African stars win big at the Diamond League Final
Kebinatshipi ran 43.40, Cherotich and Wanyonyi set meeting records, and Ethiopia swept the women’s 5,000m.
Key points
- Botswana’s Collen Kebinatshipi won the 400m at the Diamond League Final in Brussels in 43.40, a Diamond League, meeting and national record.
- Kenya’s Faith Cherotich (steeplechase, 8:51.61) and Emmanuel Wanyonyi (800m, 1:41.80) won with meeting records.
- Ethiopia’s Freweyni Hailu led an Ethiopian 1-2-3 in the women’s 5,000m, and Gemechu Godana won the men’s steeplechase.
African athletes took home some of the biggest prizes at the 2026 Diamond League Final in Brussels on 4 and 5 September.
Kebinatshipi's record run
Botswana's Collen Kebinatshipi won the men's 400m in 43.40. It was a Diamond League record, a meeting record and a Botswana national record, and it moved the 22-year-old to joint fifth on the world all-time list. It was the third time this season he had broken the Diamond League record.
Kenyan meeting records
- Faith Cherotich won the women's 3,000m steeplechase in a meeting record of 8:51.61, ahead of compatriot Doris Lemngole. Cherotich also won Commonwealth gold in Glasgow in July.
- Emmanuel Wanyonyi won the men's 800m in a meeting record of 1:41.80, capping a season in which he broke the 1,000m world record.
Ethiopian sweep
Ethiopia's Freweyni Hailu won the women's 5,000m in 14:35.20, leading an Ethiopian one-two-three with Likina Amebaw and Senayet Getachew. Gemechu Godana won his first Diamond League title in the men's steeplechase in 8:08.67, ahead of Morocco's Soufiane El Bakkali and Kenya's Simon Koech.
Sources
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