2013 iaaf diamond league press information kit
TRANSCRIPT
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IAAF Diamond League
Media Information Guide 2013
www.diamondleague.com
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INTRODUCTION With the creation of the IAAF Diamond League we set out to reinvent the one-day meeting structure of our sport, to bring clarity to the top tier circuit of international invitational competition which takes place outside the IAAF World Championships and Olympic Games. While there remain many challenges ahead if we are to make further advances and cement the IAAF Diamond League’s position as one of the world’s major sports series, we firmly believe that we have made an exceptionally good start in the first three years of the new competition structure. The IAAF Diamond League has a worldwide audience and a broadcasting reach undreamt by the Golden League series which preceded it. Thanks to a 14 meeting circuit which covers Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the USA, a competition programme that includes virtually the full spectrum of Olympic track and field disciplines, the guarantee of the world’s greatest athletes battling to win 8 Million Dollars in prize money, accumulating points season long to win their event’s Diamond Race Trophy, the IAAF Diamond League has captured the public’s imagination like no other non-championship athletics competition. I eagerly look forward to the 2013 season of the IAAF Diamond League which commences in Doha and concludes at the end of August and beginning of September with the finals in Zurich and Brussels. Lamine Diack IAAF President and Chairman of the Board of Diamond League AG
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CONTENTS PAGE DESCRIPTION
1 Cover
2 Introduction
3 Contents
Diamond Race:
4 - 5 Basic Information – How it Works, Points, Prize Money
6 - 8 Diamond Race Winners (2010 – 2012)
9 - 13 Diamond Race All-Time Statistics (2010 – 2012)
14 - 25 Competition Review: Highlights (2012)
26 TV Figures (2010 – 2012)
2013 Season:
27 Calendar
28 - 29 Event Disciplines
30 Host Broadcasters
31 Preview
32 - 36 Contact Details – DL AG, IAAF, IMG, Meeting Organisers and Press Chiefs
37 Media Accreditation
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BASIC INFORMATION
HOW IT WORKS The IAAF Diamond League is composed of 14 of the best invitational track and field meetings in the world. The meetings are spread across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the USA, and compose the top tier of the IAAF’s global one-day meeting competition structure. This series of 14 meetings, which began in 2010, showcases 32 event disciplines which are carefully distributed amongst the meetings. In each of the 32 event disciplines there is a “Diamond Race” with points available throughout the 14 meeting season. Winners of each Diamond Race receive a 40,000 USD cash prize and a spectacular Diamond Trophy but more importantly, they will have shown season long consistency to earn the unchallenged honour of being the World Number 1. Each of the 32 event disciplines is staged seven times with the top three Athletes being awarded the same amount of points at each meeting with the exception of the Final where the points are doubled. The Sainsbury’s Anniversary Games in London which takes place over two days count as one meeting.
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POINTS Points per event discipline at each meeting 1st place - 4 points (Final: 8 points) 2nd place - 2 points (Final: 4 points) 3rd place - 1 point (Final: 2 points) The athlete with the highest number of points in each event discipline at the end of the IAAF Diamond League season wins the "Diamond Race”. In case of equality on points, the number of victories decides, if there still is a tie, the better result at the Final decides. For an athlete to win a Diamond Race and its associated prize, and/or to be ranked in the final points standings, he / she must compete in the final (Zürich or Brussels) of their event discipline.
PRIZE MONEY Per each event discipline at each of the 14 meetings All 32 disciplines have the same prize money with a total of 30,000 USD x 16 = 480‘000 USD per meeting
Place - Prize Money • 1. 10,000 USD • 2. 6000 USD • 3. 4000 USD • 4. 3000 USD • 5. 2500 USD • 6. 2000 USD • 7. 1500 USD • 8. 1000 USD + rewards for 9th - 12th place finishers in distance races and 9th lane runners in sprints Per each Diamond Race winner at the end of the season The overall winner of each of the 32 Diamond Races will receive a 40,000 USD cash prize and a spectacular Diamond Trophy created by Beyer, one of the oldest and most respected jewellers in the world, which was established in Zürich in the 18th century. Combine the meeting prize money with the Diamond Race cash, and the IAAF Diamond League is offering a total of 8 Million USD in prize money in 2013. DIAMOND RACE WINNERS - WILD CARDS FOR TO IAAF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS The overall event winners of the 32 Diamond Races which compose the IAAF Diamond League from the previous year benefit from a wild card much in the same way as already happens with the defending World champion. However, only one or the other can participate as a wild card in case both are from the same country (so the maximum entry from a country will be limited to four in any individual event). The decision to finally enter the athlete still rests entirely with the National Federation, which maintains full control of the final entries. DIAMOND RACE WINNERS - AUTOMATIC INVITES FOR NEXT SEASON To guarantee the strongest possible fields of competitors at each IAAF Diamond League meeting, all winners of the previous year’s Diamond Race Trophies automatically receive an invitation to compete in their event discipline during the following IAAF Diamond League season.
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DIAMOND RACE TROPHY WINNERS
2010
MEN
100m Tyson Gay (USA)
200m Wallace Spearmon (USA)
400m Jeremy Wariner (USA)
800m David Rudisha (KEN)
1500m Asbel Kiprop (KEN)
5000m Imane Merga (ETH)
3000m Steeplechase Paul Kipsiele Koech
(KEN)
110m Hurdles David Oliver (USA)
400m Hurdles Bershawn Jackson (USA)
High Jump Ivan Ukhov (RUS)
Pole Vault Renaud Lavillenie (FRA)
Long Jump Dwight Phillips (USA)
Triple Jump Teddy Tamgho (FRA)
Shot Put Christian Cantwell (USA)
Discus Throw Piotr Malachowski (POL)
Javelin Throw Andreas Thorkildsen (NOR)
WOMEN
100m Carmelita Jeter (USA)
200m Allyson Felix (USA)
400m Allyson Felix (USA)
800m Janeth Jepkosgei (KEN)
1500m Nancy Jebet Langat (KEN)
5000m Vivian Cheruiyot (KEN)
3000m Steeplechase Milcah Chemos
Cheiywa (KEN)
100m Hurdles Priscilla Lopes-Schliep (CAN)
400m Hurdles Kaliese Spencer (JAM)
High Jump Blanka Vlašic (CRO)
Pole Vault Fabiana Murer (BRA)
Long Jump Brittney Reese (USA)
Triple Jump Yargelis Savigne (CUB)
Shot Put Nadezhda Ostapchuk (BLR)
Discus Throw Yarelis Barrios (CUB)
Javelin Throw Barbora Špotáková (CZE)
DIAMOND RACE TROPHY WINNERS
2011
MEN
100m Asafa Powell (JAM)
200m Walter Dix (USA)
400m Kirani James (GRN)
800m David Rudisha (KEN)
1500m Nixon Kiplimo Chepseba (KEN)
5000m Imane Merga (ETH)
3000m Steeplechase Paul Kipsiele Koech
(KEN)
