Best of 2022: Breakthroughs, broken records and beating Bolt

2022 was an unforgettable year for the sprinters on the Wanda Diamond League circuit, with the Jamaicans pushing new boundaries in the women’s events and the Americans toppling years-old records in the men’s. In the first part of our “Best of 2022” series, we take a look back at some of the year’s most memorable performances in the 100m, 200m and 400m.

Norman surpasses Van Niekerk – Men’s 400m, Eugene

For five years, Wayde Van Niekerk had maintained a firm grip on the 400m Diamond League record, with almost nobody getting within a sniff of the South African’s 43.62 in Lausanne in 2017. That all changed this year, however, as Michael Norman soared around the new Hayward Field to clock 43.60 and hurl down the gauntlet ahead of the World Athletics Championships. He would be crowned world champion on the same track a few months later, and while he failed to claim the Diamond Trophy in Zurich, Norman could still look back on a successful Diamond League campaign come September. A new series record and a victory on home soil to boot, his brilliant run in Eugene made him one of the standout performers in the 400m.