Kevin Borlee, photo by PhotoRun.net

The 2014 Diamond League is being announced. The little changes and additions to last year’s league make sense in fine tuning. The League needs a sponsor, which could take it over the top. A savvy global marketer, non-footwear, probably software or auto, could make a lot of sense for the League.

IAAF DIAMOND LEAGUE NEWS

MONACO (MON): The IAAF Diamond League announced the distribution of event disciplines for the 2014 season. Commencing on 9 May 2014 in Doha, the fifth season of the series comprises 14 of the best invitational track and field meetings in the world. The meetings are spread across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the USA, and compose the top tier of the IAAF’s global one-day meeting competition structure. This series of 14 meetings, which began in 2010, showcases 32 event disciplines which are carefully distributed among the meetings. In each of the 32 event disciplines there is a “Diamond Race” with points available throughout the 14-meeting season. Winners of each Diamond Race receive a USD 40 000 cash prize and a spectacular Diamond Trophy, but more importantly they will have shown season-long consistency to earn the unchallenged honour of being the world number one.

MONACO (MON): For example men 100 m (Bolt and the others) will be staged in Shanghai, Eugene, Oslo, Paris, London, Stockholm and Brussels as counting towards the Diamond Race. The meetings could swap events so it happens that in Stockholm men and women long jump will be staged and in Rome men and women triple jump. For next season interesting to see also men 200 m in Doha, Rome, New York, Lausanne, Monaco, Birmingham and Zurich. Men high jump with possibility that Bohdan Bondarenko could attack the world record in Doha, Rome, New York, Lausanne, Monaco, Birmingham and Brussels.

ZURICH (SUI): The Weltklasse Zurich meet on August 28, 2014 as first final of the IAAF Diamond League also informed about two additional events, men 100 m and 4×100 m for women. The meet honoured the â€žErdgas Volunteer of the year 2013″. The award went to Oswald Steif, he is one of the 450 volunteers who are helping to organise the meeting.

ROME (ITA): The Italian leg of IAAF Diamond League confirmed the name of the meet. Also for 2014 it will be Golden Gala Pietro Mennea on June 5 as first meet in Europe in the summer. The additional events will be announced later.

Author

Larry Eder
Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys. Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."
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