Diamond League CEO bats away concerns over rival Grand Slam Track series
Competition’s CEO says the circuit remains integral to global athletics, despite the launch of Michael Johnson’s track-event-only series
Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis will head up a stellar cast of athletes kicking off the 16th Diamond League season in Xiamen on Saturday amid a changing landscape that has seen Michael Johnson launch his Grand Slam Track series.
Diamond League CEO Petr Stastny said he welcomed competition, but that the 15-meet circuit he oversees was the “backbone” of global athletics, with a record US$9.2 million in prize money on offer.
“You will get the most comprehensive coverage on the highest possible level of competition in our sport, in track and field. Great arenas, great big crowds,” Stastny said.
Former United States sprint star Johnson is the founder of Grand Slam Track, which debuted in Kingston earlier this month.
Conceived as a way of reinvigorating interest in athletics outside Olympic years, Johnson’s four-event series aims to showcase more races between the world’s best runners, sprinters and hurdlers with no field events.
But Stastny questioned where Grand Slam Track could be defined as a global competition after only one event.