Tajay Gayle and Emmanouil Karalis win titles at Brussels Diamond League final

Gayle captures long jump title in Brussels

Tajay Gayle won the men's long jump title at the Memorial Van Damme meeting in Brussels on Friday. The 2019 world champion from Jamaica delivered a winning mark of 8.46 metres on his sixth attempt, setting a new season best and securing his second Brussels Diamond Trophy following his 2024 victory. Greek competitor Miltiadis Tentoglou, who had won the previous three Diamond League meetings and the European championship in Birmingham, placed second with a best jump of 8.40 metres. Swiss athlete Simon Ehammer took third place on the podium after reaching 8.23 metres on his final attempt. Ehammer had opened his evening with a fouled jump before posting 8.11 metres on his second attempt to remain in contention behind Gayle and Tentoglou.

Ehammer prepares for Budapest after podium finish

The third-place result was Ehammer's second Diamond League podium finish of the season following a second-place finish in Lausanne. The 26-year-old Appenzell native improved on his recent performances in Zurich, where he reached 8.14 metres, and Lausanne, where he recorded 8.13 metres. His 8.23-metre leap in Brussels remained six centimetres short of his silver-medal performance at the European Championships in Birmingham. Ehammer stated after the competition that the shifting conditions in the stadium made consistency difficult throughout the compressed six-athlete field.

The wind turned often and was very inconsistent. With only six athletes, everything went extremely fast. All in all, I am satisfied. Showing another jump over 8.20 metres is good for the feeling.

Ehammer confirmed that the result gives him confidence ahead of the World Athletics Ultimate Championships scheduled for the following week in Budapest. The upcoming Hungarian competition offers a winner's prize of 150,000 dollars.

Duplantis withdraws as Karalis sets meeting record

The men's pole vault competition unfolded without world record holder Armand Duplantis, who announced his withdrawal prior to his first jump. The 26-year-old Swedish athlete reported pain and irritation in his leg during warm-up attempts, alongside fatigue accumulated from recent competitions. Duplantis described missing the event as the worst feeling possible, while declining to confirm whether the injury would affect his appearance at the upcoming Ultimate Championships in Budapest.

I felt an irritation and didn't want to risk anything.

Emmanouil Karalis capitalized on Duplantis's absence to win the event with a clearance of 6.12 metres. The mark set a new Brussels meeting record and secured the 26-year-old Greek athlete his first career Diamond Trophy, ending a decade-long run of Diamond League title victories by Duplantis. The two vaulters had previously contested a close competition at Zurich's Letzigrund meeting.

Jackson sets shot put record alongside track finals

Field and track finals at the 50th Memorial Van Damme also featured top marks across multiple disciplines. In the women's shot put, Chase Jackson of the United States won the competition with a third-round throw of 21.14 metres. The performance established both a new Diamond League record and the world-leading mark for the 2026 season. Canadian thrower Sarah Mitton finished in second place, landing half a metre behind Jackson's winning mark. On the track, Julien Alfred captured the women's 200-metre Diamond Trophy, adding to her two previous career titles at 100 metres. In the men's 100 metres, Seville claimed first place following a false start by American sprinter Trayvon Bromell on the opening attempt.