Caudery in action as Diamond League heads to Doha

7 hours ago 2

Harry Poole

BBC Sport journalist

The 16th Diamond League season is under way as athletics' Olympic stars build towards their shot at world glory in 2025, with coverage live on the BBC.

The series sees athletes compete for points in 32 disciplines across 14 meetings in a bid to qualify for the winner-takes-all two-day finals in Zurich in August.

That takes place just over a fortnight before the start of the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan in September.

It is also the first year in which the Diamond League must compete with Michael Johnson's new Grand Slam Track for athletes' attention.

However, there has been only one direct clash between the two competitions - with the Miami Slam on 2-4 May having taken place at the same time as the meet in Keqiao, China on 3 May.

The Diamond League has increased its prize money to the highest level in its history, with a total prize pot of $9.24m (£6.95m) on offer across the series.

That includes $500,000 (£375,000) at each of the 14 series meetings, and $2.2m (£1.7m) at the Diamond League final.

BBC Sport has agreed a deal to broadcast the Diamond League for the next five years.

Watch the Doha Diamond League action on the BBC Two, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app from 17:00 to 19:00 BST on Friday.

What to watch out for in Doha

Great Britain's Molly Caudery comes up against Olympic medallists Katie Moon and Alysha Newman in the women's pole vault in her first outdoor competition of the season.

Caudery, world indoor champion in 2024, cleared 4.85m in February, which remains the second best performance in the world this year.

Amber Anning, who became the first British woman to win the 400m world indoor title in March, is joined by Laviai Nielsen in that event, while Jemma Reekie is in 1500m action.

Jamaica's sprint legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce chases a first win on the Diamond League circuit since 2022 in the women's 100m, where she is joined by world indoor 60m champion Mujinga Kambundji of Switzerland and British athlete Amy Hunt.

Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo is the standout name in the men's sprints.

GB's Lawrence Okoye is joined by Olympic bronze medallist Matt Denny, former Olympic champion Daniel Stahl and 2022 world champion Kristjan Ceh in the men's discus.

Key Doha Diamond League timings

15:48 BST - men's discus featuring Lawrence Okoye
16:02 BST - women's pole vault featuring Molly Caudery
17:04 BST - women's 400m featuring Amber Anning and Laviai Nielsen
17:36 BST - women's 100m featuring Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Amy Hunt
18:08 BST - women's 1500m featuring Jemma Reekie
18:22 BST - men's 200m featuring Letsile Tebogo

Hodgkinson's return & what else to look forward to

Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson has announced her return to action at the Stockholm Diamond League on 15 June, where she will compete against a world-class line-up also featuring fellow Britons Georgia Hunter-Bell, the Olympic 1500m bronze medallist, and Reekie.

Hodgkinson will then race in London, where Josh Kerr and rival Jakob Ingebrigtsen will renew their rivalry over 1500m in July.

Sweden's pole vault world record holder Armand Duplantis will next star in Oslo in June, while world record holder Karsten Warholm, Olympic champion Rai Benjamin and reigning Diamond League champion Alison Dos Santos race in the 300m hurdles twice in four days in Oslo and Stockholm.

Five-time Diamond League champion Faith Kipyegon, who will attempt to become the first woman to run a sub-four minute mile in June, contests the 1500m at July's Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, where world 100m champion Sha'Carri Richardson is also in action.

Elsewhere, one of the sport's brightest prospects, Gout Gout - the Australian teenager who has been compared to Usain Bolt - makes his debut appearance in Monaco, contesting an under-23 200m race before the main Diamond League programme.

How does the Diamond League work?

The 2024 Diamond League winners celebrate with their trophies on a podium

Athletes will compete for points at the 14 regular series meetings which started in April and run through to August.

Points are awarded on a scale from eight for first place to one for eighth place.

After the 14th meeting in Brussels, the top six ranked athletes in the field events, the top eight in track events from 100m up to 800m, and the top 10 in the distances from 1500m upwards qualify for the final.

The two-day finals are a winner-takes-all competition to be crowned Diamond League champion in each event.