Brussels Diamond League Final Brings 2019 Diamond League Season to a Close

By Adam Kopet

The 2019 Diamond League season came to an end Friday in Brussels under cloudy and sometimes rainy skies. The cool and wet weather, however, did not put a damper on the competition as the head-to-head matchups made for an exciting night of track and field.

RESULTS

Athletes made history around the stadium, including Sifan Hassan of The Netherlands and Noah Lyles, as they won impressive Diamond League doubles. Winning multiple Diamond League titles in one year seem unlikely to happen in the near future as the Diamond League is moving toward a single meet final in future years.

Hassan came to Brussels with the 1,500-meter title already under her belt. She used an impressive kick in Zurich to win that race. This time, however, Hassan would be tested over a distance more than three times longer, the 5,000 meters.

The early pace had been asked to be near the world record, but it did not take long for those plans to fall apart. Kenya's Hellen Obiri led the field through 3,000 meters in 8:52.58, but it was Ethiopia's Letesenbet Giday who made the big move with just over 1,000 meters to go.

The field broke apart with Giday's move at the front. Hassan got caught in the back. She responded, but her tactical mistake left her trying to bridge the gap up to the lead pack on her own.

With one lap to go, Hassan had caught the leaders. Giday, Obiri and Hassan's Nike Oregon Project teammate Konstanze Klosterhalfen of Germany were all there. Despite expending the energy to get up to the leaders, Hassan still proved to have the best kick in the field. She closed the final lap in under 60 seconds to win in 14:26.26.

Finishing second, more than three seconds back, was Giday in 14:29.54. Klosterhalfen had challenged Giday coming off the final turn, but was unable to match the Ethiopian's finishing speed. The German finished third in 14:29.89. Obiri finished fourth in 14:33.90.

In winning the 5,000 meters, Hassan became the first ever athlete to win the Diamond League 1,500 and 5,000 meters in a single year. It could also be the last time, as the 3,000 meters will be the longest event in the Diamond League next year.

Also completing an historic double was Lyles, who won the 200 meters for the third straight year to go along with his first 100-meter Diamond League title last week in Zurich.

Lyles has been the favorite in the 200 meters every time he has stepped on the track going back to 2017. In that time, he has lost once with a narrow runner-up finish to Michael Norman earlier this year.

Like the 100 meters last week, Lyles was not necessarily the leader halfway through the race. This week, he had reigning world champion Ramil Guliyev of Turkey and Canada's Andre De Grasse running with him coming off the bend. And like last week, Lyles pulled away over the second-half of the race to take the win.

Lyles won in 19.74. Behind him, Guliyev and De Grasse finished second and third, running season's bests of 19.86 and 19.87, respectively.

After the race, Lyles admitted he was not feeling in top-form during the race. He needed a bathroom break. Nonetheless, Lyles added to his list of wins and potentially opened an additional spot for a U.S. athlete at the IAAF World Outdoor Championships, which begin at the end of the month.

This was the first time a male athlete has complete the 100 and 200-meter double in the Diamond League. Both Carmelita Jeter (2011) and Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (2013) have completed in the sprint double in the past.

Christian Taylor won his seventh Diamond League title in the triple jump, equaling the record for most championships by French pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie. Taylor won with a wind-assisted 58-6.75 (17.85m). His second best jump of the competition, a wind-legal 57-11.25 (17.66m) broke the meet record.

Will Claye, the world leader this year, finished second with a mark of 56-6 (17.22m). Behind him were two more Americans, making for a top-four sweep, with Omar Craddock finishing third with a mark of 56-4 (17.17m) and Donald Scott finishing fourth with a jump of 56-2.75 (17.14m).

Ajee' Wilson won her first Diamond League title, winning the 800 meters in 2:00.24. Her training partner, Raevyn Rogers, used a hard close to finish second in 2:00.67.

Wilson's win means Ce'Aira Brown will get to compete at the World Championships. The Diamond League winners earn a wild-card entry into the World Championships, allowing four athletes from that country to compete instead of the usual three.

The 400 meters provided the chance for a rematch between Fred Kerley and Norman. Kerley won the USATF Outdoor Championships, but Norman is the world leader. The race was close through the first 300 meters with Kerley, Norman and Jamaica's Akeem Bloomfield running nearly stride for stride in the center of the track.

However, it was Norman that reigned supreme over the final 100 meters, winning in 44.26. Kerley finished second in 44.46, just ahead of Bloomfield in 44.47.

A similar rematch was set for the 100-meter hurdles. Jamaica's Danielle Williams has been the best hurdler in the world for nearly two months. However, Keni Harrison is the world record holder. The two squared off in Birmingham last month, with Williams getting the win.

Friday's race began under some controversy as Nigeria's Tobi Amusan registered a false start with a reaction time of 0.096 seconds, just under the minimum allowable reaction time of 0.100 seconds. The race was quickly recalled, but it took some time to sort the matter out and have Amusan leave the track.

On the restart, Williams led from the gun. She was never fully challenged as Harrison spent the entire race trying to catch back up. Williams won in 12.47 to Harrison's 12.73. Nia Ali, who is in her first season back after giving birth last year, finished third in 12.74.

Timothy Cheruiyot of Kenya ran away from the field on the last lap of the 1,500 meters to win the Diamond League title. A fast early lap left the field scattered early, but the top runners were able to collect back at the front of the race.

It was Cheruiyot who made the bold move of the race, gapping the field by as many as 20 meters. It was Jakob and Filip Ingebrigtsen of Norway who proved most able to give chase in the final 200 meters. The 18-year-old Jakob nearly pulled off the surprise, closing the gap down to about 8 meters before Cheruiyot put in one last burst of speed to guarantee the victory.

Cheruiyot crossed the line in 3:30.22. Jakob was second in 3:31.62 and Filip was third in 3:33.33. Uganda's Ronald Musagala was fourth in 3:33.90 and Craig Engels was fifth in 3:34.04. That was a personal best for Engels and it gives him the Olympic standard for next year.

The 100 meters saw Great Britain's Dina Asher-Smith hold off Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce to win as both women broke 11 seconds. Asher Smith won in a season's best 10.88 and Fraser-Pryce was second in 10.95.

The pole vault saw Greece's Katerina Stefanidi win her fourth Diamond League title, clearing 15-10 (4.83m) on her first attempt. She kept a clean card all the way through the winning height. Anzhelika Sidorova, an Authorized Neutral Athlete from Russia, also cleared 15-10, but on her third attempt. Neither athlete was able to clear the next height of 16-0 (4.88m).

It was not an ideal day for the Americans. Katie Nageotte finished fourth with a clearance of 15-5 (4.70m). Jenn Suhr cleared the same height, but finished seventh. Sandi Morris was eighth with a best clearance of 15-2.25 (4.63m).

The shot put took place Thursday evening on the streets of Brussels. New Zealand's Tom Walsh repeated as Diamond League champion with a best mark of 73-2 (22.30m). Brazil's Darlan Romani was second with a mark of 72-8 (22.15m). Ryan Crouser, the world leader this year, finished third with a mark of 72-5.25 (22.08m).