110m Hurdles Dayron Robles (CUB)
400m Hurdles David Greene (GBR)
High Jump Jesse Williams (USA)
Pole Vault Renaud Lavillenie (FRA)
Long Jump Mitchell Watt (AUS)
Triple Jump Phillips Idowu (GBR)
Shot Put Dylan Armstrong (CAN)
Discus Throw Virgilijus Alekna (LTU)
Javelin Throw Matthias De Zordo (GER)
WOMEN
100m Carmelita Jeter (USA)
200m Carmelita Jeter (USA)
400m Amantle Montsho (BOT)
800m Jennifer Meadows (GBR)
1500m Morgan Uceny (USA)
5000m Vivian Cheruiyot (KEN)
3000m Steeplechase Milcah Chemos
Cheiywa (KEN)
100m Hurdles Danielle Carruthers (USA)
400m Hurdles Kaliese Spencer (JAM)
High Jump Blanka Vlašic (CRO)
Pole Vault Silke Spiegelburg (GER)
Long Jump Brittney Reese (USA)
Triple Jump Olha Saladukha (UKR)
Shot Put Valerie Adams (NZL)
Discus Throw Yarelis Barrios (CUB)
Javelin Throw Christina Obergföll (GER)
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DIAMOND RACE TROPHY WINNERS
2012
MEN
100m Usain Bolt (JAM)
200m Nickel Ashmeade (JAM)
400m Kevin Borlée (BEL)
800m Mohammed Aman (ETH)
1500m Silas Kiplagat (KEN)
5000m Isiah Kiplangat Koech (KEN)
3000m Steeplechase Paul Kipsiele Koech (KEN)
110m Hurdles Aries Merritt (USA)
400m Hurdles Javier Culson (PUR)
High Jump Robbie Grabarz (GBR)
Pole Vault Renaud Lavillenie (FRA)
Long Jump Aleksandr Menkov (RUS)
Triple Jump Christian Taylor (USA)
Shot Put Reese Hoffa (USA)
Discus Throw Gerd Kanter (EST)
Javelin Throw Vítezslav Veselý (CZE)
WOMEN
100m Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (JAM)
200m Charonda Williams (USA)
400m Amantle Montsho (BIT)
800m Pamela Jelimo (KEN)
1500m Abeba Aregawi (SWE)
5000m Vivian Cheruiyot (KEN)
3000m Steeplechase Milcah Chemos Cheiywa (KEN)
100m Hurdles Dawn Harper (USA)
400m Hurdles Kaliese Spencer (JAM)
High Jump Chaunte Lowe (USA)
Pole Vault Silke Spiegelburg (GER)
Long Jump Yelena Sokolova (RUS)
Triple Jump Olga Rypakova (KAZ)
Shot Put Valerie Adams (NZL)
Discus Throw Sandra Perkovic (CRO)
Javelin Throw Barbora Špotáková (CZE) Click here for RESULTS Click here for VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
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2012 SEASON FINALS 30 August 2012 – First Final, Zürich
7 September 2012 – Second Final, Brussels
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Diamond Race All-Time Statistics 2010-2012
Most number of Diamond Race wins – overall Men (119 athletes from 40 countries)
13 Renaud LAVILLENIE FRA 12 Usain BOLT JAM 9 Reese HOFFA USA 9 Asbel KIPROP KEN 9 David RUDISHA KEN 9 Andreas THORKILDSEN NOR 8 Walter DIX USA 8 Paul Kipsiele KOECH KEN 7 Jeremy WARINER USA 7 David OLIVER USA 7 Gerd KANTER EST Women (106 athletes from 33 countries)
13 Allyson FELIX USA 13 Carmelita JETER USA 12 Milcah CHEMOS KEN 12 Valerie ADAMS NZL 12 Kaliese SPENCER JAM 11 Blanka VLAŠIĆ CRO 10 Vivian Jepkemoi CHERUIYOT KEN 8 Amantle MONTSHO BOT 8 Barbora ŠPOTÁKOVÁ CZE 8 Sandra PERKOVIĆ CRO 8 Nadezhda OSTAPCHUK* BLR
Most number of Diamond Race wins – single discipline Men
13 Renaud LAVILLENIE FRA Men's Pole Vault 9 David RUDISHA KEN Men's 800m 9 Andreas THORKILDSEN NOR Men's Javelin Throw 9 Reese HOFFA USA Men's Shot Put 8 Walter DIX USA Men's 200m 8 Paul Kipsiele KOECH KEN Men's 3000mSC 7 David OLIVER USA Men's 110mH 7 Jeremy WARINER USA Men's 400m 7 Gerd KANTER EST Men's Discus Throw 6 Usain BOLT JAM Men's 100m 6 Asafa POWELL JAM Men's 100m 6 Usain BOLT JAM Men's 200m 6 Javier CULSON PUR Men's 400mH 6 Ivan UKHOV RUS Men's High Jump 6 Christian CANTWELL USA Men's Shot Put 6 Phillips IDOWU GBR Men's Triple Jump Women
12 Milcah CHEMOS KEN Women's 3000mSC 12 Kaliese SPENCER JAM Women's 400mH 12 Valerie ADAMS NZL Women's Shot Put 11 Blanka VLAŠIĆ CRO Women's High Jump 10 Carmelita JETER USA Women's 100m
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8 Amantle MONTSHO BOT Women's 400m 8 Vivian Jepkemoi CHERUIYOT KEN Women's 5000m 8 Sandra PERKOVIĆ CRO Women's Discus Throw 8 Barbora ŠPOTÁKOVÁ CZE Women's Javelin Throw 8 Nadezhda OSTAPCHUK* BLR Women's Shot Put 7 Brittney REESE USA Women's Long Jump 7 Fabiana MURER BRA Women's Pole Vault 7 Yargelis SAVIGNE CUB Women's Triple Jump
Most number of Diamond Race scoring (top 3) finishes – overall
Men (274 athletes from 57 countries)
18 Asbel KIPROP KEN 18 Paul Kipsiele KOECH KEN 15 David OLIVER USA 15 Renaud LAVILLENIE FRA 14 Angelo TAYLOR USA 14 Reese HOFFA USA 14 Jesse WILLIAMS USA 13 Malte MOHR GER 13 Usain BOLT JAM 13 Dylan ARMSTRONG CAN 13 Gerd KANTER EST Women (262 athletes from 51)
20 Carmelita JETER USA 19 Barbora ŠPOTÁKOVÁ CZE 19 Kaliese SPENCER JAM 18 Amantle MONTSHO BOT 18 Olga RYPAKOVA KAZ 18 Valerie ADAMS NZL 17 Allyson FELIX USA 16 Fabiana MURER BRA 15 Milcah CHEMOS KEN 14 Nadezhda OSTAPCHUK* BLR 13 Silke SPIEGELBURG GER 13 Olha SALADUKHA UKR
Most number of Diamond Race scoring (top 3 finishes) – single discipline Men
18 Paul Kipsiele KOECH KEN Men's 3000mSC 15 David OLIVER USA Men's 110mH 15 Renaud LAVILLENIE FRA Men's Pole Vault 14 Jesse WILLIAMS USA Men's High Jump 14 Reese HOFFA USA Men's Shot Put 13 Gerd KANTER EST Men's Discus Throw 13 Malte MOHR GER Men's Pole Vault 13 Dylan ARMSTRONG CAN Men's Shot Put 12 Bershawn JACKSON USA Men's 400mH 12 Javier CULSON PUR Men's 400mH 12 Imane MERGA ETH Men's 5000m 12 Andreas THORKILDSEN NOR Men's Javelin Throw 12 Tomasz MAJEWSKI POL Men's Shot Put 12 Alexis COPELLO CUB Men's Triple Jump Women
19 Barbora ŠPOTÁKOVÁ CZE Women's Javelin Throw 18 Amantle MONTSHO BOT Women's 400m 18 Kaliese SPENCER JAM Women's 400mH
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18 Valerie ADAMS NZL Women's Shot Put 18 Olga RYPAKOVA KAZ Women's Triple Jump 16 Fabiana MURER BRA Women's Pole Vault 15 Carmelita JETER USA Women's 100m 15 Milcah CHEMOS KEN Women's 3000mSC 14 Nadezhda OSTAPCHUK* BLR Women's Shot Put 13 Silke SPIEGELBURG GER Women's Pole Vault 13 Olha SALADUKHA UKR Women's Triple Jump
Number of participations in Diamond Race events – overall
Men (892 athletes from 87 countries)
24 Asbel KIPROP KEN 22 David OLIVER USA 22 Jaysuma SAIDY NDURE NOR 22 Angelo TAYLOR USA 21 Churandy MARTINA AHO/NED 20 Jesse WILLIAMS USA 20 Dylan ARMSTRONG CAN 19 Gerd KANTER EST 19 Reese HOFFA USA 19 Jason RICHARDSON USA 19 Renaud LAVILLENIE FRA Women (805 athletes from 74 countries)
25 Carmelita JETER USA 21 Danielle CARRUTHERS USA 21 Blessing OKAGBARE NGR 20 Barbora ŠPOTÁKOVÁ CZE 20 Kaliese SPENCER JAM 20 Amantle MONTSHO BOT 19 Sofia ASSEFA ETH 19 Kellie WELLS USA 19 Funmi JIMOH USA 19 Debbie FERGUSON-MCKENZIE BAH 19 Michelle CARTER USA 19 Allyson FELIX USA 19 Sherone SIMPSON JAM 19 Viola Jelagat KIBIWOT KEN 19 Olga RYPAKOVA KAZ 19 Milcah CHEMOS KEN
Number of participations in Diamond Race events – single discipline Men
20 Jesse WILLIAMS USA Men's High Jump 20 Dylan ARMSTRONG CAN Men's Shot Put 19 David OLIVER USA Men's 110mH 19 Gerd KANTER EST Men's Discus Throw 19 Renaud LAVILLENIE FRA Men's Pole Vault 19 Reese HOFFA USA Men's Shot Put 18 Paul Kipsiele KOECH KEN Men's 3000mSC 18 Virgilijus ALEKNA LTU Men's Discus Throw 18 Malte MOHR GER Men's Pole Vault 18 Tomasz MAJEWSKI POL Men's Shot Put Women
20 Amantle MONTSHO BOT Women's 400m 20 Barbora ŠPOTÁKOVÁ CZE Women's Javelin Throw 19 Sofia ASSEFA ETH Women's 3000mSC
