The 2016 series saw three changes to the format. One of the two American meetings, theAdidas Grand Prix held in New York, was dropped from the calendar in favour of theRabat Meeting in Morocco. This was the first meeting on the calendar to be held in Africa, which had previously been the only northern hemisphere continent not represented on the Diamond League.[2] The second major change was an amendment to the point scoring system. The former model of four points for the winner, two for runner-up and one for third was overhauled with a broader points system giving ten to the winner, six the runner-up and progressively fewer points down to sixth place. The system of double points for the event finals was retained. A third change was the compression of the field events – throws and horizontal jumps allowed three attempts for all athletes, then the top four athletes at that point of the competition were permitted an additional three attempts (as opposed to the previous format of all athletes receiving six attempts).[3]
The programme for Diamond Race events remained unchanged, with a total of 32 events divided evenly between the sexes. On the track, six running events were included for each of the sexes, from100 metres up to5000 metres, and all Olympichurdles andsteeplechase events featured. In the field events, all traditional four jumps were contested and three of the four traditional throwing events were held.Hammer throw remained absent due to restrictions of stadium size. The parallelIAAF Hammer Throw Challenge series catered for that event.
The attempt format for throws and horizontal jumps was amended so that each athlete received three attempts, then the top four athletes received an additional three attempts. This change followed a similar arrangement that was introduced at the2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships. The announcement of the change received a mixed reaction from athletes and fans.[4]
Performances in each of the Diamond Races events received points according to the finishing position of the athletes. The winner of the Diamond Race is the athlete with the greatest number of points by the end of the series. In the event of a tie on points, the victor is the athlete with the most race wins that year. The series winners receive a Diamond Trophy and US$40,000.[5]
There were twelve world leads set at the opening meet of the season in Doha, as well as 4 meeting records at an event which has begun theDiamond League season each of the past 7 years.[7] The women's triple jump proved to be an enthralling contest, as the lead changed hands 5 times betweenCaterine Ibargüen andYulimar Rojas over the course of the 6 rounds. The women's pole vault also provided a spectacle asSandi Morris jumped a height of 4.83 to equal the Diamond League record and set an outdoor world lead.[7] Two Americans,Ameer Webb andLaShawn Merritt, won the men's sprint events, with Webb running 19.85 to go 23rd on the all-time list. All the women's track events had new world leads set, with the most impressive beingAlmaz Ayana's 3000 metres victory, where she ran less than a second outside her personal best to run the 19th fastest race of all time.[8] In the men's field,Christian Taylor returned to the meet where he came within 25 cm of the world record last year, and won his event with 17.23.
Six world leads were set at this meeting, with five meeting records also falling. Two of the best performances of the night came in the women's1500 metres anddiscus throw. Sandra Perković threw 70.88 which although placing 98th on the all time lists, is the second farthest mark this century, behind her throw to win the2014 European Championships.[9] In the 1500 metres, Faith Kipyegon ran aKenyan national record to win, with a time that places her just outside the top 25 female 1500 metres runners of all time. Home favouriteGao Xinglong won the men's long jump, beatingRushwahl Samaai on countback. On the track,Justin Gatlin ran his first100 metres race under 10 seconds this season, to win, beating QatariFemi Ogunode.[10] The men's800 metres was won byFerguson Cheruiyot Rotich, though there was some controversy, asworld record holder andOlympic championDavid Rudisha andBram Som, the pacemaker for the race, were left waiting at the start of the race, having expected a recall due to field athletes being on the track when the gun fired.[11][12][13][14]
