News & Updates

Zoe Hobbs produced her best ever finish at a Wanda Diamond League after blitzing to fourth in the women’s 100m in 11.14 at the Allianz Memorial Van Damme in Brussels today.

On a warm evening and on a brand new track inside the King Baudouin Stadium, Zoe once again mixed it with a world-class field, making a good start from the gun and executing another fine piece of sprinting.

Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah finished strongly to take victory in a season’s best of 10.84 ahead of fellow Jamaican Natasha Morrison (10.95). Dina Asher-Smith of Great Britain completed the top three in 10.97.

For Hobbs it was a fifth Diamond League outing for the season and betters her fifth place finishes achieved in Doha and Lausanne.  

Hobbs, who was pleased with her performance which earned her safe passage into the Diamond League final, said: “I knew I had to be fifth or better to be in the top eight for the Diamond League final and so to get fourth here in Brussels and secure that spot was such a relief. 

“All of our campaign and planning led specifically into our peak event (World Championships) and so it’s been a bit of just holding on as much as we could to get through these two weeks and finding the fire in knowing there was the possibility of making that final. That kept the excitement there for sure and I’m really stoked to have secured a spot in the final. Something to be really proud of from this year.”

Kiwi Tori Peeters placed a solid sixth in the women’s javelin with a best of 59.93m.

The Cambridge-based thrower, who finished third at her previous Diamond League outing for the season in Silesia could not quite match that performance on a warm evening in the Belgian capital. Opening with a 58.89m she executed a consistent series with her best arriving in round four followed up with a 59.81m hurl in the fifth stanza.

World champion Haruka Kitaguchi backed up her outstanding from throughout 2023 to clinch top spot with a monster Japanese record and world lead mark of 67.38m in round six. Austria’s Victoria Hudson claimed second with a best of 64.65m ahead of Latvian Lina Muze-Sirma (63.00m).

Sam Tanner produced a brave tilt at the New Zealand 2000m record but fell short as he placed tenth in a time of 4:53.09. In a sensational race, which witnessed a world record from Norwegian superstar Jakob Ingebrigtsen in 4:43.13 and no less than seven national records, Tanner started aggressively and for the first two laps was sat a virtual third – dismissing the three pacemakers – and looked in great shape to attack the record.

Unfortunately, the 23-year-old from Papamoa faded over the final three laps but can still be proud of coming within less than two seconds of the long-standing national record of 4:51.4 posted in 1976 by former Olympic 1500m champion Sir John Walker.

Behind Ingebrigtsen, Reynold Kipkorir Cheruiyot grabbed a Kenyan record of 4:48.14 in second with Australian Stewart McSweyn posting an Oceania record of 4:48.77 in third.

The Diamond League circuit will move on to Eugene, Oregon where the two-day final will take place on the 17-18 September (NZ time). 

Results here