How does the Wanda Diamond League work, and who exactly is Wanda?

The Diamond League for track & field could be described as the athletics equivalent of the Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit.  It displays the best of world athletics talent, has seen numerous world records over the last few years, and provides the athletes with a chance to compete for prestige, prizemoney and entry to the Global Major Championships.

So how does it work? 

Athletes compete over a series of meets (this year 14), in mainly European cities, and earn points in their events (8 for first, 7 for second, 6, 5 … etc, so 8th place is last to score).  At the end of the 14 meets, the top athletes on points are invited to compete in their event at the Diamond League final (27th August, Zurich).

The winner at the final is crowned Diamond League champion for that event and receives a Diamond League trophy, which features a big diamond (not real unfortunately), as well as a ‘wild card’ entry into the next World Championship.

Athletes are also competing for prize money. Winners of an event at a series meet receive US$10,000, scaling down to 8th receiving $1,000. “Diamond+” events have been introduced this year, where each series meet will nominate 4 events (2 men and 2 women) that will receive double prize money. A winner in the finals receives $20,000, and a winner of a Double+ event in the finals received $50,000.

The first two Diamond League events will be held in China: Xiamen on 26th April & Shanghai/Keqiao on 3rd May, which is a nice segue into who is Wanda, the Diamond League naming sponsor, and thereby World Athletics' most significant sponsor.

Who is Wanda?

The Dalian Wanda Group is a conglomerate of Chinese companies which its founder, Wang Jianlin, commenced in the late 1980’s, around the beginning of the loosening of private property ownership rights in China. Real estate was the founding sector for the Group.

In 2013, Wang was estimated to be the richest man in China with net worth of over US$20 billion. By then his empire had expanded well beyond real estate, into entertainment & media, hospitality, technology and financial services. It had also started to make significant investments in sports, including football, triathlon, cycling and then athletics.

Wang is also a very generous philanthropist and made what is considered the most significant single donation (US$156 million) in China to restore the Porcelain Tower of Nanjing, the city that hosted the recent World Indoor Championships. The Tower was considered one of the modern seven Wonders of the World until it was destroyed during the Taiping Rebellion in the 1850s.

Australia and the Diamond League

Wanda has not invested significantly in Australia. It acquired Hoyts in 2015, but then started divesting from 2020. While not a country of focus for Wanda investments, Australian athletes have had considerable success at the Diamond League.  Recent Diamond League champions include Nina Kennedy (pole vault 2024, 2022), Matthew Denny (discus 2024, 2023) and Brandon Starc (high jump, 2018). Sally Pearson is Australia’s only track Diamond League champion (100m hurdles, 2017).

Nicola Olyslagers (high jump) has had an incredible 21 podium finishes in her Diamond League career, the most of any Australian, including 5 wins. Stewart McSweyn (middle distance) has been the most successful track athlete in recent times with 14 podiums and 3 wins.

Given the level of competition, many Australians have set their personal bests, and sometimes Australian records, at the Diamond League meets. A good performance can also drastically improve an athlete’s chances of qualifying for the Tokyo World Championships either by achieving the standard or through acquiring significant ranking points given these events are highly rated by World Athletics (specific ‘GL’ rating, above a ‘Cat A’ meet).

So tune in for the first two Wanda Diamond Leagues (Chain being the friendliest time zone for us to watch) and follow the Australian athletes as they compete in one of the highest levels of global athletics competition in preparation for the Tokyo World Championships.

Athletes Mentioned: