Media Information Pack – Diamond Race Doha Diamond League May 6 2016 – Qatar Sports Club The IAAF Diamond League encompasses 32 individual Event Disciplines, with a points scoring ‘Diamond Race’ which runs throughout the 14 meeting series. Each of the disciplines is staged seven times with the top six Athletes being awarded the same amount of points at each meeting with the exception of the Final where the points are doubled. Winners of each Diamond Race will get a Diamond Trophy, a cash prize, a wild card for the IAAF World Championships NEW DIAMOND RACE POINTS SYSTEM DOHA 2015 DIAMOND RACE • Eight athletes who grabbed victory in Doha last season went on to win the Diamond Race. • Pedro Pablo Pichardo's 18.06m jump in Doha last year sparked a thrilling Diamond Race battle between him and Christian Taylor. • Tero Pitkämäki won the men's javelin in Doha last year, eventually going on to become the first Finnish athlete ever to win the Diamond Race. From 2016, the points system will be changed to state that athletes finishing in the top six will all win • Qatari sprinter Femi Ogunode finished fourth points. The new breakdown is as follows: in the 100m Diamond Race last season, after beginning his season with a fifth place 1st place: 10 DR points finish in Doha. •2nd place: 6 DR points •3rd place: 4 DR points •4th place: 3 DR points •5th place: 2 DR points •6th place: 1 DR point In all six previous seasons of the series, athletes could win Diamond Race points at any given meeting by finishing in the top three in their Diamond Race discipline. DIAMOND RACE WINNERS IN DOHA This season sees a whole host of previous Diamond Race winners launch their 2016 campaigns in Doha Christian Taylor Once again, Christian Taylor will open his Diamond League campaign in Doha. The World and Olympic triple jump champion has won the Diamond Race on four occasions, making him one of the most decorated athletes in the competition's history. Last year's triumph saw him overhaul a six-point deficit against Pedro Pablo Pichardo as he stormed to consecutive victories in the last three meetings of the season. Piotr Malachowski Malachowski has three Diamond Trophies to his name, having won the inaugural Diamond Race in the men's discus in 2010, and adding two more titles in the last two years. His journey to victory last season saw him hold off compatriot Robert Urbanek in a gripping cat and mouse duel, eventually winning by just two points. Caterine Ibargüen The Colombian triple jumper has produced incredible statistics in recent times. She finished last season's Diamond League campaign with her 30th consecutive victory, wrapping up a third Diamond Trophy in three years. Ibargüen's brilliance is borne out in her Diamond Race dominance: She finished last season a full 21 points ahead of her closest challenger Olga Rypakova. Christina Schwanitz Valerie Adams has traditionally dominated the women's shot put Diamond Race. Adams' injury- enforced absence last year gave Schwanitz an opportunity, and she took it with aplomb. Five victories in seven meetings saw her win her first Diamond Trophy by a 13 point margin. With Adams back in action this year, Schwanitz will be looking to start her defence with a win in Doha. Mutaz Essa Barshim Qatar's shining star has dazzled in the Diamond League in recent years. After winning a thrilling duel with Bogdan Bondarenko in the 2014 season, Barshim's second Diamond Trophy came in what was a difficult 2015. Despite disappointment at the World Championships and lack of form at certain points, Barshim showed his determination winning mentality when he wrapped up the Diamond Race title in Brussels last September. Diamond Race Events at Doha 2016 Women: 100m, 800m, 3000m, 400m Hurdles, Pole Vault, Triple Jump, Shot Put, Javelin Men: 200m, 400m, 1500m, 3000m Steeplechase, 110m Hurdles, High Jump, Triple Jump, Discus For the majority of these events, the next round of the Diamond Race will be in Rabat on May 22. Exceptions are the men's triple jump (next round: Eugene, May 28) and the men's 1500m (next round: Rome, June 2)..