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19 Kaliese SPENCER JAM Women's 400mH 19 Funmi JIMOH USA Women's Long Jump 19 Michelle CARTER USA Women's Shot Put 19 Olga RYPAKOVA KAZ Women's Triple Jump 18 Milcah CHEMOS KEN Women's 3000mSC 18 Aretha D. THURMOND USA Women's Discus Throw 18 Fabiana MURER BRA Women's Pole Vault 18 Valerie ADAMS NZL Women's Shot Put
Most Diamond Race points - overall Men
64 Renaud LAVILLENIE FRA 55 Asbel KIPROP KEN 54 Reese HOFFA USA 54 Paul Kipsiele KOECH KEN 48 David RUDISHA KEN 46 David OLIVER USA 44 Andreas THORKILDSEN NOR 41 Gerd KANTER EST 39 Ivan UKHOV RUS 38 Javier CULSON PUR Women
72 Kaliese SPENCER JAM 70 Valerie ADAMS NZL 69 Carmelita JETER USA 58 Allyson FELIX USA 58 Amantle MONTSHO BOT 56 Barbora ŠPOTÁKOVÁ CZE 56 Milcah CHEMOS KEN 56 Vivian Jepkemoi CHERUIYOT KEN 52 Olga RYPAKOVA KAZ 50 Blanka VLAŠIĆ CRO
Most Diamond Race points - by event Men
64 Renaud LAVILLENIE FRA Men's Pole Vault 54 Reese HOFFA USA Men's Shot Put 54 Paul Kipsiele KOECH KEN Men's 3000mSC 48 David RUDISHA KEN Men's 800m 47 Asbel KIPROP KEN Men's 1500m 46 David OLIVER USA Men's 110mH 44 Andreas THORKILDSEN NOR Men's Javelin Throw 41 Gerd KANTER EST Men's Discus Throw 39 Ivan UKHOV RUS Men's High Jump 38 Javier CULSON PUR Men's 400mH Women
72 Kaliese SPENCER JAM Women's 400mH 70 Valerie ADAMS NZL Women's Shot Put 58 Amantle MONTSHO BOT Women's 400m 56 Carmelita JETER USA Women's 100m 56 Barbora ŠPOTÁKOVÁ CZE Women's Javelin Throw 56 Milcah CHEMOS KEN Women's 3000mSC 56 Vivian Jepkemoi CHERUIYOT KEN Women's 3000m 52 Olga RYPAKOVA KAZ Women's Triple Jump 50 Blanka VLAŠIĆ CRO Women's High Jump 47 Fabiana MURER BRA Women's Pole Vault
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Diamond Race Records (at end of 2012 season) Men
100m 9.76 -0.1 Usain BOLT 86 JAM Roma (ITA) 31.05.12
200m 19.26 +0.7 Yohan BLAKE 89 JAM Bruxelles (BEL) 16.09.11
400m 44.13 Jeremy WARINER 84 USA Zürich (SUI) 19.08.10
800m 1:41.54 David RUDISHA 88 KEN Paris (FRA) 06.07.12
1500m 3:28.88 Asbel KIPROP 89 KEN Monaco (MON) 20.07.12
Mile 3:49.09 Haron KEITANY 83 KEN Eugene (USA) 04.06.11
3000m 7:27.26 Yenew ALAMIREW 90 ETH Doha (QAT) 06.05.11
5000m 12:46.81 Dejen GEBREMESKEL 89 ETH Paris (FRA) 06.07.12
110mH 12.80 +0.3 Aries MERRITT 85 USA Bruxelles (BEL) 07.09.12
400mH 47.62 Bershawn JACKSON 83 USA Lausanne (SUI) 08.07.10
3000mSC 7:53.64 Brimin Kiprop KIPRUTO 85 KEN Monaco (MON) 22.07.11
High Jump 2.39 Moutaz Essa BARSHIM AHMED
91 QAT Lausanne (SUI) 23.08.12
Pole Vault 5.91 Renaud LAVILLENIE 86 FRA Paris (FRA) 16.07.10
Long Jump 8.54 +1.7 Mitchell WATT 88 AUS Stockholm (SWE) 29.07.11
Triple Jump 17.98 +1.2 Teddy TAMGHO 89 FRA New York (USA) 12.06.10
Shot Put 22.41 Christian CANTWELL 80 USA Eugene (USA) 03.07.10
Discus Throw 69.83 Piotr MAŁACHOWSKI 83 POL Gateshead (GBR) 10.07.10
Javelin Throw 89.88 Andreas THORKILDSEN 82 NOR Bruxelles (BEL) 27.08.10
Women
100m 10.70 +2.0 Carmelita JETER 79 USA Eugene (USA) 04.06.11
200m 21.98 +1.4 Veronica CAMPBELL-BROWN
82 JAM New York (USA) 12.06.10
400m 49.39 Sanya RICHARDS-ROSS 85 USA Eugene (USA) 02.06.12
800m 1:56.59 Francine NIYONSABA 93 BDI Bruxelles (BEL) 07.09.12
1500m 3:56.15 Mariem ALAOUI SELSOULI
84 MAR Paris (FRA) 06.07.12
3000m 8:28.41 Sentayehu EJIGU 85 ETH Monaco (MON) 22.07.10
5000m 14:20.87 Vivian Jepkemoi CHERUIYOT
83 KEN Stockholm (SWE) 29.07.11
100mH 12.40 0.0 Sally PEARSON 86 AUS Paris (FRA) 06.07.12
400mH 52.79 Kaliese SPENCER 87 JAM London (GBR) 05.08.11
3000mSC 9:05.02 Yuliya ZARIPOVA 86 RUS Stockholm (SWE) 17.08.12
High Jump 2.05 Anna CHICHEROVA 82 RUS Bruxelles (BEL) 16.09.11
Pole Vault 4.82 Silke SPIEGELBURG 86 GER Monaco (MON) 20.07.12
Long Jump 6.94 -0.4 Brittney REESE 86 USA Roma (ITA) 26.05.11
Long Jump 6.94 +0.3 Brittney REESE 86 USA Lausanne (SUI) 08.07.10
Triple Jump 15.09 +0.2 Yargelis SAVIGNE 84 CUB Monaco (MON) 22.07.10
Shot Put 21.03 Valerie ADAMS 84 NZL Roma (ITA) 31.05.12
Discus Throw 68.77 Sandra PERKOVIĆ 90 CRO Stockholm (SWE) 17.08.12
Javelin Throw 69.57 Christina OBERGFÖLL 81 GER Zürich (SUI) 08.09.11
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COMPETITION REVIEW – 2012 SEASON
Doha, Qatar, 11 May
Pamela Jelimo and David Rudisha contributed to an emphatic demonstration of Kenyan middle distance power in Olympic year at the opening Diamond League meeting as they produced 800m victories in, respectively, 1:56.94 and 1:43.10. The usual large and vocal Ethiopian contingent almost willed 19-year-old Ethiopian Fantu Magiso to what would have been a famous victory over an 800m field containing Jelimo and Janeth Jepkosgei, the 2008 Olympic gold and silver medallist but the youngster had to settle for an Ethiopian record of 1:57.90 in second place. The marks were just two in a total of nine world-leading performances, or 10 if you counted the effort of 66.17m in the Javelin Throw by Barbora Spotakova, which was then surpassed by Mariya Abakumova’s 66.86m, on an evening of muggy heat and soaring achievement. There was also one equal world season leading performance and seven meeting records. Kenya supplied four of the other 2012 best performances as they saw off all Ethiopian opposition despite the fervent support of a dense, flag-waving crowd on the bottom bend. The 2011 World 5000 and 10,000m champion Vivian Cheruiyot resisted the challenge of 2004 Olympic 5000m champion Meseret Defar to win the 3000m in 8:46.44, Silas Kiplagat won the 1500m in 3:29.63, Paul Kipsiele Koech earned his victory in the 3000m Steeplechase in 7:56.68 and – in a race that was not within the Diamond Race framework – Augustine Choge won the 3000m in a quick 7:30.42, with double Olympic champion Kenenisa Bekele labouring home in seventh place. Kenyans and the two women Javelin throwers apart, the other 2012 best performances came from Jamaica's Melaine Walker, who won the 400m Hurdles in 54.62 and US 400m runner LaShawn Merritt, who won impressively in 44.19. The women’s 3000m race produced a finish that brought back memories of other epic Kenyan-Ethiopian struggles on the track such as Haile Gebrselassie and Paul Tergat’s sprint finish in the Sydney Olympic 10,000m final as Cheruiyot maintained her lead despite a teeth-baring, desperate charge from Defar, who had to settle for second place, just 0.05 behind, in 8:46.49. "This was a great race, like an Olympic final," said Cheruyiot. She turned out to be right about that. In the sprints, there were unexpected 100m victories by Justin Gatlin, who held off Jamaica's Asafa Powell to clock 9.87, and fellow American Allyson Felix, whose personal best and meeting record of 10.92 proved too much for Jamaica’s renowned Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Veronica Campbell-Brown. Shanghai, China, 19 May As if on cue, persistent rain at the second Diamond League meeting ceased as the local hero, former World and Olympic 110m Hurdles champion Liu Xiang, came to his blocks. Liu responded with his first sub-13 time in five years, winning in 12.97 to raise home hopes of him reclaiming the Olympic title he won in Athens in 2004. United States' David Oliver was second in 13.13 with his compatriot, the 2011 World champion Jason Richardson, third in 13.16. China had two winners on the night thanks to an unexpected flourish in the men’s Pole Vault field by Yang Yansheng, who cleared 5.65m on a terrible night for vaulting.
