Amy Hunt runs 22.16 in Brussels, her best 200m time of the season; Sweden’s pole vault world record-holder Armand Duplantis withdraws with back tightness, a week before the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest; Noah Lyles ends season early due to injury
Last Updated: 04/09/26 11:07pm
Great Britain’s Amy Hunt ran a season’s best in the women’s 200m at the final Diamond League event of the year as she took third place in Brussels
Great Britain’s Amy Hunt ran a season’s best in the women’s 200m at the final Diamond League event of the year as she took third place in Brussels.
Hunt’s time of 22.16 was outstripped by race winner – and reigning Olympic 100m champion – Julien Alfred of St Lucia (21.79) and America’s Kayla White (22.00).
Another Brit, Success Eduan, came seventh of the eight runners after clocking 23.06 in Belgium.
Hunt won four gold medals at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham this summer
Hunt was the poster girl of the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham this summer with her four gold medals and bubbly personality winning her legions of fans.
The 24-year-old topped the podium individually in the 100m and 200m in the Midlands, while she won gold as part of the women’s and mixed 4x100m relays.
Elsewhere in Brussels on Friday night, European 400m men’s gold medalist Matthew Hudson-Smith, of Great Britain, finished fifth in his event.
Duplantis in injury scare ahead of World Athletics Ultimate Championships
Sweden’s pole vault world record-holder Armand Duplantis was forced to pull out of the Diamond League final with back tightness, a week before the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest.
Duplantis said: “The worst possible thing to do is having to pull out of a competition. The fans wanted to see a good show and I wish I could deliver that. Unfortunately, I can´t do that right now.
“My head is everywhere right now. It´s super difficult, but that´s life, that´s the life of an athlete. I try to stay calm and positive. We will see if I can make it to the Ultimate Championship. I don´t have the answer right now.”
The World Athletics Ultimate Championships is a new biennial event which sees world champions, Olympic champions, Diamond League winners and other leading athletes compete against each other for shares of a $10m (£7.87m) purse.
Armand Duplantis’ army of fans will hope he is fit for the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest next weekend
Each individual champion will secure $150,000 (£110,865), the biggest winner’s cheque in track and field history.
Noah Lyles, the men’s 100m champion at the 2024 Paris Olympics, will not take part, having ended his season early due to injury – but he still plans to travel to Hungary:
“I am still going to be at Ultimate Championship. I still do have parties to throw and things to do behind the scenes to help support the athletes,” Lyles said.
“I still think that this is going to be an amazing competition, and I’m excited to watch that. And I’m even more excited to see what the future is going to bring.”
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