News APP

NewsApp (Free)

Read news as it happens
Download NewsApp

Available on  gplay

Home  » Sports » Diamond League's mega-rich prize money

Diamond League's mega-rich prize money

September 18, 2024 22:58 IST
Get Rediff News in your Inbox:

Neeraj Chopra

IMAGE: India’s Neeraj Chopra had a best throw of 87.86 metres in men’s Javelin Throw at the Diamond League finals on his third attempt, but it was one centimetre short of eventual winner Anderson Peters's effort. Photograph: Denis Balibouse/Reuters

The Diamond League will increase its prize money to more than $9 million in 2025, the highest in the history of the series, the organisers said on Wednesday.

Athletes will make a total of $18 million, with top athletes also receiving promotional fees. Male and female athletes will be paid at the same rate, the Diamond League said in a statement.

 

"The new total is almost a third higher than the sum paid during the pandemic-affected period of 2021-2024," the statement said, adding that more will be invested in the athletes' travel, transport, accommodation, medical and physio services.

Each of the 14 Diamond League meets of the 2025 regular season, scheduled to kick off in April, will award a total prize money of $500,000, with the final in August offering $2.24 million.

"The total prize money per discipline will be between $30,000 and $50,000 at the series meetings and between $60,000 and $100,000 at the final," the statement added.

The Diamond League's 2024 season concluded in Brussels last week, with Zurich set to host the 2025 final.

The news comes after World Athletics ended a 128-year tradition by paying Olympic champions at the Paris Games $50,000 each and as rival track events try to muscle in on the circuit long seen as the standard-bearer for professional athletics.

Retired American sprinting great Michael Johnson's Grand Slam Track will offer prize money ranging from $100,000 for the winner to $10,000 for the eighth-place finisher at each of four "slams" when the league launches next year.

It will distribute a total of $12.6 million in prize money in 2025.

"In a league of our own," Grand Slam Track wrote in a post on X on Wednesday, with a breakdown of their prize money.

Get Rediff News in your Inbox:
Source: REUTERS
© Copyright 2024 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

Bangladesh's tour of India 2024

Bangladesh's tour of India 2024