KINGSTON, Jamaica — Newly minted men’s discus throw national record holder Ralford Mullings won the event on his Diamond League debut after throwing 69.66m on Friday’s Allianz Memorial Van Damme in Brussels, Belgium, the final leg of the Wanda Diamond League before next week’s two- day final in Zurich.

A week after his monster 72.01m throw in Oklahoma, Mullings, the national champion, had two throws over the 69.40m mark as he had thrown 69.41m to take the lead in the fourth round.

World record holder and world leader, Mykolas Alekna of Lithuania was second with 68.82m, while Slovenia’s Kristjan Ceh was third with 67.13m.

Defending World Athletics Championships gold medallist Antonio Watson won the men’s invitational 400m in a season’s best 44.89 seconds, his fastest time since 2023, when he shocked the field in Budapest, Hungary to win the gold medal.

Romaine Beckford was third in the men’s high jump, clearing 2.22m and needed just one jump to clear the first three heights before failing at 2.25m.

Oleh Doroshchuk of Ukraine won with 2.25m, the same height cleared by second- placed Thomas Carmoy of Belgium.

Ten-time World Champion, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was fourth in the women’s 100m running 11.17 seconds (-0.2m/s) as American world leader Melissa Jefferson-Wooden extended her unbeaten run to win in 10.76 seconds.

World Champion Sha’Carri Richardson was second in 11.08 seconds and Daryll Neita of Great Britain was third in 11.15 seconds.

Olympic Games and World Championship medallist Shanieka Ricketts finished fourth in the women’ triple jump with a best of 14.29m (-0.1m/s) and was just knocked out of third place by American Jasmine Moore, who jumped 14.38m (0.2m/s) in the fifth round to deny the Jamaican a sixth attempt.

Ackelia Smith was seventh with 13.97m as Cuba’s world leader Leyanis Perez-Hernandez won with 14.78m (0.0m/s), ahead of her compatriot Davisleydi Velazco who was second with a personal best 14.72m (-0.1m/s) and Moore third.

Andrenette Knight was well- placed in the women’s 400m hurdles before hitting the final barrier and finished fourth with 54.40 seconds.

American Anna Cockrell won with 53.66 seconds, Panama’s Gianna Woodruff ran a season’s best 53.89 seconds for second and Naomi vab den Broeck set a Belgian record 54.12 seconds as she took third place.

Danniel Thomas-Dodd placed fifth in the women’s shot put with 18.92m.

— Paul Reid

READ: Ralford Mullings shatters Jamaican men’s discus record