'We’ve had athletes from 142 countries'- Diamond League CEO aims subtle dig at Michael Johnson's track league

Diamond League CEO Petr Stastny has welcomed the competition from new leagues including Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track League and Alexis Ohanian’s Athlos but insisted that his event remains world-class.

Stastny insisted that the Diamond League spreads across different continents and remains one of the largest track and field series with 15 legs.

The CEO revealed that they also host both track and field events, unlike Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track league which focuses on track events solely.

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He subtly noted that Grand Slam Track only has four locations, with one in Jamaica and the other three in the US and it does not qualify to be a global event just yet.

He explained that the Diamond League has registered athletes from 142 countries, also making them on top of other track leagues.

“I think that we are the backbone of the sport between the major championships, including the Olympics. We have track and field, that’s one. We are truly global,” Stastny said as quoted by Letsrun.com.

“With one event in Jamaica and three in the United States, I think it depends on how you define global. I see there is a substantial difference. Being truly global means that you have athletes from a lot of countries.

“And so far, we’ve had athletes from 142 countries competing. I don’t see that happening, at least for now, anywhere else.”

He added that the upcoming leagues are a competition to the Diamond League but he remains unfazed about the impact of the leagues.

One particular difference is the prize money, where for instance, Grand Slam Track offers $100,000 for the win in each event, with the second and third-place finishers pocketing $50,000 and $30,000.

For the Diamond League, winners of the regular meet will earn $10,000 and $30,000 for the final. The Diamond League has also stepped up and introduced four disciplines per meet and eight for the final. Athletes who compete in the regular meets and win will earn $20,000 and $50,000 at the final.

“We see other events and series being established around us. We are, generally speaking, happy about the interest in our sport,” he revealed.

“We also welcome competition. We can see that athletes that have really performed well in the last two years in the Diamond League are also able to increase their income in other events.”

The Grand Slam Track League will debut in Kingston, Jamaica from April 4 to 6, while the Diamond League season kicks off on April 26 in Xiamen, China.