There was a surprise in the men's 100m as Gift Leotlela of South Africa pipped Ferdinand Omanyala and Kenneth Bednarek in a photo finish to win a Diamond League event for the first time in Shanghai on Saturday.
Armand "Mondo" Duplantis cruised to pole vault victory in the opening, but failed to improve his own world record.
High-quality women's 200m and 100m hurdles were won by Jamaica's Shericka Jackson and Olympic champion Masai Russell respectively, but Karsten Warholm was shocked in the 300m hurdles.
Leotlela said his men's 100m victory in 9.97sec had been the perfect start to his outdoor year.
"I think tonight sets the tone for the rest of the season," he said. "I'm very happy, excited for what's to come."
Blistering pace from Gift Leotlela 👟⚡
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) May 16, 2026
He speeds to victory in a stacked Men's 100m 🥇🔥#SSAthletics | #DiamondLeague💎 pic.twitter.com/sIONY7sjYi
American Bednarek was just 100th of a second behind Leotlela in third, given the same 9.98sec time as Kenya's Omanyala.
"I feel pretty good," said Bednarek, the 200m silver medallist at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
"I didn't execute what I wanted to in the first half of the race but I'm happy with the results."
Duplantis already had victory sewn up in the pole vault after just two jumps before he eased to a new Shanghai meeting record in 6.12m.
The Swede, who has not lost a competition since 2023, then raised the bar to a world record 6.32m but failed with all three attempts to beat his old mark.
Close, but no cigar!@mondohoss600 just misses out on a 16th world record at 6.32m...
— Wanda Diamond League (@Diamond_League) May 16, 2026
...but still breaks a meeting record of 6.12m.#DiamondLeague#KeqiaoDL🇨🇳
📸 @GorczynskaMarta pic.twitter.com/qfpXyiGIBO
Duplantis told AFP he felt the record had been possible.
"I feel really good jumping right now," said Duplantis, who has lengthened his run-up by two paces this season.
"I would say body-wise I was a little bit too busy the past few weeks. But other than that I'm happy with the way I performed."
Norway's Warholm clocked two world bests in the little-raced 300m hurdles last season but was stunned by 0.04sec by Brazil's Alison Dos Santos (33.01).
"I'm a little bit mad that I didn't win," said Warholm.
"I think he was really starting to get tired and I thought maybe I had him there. This is how competing should be, you should never know the outcome."
'STAY HEALTHY'
Jamaica's Jackson crossed the line in the 200m in 22.07 to beat Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas (22.26), who was running her first Diamond League race for three years, with American Anavia Battle third in 22.40.
Shericka Jackson 🇯🇲🔥
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) May 16, 2026
She takes victory in the Women's 200m with a time of 22.07 ⏱️#HereForHer | #DiamondLeague💎 pic.twitter.com/sqeVjwOyQY
"This year, I just want to stay healthy," said Jackson.
"Next season's a world championship year, so I just want to stay as healthy as possible."
Former world 100m world champion Sha'Carri Richardson of the United States could only finish fourth in 20.42 and world silver medallist Amy Hunt of Great Britain was fifth.
Jessica Schilder recorded the performance of the night as she propelled the shot to a Diamond League record and became the first woman to exceed 21 metres since 1999.
The Dutchwoman launched her huge 21.09m effort in the fifth round to relegate two-time world champion Chase Jackson (20.46) to second place.
She said it, she did it 😮💨
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) May 16, 2026
🇳🇱 Jessica Schilder wanted a PB in Keqiao, and delivered 21.09m 🔥
✅ World Lead
✅ National Record
✅ #DiamondLeague Meeting Record
The first woman to throw beyond 21 metres since 2012 👀
And what a showdown it was, with 🇺🇸 Chase… pic.twitter.com/WIGoEyy1FP
"I can't comprehend. It is such a huge thing, it is crazy," Schilder said of breaking the 21-metre barrier.
In the women's 100m hurdles, the American Russell's superb 12.25 was good enough to beat Bahamian world indoor champion Devynne Charlton (12.38), with world record holder Tobi Amusan of Nigeria third in 12.41.
Mark English's late burst snatched a dramatic men's 800m with a meeting record of 1:43.85.
The 33-year-old Irishman dipped past Botswana's Kethobogile Haingura on the line, having come from six runners back in the final 30 metres.
In the men's 110m hurdles, Jamal Britt upset his fellow American and world champion Cordell Tinch to win with a personal best-equalling 13.07sec.