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Genzebe Dibaba, younger sister of double Olympic champion Tirunesh, set an Ethiopian record of 3:57.77 in the women’s 1500m while Croatia’s Sandra Perkovic won the discus with a national record of 68.24m on the final throw. Headlining the sprints was the meeting over 200m between Daegu 2011 100m champion, Carmelita Jeter, and 200m champion Veronica Cambell-Brown, with the latter holding off the American, 22.50 to 22.62. Rome, Italy, 31 May On a night of brilliant performances, Usain Bolt topped all of them with a 100m victory in a world-leading time of 9.76 which also broke by 0.01 the three-year-old Compeed Golden Gala meeting record that had belonged to his rival Tyson Gay. In so doing, Bolt dispelled any doubts about his fitness and preparation state for the imminent Olympic Games after having failed to break the 10-second barrier in Ostrava a few days earlier. Only Bolt, Gay and Asafa Powell had ever run faster than the winning time in Rome, which was achieved into a wind of 0.01 and justifiably prompted massive acclaim from a crowd of just under 60,000 in the 1960 Olympic Stadium. Three of the other six world-leading marks came on the track. Paul Kipsiele Koech, who clocked the third fastest time ever in the men's 3000m Steeplechase when he crossed the line in 7:54.31, Abeba Aregawi won the women's 1500m in an Ethiopian record of 3:56.54, and Vivian Cheruiyot again held off arch-rival Meseret Defar, this time over 5000m when the Kenyan won by just 0.03 in 14:35.62. In the men’s High Jump, 24-year-old Briton Robbie Grabarz continued his massive improvement to win with an outdoor world-leading height of 2.33m and, in her first competition since winning at the World Indoor Championships, New Zealand's Valerie Adams earned an easy victory in the Shot Put as the only competitor to throw over 20 metres, recording 21.03m. South Africa's 2011 World Championships bronze medallist Sunette Viljoen stunned the entire women’s Javelin field with her last attempt when she achieved a world lead of 67.95m but Olympic champion Barbora Spotakova responded immediately with an effort of 68.65m. Teenager Fantu Magiso lowered her Ethiopian record to 1:57.56 when winning the women's 800m and British long jumper Greg Rutherford overhauled South Africa’s 2008 Olympic silver medallist Godfrey Mokoena to win with his last attempt of 8.32m. Eugene, United States, 2-3 June After an opening day on which Kenya’s 10000m men battled for Olympic places in a race which took place along with two Diamond League events – the men’s Triple Jump won by home World champion Christian Taylor in 17.62m and the women’s Discus won by Croatia’s Sandra Perkovic in 66.92m – the headlines went to China’s Liu Xiang. The former World and Olympic 110m Hurdles champion ran what initially seemed a World record-equalling time of 12.87, only to have his effort ruled out for record purposes because of a following wind of 2.4 metres-per-second, 0.4mps above the allowable limit. Liu beat all the likely main contenders for the Olympic title with the exception of World record holder and reigning champion Dayron Robles, who was unable to travel because of visa problems. World Indoor 60m Hurdles champion Aries Merritt came second in 12.96, with fellow American and 2011 World champion Jason Richardson third in 13.11.
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Great Britain’s Mo Farah, operating locally under the guidance of Alberto Salazar, flew to the top of the 2012 world 5000m lists with his meeting record of 12:56.98 in front of 12,000 screaming spectators. Kenya's Isaiah Koech chased Farah to the finish in 12:57.63 while the latter's training partner Galen Rupp, a former University of Oregon student, dipped under 13 minutes for the first time in his career with 12:58.90. Almost anonymously, the defending Olympic 5000m champion Kenenisa Bekele crossed the line in 13:01.48. "I take a lot from this race," Farah said afterwards. "If you look at the field it was really loaded.” Sanya Richards-Ross also set a new meeting record and world-leading time when winning the 400m in 49.39. "I know I am in the best shape I have ever been in,” said Richards-Ross. Home shot putter Reese Hoffa won with a world leading performance of 21.81m. Sudan’s 2011 World Championships 800m silver medallist Abubaker Kaki just got the verdict over two laps of the track in 1:43.71 after a thrilling sprint over the final 200 metres with Ethiopia's Mohamad Aman of Ethiopia, who clocked 1:43.74. The 2004 Olympic 100m champion Justin Gatlin held off Jamaica’s Nickel Ashmeade to win the 100m in 9.90, with the 22-year-old Jamaican getting a personal best of 9.93 in second place, while Allyson Felix won her first 200m outing of the season in 22.23. Kenya's Milcah Chemos ran 9:13.69 to beat the Ethiopian pair of Sofia Assefa and Hiwot Ayalew in the 3000m Steeplechase and, in the final event of the afternoon, the Bowerman Mile, Kenya’s World and Olympic 1500m champion Asbel Kiprop won in a world-leading time of 3:49.40. Oslo, Norway, 7 June Usain Bolt re-stated his 100m credentials in Olympic year as he won in a meeting record of 9.79, bettered only at that point in the season by his own recent mark of 9.76 in Rome. Bolt, who had made his first appearance in the Bislett Stadium over 200m a year earlier in pouring rain, had no precipitation to contend with on this occasion. However, he had his work cut out to beat his friend and fellow Jamaican Asafa Powell and had to grit his teeth at the 60 metres mark. "The starting reaction was good, but I did not have the flow in the first metres like in Rome. Overall, technically, the race was not as good as in Italy, but I showed I can compete well under pressure," commented Bolt. He added that he was far from comfortable with his new blocks: "I’m guessing how to adjust them. In Rome, the guess was good; here, not that good.” Bolt’s run at the ExxonMobil Bislett Games rounded off a night in which there were four 2012 world-leading performances; or five, if you count Sally Pearson’s achievement of matching her 100m Hurdles time of 12.49. Pearson, pale and intent, led from gun to the line in the 100m Hurdles final as she equalled the mark she set in her native Australia in March; but American hurdler Kristi Castlin made what could be a significant breakthrough when she took second place in a personal best of 12.56. Top marks went to Kenya’s Milcah Chemos with a national record of 9:07.14 in the 3000m Steeplechase that moved her to fourth on the world all-time list. Puerto Rico's Javier Culson won the 400m Hurdles in 47.92, Kenya's Asbel Kiprop took the famous Dream Mile in 3:49.22, and Czech Republic's Vitezslav Vesely made a big breakthrough with a Javelin victory in Olympic champion Andreas Thorkildsen’s home patch with a throw of 88.11m.
