Since 2019, American middle and long-distance runners have been hoping for another Diamond League title. Despite producing Olympic champions and world-class stars, the U.S. has failed to win at the Diamond League in the 800m, 1500m, 5000m, or steeplechase. That’s made 2026 a particularly strong year, with the Americans having won a record 11 Diamond League wins in those events and looking to be in the mix for the season finale. But when the biggest races arrived in Brussels, the long wait continued.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
The men’s 1500m looked like one of the best opportunities for an American breakthrough. Olympic champion Cole Hocker lined up alongside Yared Nuguse, Hobbs Kessler and Ethan Strand, giving the United States four runners in a loaded field that also included Jakob Ingebrigtsen and several of the world’s top middle-distance stars. Yet it was Australia’s Cameron Myers who produced the decisive move.
The 20-year-old waited patiently before making his move in the closing stages. Myers surged down the home straight and edged Kenya’s Phanuel Koech by just four hundredths of a second, crossing the line in 3:30.14 to claim the Diamond League title. Strand was the best-placed American, finishing third in 3:30.50. He came within 0.36 seconds of the title, but once again the trophy went to an international rival.
Nuguse followed in fifth in 3:30.56, Kessler was sixth in 3:30.71, while Hocker finished seventh in 3:30.80. The same story played out in the men’s 800m.
The race was dominated by Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi, who delivered one of the most impressive performances of the opening night. The Olympic champion stormed to victory in 1:41.80, breaking the Brussels meeting record and claiming his fourth consecutive Diamond League Final title in the event.
Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati finished second in 1:42.71, while France’s Yanis Meziane took third in a personal best of 1:42.87. Once again, the United States had no answer at the front. Then, the women’s 3000m steeplechase offered another opportunity for the United States, with Lexy Halladay and Gabrielle Jennings lining up against a world-class field.
But Kenya once again took control. Faith Cherotich produced a strong final lap to defeat compatriot Doris Lemngole and Olympic champion Winfred Yavi of Bahrain. Cherotich won in 8:51.61, followed by Lemngole in 8:52.86 and Yavi in 8:53.54. Halladay was the top American in sixth, clocking 9:05.36, while Jennings finished eighth in 9:14.05. Again, the Americans were present, but they could not break into the title fight.
The 5000m follows the same script
The men’s 5000m produced another difficult night for the American contingent. Bahrain’s Birhanu Balew won the Diamond League title in a stunning 12:45.70, setting an area record and world-leading mark. Burundi’s Egide Ntakarutimana followed in 12:46.73, while Kenya’s Cornelius Kemboi took third in 12:47.29.
The Americans were close behind, but once again missed the podium. Graham Blanks finished fifth in 12:47.98, Nico Young was sixth in 12:48.12, and Grant Fisher finished ninth in 12:59.10. Blanks’ performance was particularly encouraging. His 12:47.98 was a personal best, and Young also produced a strong 12:48.12. Yet neither performance was enough to put an American on the podium.
And that has become the frustrating part of the American story. The U.S. has the talent, the depth and, in 2026, more regular-season Diamond League victories than ever before. But when the season reaches its final race, and the trophy is on the line, American runners continue to fall just short. That was not always the case.
The contrast with the early 2000s is striking. At the 2003 World Championships, no American reached the final of either the men’s or women’s 800m or 1500m, and the United States had no athlete ranked inside the world’s top 10 in those events. American middle-distance running was struggling to keep pace with the leading nations.
Just a decade later, the picture had changed dramatically. At the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, the United States became the dominant nation across the 800m and 1500m, winning four medals, more than any other country. Nick Symmonds and Matthew Centrowitz took men’s medals, while Jenny Simpson and Brenda Martinez added medals for the women. Eight Americans reached the four finals, and all three U.S. women qualified for the 800m final.
The momentum continued at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Centrowitz produced one of the biggest American distance-running victories of the era by winning Olympic gold in the 1500m, becoming the first American man to win that event at the Olympics since 1908. Clayton Murphy added bronze in the 800m. That generation changed expectations around American middle-distance running.
And now, more than a decade after the 2013 breakthrough, another American generation is producing similar signs of strength. But Brussels exposed the one piece still missing.