The 2022 season charged into the final bend in August, with athletes returning from the World Championships in Oregon to launch their final push for a place in the Wanda Diamond League Final. From series records to historic first-time victories, there were plenty of thrills and spills in Monaco, Lausanne and Brussels.
Monaco - August 10th
The Herculis meeting in Monaco has played host to some of the greatest performances in Diamond League history, and 2022 proved to be another sparkling year on the track at the Stade Louis II.
There were several meeting records, with Noah Lyles cruising to an impressive 19.45 in the men's 200m and Jake Wightman following up his 1500m heroics at the World Championships with a fine personal best of 2:18.33 in the 1000m.
In the women's sprints, meanwhile, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce continued to go from strength to strength as she clocked a world-leading 10.62 in the 100m to smash the meeting record and fuel chatter about a potential world record. Coming in third behind her, Marie-Josée Ta Lou broke down in tears after setting a new African record of 10.72.
Just a year after Francine Niyonsaba became the first Burundian athlete to win the Diamond Trophy, her compatriot Thierry Ndikumwenayo made further history for his country with a national and Diamond League record of 7:25.93 in the men's 3000m. The victory meant that the race for the title in the long distance event remained wide open, with Ndikumwenayo becoming the sixth winner in six different meetings in the 3/5000m campaign.
History was also made in the women's 1500m, where Kenya's Faith Kipyegon came within 0.3 seconds of the world record set by Genzebe Dibaba at the same meeting seven years earlier. In the end, Kipyegon had to settle for 3:50.37 -- the second-fastest time ever, a personal best and a Kenyan record.