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St Lucia’s sprint queen Julien Alfred, her American rival Sha’Carri Richardson and Olympic men’s 200m champion Letsile Tebogo headline a star-studded line-up of Paris Games stars at the Diamond League finals in Brussels on Friday and Saturday.
This is the 14th and final edition of the elite athletics circuit and comes just a month after the end of the Olympic Games.
AFP Sport looks back at five key events from a packed programme which includes no fewer than 82 medallists from the Paris Games.
100m women
Sha’Carri Richardson got the better of Julien Alfred in Zurich, reversing the result of the Olympic final as the American took silver behind the St Lucia sprinter by just five hundredths of a second.
Richardson, who was also part of the gold medal-winning American 4x100m relay team in Paris, ran a full race in Zurich, passing Alfred at the line.
“I don’t want to use the word revenge,” Alfred said Wednesday of his confrontation with the American.
“I never race against anyone, I do it for myself and I just want to finish the season on a high. For the same reason, I don’t focus on times either.
“I can’t wait to go to Saint Lucia, just to celebrate with my country.”
Men’s pole vault
Conditions were far from perfect for Armand Duplantis in a damp and cold Letzigrund stadium in Zurich, combined with the fact that he felt “exhausted” after beating 400m hurdles world champion Karsten Warholm in a 100m exhibition sprint.
Having improved his own world record to 6.26m in Silesia last month, the question is whether the stars can align for the US-born Swede to attempt an 11th further attempt to improve on that mark this season.
“I always say we have to cherish Duplantis, pole vaulters. He advances the sport as a whole and brings a lot of attention,” American Sam Hendricks, perennial second-place finisher, said of Duplantis.
200m men
Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo made easy work of the wet conditions in Switzerland, producing a devastating finish to record an exceptional time of 19.55 seconds for victory ahead of three strong Americans, Kenny Bednarek, Erriyon Knighton and Fred Kerley.
Tebogo, who is just 21, has had an incredible season by any reckoning, recovering from the death of his mother in May to dominate the 200m, winning Botswana’s first Olympic gold medal in the event while also taking silver behind an absent Noah Lyles in the 100m.
Although he was not happy with his race curve in Zurich, Tebogo said it would be a different approach in Brussels.
Running a full race, like at the Olympics, “is something I will do at the Diamond League final because there is still more in me,” he promised.
“It’s all about taking risks. Without risk, there’s no reward, so I take every risk I can.”
1500m women
Faith Kipyegon made history at the Paris Games by becoming the first woman to win three consecutive Olympic gold medals in the 1,500m, crossing the line in a new Olympic record time of 3:51.29.
The 30-year-old, a three-time world champion and world record holder, also won silver in the 5,000m.
Her only appearance since her Parisian romp was a victory in Rome and you would have to be brave to bet against the Kenyan climbing to the top step of the podium again in Brussels.
1500m men
Brussels, like Zurich, will offer a quasi-remake of the final of the Paris Olympic Games.
Americans Cole Hocker and Yared Nuguse won in Paris and Zurich respectively.
Olympic silver medallist and reigning world champion Josh Kerr of Britain, Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Kenya’s Timothy Cheruiyot were also present in Zurich.
“I think Brussels will be fun,” Ingebrigtsen said after her second place in Switzerland.
Hocker, Nuguse and Cheruiyot will all be on the start line in Brussels, alongside new British road mile world record holder Elliot Giles, while Kerr will not be competing.
Calendar
Friday September 13th
Men: 100m, 400m, 1500m, 5000m, 110m hurdles, pole vault, long jump, discus throw
Women: 100m, 400m, 800m, 3000m steeplechase, high jump, triple jump, discus throw, shot put
Saturday September 14
Men: 200m, 800m, 3000m steeplechase, 400m hurdles, high jump, triple jump, javelin, shot put
Women: 200m, 1500m, 5000m, 100m hurdles, 400m hurdles, pole vault, long jump, javelin
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