LONDON: The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Council has approved the changes recommended by its General Assembly towards the Diamond League, which are set to be implemented from 2020.
The governing body of athletics conducted a year-long review which included detailed research and discussions with athletes, coaches, fans and broadcasters.
It announced that instead of the present 32 events held of the Diamond League every year, that number will go down to 24 (12 men’s, 12 women’s). There will be an enhanced single final event at the end of the season, which will feature all the core disciplines. The winners of the IAAF Diamond League final will be given automatic qualification to the World Championships.
The longest race will be pegged at a distance of 3000 metres. All these races will be broadcast on television which will be paced quicker at a duration of 90 minutes for better viewing.
The world rankings process and global calendar will also be reviewed further for more improvements. The IAAF will also focus on innovating on out of the stadium field events for fan engagement.
As of 2018, the Diamond League was viewed by 360 million fans across 172 countries globally with 789 athletes from 34 nations participating it. The total prize money was worth $8 million, an amount which will remain for the 2019 season but is expected to change from 2020.
The IAAF Council also took other important decisions such as the qualification pathway of the Olympic 2020 Games in Tokyo. The window for the same will start on 1 May to include competitions such as the Diamond League, ending on 29 June 2020.
The qualification period for the marathon and 50km race walk will close at the end of May 2020, to give the qualified athletes more time to prepare specifically for the Games.
A dual qualification system has been introduced, combining both the entry standards and the new world ranking system, to determine which athletes are eligible for the Olympics.
The two ways of qualifying are:
• Achieve the entry standard within the respective qualification period.
• Qualify by virtue of his/her IAAF World Ranking position in the selected event at the end of the respective qualification period.
The process is designed to achieve about 50 percent of the target numbers for each event through entry standards and the remaining 50 percent through the IAAF world ranking system.
The council also agreed that Russia will not be reinstated as an IAAF member as yet. The reasons given are outstanding payments, pending WADA tests and former coaches once again being involved with athletes despite being suspended.
