2011 Brussels Diamond League Recap

The Diamond League Season Ends In Spectacular Fashion

By LetsRun.com
September 16, 2011

The 2011 Diamond League came to a conclusion in stunning fashion. Where to begin? The distance action was fantastic for American fans, as in the 1,500, Morgan Uceny rebounded from her World Championships fall in incredible fashion, destroying the field with a world leader to prove she's the best women's miler in the world. Galen Rupp smashed the American record in the men's 10,000 in a race where Kenenisa Bekele returned to his old ways. In terms of sprint action, Yohan Blake and Usain Bolt may have done the fans a disservice by ducking each other, but at least they put on quite a show as Usain Bolt put up a world leader in the men's 100 before Yohan Blake stole the show in the men's 200m.

Below we recap all of the professional events. Other results can be found here.


Women's 1,500 - Morgan Uceny Emphatically Shows She's The Best In The World
Uceny Destroys 10 Of Top 11 In World And Runs World-Leading 4:00.06

We said it in July after and we'll say it again in September.

  Get Microsoft Silverlight Morgan Uceny Wins In Brussels

Let there be no doubt, "Morgan Uceny is the best 1,500 meter runner in the world." Let us repeat, "Morgan Uceny is the best 1,500 meter runner in the world."

We say that because Uceny, who went into the 2011 World Championships as either the favorite or number two choice behind Maryam Jamal but was knocked down in the final, has seemingly been forgotten in the aftermath of Jenny Barringer Simpson's shock victory in Korea.

Uceny won't be forgotten anymore, as she destroyed a loaded field over the final lap of the Diamond League final in Brussels on Friday night and got the win in a world-leading time of 4:00.06. Today's field included the world champion Simpson as well as Jamal and 10 of the top 11 women on the 2011 yearly list, but none were close to being the same class as Uceny. In the process of getting the victory, Uceny also secured the overall Diamond League title and won at least $50,000 in the process ($40,000 for the DL title, $10,000 for the win and we imagine there is more for a world leader). It was Uceny's third Diamond League victory on the year and one that will certainly result in her being world ranked #1 at the end of the year.

The Race
With a ridiculous 20 entrants, the race thankfully started fast got started fast, as Russian Irina Maracheva went through 400 in 61.91. Uceny and Jamal both started well and were sitting in third and fifth for most of the first lap, but as the pace slowed on the 2nd lap (66.94 for Maracheva), the field bunched up and Uceny found herself swallowed up. With two laps remaining, Uceny was boxed in on the rail in 8th and Barringer Simpson wasn't too far behind her in 10th.

But the pace started to accelerate again as the runners approached the bell. With 400 remaining, Uceny was just 6th, but things were opening up and Uceny had no trouble at all with traffic this time. Once free, Uceny just mowed down the entire field on the last lap and destroyed everyone.

She passed Jamal to move into second just before 200 remained. The only person in front of Uceny and the victory was Morocco's Mariem Alaoui Selsouli. Selsouli, the 2008 world indoor bronze medallist, had opened up her 2011 season in Rieti last week with a win in a stellar 4:01.04, and with 250 meters remaining, she had a big lead - at least 10 meters - but she was no match for Uceny as she ended up second some .71 behind.

The world champion Simpson ended up 13th in 4:03.68. The silver medallist Hannah England was 5th in 4:02.03 and the bronze medallist Natalia Rodriguez was 8th in 4:02.57.

Afterwards, Uceny told the IAAF, "Of course this is a sweet revenge for what happened in Daegu. I wanted to show I had to be among the best at those worlds. And I did it tonight with a personal best. Next year at the Olympics, one of the medals will be for me!"

Quick Thought #1: Uceny really deserved this. It was great to see her rebound after the worst possible disaster that occurred in Daegu. Is there any doubt she would have won in Daegu?

