Brussels Diamond League 2022: Preview, schedule and stars to watch
The stars of track & field will be out in force in Brussels for the penultimate Diamond League meet of the season, which takes place between 1 and 2 September. Find out everything you need to know about the Memorial van Damme below.
Athletics
Following 11 Diamond League meets in 2022 that have toured everywhere from Doha in Qatar to Lausanne in Switzerland, the world’s best athletics stars are gearing up for the penultimate event of the season that takes place in Brussels, Belgium.
Thursday will see a single shot put competition take place before the action gets underway in earnest on Friday 2 September with a full schedule of athletics action.
Some 85 medallists from recent Olympic Games, World Championships and European Championships are scheduled to compete. Find out everything you need to know about the location, schedule and stars to watch below.
Where will the Brussels Diamond League take place?
The Brussels Diamond League will take place at the King Baudouin Stadium - a 50,000-capacity venue that was first opened in 1930.
The Memorial van Damme - as the meet is otherwise known - first took place in 1977 in honour of Ivo Van Damme, a Belgian Olympian who had died the previous year in a car crash.
This year's meet kicks off with the men’s shot put at 18:00 local time on Thursday 1 September and concludes with the men’s 800m at 21:52 the following day.
Stars to watch at the Brussels Diamond League
One of the biggest stars at the Brussels Diamond League - as he is for every athletics meet her enters - is Sweden’s imperious Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis. The 22-year-old has been in scintillating form this season, winning world and European crowns while also setting new indoor and outdoor world records of 6.20 and 6.21 respectively.
Duplantis lands in Brussels having won the Diamond League competition in Lausanne with a jump of 6.1m to set a new meeting record. Will he attempt to go even higher and aim for another world best when he competes in Belgium?
In the women’s high jump, two-time Olympic heptathlon champion Nafi Thiam of Belgium will be hoping to impress in front of her home crowd. The 28-year-old, who recently won the heptathlon title at the European Championships in Munich, has a personal best of 2.02 in the high jump, but will face the challenge of reigning World champion Eleanor Patterson of Australia and Ukraine’s Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist and world indoor champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh.
One of the most anticipated events of the meet will be the women’s 100m, where Jamaica’s 100m world champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce lines up against the 200m world gold medal winner Shericka Jackson, as well as the rapid American trio of Sha’Carri Richardson, Tamara Clark and Aleia Hobbs.
Watch out also for rising 200m star Erriyon Knighton in the men’s 200m, with the world bronze medallist and fifth fastest man over the distance in history looking to end his season in style. The 18-year-old has a season’s best of 19.49 seconds, which broke Olympic legend Usain Bolt’s longstanding world under 20 record.
The women’s 100m hurdles sees an intriguing battle between Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Kendra Harrison of the USA, Jamaica’s bronze medallist Megan Tapper and Puerto Rico’s gold-winning phenomenon Jasmine Camacho-Quinn. Will the tables be turned when the three meet again in Brussels or will Camacho-Quinn once again land on top?
And there are more Olympic medallists on the start line in the men’s 800m, where Tokyo 2020 gold medal winner, Emmanuel Korir of Kenya once again races against compatriot Ferguson Rotich who won silver in Japan. They will both face stiff challenges from Spain’s reigning European champion Mariano Garcia and Great Britain’s Jake Wightman, who won gold in the 1500m at the recent World Championships in Eugene and 800m silver at the European Championships in Munich.
Other names to keep an eye on in Brussels include Brazil’s 400m hurdles world champion Alison Dos Santos, Tokyo 2020 1500m silver medallist Laura Muir of Great Britain and the USA's double Olympic triple jump champion Christian Taylor.
Brussels Diamond League schedule
Thursday, 1 September 2022
18:00 - Shot Put Men
Friday, 2 September 2022
19:15 - Pole Vault Men
19:22 - Triple Jump Men
19:38 - Javelin Throw Women
19:50 - High Jump Women
20:04 - 400m Hurdles Men
20:13 - 3000m Steeplechase Women
20:33 - 200m Men
20:45 - 100m Women
20:54 - 400m Women
21:07 - 100m Hurdles Women
21:15 - 5000m Men
21:36 - 1500m Women
21:52 - 800m Men