Diamond League 2023 schedule: From Doha to Eugene the world’s best athletes eye glory
India’s javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will start his Diamond League 2023 season in Doha on May 5. Know here details of the full season.
Athletics
The Diamond League 2023 athletics season will start in Doha on May 5 and will conclude with the final scheduled in Eugene, USA on September 16 and 17.
The Hayward Field in Eugene will be the first stadium outside Europe to host the Diamond League final.
Last season, Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian to win a Diamond League trophy after clinching the men’s javelin throw title at the Diamond League 2022 finals held in Zurich last September.
Neeraj Chopra, the reigning Olympic champion, will be looking to defend his crown this season and starts his Diamond League 2023 campaign with the Doha leg, to be held at the Suheim bin Hamad Stadium in Qatar.
Diamond League format
The Diamond League is a series of athletic meets, comprising track and field events, held annually. The meets are held in different cities across the globe.
The Diamond League competition, which came into existence in 2010, is organised by World Athletics. It was established to replace the IAAF Golden League, which was held since 1998.
The Diamond League athletics series is held from May to September every year and culminates with the season-ending Diamond League finals. Considered as top-tier World Athletics tournaments, the Diamond League meets feature some of the elite athletes from across the world every year.
The number of meets in a particular season of Diamond League is generally 14, including the finals, but the number has varied occasionally.
For instance, it was reduced to eight in 2019 due to COVID-19 and there were 13 meets in the Diamond League programme in 2022. The 2023 Diamond League season, though, will revert to 14 meets, including the finals in Eugene.
Points are awarded to athletes based on their performances in each Diamond League leg and the top six athletes in each event qualify for the final. The winner of the final in each event gets awarded with a Diamond League trophy.
Each Diamond League leg features a variety of track and field events, including sprints, middle-distance running, hurdles, jumps, throws and relays. The number of sports competed at a particular Diamond League leg, however, varies and only the final features all the events.
For instance, only the Doha, Lausanne, Monaco and Zurich meets in the 2023 Diamond League season will feature the men’s javelin throw event. So Neeraj Chopra will only be targeting these meets in order to make the cut for the finale in Eugene.