King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels—The second day of the Allianz Memorial Van Damme, also the grand finale of the 2024 Diamond League series, saw several surprise victories in chilly weather. It brought closure to a pulsating season for many athletes, who showed signs of fatigue and relief when it was over.
In the men’s 200m, Letsile Tebogo saw his winning streak end. The Botswanan was beaten by the omnipresent American Kenneth Bednarek, who came off the bend ahead and stubbornly hung on to his lead despite Tebogo’s valiant attempt to reel him in. Bednarek crossed the line in 19.67 seconds to claim his second Diamond Trophy.
“I´m feeling great. It´s been a really long season: I got the silver medal in Paris, I had a few wins during the season, also a few losses, but being able to end the season with a victory in the DL final gives me a lot of confidence for next year, said Bednarek.
Bednarek added, “This year, I shocked a few people with how fast I ran. I knew I had it in me, but the last couple of seasons, I had some injuries here and there. This season, people have seen a glimpse of what I can do. It´s not a breakout year; this is something that I was supposed to be doing. Next year I will even be faster and more dangerous.”
“I wanted to win the Diamond Trophy, but it has been a rollercoaster after the Olympics, said Tebogo. “So it wasn’t easy to keep the focus. The cameras are more on me now, but I have to focus on myself.”
Notwithstanding, Tebogo won the Jesse Owens Rising Star Award as the best-performing male athlete aged 23 or under at the Diamond League Final.
Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn won the highly anticipated women’s 100m hurdles, which proved a no-contest in 12.38 seconds. It was her 14th Diamond League win of her career but, more importantly, her first Diamond Trophy.
“Performance-wise, it was a bit sloppy today, but it´s really cold,” said Camacho-Quinn. “I did the best I could and won, so I finally have that trophy.”
World leader Ackera Nugent, who was expected to push Camacho-Quinn all the way, finished a distant third in 12.55 seconds, just behind Netherlands’s Nadine Visser in 12.54.
Four in a row for Femke Bol
Femke Bol won her fourth successive Diamond League title in the women’s 400m hurdles, stopping the clock at 52.45 seconds. Bol avenged her loss to Paris silver medallist Anna Cockrell, who was more than a second off the pace, claiming second in 53.71, with Jamaica’s Shiann Salmon third in 53.99.
“The race wasn´t good at all tonight because I messed up a couple of things,” said Cockrell. “Hurdle two was already off, and it just wasn´t my day today. Last year, I would have been happy with a 53-second race, and today, I´m frustrated with that. So that says enough about the progress that I´ve made this season.”
Alison dos Santos won the men’s equivalent in 47.93 seconds, easily turning back the challenge of his rivals, none of which threatened to break 48 seconds. Abderrahman Samba was next best with 48.20 seconds, with the Jamaican duo of Roshawn Clarke and Malik James-King finishing fifth and sixth, respectively.
“I´m taking my second Diamond League trophy home tonight, and that´s a great accomplishment, said dos Santos. “I´ve fully recovered from a serious injury and stayed healthy this season. That´s probably the most important thing. It was difficult mentally to get back to this level, but I am happy it all worked out.”
Emmanuel Wanyonyi demonstrated his star quality in the men’s 800m, mowing through the field in the home straight and clinching a last-gasp win over Djamel Sedjati on the line in 1:42.70. This was the second Diamond Trophy in a row for the newly crowned Olympic champion.
“The Diamond League is a very competitive competition, said Wanyonyi. “It was not very warm today, but even though the race went well, the last meters were very hard, as they always are. But I worked hard for it and I´m happy I made it.”
Italian Gianmarco Tamberi won his third Diamond Trophy with a stunning clearance at 2.34m in the men’s long jump. After his disappointment in Paris, this was a fitting end to his season, and he celebrated in style with a lap of honour.
Anderson Peters won the men’s javelin with a throw of 87.87m and became the second Grenadian to win a Diamond Trophy after star quarter-miler Kirani James.
Keeping the Faith
Faith Kipyegon set a meeting record en route to the women’s 1500m title in a meeting record 3:54.75. If Kipyegon could count how many Diamond Trophies she has won on one hand, she would not have any fingers left.
“It was a good race and I really thank God for that,” said Kipyegon. “The world record was not on my mind today. My goal was to finish my Diamond League season in a good way, and I did.”
One of the biggest upsets came in the women’s 3,000m SteepleChase when Olympic and 2023 Diamond League champion Winfred Yavi was stunned by Kenya’s Faith Cherotich. “I didn´t expect to win today, but I think I ran a good race, said Cherotich, who won in 9:02.36. “It wasn´t easy, but I kept saying to myself that if I was still in the lead after the last water jump, I was going to win. Winning the Diamond League means a lot to me.”
Crouser beaten
Another upset came in the men’s shot put final. Italian Leonardo Fabbri produced the performance of his life, pushing the heavy metal ball to 22.98m to defeat Olympic champion Ryan Crouser (22.79m). Fabbri established a series of accomplishments en route to the title, including a meeting and national record and can boast of being one of the few men to defeat Crouser twice in a season.
“I threw pretty well. It was a very solid performance, said Crouser. “Five times over 22 metres. I did not have that big throw in me like the one Leonardo Fabbri had. He threw a lifetime best, so it was a big throw from him. The level in the shot put was never this high. I know that when I have an off day, someone is gonna beat me.”
Rajindra Campbell, the Olympic bronze medallist, finished third with 21.95m. “It was a good competition. I am happy with the performance; the atmosphere was beautiful and nice. I was not anticipating this kind of weather. It is colder than I expected.”