Diamond League CEO Petr Stastny on the impact of new arrivals on the scene and why he believes his series is still best represents the entire sport

“Sometimes new kids on the block catch more attention than those who've been around for a while,” says Petr Stastny. As he chats with AW in mid-April, the CEO of the Wanda Diamond League is considering the recent arrival of fresh events to the athletics calendar and their potential impact.

None has arrived with greater fanfare than Grand Slam Track, a series created by Michael Johnson largely in response to what the former Olympic 200m and 400m champion believes is missing from what the Diamond League offers – namely more head-to-head match-ups and a more coherent structure.

There are other fresh faces too, such as the Athlos meeting which will be staged for a second time in New York this autumn, while world record-holder Ryan Crouser is in the early stages of creating his own shot put league in America, three-time world champion Mutaz Essa Barshim has showcased the high jump via his “What Gravity Challenge” and the first edition of the Neeraj Chopra Classic – named after India’s former Olympic javelin champion – will take place in India later this month.

In recent issues of this magazine, the likes of Crouser and nine-time Olympic champion Carl Lewis have spoken about the need for track and field to fragment, for disciplines to start going their own way if the sport is to survive in between the major championships.

Stastny sees things slightly differently. “If everybody runs their own series, then it will be more fragmented and it will be even more difficult for fans to follow,” he says. “So while I think it is good that there is interest, and while I think it is good that athletes develop their own initiatives, one would have to see how that is transported to the fans – through what channels and how many fans actually can follow these individual activities. That is the same for Athlos or Neeraj Chopra’s throwers.”

With pointed reference to the fact that Diamond League events feature both track and field disciplines, he adds: “We, of course, feel that we represent the entire sport, and we will continue doing that.”

Those whose events are not considered to be “Diamond disciplines” and therefore don’t feature on the Diamond League programme – hammer throwers and 10,000m runners, for example – might have something to say about that statement but, as it reaches its 15th anniversary, the project that was introduced as a replacement to the Golden League in 2010 has already been flexing its muscles.

At the time of writing, the first meeting on the 2025 schedule was yet to take place in Xiamen, while the second is now fast approaching in Shanghai. But before a step was run or a projectile thrown there were some big announcements.

Last month’s press releases proclaimed that Jakob Ingebrigtsen will take on Olympic 1500m champion Cole Hocker and bronze medallist Yared Nuguse in the Bowerman Mile at the Prefontaine Classic in July, for example, while later that month the Norwegian will resume everyone’s favourite middle-distance rivalry with Josh Kerr at a London Athletics Meet that has already sold 50,000 tickets.

“It is the level of performance and also the head-to-heads in many events [that excites me as a fan],” says Stastny, who has been with the Diamond League since the very beginning. “The performance level in 2023 and 2024, with seven world records being broken at Diamond League meetings, is just astonishing. But we cannot build, and we do not build, a product on world records. It’s performances and duels.

“At the start of last season I said that: “We had had the greatest season ever in 2023 it’s very difficult to replicate, we don't build on that” and then I was proven wrong. It was just as good. That was a positive surprise, I would say. The athletes really performed and we will see how it is in 2025 but many are of the opinion that the Diamond League is the series they want to be part of. We pay lower prize money, that is for sure, but we cater for many more athletes at all of our events than any other event.”

That prize money is indeed lower in comparison to others but it’s also true that the Diamond League rewards have never been higher. While Grand Slam Track athletes take home $100,000 for the win in each event, $50,000 for second and $30,000 for third (the “Racers” have a salary too), it’s $10,000 for a Diamond League win this year and $30,000 for victory in the final. There is also the introduction of four “Diamond+” disciplines for each meeting – there are eight for the final – in which athletes will receive $20,000 for an event win, $50,000 at the final.

That, of course, is on top of the outlay of the fees negotiated for an athlete to compete in the first place, while Diamond League winners also receive a wild card entry to the World Athletics Championships.

“We feel that we have a sustainable model when it comes to the sport itself, with series meetings where you can acquire qualification points and then the final at the end of our season,” says Stastny. “That final reaches even further with the wild cards to the championships, be it the World Championships or the Ultimate Championships [World Athletics’ new event for 2026] in future. We also have a sustainable economical model in contrast to some others. So we will see how that goes.”

While Stastny says he welcomes the competition that Grand Slam Track brings, it has already thrown up an intriguing calendar clash. May 3 will see the second Diamond League meeting of the year taking place in Shanghai on a date that represents the midway point of the second Slam of the year, in Miami.

“Both will have top athletes at their events,” he says. “So it is just that the calendar is even more of a challenge than it used to be.”

Which begs the question, will there be enough room for everyone?

“That’s a question I can’t answer because we haven’t tried it yet,” says Stastny. “It doesn't get easier with the calendar. It will be a larger challenge when we have the European Championships, which will not adhere to the World Athletics calendar structure. That's where we will see if there is enough room for everyone.

“The calendar has always been a challenge and it’s not easing. As I already said, it’s good that there are new initiatives but it’s not good when there are date clashes, because that does not really help the athletes. We are happy for them to make money with us and with others but if two main opportunities are staged on the same day, then you kind of rob [some of] the athletes of an opportunity.

“Now, I hope the people don't forget that the Diamond League is still the highest level series we have in this sport.”

Asked for his thoughts on the inaugural Grand Slam Track meeting in Kingston, Stastny simply adds: “I would like to talk about our series. We have a two-hour action-packed programme [at each Diamond League], and the other series has the opposite. It depends what you like. I prefer a two-hour action-packed programme.”

Stastny doesn’t necessarily agree with the idea that the sport of track and field is changing at the moment – more that the landscape around it is evolving, albeit there won’t be any major sporting changes at Diamond League meetings this year.

“We have tried things out in the Diamond League with a final three [in the jumps and throws], and now World Athletics is trying the jump-off zone but it is still athletics – it's running, jumping, throwing and the best wins,” he says. “With some other formats we have seen, it's still running, jumping, throwing, and the fastest and furthest is the winner. We need to reinvent ourselves constantly without changing the essence of the sport.

“We will start our season, and then we will see how we are perceived. Maybe more people will follow the Diamond League. Who knows?”

2025 Diamond League schedule

April 26 - Xiamen (CHN)
May 3 - Shanghai/Keqiao (CHN)
May 16 - Doha (QAT)
May 25 - Rabat (MAR)
June 6 - Rome (ITA)
June 12 - Oslo (NOR)
June 15 - Stockholm (SWE)
June 20 - Paris (FRA)
July 5 - Eugene (USA)
July 11 - Monaco (MON)
July 19 - London (GBR)
August 16 - Silesia (POL)
August 20 - Lausanne (SUI)
August 22 - Brussels (BEL)
August 27 - Zurich (SUI)