The first appearance of the Rabat leg resulted in ten new meeting records for the African venue, as well as four world-leading performances. The four performances wereCaster Semenya's 1:56.64 in the women's 800 m (five hundredths slower than the series record),Almaz Ayana's 14:16.31 in the women's 5000 m (the fifth fastest run ever at that point), an 8:02.77-minute run byConseslus Kipruto in the men's steeplechase (the fastest ever on African soil) and 7:35.85 in the men's 3000 m by home athleteAbdalaati Iguider (also an African all-comers record). On the track, three further meet records came fromElaine Thompson in the women's 100 m,David Oliver in the men's 110 m hurdles, andLaShawn Merritt in the men's 400 m.[15][16][17]
In the field events, South Africa'sRushwahl Samaai cleared 8.38 m (27 ft5+3⁄4 in) in the men's long jump for a meeting record and the best mark ever achieved in Africa. A throw of 67.45 m (221 ft3+1⁄2 in) leftPiotr Małachowski a comfortable winner in the men's discus in a meet record. In the women's triple jumpCaterine Ibargüen had her 33rd straight win. Latvia'sMadara Palameika winning mark of 64.76 m (212 ft5+1⁄2 in) in the women's javelin was a meeting record andEkaterini Stefanidi added nineteen centimetres to the African all-comers record with her win of 4.76 m (15 ft7+1⁄4 in) in the women's pole vault.[15][16][17]
The Eugene meet produced nine world leads, five meet records, three area records, and two series records. The best results came from women's obstacle races. In the 100 m hurdles AmericanKeni Harrison ran the second fastest ever time at 12.24 seconds, three hundredths offYordanka Donkova's world record from 1988 and aNACAC area record.Ruth Jebet of Bahrain became the second woman to finish the steeplechase in under nine minutes, recording anAsian record of 8:59.97 with Kenya'sHyvin Jepkemoi a close runner-up in anAfrican record of 9:00.01.Faith Kipyegon broke her ownKenyan record with a world lead and meet record of 3:56.41 in the 1500 m. Other world leads on the track came fromMuktar Edris (men's 5000 m),Asbel Kiprop (men's mile),Tori Bowie (women's 200 m) andMo Farah (men's non-Diamond race 10,000 m).[18][19][20][21]
The men delivered the best field performances of that year's Prefontaine Classic.Joe Kovacs threw beyond 22 metres for a shot put world lead andChristian Taylor also did so in the triple jump with a meet record of 17.76 m (58 ft 3 in). In the men's javelinIhab Abdelrahman of Egypt threw 87.37 m (286 ft7+3⁄4 in) for a meet record and equal world lead. Among the women field athletes, discus throwerSandra Perković was the only repeat winner, with Diamond leadersLevern Spencer andIvana Španović reduced to runners-up by home athletesChaunté Lowe andBrittney Reese in the jumps.[18][19][20][21]
Almaz Ayana had the best performance of the night at 14:12.59 minutes for the women's 5000 m – this was (at one and a half seconds short ofTirunesh Dibaba's world record) the second fastest time ever and a Diamond League record.Caster Semenya equalled her own world lead of 1:56.64 to take her third straight win in the women's 800 m whileJanieve Russell ran a world lead of 53.96 seconds in the women's 400 m hurdles. The sole world lead of the men's programme came fromConseslus Kipruto – a final-lap fall byJairus Birech left Kipruto to his third steeplechase win in 8:01.41 minutes.[22][23][24]
Six world leads and five meet records resulted from the Birmingham leg. In the women's pole vaultYarisley Silva of Cuba set a Diamond League record of 4.84 m (15 ft10+1⁄2 in). She andMutaz Essa Barshim (2.37 m in the men's high jump) were the only world leads from the field events. On the men's trackConseslus Kipruto had his fourth straight world lead in a steeplechase meet record of 8:00.12.Asbel Kiprop had a world lead and meet record of 3:29.33 minutes in the men's 1500 m. In the men's 400 m,Kirani James had a meet record run of 44.23 seconds. In non-Diamond Race events,Mo Farah had a 3000 m world lead andBritish record of 7:32.62, whileDavid Rudisha set anAfrican record for the rarely run 600 m (also a world lead and meet record).[25][26][27]
