New York pulls out of IAAF Diamond League circuit
Thursday 3 March 2016 15:10, UK
New York has pulled out of the elite Diamond League circuit in favour of a 'street-style' event, the IAAF has announced.
The New York venue on Randall's Island, which has been part of the Diamond League since 2010, will be replaced by Moroccan capital Rabat.
The director of the New York meet Mark Wetmore has revealed his aim is to continue with an event that will target a grass-roots street level of athletics in order to attract a younger audience.
"It's been a great run on Randall's Island, New York, and now we're looking ahead to producing a new event. We believe that changing our focus to a street meet is one way to make the event attractive to a younger audience," Wetmore said.
Despite the loss of New York, IAAF president Sebastian Coe was upbeat about adding Morocco to the itinerary. As Rabat becomes the 14th host city, the Diamond League adds a fourth continent, Africa, to the annual programme.
"We thank New York for contributing to this great project during the past six seasons and know that they will continue to support athletics in the future," he said.
"We are pleased to be able to take our premier athletics series into a new continental area. We proudly welcome the inclusion of Rabat."
The Moroccan capital is staging its meet on May 22, the third stop on the road after Doha and Shanghai. The United States retains one venue, Eugene in Oregon, which will hold the fourth meet this year on May 28.
The other venues are Rome, Birmingham, Oslo, Stockholm, Monaco, London, Lausanne, Paris, Zurich and Brussels, the latter of which will host this year's Diamond League finals on September 9.
