Everything you need to know about this weekend’s Memorial Van Damme meet in the Belgian capital
The final Diamond League of the season will be in Brussels and welcomes many of the world’s top athletes to the 50,000 capacity King Baudouin Stadium over two days (September 13-14).
A myriad of Olympic champions and medallists will make the trip to Brussels as they attempt to win the Diamond League trophy and take home the top prize of $30,000 in each discipline.
There will also be para athletes in action, national races and young athletes’ relays before the main Diamond League programme.
Around 70,000 tickets have been sold so far and UK viewers can also watch it live on BBC Two and BBC Three from 7-9pm BST across both days respectively.
So who should you look forward to watching?
Mondo Duplantis in Brussels (Getty)
Mondo Duplantis aims to soar high again
Mondo Duplantis has had yet another stellar season and will aim to end it in some style.
The Swedish pole-vaulting superstar loves competing in Brussels and last year set a meeting record of 6.10m, narrowly missing out on what would’ve then been a world record of 6.23m.
In 2024, Duplantis has broken his own best mark on three occasions and, if he is in top form and conditions are good, could clear 6.27m in the Belgian capital.
Duplantis’ main competition will come from Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis and US’s Sam Kendricks, who have both jumped six metres-plus this season.
KC Lightfoot, Chris Nilsen, Ben Broeders and Thibaut Collet complete the line-up.
Letsile Tebogo (Getty)
Letsile Tebogo leads a strong 200m
Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo will hope to see off a strong US challenge in what could be a spectacular men’s 200m.
Tebogo hasn’t lost a single race over either the 100m or the 200m since claiming gold over the latter in Paris one month ago.
That time of 19.46 put Tebogo fifth on the 200m all-time list and only Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake, Noah Lyles and Michael Johnson have gone quicker.
Tebogo will likely have to be at his best to win as Olympic silver medallist Kenny Bednarek looks in fine form.
The American almost beat Tebogo at the Zurich Diamond League and clocked 19.57 – going joint-eighth on the 200m all-time list – to the Botswana’s 19.55.
Other US athletes include the likes of Fred Kerley, Kyree King, Courtney Lindsey and Erriyon Knighton, while Joseph Fahnbulleh and Alexander Ogando are also in the field.
Faith Kipyegon (Getty)
Faith Kipyegon will be favourite over 1500m
Faith Kipeygon has her eyes on a fifth Diamond League trophy and you wouldn’t put it past the Kenyan in Brussels.
At the Paris Olympics, Kipyegon won a record-breaking third consecutive Olympic 1500m gold medal and also claimed silver in the 5000m.
A month earlier, in the same city, Kipyegon broke her own world 1500m record with 3:49.04 and remains the only woman in history to have run sub-3:50 over the distance.
Her closest challenge in Brussels is likely to come from Australia’s Jessica Hull, who is now fifth on the all-time list after running 3:50.83 back in that world record race.
New British 1500m record-holder Georgia Bell will likely be a threat and watch out for national 2000m record-holder Melissa Courtney-Bryant.
Don’t count out Ethiopians Diribe Welteji and Birke Haylom as well, who have respective personal bests of 3:52.75 and 3:53.22.
Neeraj Chopra (Getty)
Neeraj Chopra hoping for first 90m-plus throw in javelin
Global javelin superstar Neeraj Chopra is the standout name on paper in what is expected to be a competitive men’s javelin in Brussels.
The 2020 Olympic and reigning world champion has a season’s best of 89.49m and will no doubt be aiming to better his personal best of 89.94m.
If Chopra can clear that illusive 90m mark then he will give himself a great chance of victory in the Diamond League final.
Anderson Peters potentially goes into the competition as the favourite with a best of 90.61m this season.
You should also watch out for Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch and Germany’s Julian Weber.
Emmanuel Wanyonyi (Getty)
Emmanuel Wanyonyi nears world 800m record
David Rudisha still holds the world 800m record with 1:40.91 but this year has seen the biggest challenge to what seemed like an untouchable mark.
After becoming Olympic 800m champion in Paris with 1:41.19, Emmanuel Wanyonyi then clocked 1:41.11 at the Lausanne Diamond League, running the joint-fourth fastest time in history alongside Wilson Kipketer.
However, Wanyonyi isn’t the only athlete in incredible form in Brussels.
Marco Arop (1:41.20), Djamel Sedjati (1:41.46) and Gabriel Tual (1:41.61) have all gone sub-1:42 this season and will more than likely test Wanyonyi in the Diamond League final.