QT #2: Let us try to answer that question with reason, not emotion. At Worlds, we had Simpson closing in 61.5 in a 4:05 race. Uceny's finish here was even more impressive. We had her in 61.3 for the final 400 in a 4:00 race.

QT #3:
Anyone want to contrast the way Uceny handled her disappointment in 2011 with the way Mary Slaney handled hers in 1984?

QT #4: Anyone know where Mariem Alaoui Selsoul has been all year? If so, email us. Thanks for emailing. Selsouli is back from a doping ban.

Rank Athlete Nation Result Diamond Points Diamond Ranking
1
USA
4:00.06
WL
19
1
img
2
MAR
4:00.77
PB
4
4
 
3
BRN
4:01.40
11
2
 
4
UKR
4:01.73
PB
6
3
 
5
GBR
4:02.03
 
 
 
6
KEN
4:02.32
PB
 
 
 
7
KEN
4:02.42
PB
 
 
 
8
ESP
4:02.57
 
 
 
9
BRN
4:03.13
SB
 
 
 
10
ETH
4:03.38
3
5
 
11
RUS
4:03.48
 
 
 
12
POL
4:03.50
PB
 
 
 
13
USA
4:03.68
 
 
 
14
NOR
4:03.79
SB
 
 
 
15
ETH
4:06.28
 
 
 
16
MAR
4:07.19
1
7
 
17
ETH
4:13.17
 
 
 
 
RUS
DNF
 
 
 
 
MAR
DNF
2
6
 
 
RUS
DNF
 
 
 

Intermediate times:
400m - Maracheva, Irina (RUS) - 1:01.91
800m - Maracheva, Irina (RUS) -2:08.85
1,200m - Alaoui Selsouli, Mariem (MAR) -3:13.58


Men's 10,000: Galen Rupp Shatters The American 10,000 Record By Running 26:48.00
Rupp Is Now The 16th-Fastest Man In History; Kenenisa Bekele Wins With World-Leading 26:43.16

25-year-old Galen Rupp shattered the American record for 10,000 meters by running 26:48.00 on Friday night in Brussels, eclipsing the 26:59.60 that Chris Solinsky set last year on May 1st. In getting the AR, Rupp finished third in the race, which was won by Kenenisa Bekele in a 2011 world-leading time of 26:43.16.

Rupp was up front in the lead pack throughout the race that saw the 5k  passed in 13:26.63. With 4 laps remaining (22:36 for Rupp, meaning his last 1,600 was 4:11 and change), there was a lead pack of seven still in contention and it seemed as if Rupp was almost certain to get the AR. With 800 left (24:45 for Rupp), there was no doubt about the record, as Rupp looked full of run and moved into second place and it soon became a three-person race. On the penultimate lap, Kenenisa Bekele responded and passed Rupp with roughly 550 meters remaining to move into second himself as Bekele and Kenya's Lucas Rotich soon separated themselves from Rupp. At the bell (25:47 for Rupp), Galen was about 3 meters back of the leading duo and that gap would only widen until the finish as the Africans battled it out for the win.

With 220 meters remaining, Bekele went to the front and went on to get the win in 26:43.16 to Rotich's 26:43.98.

Rupp's 26:48.00 puts him very high on the all-time lists. He is now the 16th-fastest man in history at 10,000 and his 26:48.00 was the 29th-fastest 10,000 ever run in history. For comparison's sake, Chris Solinsky's old AR is only the 81st-fastest 10,000 ever run and Solinsky is now the 39th-fastest man in history.

After the race, the European television coverage we were watching was rightly focused on Bekele but we did catch a glimpse of Rupp embracing his coach Alberto Salazar in the stands.

The commentators interviewed a buoyant Bekele who admitted that coming back from nearly two years away from the track had been incredibly hard. "It's fantastic (to win today). It was really tough to comeback. I want to thank God for giving me the power to get back," said Bekele. The commentators then asked if they could say the real Kenenisa was back and he answered, "Yes."

