Diamond League comes down to a chase for points

Emmanuel Wanyonyi celebrates winning the men's 1000m during the Monaco Diamond League at the Stade Louis II in Monaco on July 10, 2026. [AFP]

The battle for qualification to run in the Diamond League final in Brussels in September is gaining momentum as stars converge in London for the tenth meet of the circuit on Saturday.

Even as attention shifts to the 11th meeting in London, the Diamond League statistics show that the contests have come down to a chase for points that would qualify the top pedigrees for the finals set for Brussels, Belgium, on September 4-5.

Had Kenyan stars kicked off their campaigns on a high, most of them would already be ranking highly as the circuit nears the homestretch.

Nonetheless, a number of the country’s big shots are in top contention for the 2026 Diamond League trophies.

Two 3000m steeplechasers; world bronze medallist Edmund Serem, who has 24 points, and African bronze medallist Simon Koech (17 points), who is fresh from victory in Monaco, have already qualified for the Diamond League final alongside two-time Olympic champion Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco.

Olympic and world champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi, who is still basking in last week’s 1000m World Record glory in Monaco, is leading the 800m/1000m charts with 22 points, making him one of the favourites for the final.

Wanyonyi is already a three-time Diamond League final winner.

The former world Under-20 800m champion is followed closely by world gold medallist Marco Arop of Canada, who has so far scored 21 points in the rankings done after last weekend’s Monaco meet.

In the 800m, Wanyonyi has been placed second twice, in Rabat and Oslo, earning a total of seven points from each of the two-lap races before topping that up with maximum eight points after the 1000m victory in Monaco, making it 22.

Wanyonyi eyes more points as he lines up in the 800m competition in London tomorrow evening.

He has already set his sights on the end of the season, which includes racing in the Diamond League final, where he aims for a fourth title, and the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships set for Budapest from September 11-13.

“I have decided to not run too much this season because I want to run very fast at the end of the season,” said Wanyonyi.

Africa’s fastest 100m sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala faces displacement from the joint number one position in the ranking tomorrow since he is not competing in London.

Omanyala has scored 19 points so far after his win in Xiamen and second place in Shanghai as well as sixth and eighth positions in Paris and Rome, respectively, and he ranks top in the 100m. He shares the same points with two-time world bronze medallist Bromell Trayvon of the US.

But the Commonwealth champions' and Trayvon’s positions on the table are expected to change if they are dislodged by sprinters such as Jordan Anthony (USA), who is placed third with 16 points, and Leotlela Gift (South Africa), who is fifth with 15 points so far.

“I will keep going and getting prepared for next year's World Championships in Beijing,” Omanyala said when he started the season with a series of sub-10s.

Other Kenyans who stand a chance of qualifying for the Diamond League final include former world champion Timothy Cheruiyot, who has 18 points in the 1500m, and 5000m stars such as world silver medallist Jacob Krop, world bronze medallist Reynold Cheruiyot and Cornelius Kemboi.

After tomorrow, athletes will have three meets for track and field athletes to accumulate their points before the final.