Birhanu Balew wins the 2026 Diamond League title and breaks the Asian and Arab records for the 5000m race.

Following in the footsteps of Bahraini world-class runners Salwa Eid and Winfred Yavi, Birhanu Balew wins the 2026 Diamond League title and breaks the Asian and Arab records in the 5000 meters.

Bahraini runner Birhanu Balew continued his impressive performance on the world stage, achieving another milestone for Bahraini athletics by winning the 2026 Diamond League title in the 5000 meters. He broke both the Asian and Arab records and recorded the best time in the world this year during the final held in Brussels, Belgium.

Balew triumphed over a field of the world's top long-distance runners, crossing the finish line first with a time of 12:45.70 minutes, securing the 5000m title and becoming the Diamond League champion for the current season.

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With this achievement, Balew broke the previous Asian record of 12:47.73 minutes, which he himself had set in Oslo last June, improving his time by more than two seconds. He also broke the Arab record for the event, in addition to setting the world's best time in the 5000 meters for 2026.

Balew's Diamond League title comes after a remarkable season in which he delivered outstanding performances and results in various rounds of the competition, before concluding his journey in the best possible way by winning the final and setting two new Asian and Arab records.