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≡ DIAMOND LEAGUE ≡
/Updated/The Allianz Memorial Van Damme meet, the Diamond League Final for 2024, is coming on 13-14 September in Brussels and announced Tuesday that four-time Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA) will be running the women’s 400 m and 200 m:
“Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, the absolute athletics star of the Paris Olympics, is coming to the Allianz Memorial Van Damme! It’s a unique opportunity for athletics fans worldwide, as it will be her only meeting after Paris. She will run a unique double with the 400m on Friday and the 200m on Saturday.”
There was this comment from meet director (and former 11.04 women’s 100 m sprinter) Kim Gevaert: “We are extremely honored that Sydney has chosen Brussels for this unique double.
“She has impressed me enormously with her double Olympic gold and her incredible world record time. I look forward to witnessing her testing her limits in the 400m and 200m. Sydney’s presence is making this years [sic] event historic.”
However, McLaughlin-Levrone has not qualified for the Diamond League Final, and does not fit the requirements for “wild card” entries, which includes:
“● To be eligible and considered for a Global Wild Card athletes must:
“o have either competed and achieved a result in at least one Diamond League meeting during the season or competed and got injured at a Diamond League Meeting.”
Moreover, the well-informed former Trinidad & Tobago sprint star, four-time Olympic medalist, and lead NBC track & field analyst Ato Boldon posted on X on Wednesday:
“Despite numerous reports to the contrary, my information is that Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will NOT compete in Brussels. The meet has not accepted her entry, since she didn’t compete in any Diamond League meeting this year. ‘Byes’ into the meet apply only to those who did.”
And Diamond League chief executive Petr Stastny said at the Weltklasse Zurich technical meeting on Wednesday that McLaughlin-Levrone is ineligible (as shown above) to run at the Diamond League final. She could run in a non-Diamond League event added into the meet, however.
McLaughlin-Levrone did compete in two World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meets, the Los Angeles Grand Prix, in May, winning the 200 m in a lifetime best 22.07, and the NYC Grand Prix in June, winning the 400 m in a then-world-leading 48.75. But no Diamond League meets.
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