5 Quick Takes
QT #1:
Rupp and Salazar deserve a lot of props for getting the AR.

QT #2: It was very exciting to watch, but we don't know why so many people had seemingly written Rupp off. This is a guy that took Imane Merga's scalp in July, and in the year 2011, the guy who finishes 7th at Worlds is likely to be a sub-27 guy.

QT #3: We hate to point out anything negative on a special day like today, but the finish of this race reminded us in some ways of the men's 5,000 final at Worlds, when Rupp's kick left him 5.28 seconds short. Here Rupp lost out by 4.74.

QT #4: This race reminded us in many ways of this year's Pre Classic 10,000, which was won by Mo Farah in 26:46.57 with a last km of 2:30.72. Here, the last km was 2:29.44.

QT #5: Someone tell us why this race wasn't broadcast live in the US by universalsports.com.

Rank Athlete Nation Result
1
ETH
26:43.16
WL
2
KEN
26:43.98
PB
3
USA
26:48.00
AR
4
KEN
26:51.95
5
KEN
26:53.27
6
KEN
26:55.73
PB
7
KEN
26:59.81
PB
8
KEN
27:21.62
SB
9
KEN
27:30.53
PB
10
KEN
27:32.97
PB
11
KEN
27:57.60
 
FRA
DNF
 
KEN
DNF
 
KEN
DNF
 
JPN
DNF
 
KEN
DNS

Intermediate times:
1,000m - Beugnet, Gregory (FRA) - 2:38.95
2,000m - Beugnet, Gregory (FRA) - 5:19.46
3,000m - Kipchoge, Eliud (KEN) - 8:03.99
4,000m - Kiplimo, Joseph Kitur (KEN) - 10:42.92
5,000m - Mbishei, Titus Kipjumba (KEN) - 13:26.63
6,000m - Mbishei, Titus Kipjumba (KEN) - 16:07.48
7,000m - Kipchoge, Eliud (KEN) - 18:49.09
8,000m - Kipchoge, Eliud (KEN) - 21:30.65
9,000m - Rotich, Lucas Kimeli (KEN) - 24:13.72


Men's 200m - Yohan Blake Moves To #2 All-Time
It's official. Even if Tyson Gay doesn't return to his old form, Usain Bolt has a true rival. 21-year-old wunderkind Yohan Blake ran the 2nd-fastest time in history. He should thank Walter Dix in part, as Dix has the lead coming off the turn. Dix ran great as well and finally broke his college PR of 19.69 by running 19.53.

Blake's 19.26 is better than what Michael Johnson ran in Atlanta (19.32) and what Bolt ran in Beijing (19.30). Dix is now #2 in US history (#4 in world history), as he vaults ahead of Tyson Gay (19.58), Xavier Carter (19.63) and Wallace Spearmon (19.65).

Wind:+0.7
Rank Athlete Nation Result Reaction time Diamond Points Diamond Ranking
1
JAM
19.26
WL,MR
0.269
8
2
 
2
USA
19.53
PB
0.185
16
1
img
3
JAM
19.91
PB
0.147
2
4
 
4
NOR
19.97
0.198
5
3
 
5
TRI
20.41
0.152
 
 
 
6
JAM
20.57
0.175
1
5
 
7
FIN
20.73
0.159
 
 
 
8
LTU
20.74
NR
0.180
 
 
 
 
JAM
DNF
0.217
1
5
 

Men's 100m - Usain Bolt Overcomes Slow Start, Gets World Leader
Usain Bolt
trailed most of the race as his start wasn't the best but when it was all said and done, he emerged with the 2011 world leader. It's a shame, though, that this wasn't a matchup with 2011 100-meter world champion Yohan Blake.

