The Diamond League Starts Soon – Here Are All the 2024 Competitions

Soon the Diamond League will begin, the highlight for all athletics fans around the world. The first competition takes place in Xiamen, China, on April 20, and then competitions follow every month before the final event in Brussels in September. In this Olympic year, it’s particularly interesting to see what shape the athletes are in. Here is the Diamond League Calendar 2024 and all you need to know about the competition.

It is always a special feeling when the athletics season starts in earnest. As running fans, we all have a special memory of one of those evenings when amazing world records were broken in running events.

For me, as a running nerd, it’s also interesting to see what shoes the athletes use in the new season. This is also an opportunity for different brands to showcase their new running suits for the season.

What is The Diamond League?

The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions. It’s considered the premier one-day series in athletics, featuring fifteen of the best invitational athletics meetings around the world.

The Diamond League was founded in 2010 as a successor to the IAAF Golden League. Its aim is to broaden the appeal of athletics beyond Europe, and it now includes events in Asia, North America, and Africa in addition to traditional European meetings.

Athletes compete for points throughout the season, with the most successful in each discipline qualifying for a year-end final. The winners are awarded a prestigious ”Diamond Trophy” and prize money.

Diamond League Calendar 2024

The Diamond League season starts a little earlier than usual this year due to the Olympic Games in Paris. Usually, it starts in May, but this year it starts on April 20. In this Diamond League Calendar are all the competitions in the 2024 Diamond League:

Diamond League Rules

The Wanda Diamond League is the premier series of one-day events in athletics. This elite competition features 15 of the most famous one-day events in the world, with male and female athletes in 16 core disciplines. From May (this year in April) through September, athletes accumulate points in 14 of these meets, with the goal of securing a spot in the esteemed Wanda Diamond League finals, which take place in Eugene on September 16-17.

Points are distributed at each meet based on the athletes’ rankings, with the first place finisher receiving 8 points down to 1 point for eighth place. The finals include the top six athletes in each discipline, the top eight in races between 100 meters and 800 meters, and the top ten in distances from 1500 meters upwards.

Those who qualify go on to a decisive final competition where they compete for the title of Wanda Diamond Leaguge champion in each discipline. The title can also be achieved through an international or national wildcard.

The finals take place over two days at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, where a total of 32 athletes are crowned Diamond League champions. The winners receive a Diamond Trophy, a cash prize of USD 30 000 and a wildcard to the World Athletics Championships.

Qualification Points at Diamond League Series Meetings:

Diamond League Prize Money

As you can see below, the prize money is not very high at Diamond League events. However, individual organizers may have additional prize money for breaking records, such as world records or stadium records. Especially for the former, a considerable amount is usually given.

Series Meeting

Final

Plus rewards for 9th-12th place finishers in distance races and ninth-lane runners in sprints.