"I really hate hurdle seven" - Best Quotes of 2024

It's no secret that there is little love lost between Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Josh Kerr. While the Norwegian has been one of the most consistent performers in the 1500m in recent years, Kerr's stunning victory at the World Championships in 2023 sparked a rivalry which would continue well into this season. After breaking another European record in Monaco in mid-season, Ingebrigtsen delivered what appeared to be a thinly veiled barb to his British counterpart: "The difference is that I am always here. It's easy to be lucky if you show up once. What is difficult is to succeed in 100 out of 100 races."

2024 was a big year for French sprint hurdler Sasha Zhoya, who claimed his first ever Diamond League win on home soil in Paris before going on to win a first series title in Brussels. As he prepared to face his hero Grant Holloway in Monaco - a race he ultimately lost - Zhoya explained why the Diamond League is so special: "There's a higher chance of a fast race in the Diamond League than there is in the Olympics or the World Championships," he said. 

All the talk ahead of the Monaco meeting was of the men's 400m hurdles and a rare head-to-head between the three GOATs of the discipline: Alison Dos Santos, Karsten Warholm and Rai Benjamin. Amid all the trash talk, mutual admiration and pre-race nerves at the press conference, there was also a curious admission from Dos Santos. It turns out the Brazilian really can't stand hurdle seven. 

The men's 400m final was one of the highlights of the Olympic Games in Paris, as Quincy Hall snatched victory at the last from in-form favourite Matthew Hudson-Smith, with both men running a PB and Hudson-Smith breaking his own European record. Reflecting on a mad race at the first Diamond League meeting back in August, Hudson-Smith observed wryly: "I said if someone is going to win it, they are going to have to take it from me. Quincy took that literally."

Ah, Karsten Warholm. A world record holder, a multiple Diamond League champion and a man whose way with words is, let's say, inimitable. Asked whether his ice-cool Norwegian veins would be able to deal with the sweltering summer temperatures in Silesia last August, the Norwegian replied in unprintable, and unforgettable style: "Vikings don't give a ****".

The prize for understatement of the year goes to...serial winner Mondo Duplantis. Also unfazed by the Polish heat, the Swedish star jumped 6.26m in Silesia, breaking the world record for the tenth time in his career and the third time that season. Afterwards, he chivalrously noted that the competition had also been defined by six-metre jumps for both Sam Kendricks and Emmanouil Karalis, saying: "the pole vault is in a really good spot right now". You could argue it has never been in a better spot.

Olympic long jump champion Tara Davis-Woodhall made fans across the globe with her success this season, and at the Diamond League in Rome, she showed once again why she is now one of the sport's most impressive personalities. A day before claiming her first ever Diamond League win, the American opened up eloquently about her past struggles with mental health. "I've had my struggles in the past, but now I want to share the joy of life," she said. 

Another athlete who opened up in Rome was Gianmarco Tamberi. The press conference ahead of his home meeting turned into a rather intimate session, as the multiple Diamond League champion spoke frankly about his pain over an Olympics ruined by untimely illness. He also explained that hsi misfortune had prompted a rethink of his career plans, and persuaded him to abandon his idea to retire after Paris 2024. That turned out to be a good decision, as the Italian went on to win the Diamond Trophy in Brussels. 

The next episode of the Ingebrigtsen-Kerr rivalry came in Zurich, as the two men prepared to line up against each other in the 1500m. At a distinctly frosty pre-race press conference, they were both asked to name the thing they most admired in the other. Kerr's laconic response? "His dress sense is probably his best quality." Ouch. 

Ingebrigtsen won in Zurich, setting him up for another victory in Brussels a week later which saw him claim his fourth Diamond Trophy in three years. As usual, the Norwegian took it all in his big, confident stride. "This is my fourth trophy. Or rather: it's only my fourth trophy. I hope to win many more," he declared after the triumph in Belgium.