With less than three weeks to go until the Wanda Diamond League Final on September 4-5, the race for a ticket to Brussels is heating up.
Since the season began in Shanghai/Keqiao back in May, the world’s best athletes have been battling for points across four continents as they bid to qualify for the series final.
Now, there are just three stops left on the Road to the Final: Lausanne on August 21, Silesia on August 23 and Zurich on August 27.
So as athletics’ premier one-day series heads into the home straight, here’s a look at who has qualified and who still has work to do in the coming weeks.
Who’s qualified?
As it stands ahead of Lausanne, a total of 72 athletes have already done enough to secure a place in the 2026 Wanda Diamond League Final.
They include a number of Olympic and world champions, world record holders and reigning Diamond League champions.
Pole vault world record holder Mondo Duplantis will be aiming for a sixth straight Diamond League title in Brussels, after cruising into the final with wins in Shanghai/Keqiao, Paris and Monaco.
Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi is eyeing a fourth successive Diamond Trophy in the men’s 800m after he secured qualification with a 1000m world record in Monaco last month.
Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred has qualified for the final in the women’s 200m, having stormed to a string of impressive victories in Rome, Paris and London.
100m hurdles world record holder Tobi Amusan of Nigeria has also qualified, as she looks to regain the title she held from 2021 to 2023.
Other reigning and former series champions who have booked their ticket to Brussels include men’s long jump Olympic champion Militiadis Tentoglou, javelin thrower Anderson Peters and discus stars Matthew Denny, Kristjan Čeh and Daniel Ståhl.
For others like Australian middle-distance ace Cameron Myers, 400m world champion Collen Kebinatshipi and Jamaican triple jumper Jordan Scott, this year’s final will be a chance to win a first ever Diamond League title.
Only one event has a full line-up confirmed so far, with Jessica Schilder, Chase Jackson, Fanny Roos, Sarah Mitton, Yemisi Mabry and Daniela Thomas-Dodd set to battle it out in the women’s shot put.
Click the link below for a full breakdown of the current Diamond League standings.
Wild cards
A number of major global stars have already confirmed their intention of competing in Brussels, despite having not yet secured qualification.
Swiss 800m star Audrey Werro has set two Diamond League records already this season and will be firm favourite to defend her Diamond League title in Brussels.
Her 800m rivals Lilian Odira, Keely Hodgkinson and Femke Broeders-Bol also intend to be in Brussels, as do 400m hurdles star Anna Cockrell and high jump world record holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh.
These athletes are currently on course for qualification, needing at most a few extra points in the remaining three meetings.
Should they fall short, they could still appear in the final via one of four global wild cards reserved for international athletes.
A number of Belgian stars such as Nafi Thiam, Delphine Nkansa and Paulien Couckuyt will also appear in the Final on local wild cards, though they will not be eligible to win the Diamond League title.
Click the link below for more information on wild cards in the Wanda Diamond League Final.
Final push
For many of the sport’s biggest stars, the next few weeks will be crucial.
In Lausanne next Friday, the likes of Jamaican sprinter Shericka Jackson, Indian javelin star Neeraj Chopra and US long-distance ace Grant Fisher will be among those hoping to wrap up their qualification campaigns.
A few days later in Silesia, it will be 110m hurdles world record holder Ja’Kobe Tharp and US sprinters Sha’Carri Richardson and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden in the spotlight.
While these athletes are only a few points short of qualification, others have more work to do.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Elaine Thompson-Herah, will make their first Diamond League appearances of the season in the coming weeks and will need big performances if they are to qualify via the Road to the Final.
