Why the Diamond League is the crown jewel of the sport

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,…