IAAF Diamond League gets a makeover

The IAAF has restructured the IAAF Diamond League into a championship format to make it more exciting and attractive for the athletes as well as the crowd. Here is our guide to understanding the IAAF Diamond League, a day before the first meet of the season gets underway in Qatar, Doha on Friday.

The new season of IAAF Diamond League promises to be more exciting.

Are you a fan of those blink-and-you-miss 100m races or are you more inclined towards witnessing the artistry that is on display during a pole vault competition? If you are looking for inspiration to build your endurance, the 3000m steeplechase or the long-distance races may just be the thing to whet your appetite. On Friday, the IAAF Diamond League – the premier one-day circuit meetings — enters its eighth season and there is a lot to look to forward to.

The IAAF has ditched the old system where all the athletes had to do was accumulate as many points through various races of the Diamond League season to be crowned the overall champion.

They have now opted for a new championship-style race structure with the most consistent athletes in each category qualifying to compete in the Finals, where the winner will be crowned the ‘IAAF Diamond League champion’ and will be awarded a Diamond Trophy and a cash prize of $50,000. The League is spread across 13 countries featuring 14 meets.

It is the tennis equivalent of World Tour Finals where the best in business compete for final glory.

Here is a guide to understanding the IAAF Diamond League that gets underway in Qatar, Doha on Friday:

The Format:

 

 

Number of disciplines: 32 (16 men’s and 16 women’s)

Disciplines: 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 5000m, 3000m Steeplechase, 100m/110m hurdles, 400m hurdles, High Jump, Pole Vault, Long Jump, Triple Jump, Shot Put, Discus Throw, Javelin Throw

Number of Diamond League Meetings: 14 (12 qualifying meets and two Finals (32 disciplines split into two finals of 16 each)

Each Qualification Meeting will stage either 14 or 13 Diamond Disciplines.

Number of qualifying events per discipline: 4 or 6 (depending on the discipline)

Number of athletes qualifying for the Finals per discipline: Top 8 or 12

Points:

Athletes are awarded 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1 points for ranking 1st to 8th respectively in the qualifying meets.

What’s at stake?

Each athlete crowned IAAF Diamond League Champion wins USD 50,000 as prize money at the end of the season. They will also be awarded a Diamond Trophy.

At each of the Qualification Meetings, the winner of each Diamond Discipline will receive USD 30,000 worth of prize money.

Qualification Meet:

Finals