The opening night of the Brussels Wanda Diamond League Final at King Baudouin Stadium delivered a series of record-breaking performances, headlined by Collen Kebinatshipi and Chase Jackson.
Kebinatshipi stormed to a Diamond League and Botswana record of 43.40 seconds in the men’s 400 metres, while Jackson established a North American and Diamond League record of 21.14 metres in the women’s shot put.
In the men’s 800m, Emmanuel Wanyonyi set a meet record of 1:41.80 as the first 16 Diamond League champions of 2026 were crowned.
The 50th Memorial Van Damme, attended by King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, honours Belgian middle-distance star Ivo Van Damme, who died in a car crash on Dec. 29, 1976, months after winning Olympic silver in the 800m and 1500m at the Montreal Games.
Men’s 400m
World champion Collen Kebinatshipi claimed his first Diamond League title in style, setting Diamond League, meet, and Botswana records of 43.40. It marked his sixth Diamond League victory of the season following wins in Xiamen (43.92), Paris (43.54), Eugene (44.00), Monaco (43.44), and Chorzów (43.59).
World silver medallist Jereem Richards finished second, shaving 0.04 off his Trinidad and Tobago record to clock 43.68. Defending champion Jacory Patterson and Chris Bailey also dipped under the 44-second barrier, setting personal bests of 43.78 and 43.97, respectively. European champion Matthew Hudson-Smith finished fifth in 44.23.
Women’s shot put
Two-time world champion Chase Jackson secured her third Diamond League title with a world-leading 21.14m throw in the third round, setting Diamond League and North American records.
The American went over 21m for the second consecutive meet, just a week after winning in Berlin with a 21.02m effort. Canada’s Sarah Mitton claimed second place with a top throw of 20.64m on her opening attempt, edging European and world champion Jessica Schilder (20.57m).
Men’s 800m
Emmanuel Wanyonyi captured his fourth straight Diamond League 800m title, setting a meet record of 1:41.80. The Kenyan came within 0.04 of his world-leading 1:41.76 set in Zurich the prior week.
Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati finished second in 1:42.71, while Yanis Meziane took third in a season-best 1:42.87. Canadian Marco Arop finished fourth in 1:43.50, followed by Ben Pattison (1:44.29) and Gabriel Tual (1:44.55).
It was a surprise finish as Arop was expected to finish closer to Wanyonyi and potentially push him closer to David Rudisha’s world record of 1:40.91 from his performance at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Results
RankNatNameTime1KENWANYONYI Emmanuel1:41.80 MR2ALGSEDJATI Djamel1:42.713FRAMEZIANE Yanis1:42.87 PB4CANAROP Marco1:43.505GBRPATTISON Ben1:44.296FRATUAL Gabriel1:44.557NORGRØNSTAD Tobias1:44.868ALGMOULA Slimane1:49.62DNFSLOVUKOVIC Jan
Men’s pole vault
World and European silver medallist Emmanouil Karalis earned his first Diamond League title, raising the meet record by one centimetre to 6.12m on his third attempt.
Sondre Guttormsen cleared 5.82m to take second on countback ahead of Kurtis Marschall, while Sam Kendricks placed fourth at 5.72m.
World record holder Armand Duplantis withdrew before the competition due to a leg injury.
Women’s 200m
Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred won the 200m in 21.79 seconds (+0.1 m/s), earning her second Diamond League Trophy. It was Alfred’s fourth 200m victory on the circuit this season.
Lausanne winner Kayla White finished second in 22.00, while Great Britain’s Amy Hunt took third in a season-best 22.16.
Men’s 100m
World champion Oblique Seville edged a tight 100m final in 9.90 seconds, holding off Emmanuel Eseme (9.93) for his first Diamond League title.
Kayinsola Ajayi placed third in 9.97, followed by Lachlan Kennedy in 9.99.
Women’s 3000m steeplechase
Faith Cherotich successfully defended her Diamond League title, stopping the clock in a meet record 8:51.61. Doris Lemngole finished second in 8:52.86 to complete a Kenyan 1-2, ahead of Olympic champion Winfred Yavi of Bahrain (8:53.54).
Tunisia’s Marwa Bouzayani placed fourth in 8:57.02, while Peruth Chemutai took fifth in 8:59.77.
