The line-up for the 51st edition of Athletissima, taking place on 21 August, promises
plenty of excitement. All the major figures of Swiss athletics are announced, starting
with the four athletes who have shone at the highest international level in recent
months: Audrey Werro, Simon Ehammer, Ditaji Kambundji and Angelica Moser.
Swiss athletics is currently enjoying a particularly strong period. In this context, the Lausanne leg of the Diamond League will offer fans the chance to see the very best up close in the stadium, as well as meet them around the event during Athletissima Week. Ticket sales will open on 22 April at 8:00 on the official website (athletissima.ch).
Ditaji Kambundji will compete in the 100m hurdles, the discipline in which she is the reigning world champion. The charismatic athlete from Bern will be aiming for victory in what promises to be a highly competitive race. The 100m hurdles is one of the fastest-growing events in athletics, and the younger of the Kambundji sisters—now crowned Swiss Sportswoman of the Year—will be eager to live up to her new status.
Also highly anticipated, Audrey Werro has become a crowd favourite in French-speaking Switzerland and beyond. The 22-year-old from Fribourg now knows how to hold her own and win at the highest level. She is set to thrill the crowd at La Pontaise, just as she did last year when she claimed her first Diamond League podium over 800m (2nd place). Since then, she has also won silver at the World Indoor Championships in Poland last month. Her duel with England’s Keely Hodgkinson will be one of the key storylines of the 2026 season.
Another athlete in the spotlight, Simon Ehammer continues to impress with his versatility. The Appenzell native made his mark at the recent World Indoor Championships by breaking the world record in the heptathlon. In Lausanne, he will compete in the long jump—his strongest discipline—in which he won world bronze in 2022 in Eugene. Last year, despite torrential rain, he finished second at Athletissima.
A regular on major podiums for many years, Angelica Moser is also a loyal participant at Athletissima. The Zurich native, now based in the Jura, recently won bronze at the World Indoor Championships. She will be one of the main contenders in the women’s pole vault, which will take place at La Pontaise, unlike the men’s event organised as a City Event. It promises to be one of the highlights of the meeting.
These four athletes take on the role of Athletissima ambassadors. However, they will not be the only Swiss stars aiming to shine on the new track at La Pontaise.
The public will also see Jason Joseph, one of the top names in the 110m hurdles, Geneva’s Timothé Mumenthaler, European champion over 200m, as well as several ambitious sprinters: local athletes Léonie Pointet, Emma Van Camp and Sarah Atcho-Jaquier, largely trained in Lausanne, and Ticino’s Ajla Del Ponte. The latter is gradually returning to top form after several disrupted seasons, having notably finished 5th in the 100m at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and won the European indoor 60m title the same year.
The presence of this particularly strong generation should help make this 51st edition a standout event of the season, ideally positioned between the European Championships in Birmingham and the Ultimate Championship in Budapest.