The Diamond League 2024 concluded its first final in Brussels at the weekend. The event, filled with Olympic medallists, showcased the best of athletics with stars like Julien Alfred and emerging talents such as Charlie Dobson, who surprised everyone with his performance in the 400 metres.
The first event that left the crowd in awe at the King Baudouin Stadium was the 400 metres as the 24-year-old British runner ascended to the top of the podium after clocking 44.49 seconds in a memorable race, securing his place at next year’s World Championships in Tokyo.
Dobson, ranked tenth in the world and having failed to reach the semifinals at Paris 2024, defied all odds by defeating Olympic medallists Muzala Samukonga and Matthew Hudson-Smith. The latter was forced to withdraw from the race due to cramps. In the final rush, Dobson executed a flawless attack, moving up three places and crossing the finish line first. Silver and bronze went to Kirani James and Samukonga, respectively.
Half an hour before this, Swede Armand Duplantis captured all the attention. With a jump of 6.11 metres, he clinched the title and achieved his fifteenth win of the season. The athlete made it clear that his goal for this event was not to surpass the 6.27 metres that earned him Olympic gold in Paris and set another world record. “I didn’t have the speed all the way to jump that high,” he conceded.
The sprinting excitement kicked off the final stretch of the Diamond League with the women’s 100 metres. After being crowned champion at the Paris Games, Julien Alfred from Saint Lucia triumphed on the Brussels track with a time of 10.88 seconds, securing the victory. The disappointment came from another major favourite, Texan Sha’Carri Richardson, who had beaten Alfred the previous week at the Zurich meeting but this time only managed an unexpected eighth place with 11.23 seconds, her worst time since 2022.
Also part of the sprinters’ showcase, Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake won the men’s 100 metres in 9.93 seconds, followed by Americans Christian Coleman and Fred Kerley.
In the 400-metre invitational race, an event outside the official competition, American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone once again displayed the talent that made her a double Olympic champion in the 400m hurdles. Not only did she dominate the race with a time of 49.11 seconds, but she also beat by more than three-tenths the time set minutes later by world and Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino in the actual Diamond final. “I would have liked to run faster. I’m still learning how to handle this event,” McLaughlin confessed.
Another standout was Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who made a spectacular comeback in the men’s 1,500 metres, winning with a time of 3:30.37. This victory was particularly significant after his absence from the podium at the Paris Olympic Games. He narrowly defeated Kenya’s Timothy Cheruiyot and Cole Hocker.
In the men’s long jump, Jamaica’s Tajay Gayle was the surprise winner. The 2019 world champion, who, like Blake and Zhoya, did not reach the Olympic final in Paris, achieved his season’s best of 8.28m and took the lead in the second round. World and Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou responded with a jump of 8.15m in the final round, but it was only enough to secure second place. Switzerland’s Simon Ehammer won bronze.
In the high jump, Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh delivered as expected. Building on her gold medal in Paris, she secured her eighth consecutive victory in the Diamond League, clearing the bar at 1.97 metres, the same height achieved by Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers.
Meanwhile, Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali suffered a rare defeat in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase. The double Olympic and world champion finished second with a time of 8:08.60 minutes, just behind Kenya’s Amos Serem (8:06.90). Tunisia’s Mohamed Amin Jhinaoui came in third.
In the women’s discus throw, Olympic champion Valarie Allman claimed another victory, defeating rivals such as 2022 world champion Feng Bin and Sandra Elkasevic. The American threw the discus 68.47 metres on her third attempt, enough to secure the Diamond ahead of her competitors.
Other winners included France’s Sasha Zhoya (13.16 in the 110m hurdles), Canada’s Sarah Mitton (20.25m in the shot put), Australia’s Matthew Denny (69.96m in the discus), Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi (12:43.66 in the 5,000m), Cuba’s Leyanis Pérez (14.37m in the triple jump), and Kenya’s Mary Moraa (1:56.56 in the 800m).
