Diamond League 2025: record prize money increase for athletes

The Wanda Diamond League is set for a landmark 2025 with a major overhaul of its prize money structure, aimed at rewarding athletes' performances more generously and spreading the earnings more widely. The ambitious reform, which brings a significant increase in prize money at every level, is a key step for the most prestigious competition on the global athletics calendar.

Increased prize money to attract the top athletes

From 2025, athletes will benefit from a substantial rise in prize money, particularly in the new Diamond+ disciplines, introduced for this season. In these Diamond League events, winnings will reach up to 20,000 dollars at the series meetings and 50,000 dollars at the Final, compared with 10,000 and 30,000 dollars respectively for the standard disciplines.

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At each meeting, four events (two men's and two women's) will be designated as Diamond+, while the Final will have eight (four men's and four women's). These events will be announced during the first half of 2025, leaving athletes in suspense over the opportunities ahead of them.

Perfect equality between men and women

On top of the prize money for winners, the Wanda Diamond League is increasing payouts for lower-placed athletes. In every discipline, prize money for positions below second place will go up, with some amounts even doubled. From now on, even athletes finishing between 9th and 12th place will receive fixed prize money, a new feature that will apply to track events and field events alike.

True to its commitment to equality, the Wanda Diamond League will continue to apply a strict policy of fairness between female and male athletes, with identical prize money for each discipline.

A fresh boost for global athletics

For this new season, a record total of 9.24 million dollars will be distributed in prize money, the largest amount ever allocated in the competition's history. Including appearance fees for headline athletes, around 18 million dollars will be paid to athletes over the course of the season. In addition, a budget of 6 million dollars will go towards athlete services, such as travel, accommodation and medical care.

With this spectacular increase in prize money, the Wanda Diamond League hopes to attract the best talent from around the world and motivate athletes to push their limits. This ambitious move reflects the league's desire to strengthen its status as a global showcase for athletics while recognising the efforts of competitors at every stage of the competition.

This overhaul of prize money is a decisive step for the future of athletics, giving athletes financial recognition that matches their exceptional performances.