Kenyan stars keen to outsprint rivals in Diamond League grand finale

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The undisputed favourites will be under pressure to deliver jaw-dropping performances as they blaze King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, Belgium in the 2026 Diamond League grand finale beginning tonight and ending Saturday.

Kenyan stars, especially those who made it to the final in the middle and long distance events, are among the favourites considering their stellar performances this season.

They will be looking to continue dominance in races such as 800m, 1500m and 3000m steeplechase among other races.

But they face strong opposition in their campaign for Diamond League trophies in the Belgian city.

Three athletes who set world records this year will also be in action in the final and one Kenyan star, Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi, is among them.

Wanyonyi, the reigning world 800m champion stunningly obliterated a 27-year-old world record in the 1,000m at the Diamond League meeting in Monaco, bringing it down to 2:11.83.

In the two finals in Brussels, Wanyonyi is set for a major showdown in the 800m, as she competes with other bigwigs.

His 1:41.11 personal best ranks him as the second-fastest in history of the two-lap event.

Wanyonyi started off the season on a slow burner but he regained a good shape at just the right moment as he set his sights on a fourth successive Diamond League title.

In his 800m specialty, Wanyonyi suffered three Diamond League meeting defeats in Rabat, Oslo and London but made an emphatic comeback as the season approached climax. 

As he bounced back, he took the world leading position that was held by Canadian rival, former world champion Marco Arop in Zurich, which was the last meet before the final.

As he prepares to face Arop and other stars among them Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati in Brussels, Wanyonyi is once again an undisputed pre-race favorite.

No Kenyan woman is entered in the women’s 800m final.

The world big three are set for a gigantic clash in the women’s 3000m steeplechase on day one of the two-day grand finale.

World champion Faith Cherotich faces Olympic gold medallists, Winfred Yavi of Bahrain and Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai in the super-fast field, and in a race which is expected to be the hottest contest of the season.

Cherotich takes to the grand finale, greater podium dominance this season after two astounding victories in Zurich and Eugene as well second positions in Lausanne and Shanghai as well as a third spot in Xiamen while Yavi has one victory from Lausanne and second places achieved in Eugene and Xiamen.

Her neighbour, Chemutai (Uganda) kicked off the series on a high, winning in Shanghai and Xiamen, but remains a strong contender for the trophy.  

World silver medallist Dorcus Ewoi is the sole Kenyan in the women’s 1500m race.

Ewoi faces a major test as she takes on global stars among them Olympic silver medallist Jessica Hull of Australia Great Britain’s Georgia Hunter Bell, a world silver medallist, Olympic silver winner Duguma Tsige of Ethiopia and America’s Olympian Nikki Hiltz.

She is eyeing her first Diamond League trophy in an event that has been dominated by world record holder Faith Kipyegon, who is off season, recovering from an injury.

Even in her absence, Kipyegon, who is five-time Diamond League champion, is a prominent figure in Brussels.

In 2024, in Brussels, Kipyegon stormed to a meeting record of 3:54.75, crossing the finish line with a triumphant five fingers raised in front of her, as she celebrated her fifth Diamond League trophy.

The 2019 world 1500m champion Timothy Cheruiyot has made strong statements this season and hopes to finish strong in the series.

In Brussels, he competes in his specialty (1500m) and will be joined by Phanuel Koech and Boaz Kiprugut.

In June, Cheruiyot stormed to a Mile victory in Oslo, while Koech, who is the 1500m Under-20 record holder, is fresh from a second place in Zurich last week.

"I had a stress fracture on my leg. But now, it is okay. My coach told me to run like the final of the championship. My biggest goal was to get to the Diamond league final,” Koech said after the second place in Zurich.

The Kenyan trio will be taking on four-time Diamond League final winner Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway in one of the strongest lineups of the season.

Fast-rising American star Ethan Strand and experienced compatriots including Olympic champion Cole Hocker and bronze medallist Yared Nuguse are in the 1500m mix.