Rank Athlete Nation Result Reaction time
1
JAM
9.76
WL,MR
0.154
2
JAM
9.89
SB
0.160
3
JAM
10.05
SB
0.171
4
USA
10.12
0.156
5
FRA
10.13
0.172
6
GBR
10.14
0.145
7
GBR
10.19
SB
0.128
8
USA
10.19
0.134
9
MAR
10.21
0.150

 


Men's 800 - Rudisha Wins
After last week's 1:41 clocking, there was talk that Kenya's David Rudisha might go for the world record here, but that attempt never materialized. What did materialize was an actual race, as the other runners were right behind Rudisha 650 into the race. But as has the been case all year, Rudisha was the best over the last 150 and he got the win and DL title. It's hard to believe that Asbel Kiprop might have won the Diamond League title if he'd pulled off the shocker. Kiprop tried his best as he made a big move on the backstretch to catch up to Rudisha.

QT #1: Teen Mohamad Aman of Ethiopian probably gained confidence that someday he might be able to beat Rudisha, as he ended up finishing second.

QT #2: We hope next year that Sammy Tangui isn't Rudisha's personal rabbit every single race. Get someone capable of going more than 450 meters or don't use one at all. If we were Rudisha, we'd want to sometimes practice not having a rabbit, as that's what will happen at the Olympics.

Rank Athlete Nation Result Diamond Points Diamond Ranking
1
KEN
1:43.96
16
1
img
2
ETH
1:44.29
4
5
 
3
KEN
1:44.46
8
2
 
4
POL
1:44.53
=SB
4
6
 
5
KEN
1:44.98
5
3
 
6
DEN
1:45.04
PB
 
 
 
7
KEN
1:45.27
 
 
 
8
NED
1:45.81
 
 
 
 
SUD
DNF
4
4
 
 
KEN
DNF
 
 
 
Intermediate times:
400m - Tangui, Sammy (KEN) -49.21
600m - Rudisha, David (KEN) -1:16.48
 

Women's Steeple - World Champion Zaripova Shows She's The Best
Considering she'd been crushed at Worlds, we thought Milcah Chemos' talk of a world record was ridiculous before the meet. The results proved that to be the case, as the 2011 world champion was the best yet again as Yuliya Zaripoa won in 9:15.43. Silver medallist Habiba Ghribi finished 2nd and Chemos lost to another Kenyan for the first time all year. Chemos still did pick up $40,000 for the DL title.

Rank Athlete Nation Result Diamond Points Diamond Ranking
1
RUS
9:15.43
MR
8
3
 
2
TUN
9:16.57
5
5
 
3
KEN
9:20.09
6
4
 
4
ETH
9:21.20
10
2
 
5
KEN
9:21.41
20
1
img
6
ETH
9:26.25
2
6
 
7
ETH
9:26.51
SB
 
 
 
8
KEN
9:35.21
1
7
 
9
ITA
9:39.21
PB
 
 
 
10
KEN
9:42.84
 
 
 
11
KEN
9:43.87
 
 
 
12
ESP
10:05.74
SB
 
 
 
 
ETH
DNF
 
 
 
 
FRA
DNF
 
 
 
 
RUS
DNF
 
 
 
Intermediate times:
1,000m -Kuzmina, Lyudmila (RUS) -3:07.80
2,000m - Zaripova, Yuliya (RUS) -6:16.35

Men's 5,000
Mark Carroll's 13:03.93 Irish record from 1998 is a thing of the past, as former Arkansas star Alistair Cragg ran 13:03.53 to grab 5th. Farther ahead, Imane Merga took advantage of Mo Farah's absence and won the race and the DL title as well.

More: LRC Cragg - 13:03!

