Mondo Duplantis wins the pole vault in Brussels (© Marta Gorczynska)
Pole vault superstar Mondo Duplantis and Australian discus thrower Matthew Denny both took down meeting records at the Allianz Memorial van Damme in Brussels to highlight the first day of Wanda Diamond League Final action on Friday (13).
Other notable performances came from Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi, who clocked one of the fastest 5000m performances in history, and Kenya’s Amos Serem, who ended Soufiane El Bakkali’s three-year winning streak in the steeplechase.
Duplantis, who set a world record of 6.25m to win Olympic gold in Paris and then increased that to 6.26m in Silesia last month, kept his jumping to a minimum this evening, no doubt due to the chilly conditions.
He opened with 5.62m and didn’t vault again until the bar was at 5.92m, once again going clear on his first try. No other vaulter managed to clear that height successfully, so Duplantis then raised the bar to 6.11m, one centimetre higher than the meeting record he set last year.
With what was his third jump of the night, the Swede sailed cleanly over 6.11m to secure yet another Diamond trophy.
"My legs felt terrible tonight and I'm just really tired," said Duplantis. "It's been a crazy couple of weeks: the race against Karsten and then I had to jump the day after. That took a lot more from my body than I expected. With 6.11m I got a good result, but the world record wasn't meant to be tonight."
While Duplantis broke one of the youngest meeting records, Denny took down one of the oldest.
The Olympic bronze medallist sent his discus out to a national record of 69.96m in the first round, adding two centimetres to the meeting record set by Imrich Bugar in 1984. His throw stood up as the best of the competition, as world record-holder Mykolas Alekna finished second with 68.86m.
"I'm in great shape so I knew something great was going to happen," said Denny after winning his second successive Diamond trophy. "I also knew I had to give it my all to beat these guys today. It's been a long year, so to finish with a national record and just a few centimetres short of 70 metres makes me super happy."
Matthew Denny in Brussels (© Marta Gorczynska)
Following runner-up finishes in two high-profile races last month, Aregawi finally achieved his first track victory of 2024 by winning the 5000m in 12:43.66. His time was just a few seconds shy of the meeting record, but still ranks as the 18th fastest performance in history and came in a race where four men finished inside 12:50.
Once the pacemakers had dropped out, Yomif Kejelcha led the field through 3000m in 7:42.07 but he still had compatriots Aregawi and Hagos Gebrhiwet, the second-fastest man in history, for company.
Aregawi – who finished second in the 10,000m at the Paris Olympics, and over 3000m when Jakob Ingebrigtsen broke the world record in Silesia – this time proved to have the superior kick as he won in 12:43.66. Gebrhiwet was second in 12:44.25, ahead of Telahun Haile Bekele (12:45.63) and Kenya’s Nicholas Kipkorir (12:49.59).
Berihu Aregawi leads the 5000m in Brussels (© Marta Gorczynska)
When it came to the business end of the men’s 3000m steeplechase, Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali – who hasn’t lost a race in the discipline since September 2021 – this time had no response to Amos Serem. The Kenyan strode ahead to win in 8:06.90 to El Bakkali’s 8:08.60.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen bounced back from his defeat in Zurich to win the 1500m here in 3:30.37, beating Olympic champion Cole Hocker and Zurich winner Yared Nuguse.
Ingebrigtsen produced his usual dominant last-lap display to win in 3:30.37. This time it was 2019 world champion Timothy Cheruiyot who was his closest challenger, the Kenyan taking second in 3:30.93, 0.01 ahead of Hocker as Nuguse was sixth.
Mary Moraa also ended her season on a high. The world 800m champion produced a season’s best of 1:56.56 to win over two laps from Olympic 1500m bronze medallist Georgia Bell (1:57.50).
Olympic champions Alfred, Paulino and McLaughlin-Levrone victorious
Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred capped a historic season with another big win, this time taking the Diamond trophy in the short sprint.
The St Lucian sprinter capitalised on her strong start and was pushed all the way by training partner Dina Asher-Smith. Alfred managed to edge ahead in the closing stages to cross the line first in 10.88 (0.2m/s) from the Briton (10.92). World champion Sha’Carri Richardson was never in contention and faded to eighth in 11.23.
Julien Alfred wins over 100m in Brussels (© Matthew Quine)
World and Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino extended her winning streak in the 400m to take the Diamond trophy. The sprinter from the Dominican Republic finished almost a second clear of USA’s Alexis Holmes, winning in 49.45 to Holmes’ 50.32.
In a pre-programme invitational 400m race, Olympic 400m hurdles champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won in 49.11.
In one of the more surprising outcomes of the evening, Britain’s Charlie Dobson came through in the closing stages to win the men’s 400m in 44.49m. Compatriot Matthew Hudson-Smith, the Olympic silver medallist, pulled up before the half-way stage. Kirani James held on for second place in 44.63.
Blake and Zhoya rebound with sprint victories
Victory in the two shortest men’s track events on the programme went to two athletes who missed out on making the Olympic final in their respective disciplines.
Ackeem Blake had never won a Diamond League race before today, but the Jamaican seized the moment in Brussels tonight and defied the chilly conditions to win the men’s 100m in 9.93 (0.1m/s).
The world indoor bronze medallist got off to a strong start and had world indoor champion Christian Coleman for company at half way. But Blake then eased into the lead to cross the line a comfortable winner ahead of the US sprinter (10.00). 2022 world champion Fred Kerley was third in 10.01.
France’s Sasha Zhoya, meanwhile, came through strongly in the closing stages of the men’s 110m hurdles to win in 13.16 from European champion Lorenzo Simonelli (13.22).
Jamaica’s Tajay Gayle was a surprise winner of the men’s long jump. The 2019 world champion – who, like Blake and Zhoya, missed out on the Olympic final in Paris – produced a season’s best of 8.28m to take the lead in round two. World and Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou responded with a last-round leap of 8.15m, but it was only enough for second place.
World indoor champion Sarah Mitton was another who made up for her disappointment at the Olympic Games, where she finished 12th. The Canadian ended her season on a high by winning the shot put with a second-round throw of 20.25m, winning by 35cm from two-time world champion Chase Jackson. Olympic champion Yemisi Ogunleye was third with 19.72m.
Allman and Mahuchikh extend 2024 outdoor unbeaten streak
USA’s Olympic champion Valarie Allman won her fourth successive Diamond trophy in the discus. China’s 2022 world champion Feng Bin briefly led in round two with 67.08m, but Allman responded with 68.47m which remained the best mark of the day. World leader Yaime Perez was third with 66.96m.
The outcome of the women’s high jump was almost a repeat of the Olympic final with the same four women filling the top four places.
World and Olympic champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh once again came out on top, the Ukrainian winning on countback from world indoor champion Nicola Olyslagers, both clearing 1.97m. Joint Olympic bronze medallists Iryna Gerashchenko (1.92m) and Eleanor Patterson (1.88m) were third and fourth respectively.
Elsewhere, world indoor silver medallist Leyanis Perez Hernandez won the women’s triple jump with 14.37m.
Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics
