Dominant Diamond Race leaders
Friday evening's Diamond Race action will kick off with the women's discus. With five victories and a fifteen point lead, Sandra Perkovic has been more dominant than any other athlete in this year's competition. She needs only to compete in Brussels to claim a fourth consecutive Diamond Trophy.
The same is essentially true of Sifan Hassan in the women's 1500m and Caterine Ibargüen in the women's triple jump. Ibargüen has been nearly as dominant as Perkovic, and both her and Hassan hold a lead of eight points or more in their respective disciplines. Participation alone is required for them to complete Diamond Race glory in 2015.
Nail biting duels
The second Diamond Race of the night, however, provides a completely different perspective. In the men's shot put, David Storl and Joe Kovacs are equal on 14 points with three victories each. Whoever finishes ahead of the other in Brussels will take the Diamond Trophy, a prospect made all the juicier by the fact that Kovacs relieved Storl of his world title in Beijing.
Another man looking for post-Beijing redemption is Renaud Lavillenie. The only athlete to have won the Diamond Race in every single year since 2010 needs only to win in Brussels to secure a sixth Diamond Trophy. The Frenchman has never been closer to losing his crown, however, holding only a three point lead over Konstantinos Filippidis. After his disappointment in Beijing, Lavillenie will be desperate for Diamond Race redemption.
Perhaps the most brilliant duel of the season has come in the men's triple jump. Christian Taylor and Pedro Pablo Pichardo have delivered a wonderful, season long contest in 2015. It was Taylor who claimed the major prize when they faced each other in Beijing, but Pichardo still has a two point lead in the Diamond Race. If he can just manage to pip Taylor tonight, he too will enjoy redemption in the shape of the Diamond Trophy.
In the women's 200m, meanwhile, one of the heroines of Beijing will be out to rekindle the old fire in the Diamond Race. Allyson Felix hasn't had her hands on the Diamond Trophy since she claimed two of them in 2010, and the 400m world champion could change that on Friday. She leads the Diamond Race – but only by a single point. Jeneba Tarmoh is hot on her heels, while 200m world champion Dafne Schippers is also in reach.
Nowhere are the margins closer, however, than in the women's 100m hurdles. After six rounds of Diamond League competition, three athletes have shared the spoils exactly among themselves. Jasmin Stowers, Dawn Harper-Nelson and Sharika Nelvis all have two victories and ten points under their belt. The Diamond Trophy will simply go to whichever of them crosses the line first in Brussels.
Six is the magic number
In six of the Diamond Race events to grace Brussels this year, the winner is just inches away from the crown. Bershawn Jackson is five points ahead in the men's 400m hurdles, whileJustin Gatlin, Ruth Beitia, Virginia Nyambura, Francena McCorory, Nijel Amos and Vítezslav Veselý all hold leads of six points.
Amos looks destined to claim his second consecutive Diamond Trophy in the men's 800m, having missed out on the chance to claim gold in Beijing. His six point lead should be enough, particularly in the absence of David Rudisha.
Beitia's consistence over the season has been astonishing, and despite thoroughly competitive field, few would doubt that she is able to hold off the competition in Brussels and claim Diamond Race glory. Likewise McCorory, Gatlin and Veselý, all of whom have the quality to claim the minimum requirement of third place in Brussels and consolidate their six point lead into a Diamond Trophy in the sixth year of the IAAF Diamond League.
Nyambura is perhaps lesser known than the others, but since her explosive victory as pacemaker in Doha at the beginning of the season, few can doubt that she would deserve to transform her six point lead into a first individual major trophy in Brussels.
Final flourish
The final Diamond Race event of the evening will be arguably the most gripping. In the men's 5000m, there has been a different winner in each of the six rounds so far, and five of them – Ben True, Thomas Longosiwa, Caleb Ndiku, Yomif Kejelcha, Hagos Gebrhiwet will be present in Brussels. With none of them having reached eight points, however, it is not just these five who can claim the Diamond Trophy. In theory, any of the athletes on the startlist could win the Diamond Race in Brussels, even those who are currently on zero points.
It is by far the most open Diamond Race of the season. As a final flourish after some of the most even Diamond Races, some of the most epic duels, and some of the most dominant athletes, the 2015 season finale is set to be a night of the superlatives in Brussels.
