Six of the best: Brussels

These days, world records are ten-a-penny in the Wanda Diamond League. Over the past two season, 13 world records have been broken on the series circuit, and meeting such as Paris, Silesia and Eugene have all seen two broken on a single day. Back in the early days, however, world records were rarer. It twasn't until 2012, the third season since the Diamond League's inauguration, that Aries Merritt became the first athlete ever to break one at a Diamond League meeting. The American clocked 12.80 in Brussels, shaving 0.7 seconds off Dayron Robles previous mark from 2008 and clinching the Diamond League title in the process. It's a record which still stands today.

Two years after Merritt's heroics in the hurdles, another world record began to wobble in Brussels as Muta Essa Barshim and Bohdan Bondarenko delivered one of the most memorable men's high jump battles in recent history. The two men had been slugging it out in the series all year, and headed into the Brussels final knowing only victory would be enough to clinch the Diamond Trophy. That prompted an enthralling contest in which both men cleared 2.40m before Barshim finally got the better of Bondarenko at 2.43m. It was a mark which left the Qatari star just two centimetres away from Javier Sotomayor's world record, and it is still the second-highest jump in history and the Diamond League record. 

In 2018, the Diamond League Final took place on back-to-back days for the first time, with the first evening of action taking place in Zurich at Weltklasse and the second in Brussels at the Memorial Van Damme. For Caterine Ibargüen, that presented a logistics problem. The Colombian legend had qualified for the final in both the triple jump and the long jump, meaning she would have to compete in Zurich on one night before hopfooting it to Brussels the following morning. While most athletes would have just chosen a single discipline, Ibargüen showed her usual fearless flair and rose to the challenge. Having won the triple jump in Zurich, she then caught the earliest plane to Brussels, where she proceeded to win the long jump with an impressive 6.80m. She became the first athlete to win two Diamond Trophies on back-to-back days and the only one ever to do so in two different cities. 

As the 2022 season reached a close, few had Kara Winger down as the clear favourite for the Diamond League title in the women's javelin. The veteran US thrower had just won silver at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, but her last Diamond League victory had come 12 year earlier in 2010, and she had still never won one outside of her home country. Having already decided to retire at the end of the season, however, Winger had nothing to lose. In Brussels, she threw a world lead and American record of 68.11m, which proved to be the highlight of a fairytale farewell for the then 36-year-old. A week later, she won again in Zurich, ending her career for good with a first ever Diamond League title. 

After his 1500m defeat to Josh Kerr at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest a few weeks earlier, Jakob Ingebrigtsen had a point to prove when he returned to Diamond League action in Brussels this time last year. Having suffered another major championships setback, Ingebrigtsen was desperate to prove that he was still top dog as he lined up in a men's 2000m which was almost begging him to break the world record. He did so in style, clocking 4:43.13 to shave more than a whole second off Hicham El Guerrouj's previous mark from 1999. It was a statement win for Ingebrigtsen, and one which set the one for his superb 1500m and 5000m title double at the Wanda Diamond League Final in Eugene a week later.

Ingebrigtsen wasn't the only standout performer at last year's Memorial Van Damme. Jamaica's Shericka Jackson also headed to Brussels with high expectations, having claimed three medals, including 200m gold, in Budapest. In the final few weeks of the season, she made no secret of her desire to break the 200m world record, and in Brussels, she came closer than ever before, clocking a Diamond League record of 21.48 in a stunning victory over the likes of Daryll Neita, Jenna Prandini and Anthonique Strachan. That mark left her just 0.14 seconds off Florence Griffiths-Joyner's elusive world record and set her up for more Diamond League heroics at the final later that month. In Eugene, she and Ingebrigtsen became the first athletes since Ibargüen to win two Diamond Trophies on back-to-back days.