The American, who last month beat Pichardo to the world title in Beijing, jumping 18.21 metres, the second furthest in history, found a distance of 17.59m enough to earn a 22-20 points verdict over the Cuban, who quit the competition after three jumps and finished second with 17.09m.

World pole vault record holder Renaud Lavillenie, who missed out once again on the world title last month, never fails in the Diamond Race.

The IAAF World Athlete of the Year for 2014 maintained his record of winning every Diamond Trophy since the competition began in 2010 after seeing off his only theoretical challenger, Konstantinos Filippidis, with a victory earned by a best clearance of 5.95m.

Justin Gatlin of the United States, beaten to the world 100 and 200 metres titles last month by Usain Bolt, did not have the Jamaican to worry about in Brussels – after a season in which he had hardly competed Bolt decided not to race in the finale.

But after taking the 100m Diamond Race title with victory over Qatar’s Femi Ogunode, who was given the same time of 9.98sec, he dropped out of the 200m, which was not a Diamond League event.

“I had a little problem after the [100m] race, and my coach did not want me to start the 200,” Gatlin said.

Dafne Schippers of The Netherlands, the world 200m champion, defeated Olympic champion Allyson Felix - who won the world 400m title last month - with a time of 22.12, but the American earned the overall Diamond Race victory by two points with second place in 22.22.

With a different winner in each of the six previous Diamond League races this year, the concluding event of the men’s 5,000m was wide open.

It was Ethiopia’s 18-year-old world junior champion Yomif Kejelcha who stepped up to claim the overall prize with victory in 12min 53.98sec, the fastest time in the world this year.

Sandra Perkovic may have lost her world discus title, but such was her lead that she only had to turn up and compete to earn her fourth consecutive Diamond Trophy.

The Croatian  did so in style, winning with 67.50m ahead of the Cuban who took gold in Beijing, Denia Caballero, who was second with 65.77m.

Sifan Hassan of The Netherlands and Colombia's Caterine Ibarguen were in the same situation in the women’s 1500m and triple jump respectively and did the job required.

Hassan finished the mile race second in a national record of 4:18.20 behind Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon, who clocked an African record of 4:16.71, while Ibarguen extended her three-year unbeaten run with another victory, reaching 14.60m.

Joe Kovacs of the United States frustrated the ambition of David Storl to win a hat-trick of world shot put titles last month, and tonight he beat the German to the Diamond Trophy after they had both arrived on 14 points.

Kovacs finished one place ahead of Storl in third place, 21.35m to 21.09m, while Tom Walsh of New Zealand won on the night with 21.39m, just two centimetres ahead of Jamaica’s O’Dayne Richards.

Third place in the women’s high jump with 1.93m was enough to earn Spain’s Ruth Beitia the Diamond Trophy on a night when Russia’s Mariya Kuchina won with a 2.01m clearance that equalled her personal best.

Second place in the men’s 400m hurdles, in 48.76, did the same trick for Bershawn Jackson of the United States.

Tero Pitkamaki of Finland, world javelin champion back in 2007, has been a consistent performer all season and a winning effort of 87.37m earned him the Diamond Race prize ahead of the Czech Republic's Vitezslav Vesely, who finished two points behind after a best of 82.30m  was only good enough for sixth place.

Another athlete trading on their experience was Dawn Harper Nelson of the US, the 2008 Olympic 100m hurdles champion, who claimed the Diamond Trophy with victory over up-and-coming fellow American Sharika Nelson in 12.63.

Ninth place in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase was enough to win Kenya’s Virginia Nyambura the overall prize, with winner Habiba Ghribi of Tunisia setting an Afrca  record of 9:05.36.

Olympic 800m silver medallist Nijel Amos of Botswana secured his Diamond Trophy win with second place in 1:45.25 behind winner Adam Kszczot of Poland, who clocked 1:45.12.

Second place in 50.59 also did the trick for US athlete Francena McCorory in the women’s 400m.

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