Duplantis, Russell, Dos Santos and Werro to headline DL Finals
BRUSSELS (BEL): 17 reigning individual Olympic champions and 16 reigning World champions will compete in the Memorial van Damme on Friday and Saturday. Athletes will battle at the King Baudouin Stadium for the 2026 Diamond League Finals trophies, and there is still a chance to get a place in the World Athletics Ultimate Championship field. Two fresh world record holders, Masai Russell and Alison Dos Santos, will highlight the meeting, while record attacking performances can be expected also in the women’s 800m and, as usual, in the men’s pole vault. Mondo Duplantis will try to win his sixth consecutive DL Final title.
Short event-by-event previews
WOMEN
FRIDAY
200m: Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred is expected to extend her unbeaten streak with some of the other top names missing; her meeting and Diamond League record is 21.48. Quadruple European champion Amy Hunt also races.
5000m: A wide-open race with the top Kenyans and Nadia Battocletti all absent. A strong Ethiopian presence includes Likina Amebaw and Freweyni Hailu, who have broken the 14:20 barrier this year.
3000m steeplechase: Another clash between the Big Three: Kenya’s Faith Cherotich, Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi and Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai. Also watch out for Tunisia’s Marwa Bouzayani, who has improved to 8:54.32 in 2026. The meeting record is 8:55.10.
400m hurdles: Can Emma Zapletalova return to winning ways after stumbling in the late stages in Zurich? She faces Anna Cockrell, who won in Zurich with a world lead of 52.13.
Triple jump: The field includes all four jumpers who have broken 15 meters this year: Dominica’s Thea Lafond (15.25m), Cuba’s Davisleydi Velazco (15.13m), Leyanis Perez (15.06m), and Senegal’s Saly Sarr (15.08m).
Shot put: World champion and world leader Jessica Schilder goes head-to-head with Chase Jackson again. Jackson broke the 21-meter barrier for the first time with 21.02m in Berlin.
Discus: World and Olympic champion Valarie Sion faces the likes of Cierra Jackson, who set a Diamond League record of 71.72m in London, and European champion Jorinde Van Klinken.
SATURDAY
100m: Can Sha’Carri Richardson take the title with Julien Alfred only racing in the 200m and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden not racing? She has the fastest season’s best at 10.77. Four other finalists have broken 11 seconds in 2026, including Tina Clayton.
400m: In-form Marileidy Paulino is expected to extend her unbeaten streak. The line-up also includes European champion Henriette Jaeger and world indoor champion Lurdes Gloria Manuel. Meeting record of 48.83 held by Sanya Richards-Ross could be improved; could Paulino even attack her own DL record and world lead (48.48)?
800m: Audrey Werro will be looking to extend her winning streak after clocking 1:53.70 in Zurich. Can Femke Broeders-Bol further improve on her Dutch record after clocking 1:54.71?
1500m: All 10 racers have broken the 4:00-barrier in 2026. Georgia Hunter Bell faces Ethiopia’s Tsige Duguma who improved to a 3:55.06 world lead in Silesia.
100m hurdles: Masai Russell arrives fresh from breaking the world record with a 12.09 clocking in Zurich; the meeting record (12.27) should be broken. The field also includes ex-world record-holder Tobi Amusan and European champion Nadine Visser.
High jump: Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh takes on Australians Eleanor Patterson and Nicola Olyslagers. Patterson recently cleared 2.02m in Heilbronn for victory over Mahuchikh.
Pole vault: European champion Angelica Moser faces the US duo of Hana Moll and Katie Moon, all of whom have been jumping well recently.
Long jump: European champion Larissa Iapichino (7.12m), Alyssa Jones (7.09m) and world indoor champion Agate de Sousa (7.00m) have all broken the seven-meter barrier in 2026.
Javelin: Unbeaten this year, Yan Ziyi competes for the first time since the Monaco Diamond League. Adriana Vilagos arrives fresh from a 65.93m season’s best from the Mediterranean Games. The meeting record of 68.11m could be under threat.
