40 World and Olympic Champions to compete

Just as in 2024, this year’s Memorial is the final of the Wanda Diamond League, the series comprising the world’s biggest athletics meetings. This means that competitors will be vying for overall victory and the accompanying diamond trophy across 16 disciplines for men and the same number for women. The athletes have secured their places for Brussels through their performances at the global qualifying meetings or via a wildcard.

The field of competitors for the 50th Allianz Memorial Van Damme looks nothing short of impressive. Forty athletes who won gold at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and/or the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo will be in action in Brussels this weekend. Mondo Duplantis (pole vault), Valarie Sion (discus) and Emmanuel Wanyonyi (800 metres) are reigning World and Olympic Champions who are also hoping to be crowned 2026 Diamond League Champions in Brussels this weekend.

Other big names set to appear include top sprinters Julien Alfred, Sha’Carri Richardson, Oblique Seville and Letsile Tebogo, as well as steeplechase king and queen Soufiane El Bakkali and Winfred Yavi, Olympic 5,000-metre Champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen, World 5,000-metre Champion and Olympic 1,500-metre Champion Cole Hocker, Olympic high jump Champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh and World Champion Nicola Olyslagers, …

Kim Gevaert looks ahead

“Like everyone else, I’m really looking forward to seeing Mondo Duplantis again,” says Meeting Director Kim Gevaert. “He has taken the pole vault to unprecedented heights and can send the whole stadium into raptures. But he needs to stay on his toes, because Emmanouil Karalis is certainly giving him a run for his money. It’s wonderful to see how those two express their friendship and rivalry in the stadium. The pole vault competition is once again fun to watch!”

The hurdle events are also of an extremely high standard this season. “It’s truly phenomenal,” says Gevaert. “Masai Russell in the 100 and Alison dos Santos in the 400 have been clocking blistering times all season and both set new world records in Zurich last week. It looks like they’re in top form to deliver a spectacular performance in Brussels too. And I’m also really looking forward to seeing the new, just 20-year-old, world record holder in the 110-metre hurdles, Ja’Kobe Tharp. In June, he broke the world record set by Aries Merritt here 14 years ago.”

In the 800 metres, all eyes will be on Audrey Werro and Femke Broeders-Bol. “The Swiss athlete clocked the third, fourth and fifth fastest times ever in 2026,” shares Gevaert. “And Broeders-Bol, who seems to have made the switch from the 400-metre hurdles to the 800 metres with ease, is only getting better. She has now also beaten the Dutch record set by the legendary Ellen van Langen. A spectacular event is guaranteed! I expect the same in the 200 metres featuring Julien Alfred, who clocked the third-fastest time of all time this year.”

Will Nkansa break the 20-year-old Belgian record?

Thanks to wildcards, 21 Belgians have also qualified for the Diamond League finals, including Nafi Thiam (high jump), Noor Vidts (long jump) and the Belgian medallists at the recent European Championships in Birmingham: Jana Van Lent (5,000 metres), Saliyya Guisse (triple jump), Simon Verherstraeten (100 metres; anchor runner for the bronze-medal-winning Belgian Falcons at the European Championships) and Delphine Nkansa (100 metres), who has already come very close to Kim Gevaert’s Belgian record this year.

“Nkansa clocked 11.06, 11.07 and 11.09 at the European Championships in Birmingham. That consistency speaks louder than a single standout performance,” says Gevaert. “A final with world-class opponents, the rousing crowd… and if the weather conditions are favourable too, she might just dip below my 11.04 from 2006. I’d love to see her do it, because Delphine is a really lovely lady. And if my personal best does end up being beaten, then I’d prefer it to happen here at the Memorial, so I can see it with my own eyes,” laughs Gevaert.