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Chemos produced one of the best performances of the evening in the 3000m Steeplechase as she eclipsed the previous African record of 9:07.41 set by her fellow Kenyan Eunice Jepkorir when earning the silver medal at the 2008 Olympics. Renaud Lavillenie remained in line for a third consecutive Diamond Race victory in the Pole Vault after winning a cagey tactical battle with Germany’s Malte Mohr with a first-time clearance of 5.82m, the height at which also won him the last Diamond League meeting in Eugene. New York, United States, 9 June David Rudisha, Kenya’s 800m World champion and record holder, had wanted his first visit to the United States to be memorable, and so it turned out. At the Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island, he produced the highlight of the adidas Grand Prix with victory in 1:41.74, a mark only himself and former World record holders Wilson Kipketer and Sebastian Coe had ever bettered. Kenya's Alfred Kirwa Yego finished a distant second in 1:44.49 but Rudisha’s primary rival, Abubaker Kaki, inexplicably veered out of the pack at approximately 450 metres and jogged off the track. Passing through the mixed zone, Kaki only said, "I’m fine, nothing’s wrong." In the women’s 100m field, Jamaica’s 2008 Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce got to the line well in advance of key rivals Carmelita Jeter, Allyson Felix, and Kelly-Ann Baptiste, the three fastest women so far in 2012. Fraser-Pryce won in 10.92, her fastest mark of the year. In the women’s Javelin, South Africa’s Sunette Viljoen defeated Olympic champion Barbora Spotakova with a stunning world- leading effort, and African record, of 69.35m while Fantu Magiso celebrated her 20th birthday by lowering her own Ethiopian 800m record once again to 1:57.48. British high jumper Robbie Grabarz challenged strongly the US 2011 World champion Jesse Williams Both athletes cleared 2.36m on their first attempt, although the American claimed the win on home soil because Grabarz had a costly failure at his opening height. Paris, France, 6 July David Rudisha clocked a stupendous 1:41.54 in the 800m at the Meeting Areva to provide the highlight of the seventh stop of the Diamond League series. His run was one of five world-leading performances on the night and the seventh fastest 800 performance of all-time, as well as his own fifth fastest outing. The Kenyan covered the final 100 metres in 13.9 to finish more than four seconds clear of the runner-up, Spain's Antonio Manuel Reina. "In perfect weather conditions I would break the World record," said Rudisha, whose 2010 mark of 1:41.01 had survived another day. "This time it was not possible because of the wet track. It was simply too chilly for a record." The men’s 5000m was largely billed as Kenenisa Bekele’s last chance to show the Ethiopian selectors that he deserved a chance to defend his Olympic title but, instead, it became what will likely be remembered as an Ethiopian changing of the guard in the event. Bringing to mind the races of nearly a decade ago when Bekele first began defeating Haile Gebrselassie, here it was Dejen Gebremeskel and Hagos Gebrhiwet, 22 and 18 respectively, who left the World record holder behind.
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The battle over the final lap, covered in under 55 seconds, was won by Gebremeskel, whose time of 12:46.81 moved him to number five on the all-time list. Gebrhiwet wasn’t too far behind in second, his 12:47.53 making him number seven of all-time and he captured the World junior record. "I was not expecting such a fast time under 12:50,” said Gebremeskel. “It was for us like Olympic qualification so I badly wanted to be on top. Now, I should feel like the Olympic favourite." Sally Pearson was also gearing up well for the Olympics in the 100m Hurdles. The reigning World champion earned a clear victory in 12.40, another 2012 world-leading mark. Tyson Gay overhauled US rival Justin Gatlin over the final five metres of the 100m to clock 9.99. "I tried to be patient," said Gay who had a season’s best of 9.86. "I’m strong mentally and ready for challenges. The US Trials was a faster race but here was a better one for me technically." Gatlin, who suffered his first defeat of the season, was second in 10.03 with local hero Christophe Lemaitre third in 10.08. The men’s 3000m Steeplechase promised to be fast and it was, although probably not fast enough for winner Paul Kipsiele Koech to prompt the Kenyan selectors to think again after he fell short of making the Olympic team at the Kenyan Trials. Taking the lead as the bell sounded, the 30-year-old covered the final lap in under 60 seconds and earned a convincing victory in 8:00.57, more than a second ahead of 2008 Olympic champion and Kenyan record holder Brimin Kipruto. "This win means a lot to me, I feel enough courage to continue to compete," said Koech. "My goal now is to win all my races and try to break the World record, maybe in Monaco. This is my Olympics.” Renaud Lavillenie was a popular home winner as he claimed his third Diamond League Pole Vault win of the season with 5.77m. London, UK, 13-14 July Hurdlers Aries Merritt and Javier Culson equalled their world leads in the men’s 110m and 400m Hurdles on a chilly night at the first day of the Aviva London Grand Prix, but it was an evening of dismay for Liu Xiang, who pulled out of the 110m Hurdles final with a back problem after winning his heat in the early evening rain, while Renaud Lavillenie suffered his first Pole Vault defeat of the summer. Merritt gave an indication of his Olympic potential as he powered to victory ahead of Jason Richardson in 12.93, a meeting record and the fastest time ever seen in the UK. Puerto Rico’s Culson maintained his unbeaten 2012 record in familiar fashion, going off hard and hanging on to win in 47.78. Great Britain’sfast-finishing 2011 World champion Dai Greene clocked 48.10 in second place, his third fastest time ever. Hosts Britain found another Olympic hopeful as 400m hurdler Perri Shakes-Drayton equalled the second fastest time in the world this season with a big personal best of 53.77. Shakes-Drayton, a 23-year-old who lives and trains less than a mile from the Olympic Stadium, moved up to just 0.03 behind former World champion and World record holder Sally Gunnell in the UK all-time lists.
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The anticipated 100m showdown between Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell was frustrated when the Jamaican pulled out on the morning of the meeting citing soreness in his groin. "I need to ensure I’m ready for the Games and cannot take any risks. I will be ready in August," said Powell. Gay started poorly but finished strongly, winning in 10.03 in the damp conditions. Local star Mo Farah brought the Crystal Palace crowd to its feet with a final 800 metres in 1:53.5 as he won the 5000m in 13:06.04, acknowledging the cheers with his soon-to-be-familiar 'Mobot' salute. Kenya's Vivian Cheruiyot did enough to stretch her unbeaten record over 5000m to 11 races by outkicking her compatriot Mercy Cherono over the last 600 metres to win in 14:48.86. The second day produced a rare shock, a defeat in the 100m Hurdles for Sally Pearson. The Australian World champion suffered her first defeat in eight meetings as she was overhauled by American hurdler Kellie Wells, who finished 0.02 ahead in 12.57. France's Christophe Lemaitre produced his second sub-20 200m of his career, winning in 19.91. There were two British victories to warm the home crowd on a cold, damp day as Javelin thrower Goldie Sayers beat 2008 Olympic champion Barbora Spotakova with a national record of 66.17m; another Beijing gold medallist, 400m champion Christine Ohuruogu powered past 2011 World champion Amantle Montsho in the pouring rain to finish in 50.42, her best time for three years. USA’s Reese Hoffa beat Poland’s 2008 Olympic champion Tomasz Majewski by 6cm in the men’s Shot Put, the American champion’s third round 21.34m being enough for the win. Monte Carlo, Monaco, 20 July World-leading performances by Asbel Kiprop, Aries Merritt, Silke Spiegelburg and a United States men’s 4x100m Relay quartet highlighted the Herculis Meeting in Monaco: the final Diamond League stop before the London 2012 Olympics. No one looked more like an Olympic champion-in-waiting than Kiprop whose 3:28.88 1550m run through the still Mediterranean evening was the first sub-3:29 time in the world for almost eight years. "I came to Monaco to run 3:28 and I’m very happy I was able to tonight," said Kiprop, the reigning World and Olympic champion, who became the fifth fastest man ever over the distance. Fellow Kenyan Nixon Chepseba, also London-bound, clocked a personal best 3:29.77 for second place while New Zealander Nick Willis, the 2008 Olympic silver medallist, closed strongly to take third in an Oceania record of 3:30.35. For the third time in the season, Merritt won his 110m Hurdles event in 12.93, a consistency which hinted at his Olympic gold medal potential. “After clearing the third hurdle I made a mistake and lost my rhythm and it took me all the way to the seventh hurdle to get back into my rhythm,” said Merritt. “So to know that I can make mistakes and still run 12.93 makes me very excited." World champion Jason Richardson was a few steps back in 13.07, just ahead of the rising Russian star Sergey Shubenkov, whose 13.09 equalled his own national record. There was a world lead in the women’s Pole Vault as Silke Spiegelburg’s 4.82m registered a German record. "I’ve been waiting for three years to jump that high and get the national record," said Spiegelburg, who relaxed during the competition by dancing between her jumps.
