Memorial Day Weekend brought elite racing, breakthrough performances, and early signs of what could become a historic 2026 season.
While some stars experimented with off-events and season tune-ups, others made massive statements in their signature disciplines. From NCAA records to world leads and teenage history-makers, the track world stayed busy all weekend long.
- More Information On 2026 Diamond League Season
- Parker Valby Opens 2026 Season With a Win and Personal Best
- Masai Russell Runs American Record At Xiamen Diamond League Meeting
Here were the five biggest stories from the weekend.
5. Habtom Samuel Resets NCAA 5K Record
Habtom Samuel gave us all deja vu this week at LA Track Fest. Not only did Samuel reset his own NCAA 5k record, but he reset it for the second time in the 2026 season.
The first time we saw Samuel break his own record was at the Bryan Clay Invitational in April, setting the new mark at 13:03.47. This past weekend, he became the first collegian to ever break 13 minutes in the 5k, running a blistering 12:57.22 at Track Fest.
Samuel broke his own NCAA Record, set a National Record for his home country of Eritrea, and now holds a world-leading time for the 2026 season.
He won the race in LA by six seconds, besting a field of professionals. Samuel heads into the regional weekend leading the NCAA by 16 seconds and sits as the No. 1 seed for both the 5000m and 10,000m.
4. Alison Dos Santos Sets World Lead 400mH
The year of Alison Dos Santos has officially started. At the first leg of the Wanda Diamond League series in Shanghai, China, Dos Santos won the 300mH, setting a new World No. 2 mark. The most impressive feat of that race was that he bested Norway's Karsten Warholm, one of the best hurdlers in track and field history.
At the second leg of the Wanda Diamond League series, Dos Santos took down Warholm again in his world-record event - the 400mH.
With Warholm in the outside lane, the two rounded the curve going stride for stride over the last three hurdles, with Dos Santos pulling away for the final barrier. He finished in a new world-leading time of 46.72, besting the world record holder for the second matchup in a row.
Dos Santos holds the best in the event at 46.29, but is already making strides toward improving that best.
Warholm still holds the World Record in 45.94, but the record may be on the line with the current trajectory of the season. Only two meets in, and Dos Santos has come out on top, but who will come out on top in September?
3. The Return of Parker Valby
A collegiate phenom and Olympian at only 21-years-old, Parker Valby proved herself to be one of the best young female distance runners in the 21st century. She broke barriers in the NCAA while setting records and destroying fields of talented runners, and immediately following her collegiate career, put made herself a 2024 Paris Olympian.
Following her incredible season, she was faced with a broken bone in her foot in the beginning of 2025.
Over the course of 2025, she only competed in three different races, all proving that she was not yet back to her old self.
Over the weekend, we watched the return of Parker Valby, as she competed in the 5,000m at Sound Running's LA Track Fest.
In her first outdoor track race since the Paris Olympics, she set a new PR in 14:49.41. In true Valby fashion, she bested the field by four seconds.
Her shiny new PR holds the fastest time run by an American in the 2026 season so far.
2. Yan Zinyi Throws World #2 All-Time Javelin at 18-Years-Old
Yan Zinyi celebrated her 18th birthday at the Xiamen leg of the Wanda Diamond League series. The day after her 18th birthday, she made history in the Javelin.
On her first throw of the day, she threw a new World #2 mark of 71.74m. Before this mark her previous best mark was 65.89m, adding almost six meters to the mark. Still only a teenager, she makes a name for herself as one of the best javelin throwers in history.
She set the mark in her home country, putting herself a half a meter away from the top mark.
1. Masai Russell Runs World No. 2
Masai Russell is instilling fear in the 110mH world record in every single one of her races.
The 2026 Diamond League Series has already proven in favor of the American, as she sets a new American Record in the event. She previously held the record in 12.17, which she set in 2025, but this new PR adds another layer to the race.
Not only did she reset her American Record, but she put herself only a breath away from the World Record. At the 2026 Diamond League Meeting in Xiamen, China, Masia Russell ran 12.14, only two milliseconds off of the world record.
Russell finished 0.14 seconds ahead of the rest of the field with Bahamian athlete Devynne Charlton behind in 12.37, to set a new national record.
With the way Russell has opened the season, it feels less like a matter of if the world record will fall and more like a matter of when.
Don’t Miss A Second Of The 2026 Diamond League
The Diamond League is streaming live on FloTrack and the FloSports app. FloTrack’s Diamond League coverage includes live events, replays, videos and articles throughout the season.
Where To Watch Diamond League?
The Wanda Diamond League will be broadcast on FloTrack and the FloSports app.
FloTrack Archived Footage
Video footage from each event will be archived and stored in a video library for FloTrack subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscriptions.
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