IN a major restructure, the IAAF Diamond League has adopted a championship-styled model with the finalists competing for a prize pool of $3.2 million.
From next season, athletes will earn points in the first 12 IAAF Diamond League meetings to qualify for two final meetings where $100,000 will be at stake in each of the 32 Diamond Disciplines, including $50,000 for each winner.
In previous seasons, athletes accumulated points throughout the IAAF Diamond League season with the overall winner of each of the 32 events being the athlete with the most points irrespective of whether they won the final.
The season is now a race to reach the finals with the winners crowned as IAAF Diamond League Champions. As in a championship, the performance of athletes in the final alone will determine who the champion will be and the prize money won.
The IAAF Diamond League finals will now offer a dramatic showdown between the world’s best athletes, a true climax to a four-month race across four continents.
Sebastian Coe, IAAF President and chairman of the Diamond League AG, commented: “After seven seasons which have established the IAAF Diamond League as our premier circuit, it is important to assess its impact and build for the future. These decisions are the first step to growing the attractiveness of the series.”
Finals Prize Money structure for each of the 32 events are as follows: 1st — $50,000, 2nd — $20,000, 3rd — $10,000, 4th — $6,000, 5th — $5,000, 6th — $4,000, 7th — $3,000 and 8th — $2,000.
In the horizontal jumps and throwing events, there will be a return in 2017 to six attempts for all athletes. This follows last season’s experimental format where all athletes were given 3 attempts but with only the top 4 athletes being given 3 further attempts.