In only a handful of disciplines has one athlete emerged as a clear leader. With up to 50 points still up for grabs in the remainder of the season, though, there is still everything to play for.
First time winners
Several of the current Diamond Race leaders are athletes who have never won the Diamond Race. Ivana Spanovic has overcome tough competition in both Shanghai and Oslo to take a lead of 12 points at the halfway stage.
Almaz Ayana burst onto the scene last season, but was beaten to the Diamond Trophy by Genezebe Dibaba. This year she is back with a bang, and is already 12 points ahead in the women’s 5000m.
In the men’s event, Muktar Edris got off to a flyer with wins in Shanghai and Eugene, and extended his lead with a second place finish in Oslo.
In the women’s 1500m, Fatih Kipyegon has raced away to a 20 point lead with victories in all three rounds so far.
Two out in front
Conseslus Kipruto is the only other athlete with a 20 point lead in the men’s 3000m steeplechase, and the Kenyan is looking to regain the Diamond Race title he lost to Jairus Birech two years ago. Birech, though, has been finishing second consistently, and will feel his title defence is not yet over.
The women’s steeple has also been characterised by a hard-fought duel. Hyvin Kiyeng and Ruth Jebet were neck-and-neck before Jebet’s victory in Oslo gave her a 10 point lead.
Perhaps the most exciting two-horse race has come in the men’s 110m hurdles. New kid on the block Omar McLeod won the opening two rounds in Doha and Shanghai. But Orlando Ortega, who only just missed out on the Diamond Trophy last season, has swept back up the rankings to draw level on 20 points.
Usual suspects
Some athletes, meanwhile, have always taken to the Diamond Race like ducks to water. Three time Diamond Race winners Caterine Ibargüen, Justin Gatlin and Piotr Malachowski already have comfortable leads, though Ibargüen will have one eye on Olga Rypakova, who broke the Colombian’s incredible winning streak in Birmingham.
Four time winner Sandra Perkovic is once again dominating the women’s discus, while 2014 winners Thomas Röhler and Michael Tinsley lead in the men’s javelin and 400m hurdles respectively.
The greatest Diamond League hero of them all, though, is Renaud Lavillenie. Despite defeat in Doha and an early scare in Oslo, Lavillenie has rallied to take a ten point lead as he fights for a seventh consecutive Diamond Trophy.
Titles under threat
Other Diamond Race legends have had a tougher time of it this season. Four time winner Christian Taylor is just three points ahead in the men’s triple jump. Valerie Adams only has a four point lead in the women’s shot as she too aims for a fifth Diamond Trophy.
Diamond Trophy holder Eunice Sum has struggled to defend her title as Caster Semenya dominates the women’s 800m, while the likes of David Rudisha and Nijel Amos are conspicuous by their absence at the top of the men’s standings, currently led by Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich.
All to play for
In the rest of the Diamond Races, the pendulum has swung back and forth relentlessly. Brianna Rollins and Dafne Schippers sneaked into top spot in the women’s 100m hurdles and 200m with victories in Oslo, while Shaunae Miller leads the 400m only by a whisker since Stephanie-Ann McPherson’s Bislett win.
LaShawn Merritt and Erik Kynard both won their opening rounds, but both have since seen their leads dwindle as the astonishingly talented fields in the men’s 400m and high jump close the gap.
In those events and in many others, the 2016 Diamond Race is sure to deliver yet more nail-biting twists and turns in the second half of the season.