The Kenyan superstar capped a historic season in style, with Kenny Bednarek beating Letsile Tebogo over 200m and Femke Ball securing another title.
Faith Kipyegon continued her dominance over 1500m to secure an incredible fifth Diamond League trophy over the distance in Brussels (September 14).
The Kenyan clocked 3:54.75 in the cold conditions, beating the meet record of 3:55.33 set by Sureyya Ayhan back in 2003.
Kipyegon was another class apart in the 1500m and despite being challenged by Diribe Veltege in the closing stages, victory was never in doubt.
As he crossed the line, the Kenyan’s face lit up with joy as he raised his hand to the camera to signal ‘high five’.
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“The world record wasn’t on my mind today,” Kipyegon said. “My goal was to finish my Diamond League season in a good way and I did that. It was a good race, but definitely not easy. It was a bit cold to run 61 seconds in the first lap and 62 seconds in the next lap.”
The now 30-year-old will conclude her 2024 campaign at the ATLOS meeting in New York (September 26).
“I tried to be myself and focus on the finish line,” he added. “I hope to finish my season in New York well. It will be my last race this season. I’m still looking forward to the race. I started my season very late because of a small problem and I still feel strong.”
Elsewhere in the 1,500m, Georgia Bell was seventh in 3:58.95 and Melissa Courtney-Bryant was ninth in 3:59.75.
Femke Ball (River)
Femke Ball also continued his dominance in the Diamond League and won his fourth straight trophy.
He clocked 52.45 and extended his unbeaten run in the 400m hurdles to an astonishing 24 races.
Ball missed the Zurich Diamond League due to illness and revealed he was not sure if he would feature in Brussels.
“It was a really long season and it was my body’s sign that I needed a rest,” Ball said. “But running in Brussels is like running in front of my home crowd and I didn’t want to miss that. Brussels is always such a fantastic experience. Now I’m looking forward to a two-week vacation in Sicily.”
READ MORE. Ingebrigtsen wins 1500m in Brussels
Sydney McLaughlin-Levron backed up her 400m victory with victory in the 200m in the Belgian capital, and Ball was asked if she would hypothetically prefer to race the American over the hurdles.
“I’m really glad that Sydney was here to run, despite some side events,” Ball added. “I would prefer to run against him in the 400m hurdles because he is a great athlete and I can learn a lot from him. Maybe the Brussels races convinced him now to play more diamond leagues next season. It would be great to compete against him.”
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Kenny Bednarek ended Letsile Tebogo’s unbeaten run since the Olympics after a 200m accolade.
The American, who recently tied for eighth on the all-time 200m list with Justin Gatlin, was one-tenth off his personal best to run 19.67 (0.7) to Tebogo’s 19.80.
Bednarek finished behind Tebogo in Paris and will undoubtedly be a threat for the Botswanan next season.
“I received a silver medal in Paris,” said Bednarek. “I had some wins during the season and some losses as well. Being able to end the season with a win in the Diamond League final gives me a lot of confidence for next year.
“I think I did what I needed to do in terms of performance and I’m happy with the performance. This year I shocked a few people with how fast I ran. I knew I had it in me, but the last two seasons I’ve had some injuries here and there. This season people saw what I can do. Not a gap year because this is something I had to do. Next year I will be even faster and more dangerous.”
Leonardo Fabbri (Getty)
One of the outstanding performances of the Diamond League final was performed by Leonardo Fabri in the shootout.
The Italian, who was European champion in his home country back in June, threw a personal best of 22.98m in Brussels to take the win.
Not only was it a meet and national record, but Fabbri beat three-time Olympic champion Ryan Kruser in the process.
Fabbri remains fifth on the all-time shot put list, but he is now quite literally inches away from that 23.00m mark.
Only Krauser, Joe Kovacs, Randy Barnes and Ulf Timmerman have thrown farther than Fabbri in history.
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