Brussels put the first 16 ‘Diamonds’ of the circuit, which includes fifteen athletics events throughout the season, up for grabs on Friday. And with the precious trophy, the 30,000 dollars that each of the winners will pocket. Among those stars, Jakob Ingebrigtsen shone again and Armand Duplantis, the pole stand-up comedian of recent years.
Ingebrigtsen, one of the athletes who has brought the most spectacle this 2024 between victories and records, He ‘took revenge’ in Brussels for his defeat against Nuguse in the penultimate meeting of this circuit, in Zurich, just 10 days ago and of the Olympic final, in which he finished fourthThis time the Norwegian did not seek the world record of El Guerrouj – who was in the stands – and carved out ‘his’ diamond with a chiseled attack just before the last lap, a change of pace that could have cost him dearly when he almost collided with the hare who was retreating at that moment.
But Ingebrigtsen, now recovered from the virus that had hampered him in Zurich, wanted to end the season on a high note. Not even Kenyan Cheruiyot or Olympic champion Hocker could match him at the end. Nor did Nuguse, who stumbled with 300 metres to go and lost his way, worry Jakob, who won in 3:30.37.
Duplantis, record of the meeting with 6.11
Olympic pole vault champion Armand Duplantis took home another diamond, needing only two valid jumps to do so: 5.62 and 5.92. This last height could not be overcome by either the Greek Karalis or the Belgian Broeders, second and third respectively. So, with the diamond and the victory in his pocket, the Swede went in search of a record, his great motivation.
He set the bar at 6.11 to surpass the one he had set in 2023. He conquered it on the first attempt to the delight of the King Baudouin Stadium crowd. But that’s where the Swede stood, centimetre by centimetre, and has surpassed it. the world record has been set up to ten times so far, the last time in August with 6.26. The cold (around 13º) and the rain that fell in the morning made the pole vaulter give up trying to find another historical record.
Without Olympic champion Grant Holloway in the running – he did not reach an economic agreement with the circuit organisers – The race for victory in the 110m hurdles was left more open. Frenchman Zhoya, who had a poor start, was able to overcome each hurdle to beat Italian Simonelli at the finish line with 13.16.
Zhoya celebrates the victoryLAPRESSE
Another event in the line, the men’s 100m, also did not bring together all the favourites. With the absence of Noah Lyles, who has not competed since Paris – when he won gold in the 100m and bronze in the 200m – Jamaican Ackeem Blake surprised with 9.93, the only one who went under 10.00, to take the diamond ahead of the American ‘Armada’ side, Coleman and Kerley.
Julien Alfred was once again the reigning champion in the women’s 100m. The Olympic champion from Saint Lucia was very solid in 10.88, ahead of Britain’s Asher-Smith and Ta Lou.
There was a triple for Ethiopia in the 5,000 meters, with Aregawi winning, who set a season-best time of 12:43.66, but did not set a record for the meeting (12:39.74), which was one of the goals of the race. He was joined on the podium by his compatriots Gebrhiwet and Bekele.
Dani Arce, fifth in the 3,000m steeplechase
Dani Arce was the only Spaniard present at these Diamond League finals. The obstacle runner finished fifth, with 8:10.88, in a close race where he was among the top three with two laps to go. The final victory went to the Kenyan Serem (8:06.90), who emerged triumphant from the duel with El Bakkali thanks to a long final attack that the Moroccan was unable to stop.
Out of the fight for the diamond trophies, since she had not competed in any previous circuit meetings, the American ran Sydney McLaughlin in a 400-meter race organized in parallel at the King Baudouin Stadium. The world record holder, running alone in the final metres, took the victory in 49.11, ahead of Jamaican Williams. Immediately afterwards, in the event that did put the diamond in play, the victory went to the best of the year, the Dominican Marileidy Paulino, with 49.45, who already won this trophy in 2022 and 2023.
On disk, Olympic champion Valarie Allman bagged another victory, after beating rivals such as Feng Bin, world champion in 2022, and Sandra Elkasevic. The American threw the object to 68.47 on her third attempt, enough to take the diamond ahead of the Chinese.
The long distance pit experienced an unprecedented end in recent times, with the Greek Tentoglou out of first place. The Olympic and world champion did not do well, finishing third with 8.15 on his last attempt. Jamaican Gayle had previously jumped to 8.28m on his second attempt, enough to take the diamond, ahead of Switzerland’s Ehammer (8.16m).
Britain’s Dobson won the 400 metres in 44.49, while Kenya’s Moraa She took, not without some difficulty, the victory in the 800m (1:56.56). In the triple jump, and with only one valid jump, the Cuban Leyanis Pérez put her name on the diamond (14.37), as did the Australian Denny in the discus (69.96), who beat Alekna and Stahl. The Ukrainian Mahuchikh, in the high jump, and the Canadian Mitton, in the shot put, completed the cast of diamonds of the first day of the competition finals.
