Looking ahead to the start of 2016 IAAF Diamond League – 2015 highlights

Monaco, April 15, 2016: With just three weeks to the start of the 2016 series of the IAAF Diamond League, which commences in Doha on Friday 6 May, we turn the clock back to last summer and look at the highlights of the sport’s premier circuit of international one-day meetings.

We have picked out 10 magic moments – although there were many others and this is far from an exclusive selection – to whet your appetite for the return of the summer-long series which will culminate in the two IAAF Diamond League finals in Zurich and Brussels, on 1 and 9 September respectively.

This year sees the series expand into a new continent with an African city staging a meeting for the first time, Rabat on 22 May, and also a new points structure which should ensure that even more events in the Diamond Race will be hotly contested at the finals.

MEN’S TRIPLE JUMP, DOHA
Cuba’s Pedro Pablo Pichardo won the triple jump in Doha with 18.06m, beating Olympic champion Christian Taylor by two centimeters in the first competition to see two men surpass the 18-metre barrier.

WOMEN’S 100M HURDLES, DOHA
Another highlight of the meeting was USA’s Jasmin Stowers winning the 100m hurdles in a sizzling 12.35.

WOMEN’S 5000M, SHANGHAI
Almaz Ayana won the 5000m in Shanghai in 14:14.32, the third fastest time ever, setting a meeting record, an Asian all-comers’ record and an IAAF Diamond League record.

MEN’S POLE VAULT, EUGENE
Renaud Lavillenie, the 2014 world athlete of the year, set an outdoor personal best and IAAF Diamond League pole vault record of 6.05m in Eugene.

MEN’S JAVELIN, BIRMINGHAM
Kenya’s Julius Yego won a memorable javelin competition in Birmingham with a final effort of 91.39m, an African and IAAF Diamond League record and the best throw seen since 2006.

MEN’S 400M, PARIS
Wayde van Niekerk became the first African to better 44 seconds for 400m, clocking 43.96 in Paris. The 22-year-old South African also beat Olympic champion Kirani James, who was second in 44.17.

WOMEN’S 1500M, MONACO
Genzebe Dibaba made history in Monaco with a world 1500m record of 3:50.07, surpassing Qu Yunxia’s mark of 3:50.46 set in 1993.

MEN’S 1500M, MONACO
The men’s metric mile was also a highlight in Monaco as Kenya’s Asbel Kiprop became third fastest man in history, missing the world record in his event by just 0.69 when clocking 3:26.69.

MEN’S SHOT PUT, MONACO
Also in Monaco, USA’s Joe Kovacs won the shot put with 22.56m, the best throw seen since 2003 and an IAAF Diamond League record.

MEN’S 5000M, BRUSSELS
In the Brussels men’s 5000m, with whoever winning also taking the Diamond Race, Ethiopia’s 17-year-old Yomif Kejelcha produced a world-leading time of 12:53.98.

2016 IAAF Diamond League calendar
6 May – Doha, QAT
14 May – Shanghai, CHN
22 May – Rabat, MAR
28 May – Eugene, USA
2 Jun – Rome, ITA
5 Jun – Birmingham, GBR
9 Jun – Oslo, NOR
16 Jun – Stockholm, SWE
15 Jul – Monaco, MON
22-23 Jul – London, GBR
25 Aug – Lausanne, SUI
27 Aug – Paris, FRA
1 Sep – Zurich, SUI
9 Sep – Brussels, BEL. —- IAAF