The Diamond League, the annual international athletics circuit, is raising its prize money to its highest level since its inception in 2010.
Total prize money for the 2025 season ($9.24 million) is nearly a third higher than the 2021-24 period. According to a press release.
Total prize money per individual event will range from $30,000 to $50,000 for each regular season match and from $60,000 to $100,000 for the season-ending Diamond League Final.
Combining all events, prize money will be $500,000 for each regular season match and $2.24 million for the Diamond League final.
In 2024, regular season matches featured $25,000 in prize money distributed from first place (which received $10,000) through eighth place.
The 2024 Diamond League Finals awarded a total of $60,000 in prize money for first through eighth place, with $30,000 for each winner.
The Diamond League is traditionally held from April to September. In 2024, 15 events were held, including one in the United States, the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon.
World Athletics has begun awarding prize money at the 2024 Olympic Games, with $50,000 to each individual gold medallist in athletics and each winning relay team. It has also committed to awarding tiered prize money to silver and bronze medallists at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
In 2026, the World Ultimate Athletics Championships, held every two years and where there are no outdoor world championships, will debut at that competition, with winners receiving $150,000 of a total prize pool of $10 million.
Beginning in 2025, the standalone Grand Slam Track series will debut with $262,500 in prize money at each of the four meets, and $100,000 for each winner in track events.
Another new event will take place on September 26: the Athlos meet in New York City. It will feature six women's track races (100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m and 100m hurdles) and $110,500 in prize money per race, of which $60,000 will be shared among the winners.
