17 April, 2024

Ten things to look out for in the 2024 Wanda Diamond League

Photo: Matthew Quine

From the return of defending champions and world record holders such as Mondo Duplantis and Faith Kiypegon to the debut of two new cities in Suzhou and Marrakech, there is plenty to look forward to in the 2024 Wanda Diamond League season.

The 2024 Wanda Diamond League season kicks off in Xiamen this Saturday, with Mondo Duplantis, Fred Kerley and Sha'Carri Richardson launching their campaigns in athletics' premier global one-day series. Here are ten things to look out for ahead of the season launch in China.

Bumper season

In a fitting twist of fate for the Diamond League's 15th anniversary, the 2024 season will contain 15 meetings, making it the biggest Diamond League campaign ever. The season begins in Xiamen this Saturday, and will touch down in four different continents over the course of the summer as the world's best athletes battle it out for points and a place in the season finale in Brussels on September 13th-14th.

China at the double

Saturday's season launch in Xiamen will be the first of two meetings in China which kick off the 2024 campaign. The traditional Shanghai meeting returns to the series calendar this year, albeit with a change of location to neighbouring Suzhou. As well as international stars such as Tobi Amusan, Hansle Parchment and Mondo Duplantis, the opening two events will also see Chinese stars such as discus thrower Gong Lijiao and javelin star Liu Shiying strut their stuff in front of the home crowd.

New cities

Suzhou will make its debut on the Diamond League circuit on April 27th, making it the third Chinese city ever to host a Wanda Diamond League meeting. It will not be the only new location in the series this year, however, with Marrakech also set to make its Diamond League debut when it hosts the Meeting International Mohammed VI - usually held in Rabat - on May 19th.

Title defenders

The ultimate prize in any Diamond League season is the series title, which comes with the iconic Diamond Trophy and USD 30,000 in prize money. Several of the stars who will hit the track in Xiamen on Saturday are Diamond Trophy holders who will be out to defend their titles in 2024. Swedish pole vault star Mondo Duplantis, for example, is eyeing a fourth successive title as he continues his steady progress towards Renaud Lavillenie's series record of seven.

Record hunters

Last year proved to be a historic season in Wanda Diamond League history, with no fewer than eight world records broken in the course of the campaign. Many of those who made history in 2023, including Mondo Duplantis and Kenyan distance star Faith Kipyegon, will be hoping to match their record-breaking feats in 2024. At the same time, the likes of double Diamond Trophy holder Shericka Jackson, US star Sha'Carri Richardson and Jamaican legend Elaine Thompson-Herah will continue their longstanding quest to finally set a new world record in the women's 100m.

World champions in action

Some of the world's biggest stars still have a score to settle in the Diamond League this season. Both Richardson and fellow US sprinter Noah Lyles failed to claim the Diamond Trophy last year despite having recently been crowned 100m world champions in Budapest. They will be looking to set the record straight this year, and will not be the only reigning world champions eyeing Diamond League glory. Some of the stars of this year's World Indoor Athletics Championships in Glasgow will also be in action on the circuit, with Bahamian 60m hurdles world record holder and New Zealand high jump star Hamish Kerr both set to compete in Suzhou.

Return to Rome

From Duplantis' historic 6.15m vault in 2020 to Valerie Adams' still-standing Diamond League shot put record of 21.03m in 2012, Rome's Stadio Olimpico has seen its fair share of iconic Diamond League moments over the years. The series returns to the Italian capital this year, with the Pietro Mennea Golden Gala back in the Stadio Olimpico after a year's break in Florence last season. With the European Championships also set to be staged in Rome this year, it will be the second elite athletics' event of the summer for fans in the Eternal City.

Olympic build-up

Rome may have plenty to look forward to, but for the world's best athletes, it will be less a case of all roads leading to Rome, and more one of all paths pointing to Paris in 2024. The Olympic Games are scheduled for the French capital in July and August, and the ten Wanda Diamond League meetings before that will be the perfect preparation for the world's biggest sporting stage. The Meeting de Paris in particular, which falls just two weeks before the Games on July 7th, will be seen as a Diamond League dress rehearsal for Olympic opening night.

Rivalries resumed

Last season saw some enthralling rivalries on the Diamond League circuit, with Katie Moon and Nina Kennedy slugging it out in the women's pole vault, Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Nicola Olyslagers doing battle in the high jump and Jackson and Richardson squaring up in the sprints. Many of them are set to continue in 2024: Moon and Kennedy will face off again in Doha next month, while double Diamond Trophy holder Jakob Ingebrigtsen will take on long-term rivals Josh Kerr and Yared Nuguse in Eugene.

Back to Brussels

After four continents, 12 counties and 14 series meetings, the most important weekend of the season will finally arrive on September 13th-14th, as the world's biggest stars head to the two-day Wanda Diamond League Final for a shot at the last outdoor global title of the athletics season. This year, the season finale returns to Brussels for the first time since 2019.