By Dagim Tekle | The Voice of Women Sport
The 2026 Wanda Diamond League season concluded in spectacular fashion in Brussels, where world-leading performances, meeting records and dramatic finishes defined two memorable nights of athletics at the King Baudouin Stadium.
Thirty-two athletes were crowned Diamond League champions across the two-day final on September 4 and 5, but the women’s competitions produced several of the meeting’s most compelling performances.
Switzerland’s Audrey Werro delivered one of the finest races of the final, winning the women’s 800 metres in a meeting-record time of 1:54.75.
Werro faced relentless pressure from Dutch star Femke Bol, who has moved into the 800m this season after establishing herself as one of the world’s leading 400m hurdlers. Bol finished only six hundredths of a second behind, clocking 1:54.81 in a thrilling sprint to the line.
Poland’s Klaudia Kazimierska produced another breakthrough performance in the women’s 1500m. She cut approximately 1.5 seconds from her personal best to win in a world-leading and meeting-record time of 3:54.05.
Kenya’s Dorcus Ewoi finished second in a personal-best 3:54.72, narrowly ahead of Australia’s Jessica Hull, who recorded a season-best 3:54.73.
Freweyni Hailu leads Ethiopian sweep
Ethiopia celebrated one of the championship’s strongest collective performances in the women’s 5000m.
Freweyni Hailu unleashed a powerful finishing kick to claim the Diamond Trophy in 14:35.20, leading an Ethiopian sweep of the first three positions.
Likina Amebaw finished second, with Senayet Getachew completing the podium. The result underlined Ethiopia’s continued strength in women’s distance running ahead of the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest.
Russell and Paulino underline their quality
American hurdler Masai Russell continued her outstanding season by winning the women’s 100m hurdles in a meeting-record 12.20 seconds. Devynne Charlton placed second in 12.33, while Jamaica’s Megan Simmonds completed the top three.
In the women’s 400m, Dominican Republic star Marileidy Paulino captured her fourth Diamond League title with a dominant meeting-record performance of 48.64 seconds. Norway’s Henriette Jæger finished more than half a second behind.
American Anna Cockrell claimed the 400m hurdles title in 53.01, narrowly defeating Slovakia’s Emma Zapletalová, who crossed the line in 53.10.
Alfred and Clayton deliver Caribbean sprint victories
Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred extended her unbeaten season over 200m, becoming the only woman in the final to break 22 seconds.
The Olympic 100m champion stopped the clock at 21.79, securing her third consecutive Diamond League title and her first over 200m.
Jamaica’s Tina Clayton won the women’s 100m in 10.93. She was the only athlete to run below 11 seconds, finishing ahead of Britain’s Amy Hunt and American Sha’Carri Richardson.
Jackson breaks Diamond League record
American shot-putter Chase Jackson opened the final with one of the competition’s defining performances.
Jackson produced a lifetime best and Diamond League record of 21.14 metres, becoming one of only two women in the past 14 years to surpass 21 metres. The victory secured her third Diamond Trophy.
Canada’s Sarah Mitton finished second, half a metre behind Jackson, while Dutch thrower Jessica Schilder placed third.
China’s Feng Bin won the women’s discus with 67.46m, defeating two-time Olympic champion Valarie Allman, who recorded 66.92m.
In the javelin, teenage Chinese sensation Yan Ziyi continued her remarkable rise by winning with 68.42m. Olympic champion Haruka Kitaguchi produced her best throw in the final round but could not overtake the teenager.
Werro leads complete list of women’s champions
The 2026 women’s Diamond League champions were:
- 100m: Tina Clayton
- 200m: Julien Alfred
- 400m: Marileidy Paulino
- 800m: Audrey Werro
- 1500m: Klaudia Kazimierska
- 5000m: Freweyni Hailu
- 100m hurdles: Masai Russell
- 400m hurdles: Anna Cockrell
- 3000m steeplechase: Faith Cherotich
- High jump: Eleanor Patterson
- Pole vault: Hana Moll
- Long jump: Monae’ Nichols
- Triple jump: Saly Sarr
- Shot put: Chase Jackson
- Discus: Feng Bin
- Javelin: Yan Ziyi
The Brussels final brought the curtain down on a Diamond League campaign staged across 14 cities and four continents. Attention now turns to the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest, where many of the Brussels champions will attempt to conclude their seasons with another global title.
