PREVIEW | Top Australians primed for Brussels Diamond League Final

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Only seven Australian athletes in history have won the Diamond League Final, with a 13-strong contingent out to add to that record in Brussels this weekend where they will be led by Cameron Myers and the high-flying duo of Eleanor Patterson and Nicola Olyslagers.

The 15th and final Wanda Diamond League meeting of 2026 will be hosted at the Memorial van Damme, featuring the world’s best athletes who have qualified through the series for their chance at a share in the $2.24 million USD in prize purse.  

Australian viewers can watch live and free via the Age of Sports YouTube channel.

Saturday, September 5

3:59am AEST – Men’s Pole Vault

Competition number 20 of the year looms for Kurtis Marschall (WA, Declan Carruthers) and while he would be forgiven for running on fumes, the pole vault star is playing with house money after a career-best season.

The six-metre man will meet world record holder Armand Duplantis (SWE) and world number two Emmanouil Karalis (GRE), along with Sondre Guttormsen (NOR) who has found his best form at the business end of the season.

Marschall’s six Diamond League meetings in 2026 have reaped five podium finishes and two remarkable wins – a record he hopes to extend into the final.

4:14am AEST – Men’s 100m

Australia’s fastest man Lachlan Kennedy (QLD, Andrew Iselin) will never back down from a contest and that is exactly what is ahead of him in Brussels, with reigning world champion Oblique Seville (JAM) and Commonwealth champion Emmanuel Eseme (CMR) awaiting.

Kennedy’s dream run this year has seen him obliterate Patrick Johnson’s national record in 9.85-seconds when claiming Commonwealth silver in the 100m, also leading Australia to gold in the 4x100m.

4:37am AEST – Men’s Discus Throw

The giants of global discus will line up one final time for 2026 in Brussels with no event on the World Ultimate Championship program, with Matthew Denny (QLD, Dale Stevenson) looking to send off his season in style.

Standing in his way is world record holder Mykolas Alekna (LTU), but at number two on the all-time list with his 74.78m personal best, Denny is good enough to mix it with anyone on his day – including reigning world champion Daniel Stahl (SWE) and Kristjan Ceh (SLO).

5:03am AEST – Women’s 5000m

Dual Commonwealth champion Rose Davies (NSW, Scott Westcott) is racing with supreme confidence and will be buoyed by her breakthrough season in the Diamond League Final, fresh off finishing in third place in Silesia last week.

The Australian record holder has developed a punishing kick and tactical nous which she will need to channel in order to combat Freweyni Hailu (ETH) and Medina Eisa (ETH) who own the fastest times in the field, while fellow Australians Lindel Hall (VIC, Ned Brophy-Williams) and Georgia Griffith (VIC, Nic Bideau) will also feature in the race.

5:26am AEST – Men’s 1500m

Middle-distance prodigy Cameron Myers (ACT, Dick Telford) will have a target on his back in a star-studded race featuring Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) and Yared Nuguse (USA), which is a testament to the year the 20-year-old Australian is having.

Myers lowered the national record to 3:28.00 to win the Paris Diamond League and will need to back in his closing speed in a field of fast-finishers including reigning Olympic champion Cole Hocker (USA), with the front-running Australian’s presence all but guaranteeing an honest race.

Sunday, September 6

4:10am AEST – Women’s High Jump

High jump powerhouses Eleanor Patterson (NSW, Fayaaz Caan) and Nicola Olyslagers (NSW, Matt Horsnell) have only added to their rivalry in 2026, but a global affair in Brussels sees world record holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR) and Iryna Gerashchenko (UKR) join the party.

The Australian duo top the field on season’s bests having both cleared 2.02m, just shy of the 2.04m national record set by Olyslagers when winning the 2025 Diamond League Final in Zurich, with the trailed closely this year by Mahuchikh at 2.01m and Gerashchenko at 2.00m.

4:55am AEST – Women’s 1500m

A Diamond League Final without world record holder Faith Kipyegon is a rare occurrence and one that Olympic silver medallist Jessica Hull (NSW, Simon Hull) and Commonwealth champion Abbey Caldwell (VIC, Gavin Burren) will be looking to take full advantage of.

British record holder Georgia Hunter Bell (GBR) has earned favouritism with her skillset suited to championship racing, while World Championships silver medallist Dorcus Ewoi (KEN) and rising star Tsige Duguma (ETH) also loom as threats to an Australian diamond.

Hull finished in second place at the 2025 Diamond League Final, falling just 0.03-seconds short of the elusive crown.

5:39am AEST – Women’s 800m

Sarah Billings (VIC, Nic Bideau) will attach herself to the train led by world leader Audrey Werro (SUI) and the rising Femke Broeders-Bol (NED) over two laps, in one of the hottest events in global athletics in 2026.

Already setting a national record of 1:57.01 this season and winning Commonwealth bronze, the race is an opportunity for Billings to take Australian 800m into new territory once again, ranked fifth on season’s best.

*National record holder Torrie Lewis (QLD, Laurent Meuwly) will fly the flag in the Women’s 100m Invitational which will take place at 3:47am AEST on Sunday, loading into the blocks as the only sub-11 second athlete in the field.

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Australian Athletics
Posted 3/9/2026

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