Since winning the Olympic 200m title in Paris, Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo has been unstoppable. The 21-year-old sprinter has secured victories in Lausanne (19.64), Silesia (19.83), Zurich (19.55), and Brescia (20.66), as well as a 100m win in Rome (9.87).
Tebogo is now aiming for another triumph in Brussels, where he will compete against top US sprinters, including Olympic silver medallist Kenny Bednarek, world silver medallist Erriyon Knighton, and 2022 world 100m champion Fred Kerley, on the second day of the Wanda Diamond League Final on Saturday, September 14.
The women’s 100m hurdles field is equally impressive. Two-time world champion Danielle Williams enters with a season’s best of 12.37, which, despite being the slowest in the field, is still remarkable. Olympic silver and bronze medallists Cyrena Samba-Mayela and Jasmine Camacho-Quinn will face off again, along with Jamaica’s world leader Ackera Nugent, who boasts a best of 12.24.
In the women’s 200m, Olympic bronze medallist Britanny Brown will compete against world 100m champion Sha’Carri Richardson, Britain’s Daryll Neita, and Marie Josee Ta Lou-Smith. Earlier in the evening, Olympic 400m hurdles champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will race in a pre-programme invitational event against African champion Gina Bass Bittaye.
The 400m hurdles will feature Anna Cockrell and Femke Bol, who finished behind McLaughlin-Levrone in Paris. USA’s Shamier Little and Jamaica’s Shiann Salmon, both of whom have broken 53 seconds this year, will also compete. In the men’s event, 2022 world champion Alison dos Santos will take on Jamaican duo Malik James-King and Roshawn Clarke, as well as Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba.
Olympic middle-distance champions Faith Kipyegon and Emmanuel Wanyonyi will face their Paris podium counterparts on the second day of the Wanda Diamond League Final.
The first 16 of the 32 Diamond disciplines will be contested on Friday, September 13 at the Allianz Memorial Van Damme, with the remainder taking place on Saturday in Brussels.
Kenyan duo Kipyegon and Wanyonyi are among the 25 Olympic gold medallists competing over the two days.
Kipyegon, unbeaten in 1500m finals since June 2021, will race against Olympic silver and bronze medallists Jessica Hull and Georgia Bell, who have adopted a fearless approach to racing.
Saturday’s race also features world indoor champion Freweyni Hailu, world road mile champion Diribe Welteji, and fellow Ethiopian Birke Haylom.
In the men’s 800m, four athletes who have come within one second of the world record this season will compete. Olympic champion Wanyonyi will be joined by world champion and Olympic silver medallist Marco Arop, Olympic bronze medallist Djamel Sedjati, and European champion Gabriel Tual. Two-time Commonwealth champion Wycliffe Kinyamal and world bronze medallist Ben Pattison add further depth to the field.