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Olympic Pole Vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva, making her 2012 debut in the Diamond League, registered three failures at her opening height of 4.70m and none of her attempts were particularly close in the Stade Louis II ,where she had set a World record of 5.04m in her final pre-Olympic appearance four years earlier. After her victory in London the week before, Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare produced another winning effort in the 100m with a personal best of 10.96. There was also a confidence-boosting victory in the men’s 400m, where Belgium's Jonathan Borlee of Belgium beat Grenada's 2011 World champion Kirani James on the line, 44.74 to 44.76, with the winner's twin brother Kevin finishing third in 44.94. Defending Olympic champion LaShawn Merritt never reached the finish line, pulling up when hit with a cramp in his left hamstring. American high jumper Jesse Williams, the 2011 World champion, again got the better of Great Britain's Robbie Grabarz on countback. From their first attempt clearances at 2.30m, the pair produced an identical card, each needing a third try at 2.33m before bowing out at 2.36m. A US 100m Relay quartet comprising Trell Kimmons, Justin Gatlin, Tyson Gay and Ryan Bailey produced a 37.61 run that brought the crowd to life early in the meeting. Stockholm, Sweden, 17 August Yuliya Zaripova’s 2012 world-leading performance in the women’s 3000m Steeplechase was one of three stadium records to fall at the 46th DN Galan meeting. On a night of celebration to mark the 100th anniversary of Stockholm’s historical venue, the Russian, one of six newly-minted Olympic champions who prevailed here as well, delivered the finest performance of the meeting, a 9:05.02 run that secured her the Diamond Trophy in her event. Despite her world record attempt coming slightly unstuck, without any help from pacemakers after the first kilometre, she still managed a personal best for second place on the world all-time list with the fastest time in the world since her compatriot Gulnara Galkina set the world record of 8:58.81 in 2008. By the bell, Tunisia's London silver medallist Habiba Ghribi was second but, just like at the Olympics, there was no catching Zaripova although Ghribi reached the line in 9:10.36, the second fastest time of her career. Another Olympic champion, Croatia's Sandra Perkovic, also earned her Diamond Trophy early as she produced two meeting records in the Discus, finishing with a best of 68.77m, her second best ever after the distance of 69.11m which had secured her the gold medal in London. New Zealand's Valerie Adams, who won the Shot Put gold medal in London, also left Sweden as a Diamond Race winner after producing four throws that beat the previous stadium record, the best of which was 20.26m. Of the other Olympic champions taking part in the Swedish capital, USA’s 400m winner Sanya Richards-Ross held off Botswana's World champion Amantle Montsho to won in 49.89. Russia’s High Jump champion Anna Chicherova produced a winning effort of 2.00m and USA's Christian Taylor required a distance of just 17.11m to win the Triple Jump. Ethiopia’s 18-year-old Mohammed Aman earned an 800m win over Olympic 1500m champion Taoufik Makhloufi, clocking 1:43.56, with the Algerian clocked a personal best of 1:43.71.
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Lausanne, Switzerland, 23 August Usain Bolt and his training partner Yohan Blake produced meeting records over 200m and 100m respectively on the famously swift surface of the Stade de la Pontaise at the Athletissima meeting. Bolt ran 19.58 to better his own meeting mark set three years before. Behind him, European champion Churandy Martina lowered his Dutch record from 19.94 to 19.85. "I am very happy with how things turned out here tonight," said Bolt. "19.58 is a very good time and I am more than satisfied. This season has not always been great but I am thrilled with the way it is finishing.” Blake recorded 9.69 in a 100m that was not an official Diamond League scoring event that night and moved to equal-second, alongside Tyson Gay, on the world’s all-time list. Gay finished second in the Swiss city with 9.83 with Jamaica's Nesta Carter equalling his season's best with 9.95. The men’s High Jump was another great contest. Qatar's Olympic bronze medallist Mutaz Essa Barshim not only bettered the 1994 meeting record of 2.37m that had belonging to Javier Sotomayor but also matched Ivan Ukhov's 2012 world-leading mark when he went over 2.39m. Barshim also beat Russia's Olympic champion Ivan Ukhov, who cleared 2.37m, as did third-placed Robbie Grabarz, a joint Olympic bronze medallist with Barshim, who equalled the British record with his performance. Kenya’s Pamela Jelimo pumped her arms into the air to celebrate an 800m win over Mariya Savinova, her successor as Olympic champion, in 1:57.59. World champion Jason Richardson won the 110m Hurdles in 13.08 as his American compatriot and Olympic champion Aries Merritt, hoping to set a World record, was disqualified for false-starting. In what was a virtual dead heat, a scintillating finish from Carmelita Jeter saw the American take a thrilling 100m victory ahead of Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce, who had beaten her to the Olympic gold medal, with both women credited with 10.86. Olympic champion Valerie Adams only needed her first attempt of 20.73m to set a new Shot Put stadium record but improved with her final effort to 20.95m to keep her 2012 unbeaten record alive. Birmingham, UK, 26 August The Aviva Birmingham Grand Prix saw another 100m victory by World champion Carmelita Jeter over Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and another run under 13 seconds by Olympic 110m Hurdles champion Aries Merritt. Jeter’s 10.81 clocking in the Alexander Stadium was a meeting record, as was the 12.95 recorded by Merritt – into a 0.9mps headwind – in a race where his US colleague Jason Richardson equalled his lifetime best of 12.98. "I made a lot of technical mistakes, I floated a lot of hurdles," said Merritt. "Hopefully, next time I won’t make those mistakes and run a clearer race; then, who knows? Initially disqualified but then reinstated, Jamaica's Kaliese Spencer ran strongly to clock 53.78 in the 400m Hurdles with Britain’s Perri Shakes-Drayton second in 54.08, just 0.06 ahead of Czech Republic's Olympic bronze medallist Zuzana Hejnova.
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Russia’s Olympic champion, Natalya Antyukh, held a slight lead at the halfway mark but then started to fade, eventually crossing the line fourth with 54.95. Kenya's Mercy Cherono made up for missing the Olympics with a thrilling victory over her compatriot Vivian Cheruiyot in the women’s 3000m, winning by a 0.01 in 8:40.21. After running such a tactically astute 800m in Lausanne, Kenya’s Pamela Jelimo allowed herself to get boxed in when the serious racing started and she could only watch as the Olympic champion Mariya Savinova raced away to win in 2:00.40. Zürich, Switzerland, 30 August Usain Bolt’s 19.66 meeting record in the 200m and 18-year-old Mohammed Aman’s shock 800m win over Olympic and World champion David Rudisha provided the highlights of the famous Weltklasse meeting which formed the first of the two 2012 Diamond League finals. A total of 15 Diamond Race, and the $40,000 prize that accompanies them, were awarded - with the men’s and women’s Shot Put winners being the first to secure their prizes having competed the day before - in front of a sell-out crowd of 26,000 who packed Letzigrund Stadium despite steady rain and unseasonably cool temperatures. By the time Bolt was adjusting his blocks for the 200m, the downpour had finally relented but the temperatures had dipped to a chilly 14 degrees. However, the cold didn’t seem to affect the double Olympic champion, nor his compatriot Nickel Ashmeade, who pushed, and even threatened Bolt for two-thirds of the contest. The pair were almost even off the curve and into the stretch, until Bolt finally pulled away and beat the 19.79 meeting record set by US sprinter Wallace Spearmon two years ago. However, Ashmeade’s 19.85 personal best secured him with the overall Diamond Race victory. Rudisha’s victor had a familiar face: it had been the Ethiopian teenager Aman who had ended the Kenyan’s winning streak at 26 just under a year earlier in Milan. Running in similarly rainy conditions to that race in Italy, Aman’s stunned the new Olympic champion as he ran a 1:42.53 national record. As he crossed the line, the collective shock expressed by the crowd was palpable. The two entered the straight almost together, beginning a stride-for-stride battle until Aman, this year’s World Indoor champion, just edged ahead with 40 metres to go. "I am incredibly thankful to win in front of this audience with a new PB and national record," said Aman, whose previous best of 1:43.20 came in the Olympic final where he finished sixth. "It was a difficult race but I was in good shape." With his victory here, Aman also lifted the Diamond Race trophy, totalling 14 points to Rudisha’s 12. Olympic 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, beaten twice by World champion Carmelita Jeter in Diamond League races in the wake of the London 2012 Games, ended the latter’s two-year reign as Diamond Race winner and took full advantage of the fact that the climactic meeting offered double points. Her winning time of 10.83 was 0.14 ahead of the American and put her six points ahead in the overall standings. In the men’s 100m, not on the Diamond Race schedule in Zurich, victory went to Bolt’s training partner Yohan Blake in 9.76. "I’m not surprised that after the Olympics I’m coming out so strong and so fast," said the double Olympic silver medallist Blake, who sliced 0.01 from the meeting record set by fellow Jamaican Asafa Powell in 2006. "Next year I can even be better," he warned.
