How does the 2018 Muller Anniversary Games fit into the IAAF Diamond League series?
The IAAF Diamond League: in short…
The IAAF Diamond League is prestigious and world-class 14-part series which culminates in two separate finals in Brussels & Zurich respectively.
From Shanghai to Rabat, the series stretches far and wide across the world, with the UK being fortunate enough to serve host to two of the 14 meetings, the first of which is in London this year as the Muller Anniversary Games heads to the capital for a two-day meeting from Saturday 21 – Sunday 22 July.
How does the IAAF Diamond League work?
Each year, each of the 14 IAAF Diamond League meetings will be allocated a total of 14 official Diamond League events* which are to take place at their event.
For context, Diamond League events at the 2018 Muller Anniversary Games will include the women’s 200m and men’s long jump, within which athletes can earn points towards qualifying for the final at which their event is to take place. In the case of the aforementioned events, the women’s 200m final will take place in Zurich and the men’s long jump in Brussels.
*IAAF Diamond League events in London are as below:
MEN: 100m, 400m, 800m, 5000m, long jump, pole vault
WOMEN: 200m, 1 mile, 100m hurdles, 400m hurdles, high jump, long jump, discus, javelin
And how does the scoring and route to the finals work?
Based on their finishing place, athletes can earn a maximum of 8 points for the win, with 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1 points then awarded for ranking 2nd to 8th respectively.
Come the conclusion of meeting 12/14, the final stop of the IAAF Diamond League series at which athletes can score points to qualify through to their event final, the top 8 or 12 athletes (depending on the discipline) will then be awarded a start in the final of their event in either Zurich or Brussels*.
*Using the women’s 200m, for example, athletes will be able to pick up points in Shanghai, Rome, Paris, Rabat, London and Birmingham as they compete for a place at the Brussels final – the breakdown of which events are to take place where can be found here.
Is there anything else of note to be aware of at this year’s Muller Anniversary Games?
With London being stop 11/14 of the 2018 IAAF Diamond League series, the two-day meeting at the London Stadium will mark the final chance for athletes to secure qualification points in a handful of events.
On the women’s side this includes the high jump, javelin, 100m hurdles and discus, with male competitors in the long jump, pole vault and 5000m also being offered a final opportunity to score qualification points in a bid to make their respective event final.
Can other events take place aside from official IAAF Diamond League events?
Yes, be it development races for young athletes or accompanying world-class events containing global stars, typically each of the 14 IAAF Diamond League meetings add additional events.
Of the additional events at last year’s Muller Anniversary Games, Britain’s race-walker Tom Bosworth stole many a headline as he walked to a world record over 1 mile, while Sir Mo Farah also took a popular victory in the 3000m.
Additional events for 2018’s Muller Anniversary Games programme are below:
MEN: 200m, 1500m, 4x100m, 110m hurdles, 400m hurdles
WOMEN: 100m, 400m, 800m, 3000m, 4x100m
The events set to take place at the 2018 Muller Anniversary Games can be found here.
The home page for the IAAF Diamond League can be found here.