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Unfortunately, a head-to-head between Emmanouil ‘Manolo’ Karalis and Mondo Duplantis did not materialise in Brussels. The Swedish world record holder (6.31m) and meeting record holder (6.11m) withdrew after his warm-up due to a minor leg injury that has been troubling him for some time.
Still, the crowd were treated to a fantastic competition. With every jump by Karalis, the sirtaki echoed through the King Baudouin Stadium, inspiring the Greek athlete to great sporting feats. He already got very close on his second attempt at 6.12 metres, and on his third and final attempt he succeeded: the bar trembled but stayed up! A new meeting record! Karalis and the whole of Brussels danced the sirtaki. Well behind them, Norway’s Sondre Guttormensen (5.82m) and Australia’s Kurtis Marschall (also 5.82m) finished second and third respectively.
WANYONYI AND KEBINATSHIPI IMPRESS
Duplantis’ meeting record dated back to 2024, whilst in the 800 metres a meeting record from 1997 was broken. Wilson Kipketer had clocked 1:42.20 back then; Emmanuel Wanyonyi did it in 1:41.80 this time. The World and Olympic Champion from Kenya finished just 4 hundredths of a second above his best world performance of the year, set last week in Zurich. Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati finished second in 1:42.71, whilst France’s Yanis Meziane came third in a new personal best of 1:42.87.
In the 400 metres, Busang Collen Kebinatshipi destroyed Michael Cherry’s meeting record (44.03) set in 2021. The World Champion from Botswana finished in 43.40. That is the fifth-fastest time ever on the track! It is also a new Wanda Diamond League record and a new national record for Kebinatshipi.
BEST WORLD PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR FOR JACKSON
Chase Jackson also set a host of records all on her own. On her third attempt, the American shot putter threw the shot 21m14. In doing so, Jackson improved on her meeting record from last year by 24 cm and the (North) American and her personal best by 12 cm. And 21m14 is also the best world performance of the year, 5 cm further than Jessica Schilder’s throw in China a few months ago. The Dutch athlete finished third in Brussels on Friday evening with a throw of 20m57. Second place went to the Canadian Sarah Mitton with 20m64.
There was also a meeting record in the women’s 3,000-metre steeplechase. World Champion Faith Cherotich (8:51.61) wiped the eight-year-old meeting record set by her compatriot Beatrice Chepkoech (8:55.10) off the record books. Another Kenyan, Doris Lemngole, finished second in 8:52.86, a new personal best. Olympic Champion Winfred Yavi from Bahrain came third in 8:53.54.
SURPRISES IN THE DISCUS THROW AND LONG JUMP
Another meeting record was set in the men’s discus throw. European Champion Kristjan Ceh threw the discus 71m29 on his third attempt, slightly further than Matthew Denny’s 69m96 two years ago. The Australian had to settle for fourth place on Friday evening (68m04). World record holder Mykolas Alekna (70.14 metres) finished second, whilst Olympic Champion Roje Stona (68.86 metres) came third.
There was a sensation in the women’s discus throw, with victory for China’s Bin Feng (67.46 metres). This meant victory did not go to World and Olympic Champion Valarie Sion, the Wanda Diamond League Champion for the past five seasons. The American had to settle for second place this year. Her best throw in Brussels was 66.92 metres. The Dutch European Champion Jorinde van Klinken came third with 64.66 metres.
There was also a surprise in the men’s long jump: Olympic Champion Miltiadis Tentoglou seemed to be heading for victory with strong jumps of 8m31 and 8m40 on his third and fourth attempts, but the Jamaican Tajay Gayle overtook the Greek on his sixth and final jump with 8m46. Gayle loves Brussels, as two years ago he also won the WDL final at the Memorial.
SEVILLE, ALFRED AND COCKRELL DELIVER
In the men’s 100 metres, World Champion Oblique Seville stole the show. The Jamaican won in 9.90, ahead of Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme (9.93) and Nigeria’s Kayinsola Ajayi (9.97).
Julien Alfred did not disappoint in the 200 metres. The Olympic 100-metre Champion won in 21.79. The sprinter from Saint Lucia finished ahead of the American Kayla White (22.00) and the British European Champion Amy Hunt (22.16).
In the women’s 400-metre hurdles, Anna Cockrell lived up to her role as favourite, though she had to fight hard for it. The American narrowly beat the Slovakian European Champion Emma Zapletalova: 53.01 versus 53.10. Paulien Couckuyt finished a creditable third in front of her home crowd in 53.20, a new Belgian record. For Olympic silver medallist Cockrell, this is her third consecutive victory in the Wanda Diamond League.
TWO CLEAN SWEEPS
Cordell Tinch had the chance to retain his title as Wanda Diamond League Champion in the 110-metre hurdles, but the World Champion stumbled over one of the final hurdles. Nevertheless, it turned out to be an American celebration after all. Ja’Kobe Tharp, the 20-year-old world record holder, triumphed in 13.03, ahead of his compatriot Jamal Britt (13.09) and another American, Trey Cunningham (13.22).
There was also a clean sweep in the women’s 5,000 metres, but this time for Ethiopia. Freweyni Hailu (14:35.20) took the win ahead of her compatriots Likina Amebaw (14:36.1) and Senayet Getachew (14:37.09).
JUST ENOUGH FOR MYERS, JUST NOT ENOUGH FOR TAMBERI
Cameron Myers secured an impressive victory in the 1,500 metres. The 20-year-old Australian looked to have no chance as he emerged from the final bend, but with a final burst of speed on the inside lane, he managed to overtake the Kenyan Phanuel Kipkosgei Koech. The photo finish was clear: 3:30.14 versus 3:30.18. The American Ethan Strand (3:30.50) narrowly held off the Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen (3:30.52) for third place. Olympic Champion Cole Hocker (3:30.80) could only manage seventh place.
There was a major surprise in the men’s high jump, where Poland’s Mateusz Kolodziejski became the new Wanda Diamond League Champion after a successful jump of 2.28 metres. Kolodziejski needed fewer attempts than the American JuVaughn Harrison, who also cleared 6.28 metres. Third place was shared by the Ukrainian Oleh Doroshchuk and the Italian Gianmarco Tamberi. They both cleared 2m25. European Champion Tamberi had another very good attempt at 2m31, but after a long wobble, the bar eventually fell.
Finally, Senegal’s Sally Sarr won the triple jump with a jump of 14.96 metres, ahead of two Cuban athletes: World Champion Leyanis Perez Hernandez (14.82 metres) and Davisleydi Velazco (14.73 metres).
ALL WANDA DIAMOND LEAGUE CHAMPIONS OF FRIDAY NIGHT:
Men:
Long jump: Tajay Gayle
Pole vault: Manolo Karalis
High jump: Mateusz Kolodziejski
100 metres: Oblique Seville
Discus throw: Kristjan Ceh
800 metres: Emmanuel Wanyonyi
110-metre hurdles: Ja’Kobe Tharp
1,500 metres: Cameron Myers
400 metres: Busang Collen Kebinatshipi
Women:
Shot put: Chase Jackson
Discus thrown: Bin Feng
400-metre hurdles: Anna Cockrell
3,000-metre steeplechase: Faith Cherotich
Triple jump: Sally Sarr
5,000 metres: Freweyni Hailu
200 metres: Julien Alfred