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It was always a long shot for Sanya Richards-Ross to win the 400m Diamond Race but the Olympic champion did end her season with a convincing victory over Amantle Montsho, 50.21 to 50.33, pulling away over the final five strides. Montsho’s runner-up finish gave her 20 points in the series, four more than Richards-Ross. Puerto Rico's 400m Hurdles silver medallist Javier Culson only managed fifth place on the night but he had an insurmountable points lead arriving in Zurich. The final race was won by United States' Angelo Taylor in 48.29. Dawn Harper, also an Olympic silver medallist, secured the Diamond Race in the 100m Hurdles with a final victory in 12.59 to take her points tally to 16, four ahead of Olympic bronze medallist Kellie Wells, who was third here in 12.69. An embarrassing lapse in concentration cost Sofia Assefa victory in the 3000m Steeplechase, not to mention the US$40,000 prize and Diamond Trophy that would have gone with it. The 24-year-old Ethiopian initially finished first in 9:21.32, which would have been enough to win her the overall prize for the series, but her celebrations were short-lived as she was soon disqualified for running inside the cones coming into the water jump for the final time. Her compatriot Etenesh Diro Neda took the win in 9:24.97. Although she finished well down in ninth, after suffering a fall over a hurdle, Kenya’s Milcah Chemos lifted the Diamond Race trophy for the third consecutive year with 12 points. There was no stopping Abeba Aregawi in the 1500m as the 22-year-old Ethiopian ended her breakthrough season with a Diamond Race victory in the event. At the end of a tactical contest, she was the picture of calm when she crossed the line in 4:05.29, more than a second clear of Kenya's Mercy Cherono who was the runner up in 4:06.42. The men's 5000m Diamond Race was largely up for grabs, and Isiah Koech took full advantage of the situation. The 18-year-old, who finished fifth in the Olympic Games, out-sprinted several more experienced rivals to take the victory in 12:58.98 and clinch the title with 17 points. Kenya's Olympic bronze medallist over the distance, Thomas Longosiwa, and 13 years Koech's senior, was second in 12:59.24 while Bernard Lagat, fourth in London and at 37 more than twice Koech’s age, finished third in a season’s best of 12:59.92. Yelena Sokolova’s victory in the Long Jump with 6.92m gave the Russian 22 points, which were enough to take the Diamond Race. In the men’s High Jump, which began in the early evening’s long steady rain, Russia's Olympic champion Ivan Ukhov won with 2.31m, but the Diamond Race went to Britain’s Robbie Grabarz who was second with 2.28m and totalled 17 points. In the Javelin Throw, Finland's former World champion Tero Pitkamaki made it two Diamond League victories in a row courtesy of an 85.27m final round throw to defeat compatriot and Olympic bronze medallist Antti Ruuskanen, who had reached 83.36m in round four. However, Czech Republic’s European champion Vitezslav Vesely earned the Diamond Race victory in the Javelin Throw, despite finishing fourth with 80.54m. In terms of the Diamond Trophy chase, there was little suspense in the first three events on the rainy programme with Olympic champions Sandra Perkovic, Renaud Lavillenie and Christian Taylor having clinched the series titles in the women’s Discus Throw, Pole Vault and Triple Jump, respectively, before their arrival in Zurich.
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Perkovic produced a win with an effort of 63.97m, and Lavillenie was also victorious with a modest 5.70m clearance. However, Italy’s Olympic bronze medallist Fabrizio Donato rained on Taylor’s parade and won with 17.29m. Competing the day before the main meeting, and in front of an energized crowd at Zurich’s main train station, Valerie Adams and Reese Hoffa won their respective Shot Put competitions with 21.64m and 20.81m, the latter a meeting record. Both thus confirmed their overall victory in the Diamond Race. Brussels, Belgium, 7 September Olympic 110m Hurdles champion Aries Merritt finally put it all together in the final Diamond League meeting of the season to take 0.07 off the World record at the Memorial van Damme meeting, lowering the mark to 12.80. Running before a capacity crowd of 47,000 at the King Baudouin Stadium, Merritt obliterated the previous World record of 12.87 set by Cuba's Dayron Robles in Ostrava in 2008. The last time a high hurdles World record had been broken by such a margin was in 1981 when Renaldo Nehemiah clocked 12.93 in Zurich to lower his own mark by 0.07. After a series of performances in the 12.90s this season, it seemed just a matter of time before Merritt would eclipse Robles’ mark and it was clear that this was to be the night before the race even reached 60 metres. Fast from the gun, Merritt had already pieced together a sizeable lead by the third barrier which was then extended over the next four. He initially appeared to stop the clock at 12.81 before his time was adjusted down. "It was a shock when I saw the time pop up on the scoreboard," said Merritt, whose previous personal best was 12.92. "That was better than I ever could have expected. And later it was even corrected to 12.80. Unbelievable." With his victory, Merritt also claimed the Diamond Race trophy in the event with 18 points. World champion Jason Richardson also had 18 points, but lost out because he won only two races to his fellow American’s three. The American was one of 15 athletes who ended the evening at least $40,000 richer and with a Diamond Race trophy in their hands. Another was Usain Bolt in the 100m, his first since the inception of the series in 2010, and a victory in 9.86 was sufficient. Local hero Kevin Borlee delighted home spectators as he secured the Diamond Race with a 400m victory in 44.75, coming home ahead of his twin brother Jonathan, whose strong finish helped push Dominican Republic's Olympic silver medallist Luguelin Santos into fourth and out of the points. There was a tie between Kevin Borlee and Santos, with both men having 10 points, and each had collected one victory on the Diamond League circuit, but the Diamond Race went to the Belgian with his better performance in the final. US sprinter Charonda Williams finished third in the 200m behind Ivory Coast winner Myriam Soumare, who clocked 22.63, but that was enough for the American to claim the Diamond Race with 12 points.
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Second place in the 800m behind Burundi teenager Francine Niyonsaba, who won in a national record 1:56.59, was enough to secure overall victory for Kenya’s 2008 Olympic champion Pamela Jelimo. Kenya's Silas Kiplagat won the 1500m Diamond Race after taking the final in 3:31.98, finishing 0.12 ahead of Ethiopia’s Mekonnen Gebremehdin. Kiplagat's total rose to 16 points and he finished two ahead of fellow Kenyan Asbel Kiprop who, after missing two weeks of training, could only finish fifth in the Belgian capital. Another Kenyan win went to Vivian Cheruiyot, who powered away from the 5000m field over the final 300 metres to take the race on the track and the Diamond Race. The 2012 Olympic 5000m silver and 10,000m bronze medallist clocked 14:46.01 with her compatriot Mercy Cherono second in 14:47.18. Cheruiyot finished with 18 points in the Diamond Race, two more than Cherono. Kenya's Paul Kipsiele Koech started the 3000m Steeplechase holding an insurmountable 11-point lead, so there was no drama in the Diamond Race for this particular event, but there was a point to prove for another Kenyan, the 2008 Olympic champion Brimin Kipruto, who fell in the London final in the defence of his title the previous month and finished a distant fifth. Here, Kipruto ran cleanly en-route to an 8:03.11 victory, comfortably ahead of his impressive 17-year-old namesake Conseslus Kipruto, the reigning World youth and junior champion, who clocked 8:03.49, while Koech was third in 8:04.01. With a nine-point lead, Kaliese Spencer’s victory in the 400m Hurdles Diamond Race was a given, but the Jamaican underscored her season-long consistent form with a strong 53.69 victory despite a badly taken final hurdle. Britain’s Perri Shakes-Drayton was almost able to take advantage but finished second in 53.89. The first result on the infield came in the men’s Discus Throw when Estonia's 2008 Olympic champion Gerd Kanter, this year’s Olympic bronze medallist, claimed his first Diamond Race trophy after winning with a 66.84m effort in the third round. "For two years I was close but I didn’t have a good final," said Kanter. "But today I had my best performance in a 2012 Diamond League meeting." Russian long jumper Aleksandr Menkov rode his late season form all the way to the Diamond Race title and won with a personal best of 8.29m here. One of the closest battles in a women’s Diamond Race came in the Pole Vault where, in the end, just two points separated Germany's overall winner Silke Spiegelburg from Brazil's 2011 World champion Fabiana Murer. On the night, Spiegelburg managed 4.75m with Murer only going over 4.65m. US high jumper Chaunte Lowe, whose Diamond Race victory was already secure, bowed out at 1.92m in a competition which Russia's Olympic bronze medallist Svetlana Shkolina won with 2.00m. Kazakhstan's 2012 Olympic champion Olga Rypakova dominated the women’s Triple Jump, reaching 14.72m to take a decisive victory, and with it the Diamond Race with 24 points. Another Olympic champion, Czech Republic's Barbora Spotakova, added eight points to her already unassailable lead in the Javelin Throw with a 66.91m victory. Away from the Diamond League programme, Yohan Blake returned to the track where he had produced his 19.26 breakthrough a year earlier and won in 19.54, while the 10000m was won by Kenya's Emmanuel Bett, who had finished fourth in the Kenyan trials but here produced a 2012 world-leading time of 26:51.16.
