Organisers of the Mazzraty Doha Meeting (Friday 8 May) have confirmed that athletes who set new meeting records at the 2026 event will be awarded a $5000 bonus, an innovative concept that was first introduced in 2025.
The Wanda Diamond League series broke new ground in 2025 with $9.84 million awarded in prize money across the series as a whole, the largest prize pool in Diamond League history.
While the introduction of meeting record bonus payments in Doha provided another welcome incentive for athletes, the high standard of past-performances meant that only Bahrain’s Olympic silver medallist Salwa Eid Naser came close. Her winning time of 49.83 in the women’s 400m matched the meeting record set by Allyson Felix (USA) in 2008, but it wasn’t quick enough for the outright best required to meet the criteria for the $5000 bonus payment.
Mohammed Al Fadala, Qatar Athletics Federation president, said: “The Doha Meeting has established itself as one of the leading Wanda Diamond League fixtures and feedback from our athletes, their coaches and their managers, repeatedly tells us that our exceptional hospitality is a key factor in them wanting to return.
“As Mutaz Barshim said in last year’s press conference, track and field isn’t an easy job, so it’s very important that we value our athletes and take care of them, as well as providing the perfect stage for top quality competition. By continuing to award bonus payments for new meeting records we are incentivising athletes to perform, but we are also rewarding them for their efforts.
“Mutaz acknowledged that change is positive and that as a meeting, and across the sport as a whole, we were moving in the right direction. We in Doha remain committed to innovation and change and that remains crucial if we’re to continue to grow our reputation and profile globally.”
The full list of current meeting records for Doha – and all other meetings in the Wanda Diamond League series – can be found here: https://www.diamondleague.com/results-standings/statistics/
The Mazzraty Doha Meeting is the opening meeting of the 2026 Wanda Diamond League. The series comprises 15 of the most prestigious events in global track and field across four different continents. It concludes with a single final across two days in Brussels (4-5 September).