Rank Athlete Nation Result Diamond Points Diamond Ranking
1
ETH
12:58.32
15
1
img
2
KEN
12:58.70
4
4
 
3
KEN
12:59.50
7
2
 
4
ETH
13:01.85
1
5
 
5
IRL
13:03.53
NR
 
 
 
6
KEN
13:03.70
PB
 
 
 
7
TUR
13:05.98
NR
 
 
 
8
KEN
13:19.13
 
 
 
9
AUS
13:34.08
 
 
 
 
FRA
DNF
 
 
 
 
KEN
DNF
 
 
 
 
ETH
DNS
4
3
 
Intermediate times:
1,000m - Kennouche, Abdelslam (FRA) -2:33.81
2,000m -Rono, Vincent (KEN) -5:10.37
3,000m -Chepkok, Vincent Kiprop (KEN) -7:50.47
4,000m -Rop, Albert (KEN) -10:30.31

Women's 100H
Sally Pearson
picked a terrible time to lose for the first time all year. Not only she did her unbeaten streak stop when she slammed to the track but she also lost $50,000 in the process, as somehow Danielle Carruthers is the DL champion.

Rank Athlete Nation Result Reaction time Diamond Points Diamond Ranking
1
USA
12.65
0.173
19
1
img
2
USA
12.77
0.185
4
4
 
3
USA
12.77
0.204
12
3
 
4
USA
12.79
0.172
 
 
 
5
JAM
12.91
0.176
 
 
 
6
CAN
12.96
0.186
 
 
 
7
CAN
13.00
0.171
 
 
 
8
BEL
13.20
0.203
 
 
 
 
AUS
DNF
0.150
12
2

Men's Shot Put
Reese Hoffa
got the win and a seasonal best but World Championships silver medallist Dylan Armstrong held on to the Diamond League title by 1 point thanks to his 4th-place finish.

Rank Athlete Nation Result
Wind
Diamond Points Diamond Ranking   1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
1
USA
22.09
 
SB
16
2
   
21.10
x
20.99
21.67
21.51
22.09
2
USA
22.07
 
SB
11
3
   
21.46
21.11
21.27
21.50
22.07
21.91
3
BLR
21.56
 
2
6
   
21.15
x
21.56
20.77
20.84
21.10
4
CAN
21.47
 
17
1
img
 
21.11
21.38
21.47
21.14
20.87
21.04
5
USA
21.19
 
5
4
   
21.04
x
21.19
20.71
21.15
21.03
6
POL
21.15
 
5
4
   
21.00
21.15
20.36
20.78
21.15
x
7
POR
19.83
 
   
19.79
x
19.42
19.83
19.64
19.43
8
BLR
19.76
 
   
19.76
19.75
x
19.64
19.61
x

Men's Pole Vault
World Championships bronze medallist Renaud Lavillenie lost on misses but picked up the DL title by showing up.

1
GRE
5.72
10
3
   
o
xo
o
xo
xxx
 
2
FRA
5.72
20
1
img
 
-
-
o
xxo
-
xxx
3
GER
5.62
12
2
   
-
-
xo
-
xxx
 
4
RUS
5.62
 
 
   
o
-
xxo
xxx
 
 
5
POL
5.52
 
 
   
o
xxo
xxx
 
 
 
6
FRA
5.42
5
4
   
o
-
xxx
 
 
 
7
GER
5.42
 
 
   
xo
-
xxx
 
 
 
8
POL
5.42
 
 
   
xxo
-
xxx
 
 
 
 
BEL
NM
 
 
   
xxx
 
 
 
 
 
 
GER
NM
 
 
   
-
xxx
 
 
 
 
 
BEL
NM
 
 
   
xxx
 

Women's High Jump
By showing up, Blanka Vlasic got the DL win, but Anna Chicherova backed up her Worlds win with another win and meet record.

Rank Athlete Nation Result
Diamond Points Diamond Ranking   1.80
2.02
1.85
2.05
1.90
2.10
1.93
 
1.96
 
1.99
 
1
RUS
2.05
MR
14
2
   
-
xxo
o
xo
o
xxx
o
 
o
 
o
 
2
RUS
1.96
4
3
   
o
 
o
 
o
 
o
 
xxo
 
xxx
 
3
SWE
1.93
2
5
   
o
 
o
 
o
 
xo
 
xxx
 
 
 
4