Seville chases 100m Diamond Trophy as finals begin

WORLD Athletics Championships 100-metre champion Oblique Seville will lead Jamaica’s charge when the Wanda Diamond League Finals get under way at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, today.

Jamaica will have nine athletes in action on the opening day of the two-day season-ending championships, with Seville providing the biggest attraction on the track as he goes after the prestigious Diamond Trophy in the 100m.

The Jamaican contingent will also have a strong presence in the field events, with six athletes set to compete as the country looks to make an early impact at the 50th staging of the Allianz Memorial Van Damme.

Seville, one of three Jamaicans in track action today, enters the 100m final as the leading qualifier after topping the Diamond League standings with 23 points. He has been one of the most consistent sprinters on the circuit this season and will face a quality field that includes South Africa’s Gift Leotlela, Americans Trayvon Bromell, Jordan Anthony and Kenneth Bednarek, Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala, Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme and South Africa’s Akani Simbine.

The Jamaican is expected to be among the main contenders for victory, especially after his breakthrough season last year that saw him claim the World Championships title in Tokyo. He will be hoping to join countrymen Usain Bolt. Asafa Powell and Ackeem Blake as Diamond Trophy winners in the event.

Orlando Bennett will also be looking to make his mark on the opening day when he lines up in the 110m hurdles in a field that also includes world record holder Ja’Kobe Tharp of the United States. Bennett enters the final after a consistent season on the Diamond League circuit.

The field events will provide plenty of Jamaican interest, with Tajay Gayle and Wayne Pinnock competing in the men’s long jump.

Gayle goes into the final with considerable momentum after producing one of his best performances of the season in Zurich, where he leapt 8.43 metres for second place. Pinnock was third in Zurich with 8.33m, ensuring that both Jamaicans booked their places in Brussels.

Romaine Beckford will contest the men’s high jump, while Olympic champion Roje Stona will be Jamaica’s representative in the men’s discus throw.

Beckford has enjoyed an impressive season and finished the regular Diamond League campaign among the leading athletes in his event, while Stona will be seeking to reproduce the form that has made him one of the world’s leading discus throwers.

Among the women, Rushell Clayton will carry Jamaica’s hopes in the 400m hurdles. Clayton has been one of the country’s most consistent performers throughout the Diamond League season and heads into the final among the leading contenders.

The opening day will also see Jamaica represented in the women’s field events, with Danniel Thomas-Dodd competing in the shot put and Ackeliah Smith in the triple jump.

The 2026 Wanda Diamond League Final features all 32 Diamond League champions being crowned over today and tomorrow, with the winners taking home the coveted Diamond Trophy.

SCHEDULE FOR JAMAICANS

11:30 a.m: Shot Put Women - Danniel Thomas-Dodd

11:38 a.m: Long Jump Men - Wayne Pinnock, Tajay Gayle

1:04 p.m: 400m Hurdles Women - Rushell Clayton

1:09 p.m: High Jump Men - Romaine Beckford

1:14 p.m: 100m Men - Oblique Seville

1:37 p.m: Discus Throw Men - Roje Stona

1:48 p.m: Triple Jump Women - Ackeliah Smith

1:55 p.m: 110m Hurdles Men - Orlando Bennett