Kenya will have a strong contingent at the Allianz Memorial Van Damme in Brussels from Friday, 4, to Saturday, 5 September, with some of the country’s biggest middle-distance and field-event names set to battle a star-studded international line-up.At the forefront is Olympic and world champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi, who returns to the Brussels 800m with a target on his back after dominating the event at the meeting for the past two years.Download Our MozzartSport App For More NewsWanyonyi has won the last three Diamond League titles in Eugene, Brussels and 2025, including a spectacular 1:42.37 victory in Brussels last year.The Kenyan has enjoyed another impressive campaign in 2026, breaking Noah Ngeny’s 27-year-old world record over 1000m with 2:11.83 in Monaco before winning successive Diamond League 800m races in Lausanne and Zurich.His 1:41.76 in Zurich was a world-leading mark.##NAJAVA_MECA_9930453##The Olympic champion, who is the second-fastest 800m runner in history after clocking 1:41.11 in Lausanne in 2024, will once again face a quality field led by Canadian world champion Marco Arop, setting the stage for another major Wanyonyi-Arop showdown.Koech, Serem renew steeplechase challengeKenya’s strength in the steeplechase will also be on display, with Simon Koech and Edmund Serem lining up in the men’s 3000m steeplechase.Omanyala reveals timeline for return to training after ending season earlyKoech, the 2023 Diamond League champion, arrives in Brussels after winning in Monaco in 8:03.35 and running a personal best of 7:59.44 to finish third in Rabat.Serem, meanwhile, heads into the race as the reigning Commonwealth Games champion and has continued to make significant progress this season.The youngster lowered his personal best to 8:01.61 in Rabat and has also recorded podium finishes in Stockholm, Paris and Monaco.They will, however, face a major test from Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali, who leads the field with a world-leading 7:57.25, as well as Ethiopia’s Gemechu Godana, who recently defeated El Bakkali in Chorzów.Cherotich eyes hat-trick as Lemngole bids for breakthroughIn the women’s 3000m steeplechase, Faith Cherotich will carry Kenya’s biggest hopes as she targets a third consecutive Diamond League title.Cherotich has already won the Diamond League finals in Brussels in 2024 and Zurich in 2025 and currently leads the 2026 Diamond League standings.The world champion won in Eugene in 8:51.74 and also claimed Commonwealth Games gold in a championship-record 9:01.76.She will be joined by fellow Kenyan Doris Lemngole, who has established herself among the leading names in the event.##NAJAVA_MECA_9938884##Lemngole, a two-time NCAA champion, finished fifth at the 2025 World Championships and has consistently challenged for the podium on the Diamond League circuit this season. She has finished fourth in Eugene, Lausanne and Zurich, where she set a personal best of 8:55.94.Cherotich will face a familiar threat in Olympic champion Winfred Yavi, while Uganda’s Tokyo Olympic champion Peruth Chemutai also adds another layer to an intriguing East African battle.Cheruiyot and Koech face star-studded 1500mDate set for second edition of Meru University Mt. Kenya runKenya’s middle-distance tradition will also take centre stage in the men’s 1500m, where Timothy Cheruiyot and Phanuel Koech Kipkosgei will take on a field packed with Olympic and world champions.Koech has been one of the revelations of the season, setting a world under-20 record of 3:27.72 in Paris before finishing second in Chorzów in 3:31.14.He also pushed Olympic champion Cole Hocker all the way in Zurich, finishing just behind the American.Cheruiyot, the 2019 world champion, brings experience and proven championship pedigree.He comes into Brussels after winning the mile at the Oslo Diamond League in 3:48.21 in a thrilling finish against Yared Nuguse.The Kenyan pair will have to contend with Hocker, the Olympic 1500m champion and world 5000m champion, as well as two-time Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen.The Norwegian has won three times at the Memorial Van Damme and returns to a meeting where he has enjoyed considerable success.Krop and Reynold add depth in 5000mKenya will also be represented strongly in the men’s 5000m, with Jacob Krop and Reynold Cheruiyot among the leading names in the field.Wanyonyi reveals suffering from stomach bug ahead of Zurich DL winKrop, the 2022 world silver medallist, finished second in Paris in 12:55.22 and fourth in Monaco in 12:53.71 this season, underlining his ability to mix it with the world’s best over the longer distance.Reynold Cheruiyot, meanwhile, arrives with impressive credentials after finishing second in the 3000m in Keqiao in a personal best of 7:26.11. He has also clocked a season’s best 3:30.28 over 1500m in Paris.Julius Yego will provide Kenya’s representation in the men’s javelin. The former world champion returns to a field featuring some of the leading throwers in the world, including Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage, Anderson Peters and Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott.Yego is listed as the 2025 world champion and will be looking to make his mark against a field in which Pathirage has enjoyed a spectacular season, including a Diamond League record of 92.62m in Rome.
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