Kenyans rule Brussels meeting: Cheng’etich, Obiri and Kipruto lift IAAF Diamond League Trophies in Belgium

Athletics - IAAF Diamond League Final - Brussels, Belgium - September 1, 2017 Faith Kipyegon of Kenya celebrates winning the Women's 1500 metres REUTERS

Athletes sign off in style as track season comes to an end.

Kenya’s track superstars gave global athletics fans a night to remember at the final IAAF Diamond League meeting at King Baudoin Stadium in northern Brussels on Friday.

Despite power outages, three Kenyans — Faith Chepng’etich (1,500m), Conseslus Kipruto (3,000m steeplechase) and Hellen Obiri (5,000m) — won the IAAF Diamond League Trophies iced with Sh5m ($50,000).

They joined Timothy Cheruiyot (1,500m), who wore his crown during the first final of the season in Zurich last week.

Chepng’etich and Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands lit up the AG Memorial Van Damme meet with an all-out surge around the final lap of the 1500m which eventually saw the Kenyan edge ahead to claim her first Diamond Trophy.

Floodlights problem

Chepng’etich clocked a season’s best of 3:57.04, with Hassan — who leads this year’s world list with 3:56.14 — taking second place in 3:57.22, well clear of the nearest challenger, Chepng’etich’s compatriot Winny Chebet, who clocked 4:00.18.

Organisers were unable to switch on the main floodlights, but managed to keep the whole show going thanks to the use of generators, enabling the gathered athletes to see out their season’s finale in front of a large and appreciative crowd.

“I’m so happy to end my season this way,” Chepng’etich said.

The men’s 3000m steeplechase provided huge drama in the final lap as Kenya’s world and Olympic champion Kipruto, with a huge burst of energy that would have been most welcome in the nearby blacked-out areas of the city, edged past Soufiane El Bakkali to win his third Diamond Trophy in a time of 8:04.73, with the Moroccan clocking a personal best of 8:04.83.

Kipruto and El Bakkali had been led through the bell by Olympic silver medallist and world bronze medallist Evan Jager.

The tall and powerful US runner, blond hair tied back, had pushed the pace all the way through, but in the back straight of the final lap, his two rivals got away from him and his weariness became evident as he fell at the final water jump and lost his placing.

But Jager found energy from somewhere over the final 30m to accelerate past his compatriot Stanley Kebenei to reclaim third place, finishing in 8:11.71 to Kebenei’s 8:11.93.

Another compelling middle distance spectacle saw Kenya’s world 5000m champion Obiri prevail after a huge battle with her compatriot Caroline Kipkirui.

Obiri won in 14:25.88, with Kipkirui clocking a personal best of 14:27.55 ahead of third-placed Senbere Teferi of Ethiopia, who recorded 14:32.03.

World 1,500m champion Elijah Manangoi won the promotional race in 3:38.97 ahead of French man Mahiedine Mekhissi (3:39.42).

Serbian long jumper Ivana Spanovic, who missed out on a medal at the World Championships, finished her season on a high here as another final effort, this time 6.70m, earned her the title.

Unlike the world final, this was a competition in which no one got anywhere near seven-metre territory, with the marks being concentrated, offering the possibility of dramatic shifts in the order.

Britain’s Lorraine Ugen moved up from fourth to first with her fifth-round effort of 6.65m, only to be eclipsed by the Serbian’s final effort.