China's Zhang Mingkun wins men's long jump title at Diamond League season opener in Xiamen

China's Zhang Mingkun won the men's long jump title at the World Athletics Diamond League season opener in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, on Saturday.

"It was my first time in Xiamen and competing in such a high-level event. I didn't jump well initially, but luckily I found my rhythm on the fifth attempt," said Zhang, who leaped 8.18 meters in the final.

Olympic silver medalist Zhu Yaming was unable to secure his first Diamond League gold in the men's triple jump, as Jamaica's Jordan Scott leapt a personal-best 17.27 meters to take the title. Zhu settled for silver with a mark of 17.03 meters on his fourth attempt.

Another home athlete, Su Lingdan, earned the women's javelin bronze with an effort of 61.62 meters, while the gold went to Elina Tzengko of Greece, who posted an event record of 64.75 meters.

Chinese veteran shot putter Gong Lijiao added the women's bronze to her collection, after recording a season-best toss of 19.62 meters on her third attempt. Dutchwoman Jessica Schilder threw 20.47 meters to grab the gold.

"I'm pretty satisfied with my result, although I know I could have done better to break 20 meters," Gong said. "Consistency is key to avoiding injuries, which is my biggest challenge at 36 years old."

Liu Junxi of China finished third in the men's 110m hurdles in a personal best time of 13.24 seconds, while Tinch Cordell of the USA won top honors with a world-leading time of 13.06 seconds.

In women's 200m, 16-year-old Chen Yujie made a head-turning Diamond League debut by crossing the line in 22.99 seconds, setting a new Asian youth record.

Meanwhile, South African sprinter Akani Simbine clocked 9.99 seconds to win the men's 100m, with home favorite Xie Zhenye finishing eighth in a season-best time of 10.23 seconds.

Norway's Karsten Warholm concluded a remarkable week in Xiamen by laying down a world best time of 33.05 seconds in the newly-introduced men's 300m hurdles, as the final event of the evening saw the Olympic champion lead from start to finish.

"It was a very good race, very good atmosphere, I just tried to run as fast as possible," said the 400m hurdles world record holder. "I came early to have a very good training session on Tuesday. I really enjoyed the city and the weather here, and the people have been so good to me, so it was a very good week in Xiamen."

Matheus Lima of Brazil took silver in a time of 33.98 seconds, while Japan's Ken Toyoda finished third in 34.22 seconds.

Men's pole vault world record holder Armand Duplantis of Sweden defended his title in a less than ideal manner, clinching victory with a height of 5.92 meters after three jumps, but failed on all three attempts when raising the bar to 6.01 meters.

"It was not the easiest day. We had a little bit of trouble with the wind, but overall it was a great fun," said the 25-year-old, who set the world record of 6.24 meters at the same event last season.

Other pole vaulters also faced challenges, as Greece's Emmanouil Karalis and Menno Vloon of the Netherlands both reached the podium with less-impressive heights of 5.82 meters.

In the women's high jump, Ukraine's Yaroslava Mahuchikh, despite failing on all three attempts at 2.03 meters, claimed the title after ending up as the only competitor to clear 1.97 meters. Australia's Eleanor Patterson and Nicola Olyslagers shared the next two spots with heights of 1.94 meters.

Three-time Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon of Kenya won the women's 1,000m in 2:29.32, just 0.23 seconds shy of the world record.

"I wanted to do my personal best, and it was very close to the world record. It was a very good start to my season," said Kipyegon.