The 2026 Wanda Diamond League season came to a dramatic end on September 4-5 as the biggest stars in global athletics descended on Brussels for the two-day series final.
Falling a week before the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships, the 2026 Wanda Diamond League Final was the first of two chances for athletes to win a major global title in a season with no Olympic Games or World Championships.
The season finale did not disappoint, as Brussels delivered another glut of records, a string of surprises and a new generation of champions.
Day 1: Series records and a shock for Duplantis
The first day of the final began with a shock for athletics fans across as the world, as world record holder and five-time series champion Mondo Duplantis pulled out of the men’s pole vault after the warm-up due to a muscle strain.
Duplantis’ withdrawal left the field open for world number two Manolo Karalis, who swept to his first ever global title with a meeting record of 6.12m, delighting the hundreds of Greek fans who had turned out to support him in Brussels.
The Greek star was not the only unexpected winner on the opening night.
Poland’s Mateusz Kołodziejski leapt to a surprise victory in the men’s high jump, while Tajay Gayle snatched a dramatic late win from favourite Miltiadis Tentoglou in the men’s long jump.
Olympic champion Valarie Sion suffered a shock defeat to Feng Bin in the women’s discus, thwarting her bid to win a record-equalling sixth successive Diamond League title.
Botswana’s 400m world champion Collen Kebinatshipi also won his first Diamond Trophy, setting a new Diamond League record of 43.40 in the process.
It was one of two series records to fall, as Chase Jackson also launched a late winning throw of 21.14m in the women’s shot put.
The American’s mark bookended a historic season in the women’s shot put that had begun with Jessica Schilder’s 21-metre monster at the Diamond League season opener in Keqiao in May.
Day 2: Russell, Werro and Dos Santos crown perfect seasons
The records continued to flow on the second night of the final, with seven athletes breaking meeting records to win the Diamond Trophy.
They included some of the season’s standout performers, as Masai Russell, Alison Dos Santos and Audrey Werro all ended their campaigns on a high.
Werro won a dramatic photo finish against Femke Broeders-Bol to defend her title in the women’s 800m, while new world record holder Dos Santos claimed his third Diamond League title in five years with a meeting record of 46.70 in the men’s 400m hurdles.
Russell, meanwhile, completed her astonishing full house of seven meeting records in seven Diamond League appearances in 2026, storming to her maiden title with 12.20 in the 100m hurdles.
In the men’s javelin, Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage became the first Sri Lankan Diamond league champion in history, crowning a breakthrough season that saw him win all but one of his 13 competitions.
While the favourites may have prevailed in some events, there were more surprises elsewhere on day two.
Klaudia Kazimierska crowned a perfect double for Poland as she posted a world lead and meeting record of 3:54.05 to beat favourites Georgia Hunter Bell, Jessica Hull and Dorcus Ewoi in the women’s 1500m.
Rajindra Campbell was a shock winner in the men’s shot put, the Jamaican landing the fourth-furthest throw in history with 23.05m.
Meanwhile in the women’s high jump, Eleanor Patterson stunned Olympic champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh in a thrilling final.
As the 32 Diamond League champions took to the podium at the end of the night, it seemed that a new era had begun in global athletics.
The 2026 final had produced 21 first-time champions, suggesting a new generation of title contenders ahead of the 2027 World Championships and the 2028 Olympic Games.
