Olympic champions, world record holders and some of the biggest names in athletics will compete in Rabat on Sunday as Morocco hosts the third stop of the 2026 Wanda Diamond League season.
The 17th Mohammed VI International Athletics Meeting will take place at the Olympic Stadium in the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex, with free entry for spectators.
Organised by the Royal Moroccan Athletics Federation, the event is the only Diamond League meeting held in Africa and is one of the most important fixtures on the global athletics calendar.
Among the headline attractions is Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali, who will compete in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase. The double Olympic and world champion is expected to receive strong support from home fans as he faces a field that includes New Zealand’s world indoor champion Geordie Beamish and Kenya’s Edmund Serem.
The men’s 200m will feature Botswana’s Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo, Canada’s Andre De Grasse and American sprinter Kenny Bednarek. In the women’s race, Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson will line up against Olympic champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas.
Other major events include the men’s 400m, where Olympic champion Quincy Hall will face Britain’s Matt Hudson-Smith and Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga.
In the field events, Ukraine’s world record holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh will compete in the women’s high jump, while American shot put stars Ryan Crouser and Joe Kovacs are set to renew their long-running rivalry.
The Rabat meeting became part of the Diamond League in 2016, replacing the New York Adidas Grand Prix on the circuit. The move made Morocco the first African nation to host a meeting in the sport’s premier annual series.
The Diamond League consists of 15 meetings across the world. Athletes collect points throughout the season in a bid to qualify for the Diamond League Final, which will be held in Brussels in September.
Sunday’s meeting is also being viewed as another opportunity for Morocco to showcase its ability to host major international sporting events.
The Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex has undergone extensive redevelopment in recent years as Morocco prepares to host the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and co-host the 2030 FIFA World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal.
Competition begins in the afternoon, with the men’s 3,000m steeplechase closing the programme at 16:46 local time.
Athletes will also be aiming to challenge several meeting records, including the men’s 100m mark of 9.94 seconds set by Christian Coleman and the women’s 200m record of 21.98 seconds established by Shericka Jackson in 2023.
