Eleanor Patterson has added the one line on her career resume that was missing, clearing 2.01m to win the Diamond League final in Brussels overnight and lead an Australian high jump one-three with Nicola Olyslagers third.
It capped a near-flawless night for Patterson, whose 2026 season has been building to exactly this, and came 24 hours after Cameron Myers won the men’s 1500m Diamond League final.
“I’m a little bit numb honestly,” Patterson said afterwards.
“I know it’s not easy to win a Diamond League, but to win a Diamond League final feels incredible.
“I knew I was in incredible shape, but you have to allow that to come to fruition. I am really, really content with how today turned out.”
The win slots into a résumé that now runs to World Championship gold and silver, two world indoor silvers, an Olympic bronze, two Commonwealth Games golds and a silver, and a world U18 title. A podium in the Diamond League Final had been the conspicuous gap. Filling it came after bold changes after the Paris Olympics.
“Changing coaches after the Paris Olympics was a bold move, but it was the best decision of my life.”
Eleanor Patterson
“When you’re a happy athlete, you produce wonderful things, and I’m over the moon to reward my team’s hard work,” she said.
Yaroslava Mahuchikh was second on 1.99m, with the Ukrainian unable to find the answer to a Patterson jumping at her best.
Nicola Olyslagers was forward looking after finishing third at 1.95m.
“Today’s performance was about trying to find the new rhythm, which today wasn’t as successful, but I’m still thankful for having a healthy body and jumping through,” she said.
“I have a lot to work on for next week and the Ultimate Championships, but I think we are going to be OK.”
Hull times her run
If Patterson provided the headline, Jess Hull provided the sentence worth filing away.
Hull was third in the 1500m in 3:54.73, behind Poland’s Klaudia Kazimierska’a 3:54.05 and Kenya’s Dorus Ewoi (3:54.72). Kazimierska’s performance was a personal best and world lead, while Hull’s run was a season’s best — and she was quick to point out when it had arrived.
“It’s nice to run the fastest I have all year in September, I think that shows my training works when you want to peak this time of the year.”
Jess Hull
“That’s my fastest time since the Prefontaine Classic in 2025, so that’s a good step. I think I’m finding momentum at the right time.”
That is the whole argument for how Hull has structured 2026. A season’s best in early September is not an accident of form; it is the intended outcome of a plan that treats the mid-year meets as preparation rather than proof. Her consistency across the circuit has been the story all year, but a fastest-of-the-season run five days out from a global final is a different kind of signal.
The test of that plan comes in Budapest.
The rest of the Australians
Abbey Caldwell was seventh in 3:57.19 in her first race since winning Commonwealth Games mile gold, running the second fastest time of her career.
Sarah Billings was also seventh in the 800m in 1:59.99, dipping under two minutes again.
Earlier in the meet, Torrie Lewis was second in the invitational 100m in 11.24.
Attention now turns to the World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary, which begins on 11 September.
In less welcome news, Nina Kennedy has confirmed her season is over. The pole vaulter strained a quad muscle training for last month’s Lausanne Diamond League and will not compete again in 2026.
