Diamond League: Barshim and Kerr set for Suzhou battle

Doha, Qatar: Olympic high jump champion Mutaz Essa Barshim will take on newly crowned World Indoor Champion Hamish Kerr at the second Wanda Diamond Le...

Doha, Qatar: Olympic high jump champion Mutaz Essa Barshim will take on newly-crowned World Indoor Champion Hamish Kerr at the second Wanda Diamond League meeting in Shanghai/Suzhou on May 27.

Three-time Diamond League champion Barshim will face off against newly crowned World Indoor Champion Hamish Kerr, in what promises to be a battle of the highest quality.

New Zealander Kerr is the world leader for 2024 having cleared 2.36m to take his maiden global title in Glasgow and will have high hopes of backing it up against perhaps the greatest of his generation in Barshim.

Reigning Olympic champion Barshim, meanwhile, has prioritised training in the build-up to his Olympic defence later this year, not competing since winning his third Asian Games title in October 2023 and skipping the championships where Kerr beat a high-class field.

For Barshim it will be one of the key indicators of his form as he aims to become the first to ever win two men’s Olympic high jump titles.