ELITE COMPANY!

WORLD champion Oblique Seville will be gunning for his first Wanda Diamond League title when he lines up in the men’s 100m on the opening day of the two-day Diamond League athletics final at King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, Belgium. Seville is one of nine Jamaicans down to compete today with another eight set for Saturday. He is coming off a confidence boosting win in Poland on August 23, and is hoping to join 100m sprinters Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell and Ackeem Blake as Jamaican men who have won the Diamond trophy. Following his win in Poland, in which he clocked 9.83 seconds to break the meet record, Seville had said he was focused on ending the season on a high. “I am just having fun. There are great things ahead of me. Many sprinters ran under 10.00s, that is really special. For the rest of the season I would like to keep winning and the next win should be in Brussels.”

Tajay Gayle Photo: AFP

He will have his hands full and will need to be at his best as he lines up against a tough field that includes Nigeria’s Kayinsola Ajayi, who has beaten the Jamaican twice this year, Commonwealth Games champion Emmanuel Eseme of Cameroon, Akani Simbine of South Africa and Trayvon Bromell of the United States. Jamaicans have won at least one Diamond League title in the 16 years that the global series has been contested. Today, Rushell Clayton, in the women’s 400m hurdles; Orlando Bennett, in the 110m hurdles; Tajay Gayle and Wayne Pinnock, in the men’s long jump; Romaine Beckford, in the men’s high jump; Roje Stona, in the men’s discus throw; Danniel Thomas-Dodd, in the women’s shot put; and Ackelia Smith, in the women’s triple jump, will be hoping to add their names to the list. Clayton, who is coming off a win at the prestigious ISTAF Berlin on Sunday, has been consistent through the Diamond League series. The event in Brussels could be decided between points leader Emma Zapletalova of Slovakia, who lost in the series for the first time after she hit a hurdle in Zurich as world leader Anna Cockrell sped to victory.

Romaine Beckford Photo: Garfield Robinson

Veteran American Dalilah Muhammad, who has announced she will retire at the end of this season, and Belgium’s Paulien Couckuyt are expected to challenge for podium places. Bennett, the World Athletics Championships medallist, is to take on a handful of Americans, led by world record holder Ja’Kobe Tharp in the 110m hurdles. Tharp’s compatriots Jamal Britt and Trey Cunningham will be expected to give him competition, Former world champion Tajay Gayle will be hoping to continue his late season improvement after he jumped a season’s best 8.43m in Zurich. There, he challenged world leader Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece before falling just short. Gayle and Pinnock will hope to provide robust competition for Tentoglou, who has lost just once in 15 outdoor meets this year.

Rushell Clayton Photo: AFP

Beckford is enjoying his best season as a professional and cleared 2.29m in Poland, just off his season’s best 2.30m. He is down to take on world leader JuVaughn Harrison of the United States, Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy, and Oleh Doroshchuk of Ukraine, all of whom have cleared 2.32m this year. Stona is set to meet world leader Matthew Denny of Australia on Australia in the men’s discus throw, Mykolas Alekna of Lithuania, and Kristjan Ceh of Slovenia, all of whom have thrown over 72.00m this season. Thomas-Dodd faces two of the best women’s shot-putters in the last decade or so, Jessica Schilder of Netherlands and Chase Jackson of the USA, both of whom have thrown beyond 21 metres this season. Back-to-back Commonwealth Games champion Sahara Mitton of Canada is also expected to feature. Ackelia Smith is to line up in what is expected to be an explosive women’s triple jump that will see four jumpers who have gone over 15 metres. World leader Thea Lafond of Dominica will hope to end the series on a high, but will be challenged by Cubans Davisleydi Velazco and Leyanis Perez Hernandez and Senegal’s Saly Sarr.