The Brussels Diamond League will be the last round of this year’s Diamond League ahead of the season finale in Zurich, Switzerland on 27 and 28 August.
Several stars of track and field events will descend on the King Baudouin Stadium on Friday, 22 August for the penultimate stop of the 2025 Diamond League season.
This will also be the 49th edition of the Memorial Van Damme.
Reigning world champion Sha’Carri Richardson, world leader Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and Sprint legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce are expected to produce blockbuster action.
Paris 2024 Olympic champions Nafi Thiam, Winfred Yavi, Hamish Kerr, Thea LaFond, Yemisi Ogunleye, and Rojé Stona will also add to the sizzle Brussels Diamond League.
Brussels Diamond League: What To Expect
Sprint Showdown
Few races carry the weight and excitement of the women’s 100 metres, and this year’s lineup is nothing short of electric. The United States arrives with serious firepower, led by Sha’Carri Richardson, the reigning world champion and Olympic silver medallist. Alongside her is the in-form Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, whose breakout season has vaulted her to the top of the world rankings. Not to be overlooked is Maia McCoy, who has already dipped under 11 seconds twice this year.
Adding to the drama is Britain’s Daryll Neita, a determined fourth-place finisher in Paris who is hungry to secure her place on the podium. But perhaps the most compelling twist is the late entry of Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the Jamaican icon who has dominated women’s sprinting for more than 15 years. Her Brussels meeting record of 10.72, set back in 2013, still stands strong- but Jefferson-Wooden’s searing form may finally put it under threat.
Steeplechase and Distance
While sprinting grabs the headlines, the distance events at Brussels Diamond League could quietly steal the show. Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi, the reigning Olympic champion in the 3000m steeplechase, arrives with her sights set on a new frontier: the mile steeplechase.
In the 5000m, Kenya’s Agnes Jebet Ngetich continues her pursuit of history. She famously ran shoulder to shoulder with Beatrice Chebet in Eugene when the world record fell and has remained on the cusp of greatness ever since.
Also Read: World Athletics Championships Tokyo: Meet Team Kenya Led By Faith Kipyegon
Home Favourite
For the Belgian crowd, the spotlight falls on two national stars at Brussels Diamond League. Nafi Thiam, the three-time Olympic champion in the heptathlon, swaps the multi-discipline grind for the long jump, hoping to deliver a memorable performance on home soil.
In the pole vault, Elien Vekemans continues her astonishing rise. Having broken her own national record five times this year, she now faces world-class challengers including Katie Moon, Molly Caudery, and Sandi Morris, all of whom are capable of pushing her to new heights.
Field Events
The men’s high jump features a thrilling rematch between Olympic gold medallist Hamish Kerr of New Zealand and the USA’s Shelby McEwen, his jump-off rival in Paris. Kerr holds the season’s best at 2.33m, but Ukraine’s Oleh Doroshchuk, with a 2.34m jump at the European Indoors, could easily shake up the rankings.
In the discus circle, Rojé Stona arrives not just as Olympic champion but also as the man who has redefined the event with his record-breaking 70-metre throw. Meanwhile, Germany’s Yemisi Ogunleye in the shot put and Dominica’s Thea LaFond in the triple jump promise world-class competition across the board.
Brussels Diamond League 2025: Schedule
Times listed in Central European Summer Time (UTC +2 hours).
18:29 High Jump men
18:36 Shot put women
18:50 Discus throw men
19:34 pole vault women
20:04 400m hurdles women
20:11 1500m women
20:19 Javelin throw men
20:22 200m men
20:29 3000m steeplechase men
20:42 Triple jump women
20:45 100m women
20:51 5000m women
21:13 1500m men
21:26 Mile steeplechase women (not a Diamond League event)
21:41 400m men
