff that was high up on my bucket list, but my hunger and motivation is still 100% there. My training has gone well over the winter and I’m looking forward to competing indoors – it’s important to have something new to aim for, and for me, I want to successfully defend my European title.
“Doha will follow and it’s the perfect meet to kick off my outdoor season. I definitely prefer the warm weather to the cold, so hopefully conditions will be conducive to jumping high, challenging my meeting record, and setting a solid benchmark – and new goals – for the year ahead.”
The Mazzraty Doha Meeting is the opening meeting of the 2026 Wanda Diamond League. The series comprises 15 of the most prestigious events in global track and field across four different continents. It concludes with a single final across two days in Brussels (4-5 September).