Samsung Diamond League Starts in One Week! release, note by Larry Eder

Samsung Diamond League 2012 to get underway in Doha – Olympic season to feature exciting athletics highlights

With two and a half months to go until the Olympic Games in London, track and field athletes are all set to make a brilliant start to the summer. The Samsung Diamond League will enter its third season at the meeting of Doha (Qatar) on 11 May 2012. Two Swiss meetings are members of the prestigious series.

The best athletes of the athletics world will stop twice in Switzerland on their outdoor tour, as both Athletissima (on 23 August) and Weltklasse Zürich (on 30 August) are Samsung Diamond League meetings.
According to Patrick Magyar, Meeting Director of Weltklasse Zürich, the date of this year’s meeting is one of the best in years: „Being able to stage our meeting 18 days after a major international event, such as Olympic Games or world championships is ideal.” And indeed, the stars will be well rested for a post-Olympic showdown at Letzigrund Stadium. Their trial of strength will be all the more gripping because Zurich and Brussels will again host the two finals of the Samsung Diamond League.

The Zurich Meeting Director anticipates an attractive 2012 athletics season: „I hope that the entire sport of athletics and our meeting series will benefit from the special set-up of an Olympic year. And I am convinced that there will be a lot of great action in stadiums around the world. The results at the first overseas meetings look promising. Olympic Games inspire all athletes, and particularly track and field athletes, to give it their best.”

In addition to the Olympic Games, the European championships in Helsinki (27 June – 1 July), as well as the Olympic trials in the USA and Jamaica, will require athletes to be in perfect shape. “The championships in Helsinki will provide European athletes with a wonderful opportunity to shine on their own continent. And for Swiss athletes, Helsinki will represent a major milestone on their road to the championships in Zurich,” Magyar explained.

Doha – first stop of the Samsung Diamond League 2012

The third season of the Samsung Diamond League will get underway on Friday: About 170 athletes will compete in 16 events at Hamad-Bin-Suhaim-Stadium in Doha. There will be no major changes in the system of the Samsung Diamond League. As last year, athletes will compete in a total of 14 meetings in Asia, the Mid East, the USA, and in Europe, collecting points and prize money (approx. 8 million US dollars overall). Meeting winners in the 32 Diamond League 32 will be awarded 10 000 dollars. The overall victory at the end of the season will yield a Diamond Trophy and a price money award of 40 000 dollars.

These are the 14 meetings of the Samsung Diamond League 2012: Doha (11 May), Shanghai (19 May), Rome (31 May), Eugene (2 June), Oslo (7 June), New York (9 June), Paris (6 July), London (13/14 July), Monte Carlo (20 July), Stockholm (17 August), Lausanne (23 August), Birmingham (26 August); Finals: Zurich (30 August) and Brussels (7 September).

Weltklasse Zürich Meeting Week
•    Tuesday, 28 August 2012: Kids clinic (Jugend trainiert mit Weltklasse Zürich) at 11 locations in the German-speaking part of Switzerland and the Canton of Ticino (as of 5.30 p.m.)
•    Wednesday, 29 August 2012: Weltklasse Zürich Shot Put event at Zurich Main Station (as of 5 p.m.)
•    Thursday, 30 August 2012: Weltklasse Zürich, Samsung Diamond League final meeting, live coverage on SF2 as of 8 p.m.
•    Saturday, 1 September 2012: National UBS Kids Cup final at Letzigrund Stadium.

Tickets Tickets will be on sale as of 15 May 2012. http://www.diamondleague-zurich.com/Tickets/

Media Accreditation

As of today, media representatives may request accreditation for the Weltklasse Zürich meeting on 30 August 2012 by registering online at: http://www.diamondleague- zurich.com/Medien/Medien-Akkreditierung/