In women's track events,Francine Niyonsaba ran a meet record of 1:56.92 in the 800 m, breaking the series run of Caster Semenya (who was absent). Almaz Ayana's win streak was also broken in her absence, withVivian Cheruiyot taking the 5000 m.Keni Harrison continued her streak in the 100 m hurdles with a meet record of 12.46 seconds. The upset of the night came in the women's triple jump, withOlga Rypakova endingCaterine Ibargüen's long-standing win streak by a winning margin of five centimetres.[25][26][27]
The best performance of the2016 Bislett Games was byDafne Schippers, whose run of 21.93 seconds in the women's 200 m was a Diamond League record, meet record and a world lead.Thomas Röhler had the only world lead in the field events at 89.30 m (292 ft11+1⁄2 in) in the men's javelin. The mile events delivered the two other world leads of the meet with Kenya'sAsbel Kiprop andFaith Kipyegon topping the fields there, each with their third Diamond League win of the year.Sandra Perković also had her third straight win.[28][29][30]
In Diamond races,Michael Tinsley's streak was stopped byYasmani Copello in the men's 400 m hurdles, while the absence of AmericansJustin Gatlin (100 m),Christian Taylor (triple jump) andKeni Harrison (100 m hurdles) saw their unbeaten records of the series end. Without Gatlin in the men's 100 m,Andre De Grasse had the first Diamond League win of his career.Joe Kovacs maintained high performance in the men's shot put, going over 22 metres for his second win of the series.[28][29][30]
With its overcast conditions, theStockholm Bauhaus Athletics meet was the first of the year to produce no world leads.Ruth Jebet gave the sole meet record performance at 9:08.37 in the women's steeplechase. Three athletes achieved their first Diamond League wins:Jak Ali Harvey (100 m),Dina Asher-Smith (200 m) andAngelika Cichocka (1500 m).Keni Harrison andChristian Taylor returned to the top of their disciplines to take their third wins of the series, as didIvana Španović andRenaud Lavillenie.Sandra Perković continued with her fourth victory to remain the only female athlete to go undefeated in the series. National interest came in the form ofSusanna Kallur's return in the women's sprint hurdles, following a six-year absence from the sport by the world record holder due to injury.[31][32][33][34]
TheLondon Grand Prix featured aworld record run byKeni Harrison, who ran 12.20 seconds for the 100 m hurdles to beat the old standard from 1988. This proved an emotional moment for world-leader Harrison, who burst into tears on the track; after failing to make theAmerican Olympic team, she had said "only the record will make up for missing out on Rio". Britain'sLaura Muir delivered a meet andBritish record of 3:57.49 minutes to win the women's 1500 m. Two further meet records came throughSandra Perković (her fifth discus win of the series) andChristian Taylor (in his fourth triple jump win and a world lead at 17.79 m (58 ft4+1⁄4 in)).[38][39][40][41]
Two additional world leads came fromMo Farah (12:59.29 in the 5000 m) andShaunae Miller (49.55 in the 400 m).Joe Kovacs improved his shot put lead with his third win over 22 metres.Ruth Beitia andEkaterini Stefanidi also improved their leads with their third and fourth wins, respectively. First career wins on the series came for three men:Gao Xinglong (long jump),Jakub Vadlejch (javelin) andJimmy Vicaut (100 m).Usain Bolt won a non-Diamond Race 200 m, marking a return to form after injury.[38][39][40][41]
The stand-out performance of theParis Diamond League came fromRuth Jebet. After a dominant win at the Olympic Games, she turned her attention to breaking the steeplechase world record and duly achieved it with a time of 8:52.78 minutes – this was over six seconds faster than the previous mark set byGulnara Samitova-Galkina (the only other woman who had run under nine minutes for the event).Genevieve LaCaze set anOceanian record in sixth. Another fast race was the men's 3000 m, whereYomif Kejelcha won in aworld under-20 record of 7:28.19 minutes. A third distance track event was also a highlight:Laura Muir improved her 1500 m national record with 3:55.22 minutes – a world lead, meet record and putting her 13th on the all-time lists.[45][46][47]
