Diamond League Finale

The Memorial Van Damme Meeting in Brussels is one of the most exciting events of the Samsung Diamond League series and thus it was fitting that it was the final stop of the sixteen meeting of this prestigious athletics series. Famed for its fast track and amazing stadium atmosphere, Brussels is the site for many top class performances in the middle and long distances.

More importantly, 15 Diamond League titles were to be decided at the Belgian capital after the final installment of 17 events last week in Zurich. Points for the top three per discipline in each of the 14 meetings in the series are added up and the winner in each gains $40,000 in prize money and a potential bye to next year’s IAAF World Championships.

It was another great night for Kenyan athletes with four winning overall event titles and one non-Diamond League race.

In a deep field that only had Olympic champion Ezekiel Kemboi missing, Brimin Kipruto took the win in the highly competitive 3000m steeplechase over his World Junior champion namesake Conseslus Kipruto. Paul Kipsiele Koech finished third but had already guaranteed the overall series win.

The men’s 1500 meters was a strong field that included the majority of the London finalists for the first time since the Olympics and was the decider for the overall Diamond title. Asbel Kiprop, the World number one, looked a completely different athlete to the one that finished last in London last month looked strong again but it was Silas Kiplagat, who came through in the sprint finish and won the close battle for the overall Diamond Race.
Brussels must rank as Pamela Jelimo’s favorite cities in the world athletics circuit. Four years ago, it was the venue of her huge jackpot win of the then Golden League series. This year she was in contention again for the Diamond League jackpot, albeit with a lot less cash on offer.
However, this time she was upset by a new young Burundian, Francine Niyonsaba, who incidentally mirrors her meteoric rise four years ago, finishing in second place. It was however enough to take the Diamond League title over Olympic Champion Mariya Savinova.
The battle for the final Diamond Race to be decided came right down to the wire, as Vivian Cheruiyot beat her only serious challenger for the prize in the 5000m, Mercy Cherono, into second on the last-lap burn up between the Kenyans and secured her third successive Diamond League title.
The men’s 10,000m was not a Diamond League event but as usual at this meeting produced one of the highlights. No one had run below 27 minutes, thanks mainly to a lack of paced races on the circuit, but Kenya’s Emmanuel Bett led four athletes under the barrier.

The final athletics event of the season is the Rieti event in Italy today. It promises to be exciting as athletes seek fast times to end this memorable season in grand style.