The British challenge will be led by Ben Pattison, who ran 1:42.27 earlier this season to go second on the UK all-time list behind Seb Coe.
Olympic women’s 100m final (Getty)
Julien Alfred v Sha’Carri Richardson in the 100m
One of the most anticipated events in Brussels will be the women’s 100m and, more specifically, seeing another battle between Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred and world 100m champion Sha’Carri Richardson.
Alfred beat Richardson with a winning time of 10.72 in Paris and became Saint Lucia’s first ever Olympic gold medallist.
At the Zurich Diamond League, Richardson just edged Alfred to the line and the pair will once again go head-to-head in the Belgian capital.
Dina Asher-Smith has gone sub-10.9 on two occasions since the Olympics and could get close to her British record of 10.83 in Brussels if conditions are favourable.
Daryll Neita, who finished fourth in the 100m and fifth over 200m at the Games, is also part of the star-studded line-up.
Yared Nuguse and Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Getty)
Jakob Ingebrigtsen renews rivalries over 1500m
Fans of the men’s 1500m have been treated to some incredible clashes this season and this one in Brussels will be no different.
Evem though world 1500m champion and Olympic silver medallist Josh Kerr won’t be present, those in the stadium will still get to watch Jakob Ingebrigtsen v Cole Hocker v Yared Nuguse.
Nuguse took the plaudits in the metric mile at the Zurich Diamond League while Hocker claimed the biggest prize of them all with gold at the Olympics.
However, if Ingebrigtsen is fully fit, could he potentially better his personal best of 3:26.73 and close in on Hicham El Guerrouj’s almost unbreakable world record of 3:26.00?
From a British perspective, Elliot Giles will surely aim to go sub-3:30 for the first time in his career, after becoming the world road mile record-holder with 3:51.3.
Beatrice Chebet (Getty)
Beatrice Chebet’s world record hopes over 5000m
Beatrice Chebet has had a stand-out season that includes success on the track and over cross-country.
After becoming world 5km champion and setting a world record of 14:13 last year, Chebet continued where she left off at the beginning of 2024.
In tough conditions in Belgrade, she retained her individual senior world cross-country crown and was also part of the Kenyan team that once again triumphed in the global event.
Then, at the Olympics, Chebet saw off a world class field to become Olympic 5000m champion, adding to her 10,000m gold from Tokyo.
At the Zurich Diamond League, she ran 14:09.52 in what was a world record attempt and has eyes on Gudaf Tsegay’s 14:00.21.
With a new track in Brussels, could Chebet becomes the first woman to go sub-14 minutes in the 5000m?
Ryan Crouser (Getty)
Ryan Crouser looking for another shot put trophy
The standout name in the men’s shot put is triple Olympic champion and world-record holder Ryan Crouser.
After a number of injuries that included nerve entrapment in his right elbow and a torn pectoral muscle, there were doubts whether Crouser would even make it to the Olympics.
However, the US athlete defied the odds and not only competed in Paris but won the gold medal with a best of 22.90m.
Crouser hasn’t been at his best all season and it’s actually compatriot and triple Olympic silver medallist Joe Kovacs who has the largest throw with 23.13m.
However, Crouser’s biggest mark of the year (22.93m) came at last week’s Boris Hanžeković Memorial in Croatia.
It therefore could once again be a close battle between the two Americans.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (Getty)
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone doubles up in “special” 200m/400m races
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won’t be racing in the official Diamond League programme but she will double up over both the 200m and 400m in Brussels.
The world 400m hurdles record-holder and multiple Olympic champion wasn’t eligible for a global wild card as she hadn’t competed in a Diamond League race this season.
However, Memorial Van Damme organisers have put on a 200m and 400m to “honour her remarkable achievements”.
McLaughlin-Levrone claimed her second Olympic 400m hurdles gold medal in Paris – breaking her own world record with 50.37 – and was also part of the US women’s 4x400m team that stood on the top of the podium.
However, her speed in individual flat races is something to behold and she boasts bests of 22.07 and 48.74 respectively.
Sanya Richards-Ross holds the US record of 48.70 and if McLaughlin-Levrone runs well then that will surely go.
» Subscribe to AW magazine here, check out our new podcast here or sign up to our digital archive of back issues from 1945 to the present day here
The post Top 10 things to look out for at Brussels Diamond League appeared first on AW.