Julien Alfred edges Dina Asher-Smith to 100m crown in Brussels
Julien Alfred edged Dina Asher-Smith to the Diamond League 100m crown and ended her historic season in some style.
The Saint Lucian won her nation's first ever medals at the Games with 100m gold and 200m silver in Paris.
Like in the Olympic final, Alfred looked supreme and by 30m had already established a small lead on the rest of the field.
Dina Asher-Smith, who has consistently put in stunning performances since the Games was by far the closest to Alfred and almost took the victory in the end.
The pair clocked 10.88 (0.2) and 10.92 respectively, with Daryll Neita fourth in 11.14 and Sha'Carri Richardson down in eighth with 11.23.
"I obviously root for myself but I always want Julien to do well," said Asher-Smith. "For her to win the Olympics in such a great race and do it for her island as well is so special. I'm excited to see all the pictures on social media when she goes home because I don't think that she'll be ready for the reception!"
Alfred will now return to Saint Lucia and the country has declared a national holiday on September 27 to celebrate her Olympic 100m gold and 200m silver from Paris.
Dina Asher-Smith on finishing runner-up in the Diamond League 100m final close behind training partner Julien Alfred.
"Paris was frustrating for me," she says. "It sucks but I was glad to rectify it. So bar one day, this has been a good year."
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There are plans for both a motorcade parade and a mural of Alfred outside her primary school.
"I don't think has all sunk in yet," Alfred told AW. "I've now got a chance to go back to my home and think about what Saint Lucia has done for me in my life. It's really amazing they're doing this.
"At the time [when I moved from Saint Lucia to Jamaica], I was thinking if I made the wrong choice. I left my family behind and made some big sacrifices to get to this point. I've now developed as an athlete, person and individual.
"I think the emotions of the Olympics came in waves. When I crossed the line it was the realisation that I actually won. When I took off my spikes and went to grab my bag I was just so overwhelmed that I was the Olympic champion. There were peaks and troughs.
"It's been a long journey and I've had a lot of lessons to learn. In the times that I've struggled my coach always told me that I should use that as motivation. I didn't come this far for nothing and every person is there for a reason. It's about taking one step at a time."
In the 800m, Mary Moraa saw off Georgia Bell down the home straight to regain the Diamond League trophy she won in Zurich two years ago.
The world 800m champion proved too strong in the closing stages and clocked 1:56.56 to Bell's 1:57.50.
It marks a fabulous few weeks for Moraa who also became the fastest woman over 600m in history after her 1:21.63 at ISTAF Berlin.
Bell meanwhile ends her season with the 1500m at the Brussels Diamond League and can then properly reflect on a season that includes an Olympic bronze medal and British record over the distance.
Jemma Reekie was close to Moraa, Bell and Natoya Goule-Toppin during the first lap but then faded in the home straight and finished fifth in 1:59.13.
Yaroslava Mahuchikh won a third consecutive Diamond League trophy with a best clearance of 1.97m and won on countback to Nicola Olyslagers.
The 22-year-old has had a majestic season – without a doubt the greatest of her career so far – with an Olympic high jump gold medal and world record.
A month before the Olympics the Ukrainian, at the Diamond League in the French capital, Mahuchikh also raised Stefka Kostadinova’s 37-year-old world record by one centimetre to 2.10m.
Mahuchikh will now travel to her home town of Dnipro in the off-season and see her family for the first time since October 2023.
Victory in Brussels was extra special for her as Belgium’s Heusden-Zolder base was home to the Ukrainian for a year and a half.
In the much anticipated pre-Diamond League 400m, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone clocked 49.11 to take the victory.
The multiple Olympic champion and world record-holder, who has a personal best over the flat 400m of 48.74, missed out on the US one lap record of 48.70 – held by Sanya Richards-Ross – but will no doubt get near or break it next season.
READ MORE: Ingebrigtsen wins 1500m in Brussels
In fact, McLaughlin-Levrone's time was quicker than the winning mark in the actual Diamond League after Olympic 400m champion Marileidy Paulino ran 49.45.
The chilly conditions – it was around 13C in Brussels – may have had something to do with some of the slower times.
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