MEN
FRIDAY
100m: Eight finalists have run 9.93 or faster in 2026. The field includes world champion Oblique Seville (9.82), Commonwealth champion Emmanuel Eseme (9.83) and NCAA champion Kayinsola Ajayi, who ran a wind-aided 9.72 to win that title.
400m: World champion Collen Kebinatshipi will be looking to go unbeaten through the Diamond League season. The line-up also includes South Africa’s Zakithi Nene and USA’s Jacory Patterson, who have also run under 44 seconds in 2026. The meeting record of 44.03 should fall, with the DL record (43.44) and world lead (43.38) under threat.
800m: Emmanuel Wanyonyi is targeting a fourth successive Diamond League title. He faces strong opposition from Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati and Canada’s Marco Arop, the silver and bronze medallists respectively behind the Kenyan at the 2025 World Championships. Wilson Kipketer’s meeting record of 1:42.20 could be vulnerable.
1500m: A deep field includes the last two Olympic champions, Cole Hocker and Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who finished first and fifth in Zurich last week. Also watch out for Ethan Strand, who won in Silesia, and Australia’s Cameron Myers, who has won two Diamond League races in 2026.
110m hurdles: One half of the field is American, whose contingent includes world record-holder Ja’Kope Tharp, world champion Cordell Tinch and the in-form pair of Jamal Britt and Trey Cunningham who have also broken 13 seconds this year.
High jump: Can Gianmarco Tamberi win his third major title in three weeks after winning the European title and the Mediterranean Games earlier this week? The field also includes world leader JuVaughn Harrison, who has cleared 2.34m in Monaco.
Pole vault: Armand Duplantis is targeting his sixth successive Diamond League win. Can Emmanouil Karalis challenge the Swede after improving to 6.20m in Zurich? Duplantis holds the meeting record with 6.11m, two jumpers attempting the world record again?
Long jump: Miltiadis Tentoglou is aiming for his first Diamond League title since 2022. He faces a familiar field including Simon Ehammer and Bozhidar Saraboyukov, the silver and bronze medallists behind Tentoglou in Rome, and Jamaica’s Tajay Gayle.
Discus: A glittering line-up includes world record-holder Mykolas Alekna (72.65m), three-time world champion Daniel Stahl (69.85m), Olympic champion Roje Stona (68.47m), two-time European champion Kristjan Ceh (72.61m), bronze medallist Henrik Janssen (69.53m) and Olympic bronze medallist Matt Denny (73.58m) who holds the meeting record with 69.96m.
SATURDAY
200m: Kenny Bednarek is targeting a third Diamond League title. He faces four other sub-20 second performers, including Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo; world lead (19.62) should be attacked.
5000m: Nine athletes have broken the 13-minute barrier this year, including the in-form Birhanu Balew (12:47.73) from Bahrain; fast Americans Graham Blanks and Nico Young are competing too.
3000m steeplechase: Soufiane El Bakkali will be looking to return to winning ways after a surprise defeat to Ethiopia’s Gemechu Godana in Silesia. Kenya’s Simon Koech has also broken the 8:00-barrier in 2026.
400m hurdles: What more is Alison Dos Santos capable of? A third DL Final title for him is more than likely, as Warholm is not running.
Triple jump: Can Andy Diaz Hernandez return to winning form after only finishing third in Lausanne? He faces a line-up including world champion Pedro Pichardo and Yasser Mohammed Triki, both of whom defeated Diaz last week. Christian Taylor’s meeting record of 17.66m could be vulnerable.
Shot put: Leonardo Fabbri holds the world lead at 22.74m, but Rajindra Campbell is the in-form thrower, having improved to 22.59m in Brescia last weekend, and Jordan Geist is also in shape.
Javelin: World leader Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage is the big favorite. He holds the world lead with 92.62m, making him the best performer on season’s bests by more than five meters. The meeting record belongs to Jan Zelezny at 90.50m.