Men’s 1500m
Australian 20-year-old Cameron Myers closed out a standout season by taking the 1500m in 3:30.14. He held off world U20 record-holder Phanuel Koech Kipkosgei, who ran a season-best 3:30.18 for second.
Ethan Strand placed third in 3:30.50, edging Jakob Ingebrigtsen by 0.02, while Yared Nuguse took fifth in 3:30.56.
But it was Jakob Ingebrigtsen who, uncharacteristically, led for over 1300m of the race and got run down by Myers, Koech, and Strand. With Myers and Koech in a near dead heat at the line.
At one point, very late in the race, Cole Hocker and Yared Nuguse were in position to sprint, but Koech knocked Nuguse backward, and the American never recovered.
“It was good to be running with a bunch of athletes who want to run in the queue and hide themselves tonight. So, that is what it is, but I am not a hider myself.”
Ingebrigtsen also torched the second pacer, who had trouble keeping up and held Ingebrigtsen back a little.
“I think I will run circles around them in not too many months.”
“I am not here to f**k around,” he added.
Results
RankNatNameTime1AUSMYERS Cameron3:30.142KENKOECH Phanuel Kipkosgei3:30.18 SB3USASTRAND Ethan3:30.50 SB4NORINGEBRIGTSEN Jakob3:30.52 SB5USANUGUSE Yared3:30.566USAKESSLER Hobbs3:30.71 SB7USAHOCKER Cole3:30.80 =SB8GBRHEYWARD Jake3:31.18 SB9GERFARKEN Robert3:32.1110BELVERHEYDEN Ruben3:32.4711USACIATTEI Vincent3:33.6712KENCHERUIYOT Timothy3:35.20DNFUSAJACKSON Christian DNFKENKIPRUGUT Boaz
Men’s discus
Slovenia’s Kristjan Čeh set a meet record of 71.29m in the third round to win the discus. Mykolas Alekna took second with a 70.14m throw, while Rojé Stona placed third at 68.86m.
Men’s 110m hurdles
World record-holder Ja’Kobe Tharp clocked 13.03 seconds into a 0.3 m/s headwind to secure his third circuit win of the year. Jamal Britt (13.09) and Trey Cunningham (13.22) completed an American sweep of the podium.
Men’s long jump
Jamaica’s Tajay Gayle captured the long jump with a season-best mark of 8.46m. Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou finished second at 8.40m, while Simon Ehammer finished third at 8.23m.
Women’s triple jump
Saly Sarr leapt 14.96m in the fifth round to win her second consecutive Diamond League competition, finishing ahead of Leyanis Pérez Hernández (14.82m) and Davisleydi Velazco (14.73m).
Women’s 400m hurdles
Anna Cockrell earned her second straight victory on the circuit, winning in 53.01 seconds. Emma Zapletalová finished second in 53.10, while Paulien Couckuyt took third, lowering her Belgian record to 53.20.
Women’s discus
China’s Feng Bin claimed the title with a season-best throw of 67.46m. Two-time Olympic champion Valarie Allman took second at 66.92m, ending her streak of five straight Diamond League titles.
Men’s high jump
Poland’s Mateusz Kołodziejski cleared 2.28m on his first attempt to edge JuVaughn Harrison on countback for the win. Oleh Doroshchuk and Gianmarco Tamberi tied for third at 2.25m.
Women’s 5000m
Ethiopia swept the podium, with Freweyni Hailu winning in 14:35.20, ahead of Likina Amebaw (14:36.31) and Senayet Getachew (14:37.09). Rose Davies of Australia was in the mix and ended up fourth, after being in medal contention, but made contact with another runner and stumbled back to fifth.
But it was Hailu who ran away from the crowd, and there was no chance of her being caught over the final 120m.
Results
RankNatNameTime1ETHHAILU Freweyni14:35.202ETHAMEBAW Likina14:36.313ETHGETACHEW Senayet14:37.094AUSDAVIES Rose14:37.47 SB5ETHMESHESHA Hirut14:37.846AUSGRIFFITH Georgia14:38.69 SB7NEDKOSTER Maureen14:39.388ETHEISA Medina14:39.409ETHALEMAYO Marta14:40.2710AUSHALL Linden14:40.62 PBDNFBDINIYOMUKUNZI Francine DNFBELvan LENT Jana