A new global series of athletics meetings known as the Diamond League will be launched next year in a bid to broaden the popularity of the sport, the IAAF announced on Monday. Twelve meetings in Europe, the United States and China are under contract for the one-day series, which will replace the six-city Europe-only Golden League. Three more meetings are on standby, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said in an announcement from Monte Carlo. Meetings in Berlin, Rome and Doha could be added, the IAAF said, adding that the final composition of the league would be confirmed at the end of the 2009 season. “The IAAF Diamond League will play a key role in supporting the IAAF World Athletics Series of championships, as well as athletics at the Olympic Games, by building up interest in athletics in the period leading up to and immediately afterwards the main event,” a statement from the IAAF said. Athletes from 32 different athletics events can take part in the new setup and all 32 disciplines will have the same prize money with each meeting giving out $416,000. There will also be centralized contracts to ensure that the best athletes in the world take part. In each of the 32 events there will be an “IAAF Diamond Race” with points available throughout the season. The athlete with the most points at the end of the series will be awarded a 4 carat diamond worth around $80,000. IAAF President Lamine Diack welcomed the creation of the Diamond League saying: “I am delighted that the IAAF, in close association with the meeting directors, has come up with a new professional circuit which will offer an easily understandable series of meetings to provide world class entertainment and also offer the maximum number of competition opportunities for a maximum number of athletes in different events.” The IAAF Diamond League meetings: London Grand Prix; British Grand Prix; Lausanne Grand Prix; Bislett Games Oslo; Stockholm DN Galan; Monaco Herculis; Paris-St-Denis Grand Prix; Memorial Van Damme Brussels; Prefontaine Classic Eugene; New York Grand Prix; China Golden Grand Prix; Weltklasse Zurich; DKB ISTAF Berlin; Golden Gala Rome; Qatar Athletics Super Grand Prix in Doha. Last three meetings are to be confirmed. Trammell, Jones win hurdles at US indoor meet Two-time Olympic medalist Terrence Trammell clocked 7.37 seconds for the fastest time of the year to win the 60 meters hurdles at the American Indoor Championships on Sunday. World Indoor champion Lolo Jones, whose heart-breaking, late-hurdle stumble knocked her out of medal contention at the Beijing Games, was just off her 2009 season-leading time while winning the women's race at 7.84 seconds. The victories earned Jones and Trammel $25,000 each as overall champions of the four-meeting US indoor series. Olympic silver medalist Jenn Stuczynski raised her national women's pole vault record to 4.83 meters, a centimeter higher than the mark she set on the same track last month. She missed three attempts at 4.86 meters. Only two women have jumped higher - Russian Yelena Isinbayeva, whose world record is 5.00 meters, and her compatriot Svetlana Feofanova who cleared 4.85 meters in 2004. Mark Jelks won the men's 60 meters in 6.51 seconds to equal the season's fastest time and 2006 world indoor champion Lisa Barber clocked 7.15 seconds for the women's title. Other women's winners included, Katie Watts in the 800 metres (2:03.56), Anna Willard in the 1,500 (4:17.37), 3000-meter racewalker Joanne Dow (13:04.28) and long jumper Brittney Reese (6.71.) The indoor championships is the final event in the four
