Faith Kipyegon wins in Brussels (© Marta Gorczynska)
Olympic champions Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet broke meeting records on the track at the Allianz Memorial van Damme, while Italy’s Leonardo Fabbri did likewise in the men’s shot put to highlight the second day of action at the Wanda Diamond League Final in Brussels on Saturday (14).
In winning the 1500m, Kipyegon secured her fifth Diamond trophy and capped yet another unbeaten season at her specialist discipline. On this occasion, the Kenyan was more focused on winning than on improving her own world record. She had world road mile champion Diribe Welteji for company on the final lap, but sprinted away down the home straight to win in 3:54.75, taking 0.58 off a meeting record that had stood since 2003.
Welteji was second in 3:55.25, finishing comfortably ahead of Olympic silver medallist Jessica Hull.
"My goal was to finish my Diamond League season in a good way and I did," said Kipyegon. "It was a good race, but definitely not an easy one. I started my season very late because of a small problem but now I feel strong."
Chebet, who had beaten Kipyegon to the Olympic 5000m title, was a clear winner of the 5000m here in Brussels and produced one of the fastest times in history to smash the meeting record by nine seconds.
She led through 2000m in 5:41.27 and 3000m in 8:31.09. By the time she reached 4000m, she had a three-second lead over Ethiopia’s Medina Eisa. That margin continued to grow in the closing stages and she crossed the line victorious in 14:09.82.
Eisa held on for second, clocking a world U20 record of 14:21.89 to finish ahead of compatriot Fotyen Tesfaye (14:28.53).
Beatrice Chebet in Brussels (© Matthew Quine)
Prior to the Olympics, European champion Leonardo Fabbri had been the standout performer in the men’s shot put. He even beat world record-holder Ryan Crouser in their final pre-Paris clash, winning in London with 22.52m.
His Olympic experience wasn’t quite what he’d hoped for, though, as he finished fifth with 21.70m – more than a metre shy of the Italian record of 22.95m he’d set earlier in the season. His five competitions after Paris showed some slight improvement, but he hadn’t managed to achieve a victory in any of them.
He more than rectified that in Brussels, though – not only winning, but also beating Crouser, and doing so with a lifetime best of 22.98m. Crouser was second with 22.79m.
Fabbri’s compatriot and fellow European champion Gianmarco Tamberi also returned to winning ways, taking the men’s high jump with 2.34m.
The 2021 Olympic champion was matched at every height by Ukraine’s Oleh Doroshchuk, both mean clearing 2.28m on their second try before going clear at 2.31m on their first attempt. With the bar set at 2.34m, Tamberi was the only one to go clear, doing so on his third and final jump.
Elsewhere on the track, there were mixed fortunes for Olympic champions Emmanuel Wanyonyi and Letsile Tebogo. Wanyonyi came from behind to take the men’s 800m, but Tebogo was forced to settle for the runner-up spot in the men’s 200m.
Given the incredible standard of the event this year, there had been talk of a potential world record in the men’s 800m. The initial pace was quick, too, as Marco Arop covered the first lap in 49.28.
The world champion started to fade with 150 metres to go, though, as Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati started to challenge for the lead. Wanyonyi timed his finish best, though, with the Kenyan overtaking his tiring opponents just before the line to win in 1:42.70. Sedjati was second in 1:42.86 and Arop third (1:43.25).
Emmanuel Wanyonyi wins the 800m in Brussels (© Matthew Quine)
After finishing behind Tebogo at the Olympics and then at the Diamond League meetings in Silesia and Zurich, Kenny Bednarek finally tasted a moment of glory in the men’s 200m.
The US sprinter got off to a strong start and led the field as they came into the home straight. Botswana’s Tebogo battled down the straight but couldn’t make up ground on Bednarek, who crossed the line in 19.67, finishing 0.13 ahead of the Olympic champion.
Olympic bronze medallists claim Diamond trophies
Just a few weeks after Faith Cherotich, Femke Bol, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, Brittany Brown and Alison dos Santos stood on the third step of the podium at the Paris Olympics, they all earned places on the champions’ platform in Brussels after winning Diamond trophies in their respective disciplines.
The opening pace was swift in the women’s steeplechase with the first kilometre covered in 2:55.43, just outside world record pace. It soon became a three-woman race between the Olympic medallists: Winfred Yavi, Peruth Chemutai and Cherotich.
The pace dropped in the second kilometre, and in the closing stages Chemutai’s challenge faded as Cherotich outsprinted Yavi to take the title – and her first international victory at the senior level – in 9:02.36. Yavi was second in 9:02.87.
World champion Femke Bol saw off the challenge of the woman who finished one place ahead of her in Paris, USA’s Anna Cockrell, to win the 400m hurdles by more than a second.
The duo were level through the first half, but the Dutch athlete then started to stride clear before going on to win in 52.45. Cockrell took second place in 53.71, 0.28 ahead of Jamaica’s Shiann Salmon.
The women’s 100m hurdles appeared highly competitive on paper, but in the end 2021 Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn won comfortably in 12.38 from Nadine Visser (12.54). World leader Ackera Nugent was third in 12.55.
In the women’s 200m, USA’s Brittany Brown produced the same time that earned her bronze at the Olympics, but this time her 22.20 was enough to win ahead of Britain’s Daryll Neita (22.45).
In a pre-programme invitational race, Olympic 400m hurdles champion Sydney McLaughlin won in 22.40.
Brazil’s Alison dos Santos returned to winning ways in the men’s 400m hurdles. The 2022 world champion had won five Diamond League meetings before the Olympics, then earned bronze in Paris but failed to finish in Zurich and placed second in Bellinzona.
Here, though, he clocked 47.93 to take the Diamond trophy, holding off Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba (48.20).
More accolades for world and Olympic champions Kennedy and Kitaguchi
World and Olympic champion Nina Kennedy emerged victorious from a competitive women’s pole vault. The Australian was one of four women to go clear at 4.80m – just the second time that had happened outside of a global championships. Sandi Morris, Alysha Newman and Molly Caudery all cleared that height but went no higher.
Kennedy, meanwhile, sailed over 4.88m on her first try and then bowed out after three unsuccessful tries at 4.95m.
World and Olympic champion Haruka Kitaguchi saved her best for last, as she so often does, to win the javelin. She took the lead in round two with 65.08m, which stood as the best mark until Serbia’s Adriana Vilagos threw 65.23m with her final effort. Kitaguchi responded, though, with her best throw of the season, sending her spear out to 66.13m.
In a reverse of the women’s event, the men’s javelin was effectively won in the first round as Anderson Peters sent his spear out to 87.87m with his opening throw. World champion Neeraj Chopra came within one centimetre of that mark in round three, then Peters also threw 87.86m in the final round to wrap up his winning series.
Elsewhere, Olympic silver medallist Pedro Pichardo ended his season on a high by taking the Diamond trophy in the men’s triple jump with 17.33m, while Italy’s Larissa Iapichino took the women’s long jump with 6.80m.
Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics
