The Diamond League is an annual series of elite
track and field
Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...
athletic competitions comprising fifteen invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the
World Athletics
World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...
one-day meet competitions.
The inaugural season was in
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
.
It was designed to replace the
IAAF Golden League, which had been held annually since 1998. The full sponsorship name is the Wanda Diamond League, the result of an agreement with
Wanda Group
Wanda Group (), or the Dalian Wanda Group (), is a Chinese multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in Dalian, Liaoning, and headquartered in Beijing. The conglomerate's core businesses are a priva ...
that was announced in December 2019.
While the Golden League was formed to increase the profile of the leading European athletics competitions, the Diamond League's aim is to "enhance the worldwide appeal of athletics by going outside Europe for the first time."
In addition to the original Golden League members (except Berlin) and other traditional European competitions, the series now includes events in China,
Qatar
Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...
,
Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
, and the United States.
Beginning in March 2022, after the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
, the Diamond League excluded Russian and Belarusian athletes from all of its track and field meetings.
Editions
The number in the table represents the order in which the meeting took place.
Format
Scoring system
The original Diamond League scoring system, used from 2010 to 2015, awarded points to the top three athletes at each meeting (4 points for first place; 2 points for second place; 1 point for third place). Each of the thirty-two disciplines (sixteen each for male and female athletes) was staged a total of seven times during the season; points scored in the final meeting for that discipline (either Zürich or Brussels) were doubled. The athletes who finished the season with the highest number of points in their discipline won the "Diamond Race"; in case of a tie on points, the number of victories was used as the first tie-breaker, followed by the results of the final. Only athletes who competed in their discipline's final meeting were eligible to win the Diamond Race. In
2016
2016 was designated as:
* International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly.
* International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
scoring was expanded to the top six (10–6–4–3–2–1); double points (20–12–8–6–4–2) were still awarded in the event finals.
A completely new system was introduced in
2017
2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly.
Events January
* January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
; the top eight athletes at each meeting are now awarded points (8–7–6–5–4–3–2–1), but these points only determine which athletes qualify for the discipline finals in Zürich and Brussels. The athletes who win at the finals are declared IAAF Diamond League Champions, and the allocation of the overall prize money is likewise determined solely by the results of the final.
This system, with the winner of the final automatically winning the overall championship, is similar to the former IAAF Grand Prix circuit with its
Grand Prix Final. As part of the scoring changes, the term 'Diamond Race' is no longer used. Instead, athletes compete in 'Diamond Disciplines' to become the Diamond League champion.
After the
2019 season, the final format changed from being held by two separate meets to one meet.
Pandemic season
In March 2019 the president of the IAAF,
Sebastian Coe
Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, (born 29 September 1956), often referred to as Seb Coe, is a British sports administrator, former politician and retired track and field athlete. As a middle-distance runner, Coe won four Olympic medals, incl ...
, announced changes in the Diamond League's format for the 2020 series. The number of Diamond Disciplines was reduced from 32 to 24 and a second Chinese meet was added to the calendar. The dual final format was replaced by a single final. However, because of the
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
pandemic, 7 of the originally planned 15 meets were cancelled, the season was delayed to June 10, only four or the meets had a full competitive program, and the final was cancelled with no champions crowned in 2020.
In December 2020, the 2021 Diamond League was announced to return with 32 disciplines and a two-hour broadcast window.
"Final 3" format
In the "Final 3" format for horizontal jumping and throwing events, only the top-3 athletes after five rounds get a trial in the last round. Originally, only that final attempt then determined the ranking of the top-3 athletes, regardless of previous marks. The format was first tested at two World Athletics Indoor Tour meetings
in 2020 and received ample criticism from athletes prior to its first implementation in the Diamond League at the
2020 BAUHAUS-galan.
Nonetheless in December 2020, the format was adopted throughout the
2021 Diamond League season, except for the
final in Zürich. World Athletics president Sebastian Coe defended the decision as an attempt to make "sure that we haven't got field events that are dying" by raising the stakes of the final round, and made the comparison to track events where results in prior rounds are also not taken into consideration when ranking runners in the final. Coe did however quell earlier concerns that the controversial format could also be adopted at the Olympic Games and World Championships, and confirmed it would be reviewed at the end of the 2021 season.
In December 2021, the revised "Final 3" format was announced: as before only the top-3 athletes after five rounds get a final trial, but all marks determine the ranking of those athletes rather than just their results in the last round. However, the competing order for rounds 4 and 5 and for round 6 is changed by descending marks in the preceding three resp. five rounds (contrary to the usual ascending order). This format continues to be used from the
2022 season onwards.
Both the original and revised formats were the subject of academic studies into their effects on fairness and jumping strategies.
Meetings
All meetings since the event's inauguration have been held in the
Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined by humans as being in the same celestial sphere, celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the Solar ...
in spring and summer months, in line with the traditional international track and field season.
*From 2011 to 2019 the British Grand Prix was held at the
Alexander Stadium,
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
.
*The 2010 to 2016 Meeting de Paris was held at the
Stade de France.
*In 2016 the
Adidas Grand Prix in New York City was removed in favour of the Rabat leg (the first African meet of the series). The 2024 event was moved to
Stade de Marrakech in
Marrakech
Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...
.
*The 2019 Prefontaine Classic moved from Eugene to
Cobb Track and Angell Field in
Stanford due to the reconstruction of
Hayward Field.
*The 2019 Doha Diamond League was held at
Khalifa International Stadium
Khalifa International Stadium (, , ) is a multi-purpose stadium located in Doha, Qatar, around west from the centre of Doha. Its ground comprises a running track and a Pitch (sports field), grass pitch. Opened in 1976, the stadium was named af ...
.
*In 2021 and 2023, the Golden Gala moved from Rome to
Stadio Luigi Ridolfi in
Florence
Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025.
Florence ...
.
*Meetings may hold non-Diamond League race events, e.g. the 10,000 m in Stockholm on 30 May 2019.
*Diamond League meetings in
Shanghai
Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
and
Shenzhen
Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...
were planned for 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 but were cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. The
2024 Diamond League Shanghai was moved to
Suzhou Olympic Sports Centre in
Suzhou
Suzhou is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce.
Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the ...
. The
2025 Diamond League Shanghai was moved to
Shaoxing China Textile City Sports Center in
Shaoxing
Shaoxing is a prefecture-level city on the southern shore of Hangzhou Bay in northeastern Zhejiang province, China. Located on the south bank of the Qiantang River estuary, it borders Ningbo to the east, Taizhou, Zhejiang, Taizhou to the south ...
.
*A meeting in
Chorzów was scheduled instead from 2022.
*A meeting in
Xiamen
Xiamen,), also known as Amoy ( ; from the Zhangzhou Hokkien pronunciation, zh, c=, s=, t=, p=, poj=Ē͘-mûi, historically romanized as Amoy, is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Stra ...
was scheduled instead from 2023.
Diamond League winners
Men's track
Men's field
Women's track
Women's field
Notes
Athing Mu won the final as a national wild card so she was ineligible to win the Diamond League title, which went to runner-up
Keely Hodgkinson
Statistics
Legend
Countries by number of event winners
Most titles by athlete
Multi event title winners
Perfect Diamond Races
Diamond League records
Men
Women
* WR: World Record – AR: Area Record – NR: National Record – OWB: Outdoor World Best
See also
References
;General
Diamond League Records – Men''15 June 2023 updated''Diamond League Records – Women''15 June 2023 updated''
;Specific
External links
*
{{International sports tours
Recurring sporting events established in 2010
Annual athletics series
Diamond League
The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fifteen invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics one-day meet competitions.
The inaugural season was ...