Armand “Mondo” Duplantis and Jamaica’s world 100m champion Oblique Seville will be among the headline acts as the Diamond League Final gets underway in Brussels on Friday. The two-day season finale brings together some of the biggest names in athletics, with several highly anticipated clashes set to take place on the opening day.
Here are five events to watch:
Men’s Pole Vault
Double Olympic and triple world champion Armand “Mondo” Duplantis remains the dominant force in the men’s pole vault, having broken the world record 15 times. However, the Swedish star faces growing competition from Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis, who has emerged as a serious challenger.
Duplantis cleared 6.25 metres to win last week’s Diamond League meeting in Zurich, while Karalis produced a personal best of 6.20m in a closely fought contest. Duplantis admitted he will need to be at his best to keep his Greek rival at bay. Karalis, meanwhile, is hoping their rivalry will develop into a series of memorable battles, with the Greek vaulter targeting his first victory over Duplantis.
Men’s 100m
Jamaica’s Oblique Seville arrives in Brussels in impressive form after winning the Silesia Diamond League 100m in a meet-record 9.83 seconds. Seville held off Americans Kenny Bednarek and Christian Coleman in a remarkable race that saw all nine finalists break the 10-second barrier.
Coleman and Trayvon Bromell will return for the blue-riband sprint in Brussels, while Nigeria’s Kayinsola Ajayi, Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme and South Africa’s Gift Leotlela and Akani Simbine will also line up. Seville will be looking to continue his winning run and add another major victory to his season.
Women’s 200m
Olympic champion Julien Alfred headlines a strong women’s 200m field in Brussels. The Saint Lucian sprinter heads into the event full of confidence after beating world champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden in the 100m in Zurich.
Although Jefferson-Wooden will not compete in Brussels, four of her American compatriots — Anavia Battle, Jenna Prandini, Cambrea Sturgis and Kayla White — will challenge Alfred. Newly crowned European champion Amy Hunt is also expected to feature in what promises to be a competitive race. Alfred has made her ambitions clear, targeting victory and the Diamond League trophy as she looks to add more titles to her career.
Men’s 800m
Kenyan world and Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi will be one of the athletes to watch in the men’s 800m. Wanyonyi produced a stunning performance in Zurich, beating Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati in 1:41.76. The Kenyan said the result showed his form was improving as he continues his pursuit of bigger achievements in the event.
The current world record of 1:40.91 belongs to Wanyonyi’s compatriot David Rudisha, who set the mark while winning Olympic gold at the 2012 London Games. Wanyonyi has previously described the challenge of breaking Rudisha’s record as comparable to attempting to run a marathon in under two hours. He will face a formidable field in Brussels, with Sedjati, Canada’s Marco Arop and France’s Gabriel Tual also among the fastest active 800m runners in history.
Men’s 1,500m
Norwegian star Jakob Ingebrigtsen will face another demanding test in the men’s 1,500m. The field includes Olympic champion Cole Hocker, Yared Nuguse, Hobbs Kessler and Ethan Strand, who stunned the field by winning the Silesia meeting.
Ingebrigtsen returned to Diamond League competition over 1,500m in Silesia after a two-year absence as he continues his comeback from an Achilles injury that required surgery. He finished fourth in Silesia and fifth in Zurich, showing signs that he is regaining his best form. The Norwegian has won an impressive 20 Diamond League races between 2020 and 2024 and will once again face some of the world’s strongest middle-distance runners in Brussels.
