The IAAF Doha Diamond League sets new records in track-and-field

The IAAF Diamond League is an annual competition that consists of multiple different types of athletics. It is not, however, a competition that most people are used to and aware of. The IAAF Diamond League is a bit more complicated than most other well-known competitions like the Olympics, World Games, and even the E-Games, containing more events and meets, as well as a complex competition history.

The IAAF Diamond League began in the year of 2010 and is designated to replace the IAAF Golden League. The goal of this League is to enhance the worldwide appeal of athletics outside of Europe. The League is an elite series of track-and-field competitions. The IAAF Diamond League takes place in different venues every year, such as well known cities like Shanghai, London, Rome, and Doha in this year’s edition of the competition. Then, the winners will be decided in the last two meets, the Weltklasse Zürich and the AG Insurance Memroial Van Damme, which take place in Zürich, Switzerland and Brussels, Belgium.

On the morning of May 3, the IAAF Doha Diamond League, or the Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix, was held at Doha, Qatar. This competition was the Diamond League’s first meeting this year. During this meet, there were many different track and field events held for both genders. Most of the races were greeted by ambitious athletes, who ended up breaking records in their respective events, which included world records, Diamond League records, and Doha meet records. The records broken were in the men’s discus throw, women’s 400 meter hurtles, and women’s 800 meter events. Daniel Stahl was wrote his name in the record books after hurling a crunching 70.56 meter throw in the discus throw. Dalilah Muhammad was able to run fast enough and jump far enough to break the last three records, with a speed of 53.61 seconds for the 400 meter hurtles. Caster Semenya was able to show her quick feet and break the record for the 800 meter run too.

After seeing the efforts of the athletes in the Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix, it is hard not to imagine the improvements that would be seen in the next edition of the IAAF Diamond league, which will be taking place at Shanghai on May 18. Stay tuned for the Shanghai Golden Gran Prix.

Featured Image- Daniel Stahl throwing disk to break three records in one try Photo Courtesy of Jiro Mochizuki

by Andy Kim