Diamond League announces shortened provisional 2020 calendar

PARIS -- World Athletics released a shortened, provisional Diamond League calendar for late summer and autumn 2020 on Tuesday, as there will be no point system, no overall league winners this year and the final in Zurich will not be held.

The new calendar will begin with the Monaco meeting on Aug 14 and continue through until mid-October to adapt the season in the face of the corona-virus pandemic. The last meeting of the season will be held on Oct 17 in China with the venue to be announced later.

"The 2020 Wanda Diamond League will not be a structured series of events leading to a final as is usually the case. Given the current discrepancies in training and travel opportunities, it would be impossible to ensure a level playing field and a fair qualification system during 2020. Athletes will therefore not earn Diamond League points this season, and there will not be a single, 24-discipline final in Zurich as originally planned," World Athletics announced on its website.

The originally 14-leg competition has been cut to 11 meetings. Apart from the Diamond League final due to be staged from Sept 9 to 11, the Rabat and London meetings will also be canceled.

The global governing body of the sport has also asked each meeting organizers to review and announce the format of the competition and which disciplines are included two months before the event takes place so that athletes may have necessary time to prepare for competition. World Athletics also encouraged meeting organizers to "stage their events in innovative, alternative formats and/or under social distancing regulations".

The 2020 Diamond League series had been planned to start on April 17 in Doha, Qatar, but was forced to suspend a number of its meetings as a result of health and logistical concerns brought about by the pandemic.