Four J’cans sit on Diamond League final bubble

Jamaica will have a strong contingent at the Wanda Diamond League Final in Brussels, Belgium, on September 4 and 5, with several athletes already safely through following Sunday’s Silesia meeting. Others have also secured qualification because their events are not on the programme for Thursday’s final regular-season meet in Zurich.

Under the 2026 Diamond League format, the top eight athletes in the 100m to 800m events qualify for the final, while the top six in the field events advance.

Leading Jamaica’s charge will be Oblique Seville, who is comfortably qualified for the men’s 100m final. Seville tops the standings with 23 points and will not have to compete in Zurich, as the men’s 100m is not on the programme.

Orlando Bennett is also safely through in the men’s 110m hurdles, sitting third in the standings with 29 points.

In the field events, Jordan Scott is another Jamaican assured of a place in the final. Scott leads the men’s triple jump standings with 26 points.

Romaine Beckford will also make the trip to Brussels after finishing third in the men’s high jump standings with 18 points.

Roje Stona has likewise secured his place in the men’s discus throw final. Stona is fourth with 14 points, comfortably inside the top six, and the event is not on the Zurich programme.

The women’s events will also feature a strong Jamaican presence, led by Nickisha Pryce, who is second in the women’s 400m standings with 35 points. Although the event is not being contested in Zurich, Pryce’s place was already firmly established.

Stacey-Ann Williams, meanwhile, sits eighth with 20 points. With no women’s 400m in Zurich, she cannot be overtaken and will also line up in Brussels.

In the women’s 100m, Tina Clayton and Jonielle Smith are safely inside the qualifying positions, sitting fourth and eighth, respectively, with 15 and 11 points.

Rushell Clayton has been one of Jamaica’s most consistent performers in the women’s 400m hurdles and is second in the standings with 31 points, well inside the qualification places.

Jamaica will also be represented in two women’s field events by Ackelia Smith and Danniel Thomas-Dodd. Smith is sixth in the women’s triple jump with seven points, while Thomas-Dodd is sixth in the shot put with 13 points. Both events have already been completed on the Road to the Final, securing their places in Brussels.

That gives Jamaica 12 athletes assured of competing in Brussels. Shericka Jackson, although qualified for the women’s 200m with 16 points, will not compete after withdrawing because of injury. Jackson is sixth in the standings, but her withdrawal means Jamaica will be without one of its leading sprinters at the final.

There are still athletes with work to do in Zurich.

Megan Simmonds, sixth in the women’s 100m hurdles with 19 points, remains on the qualification bubble because that event will be contested in Zurich. Lamara Distin, seventh in the women’s high jump with 13 points, is in a similar position.

Wayne Pinnock and Tajay Gayle also remain just inside the qualifying positions in the men’s long jump, sitting fourth and fifth, respectively, in an event that will also be contested in Zurich.

The Zurich meeting represents the final opportunity for athletes to secure places in the qualifying positions before the season-ending showdown in Brussels from September 4-5.