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TV VIEWING FIGURES: 2010-2012
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2013 IAAF DIAMOND LEAGUE SEASON
2013 MEETING DATES Doha, QAT – Fri 10 May Shanghai, CHN – Sat 18 May New York, USA – Sat 25 May Eugene, USA – Sat 1 Jun Rome, ITA – Thu 6 Jun Oslo, NOR – Thu 13 Jun Birmingham, GBR – Sun 30 Jun Lausanne, SUI – Thu 4 Jul Paris, FRA – Sat 6 Jul Monaco, MON – Fri 19 Jul London, GBR – Fri 26 / Sat 27 Jul Stockholm, SWE – Thu 22 Aug Zürich, SUI – Thu 29 Aug Brussels, BEL – Fri 6 Sep
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IAAF DIAMOND LEAGUE SEASON (DIAMOND RACE) per discipline in 2013 TRACK
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IAAF DIAMOND LEAGUE SEASON (DIAMOND RACE) per discipline in 2013 FIELD
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HOST BROADCASTER
PER EACH
IAAF DIAMOND LEAGUE MEETING
Venue Broadcaster
Birmingham BBC
Brussels VRT
Doha Al Jazeera
Eugene NBC
Lausanne RTS, SRG SSR
London BBC
Monaco Canal +
New York NCP
Oslo NRK
Paris Canal +
Rome RAI
Shanghai CCTV
Stockholm SVT
Zurich SF
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2013 SEASON The fourth season of the IAAF Diamond League will blast out of the blocks on 10 May 2013 in Doha, Qatar. The structure of the IAAF Diamond League follows the successful format of the first three seasons, and with the 14 meeting circuit straddling the pinnacle event of the IAAF Competition Programme, the 2013 IAAF World Championships, Moscow, Russia (10 to 18 August), the action is going to be hot as athletes battle for qualification marks and team places in the run-in to Moscow 2013, and look for revenge or defend their newly won reputations in their post championship campaigns. WORLD’S TOP STARS GUARANTEED The top stars of athletics will once again be taking part in the IAAF Diamond League in 2013. After three seasons the goal of ensuring head-to-head competition between the best athletes in the world has been achieved in almost every event discipline. The names of the participating athletes in 2013 will be announced on a meeting by meeting basis as was the case during the first three seasons.
Get set for a new season of the very best of the best of track and field Get set for the IAAF Diamond League 2013 Follow all the news and LIVE Results on - www.diamondleague.com
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CONTACT DETAILS DIAMOND LEAGUE AG Sumpfstrasse 5 PO Box 224 6312 Steinhausen Switzerland Tel: +41 41 500 23 40 General media email - [email protected] Website - www.diamondleague.com Facebook - www.diamondleague.com/facebook Twitter - http://twitter.com/Diamond_League Petr Stastny, General Coordinator & CFO [email protected] PARTNERS Title: IAAF Statistics: All-Athletics Timing: Omega INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ATHLETICS FEDERATIONS 17 rue Princesse Florestine BP 359, MC98007, MONACO Tel: +377 93 10 8888 Fax: +377 93 15 9515 Website - www.iaaf.org General media email concerning IAAF Diamond League- [email protected] Nick Davies, Communications Director [email protected] Mobile: +33 607 936 285
Chris Turner, Editorial Senior Manager [email protected] Mobile: +33 678 630 791
IMG (SWEDEN) AB Stureplan 4C 114 35 Stockholm Sweden Tel: +46 8 506 224 00 Patrik Bauer Head of Production Tel: +46 8 506 224 75 Mobile: +46 705 44 97 66 [email protected]
Kristian Hysén Business Affairs Director Tel: +46 850 62 24 72 Mobile: +46 708 66 16 14 [email protected]
Ann Loggert Project Manager / Sales Entertainment & Formats Tel: +46 8 506 224 74 Mobile: +46 706 28 99 68 [email protected]
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IAAF DIAMOND LEAGUE MEETINGS BIRMINGHAM Meeting Director: Cherry Alexander Sainsbury’s Grand Prix – Birmingham [email protected] British Athletics Alexander Stadium Walsall Road Birmingham B42 2BE UK General email: [email protected] Press Chief: Sophie Ashcroft [email protected] BRUSSELS Meeting Director: Wilfried Meert Belgacom Memorial Van Damme [email protected] Memorial Van Damme NV Marathonlaan 119 a 1020 Brussels Belgium General email: [email protected] Press Chief: Gert Van Goolen [email protected] DOHA Meeting Director: Dahlan Jumaan Al-Hamad
Doha 2013 [email protected]
Qatar Association of Athletics Federation PO Box 8139 Doha Qatar General email: [email protected] Press Chief: Fahad Al Hajri [email protected] & [email protected] EUGENE Meeting Director: Tom Jordan Prefontaine Classic [email protected] 2110 Fairmount Blvd Eugene OR 97403 USA General email: [email protected] Press Chief: Jeff Oliver [email protected]
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LAUSANNE Meeting Director: Jacky Delapierre Athletissima [email protected] Case postale 56 1041 Poliez-le Grand Switzerland General email: [email protected] Press Chief: Pierre-André Pasche [email protected] LONDON Meeting Director: Cherry Alexander Sainsbury’s Anniversary Games [email protected] British Athletics Alexander Stadium Walsall Road Birmingham B42 2BE UK General email: [email protected] Press Chief: Sophie Ashcroft [email protected] MONACO Meeting Director: Jean-Pierre Schoebel Herculis [email protected] Fédération Monégasque d’Athlétisme Stade Louis II 98000 Monaco General email: [email protected] Press Chief: Lydie Calvas [email protected] NEW YORK Meeting Director: Mark Wetmore Adidas Grand Prix [email protected] Global Athletics & Marketing 437 Boylston Street Floor #4 Boston MA 02116 U.S.A. General email: [email protected] Press Chief: Sara Hunninghake [email protected]
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PARIS Meeting Director: Laurent Boquillet Meeting Areva [email protected] Stade de France ZAC du Cornillon Nord 93216 Saint-Denis La Plaine cedex France General email: [email protected] Press Chief: Laurence Dacoury [email protected] ROME Meeting Director: Luigi D’Onofrio Golden Gala [email protected] Federazione Italiana Di Atletica Leggera Via Flaminia Nuova 830 00191 Roma Italy General email: [email protected] Press Chief: Marco Sicari [email protected] OSLO Meeting Director: Steinar Hoen ExxonMobil Bislett Games [email protected] Bislett Alliansen PO Box 5889 Majorstua 0308 Oslo Norway
General email: [email protected]
Press Chief: Anne Kullebund [email protected] SHANGHAI Meeting Director: Jos Hermens IAAF Diamond League Shanghai Event Coordinator: Ellen van Langen Global Sports Communication [email protected] Snelliusstraat10 6532 XB Nijmegen General email: [email protected]
Press Chief: Co-ordinator from the Netherlands – Marleen Vink - Rennings
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STOCKHOLM Meeting Director: Anders Tallgren DN Galan [email protected] Stadionklubbarnas Service Stockholm AB PO Box 26099 S-100 41 Stockholm Sweden General email: [email protected] Press Chief: Johan Storåkers [email protected] Accreditation & Technical Media Manager: John-Eric Ericsson [email protected] ZURICH Meeting Director: Patrick Magyar Weltklasse Zürich [email protected] Geschäftsstelle Baslerstrasse 30 8048 Zurich Switzerland General email: [email protected]
Press Chief: Janine Geigele [email protected]
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MEDIA ACCREDITATION
The IAAF Diamond League operates a centralised on-line media accreditation system for all 14 meetings. Accreditation for the 2013 season began on 8 March 2013.
MEDIA ACCREDITATION
APPLY ON-LINE
www.diamondleague.com