Two-time Olympic champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone of the U.S. may not be competing within the Diamond League Ultimate in Brussels subsequent week. The 400m hurdle global document holder used to be set to take at the 200m/400m double on the world-class assembly however, as reported by means of LetsRun.com, used to be pronounced ineligible by means of Diamond League CEO Petr Stastny at Weltklasse Zurich‘s technical assembly on Wednesday.
McLaughlin-Levrone broke the 400m hurdles global document two times this 12 months, maximum lately operating 50.37 within the Olympic ultimate in Paris to take gold–marking her sixth-ever global document. In spite of her indeniable dominance, the 25-year-old scarcely competes; she has simplest carried out at seven meets this 12 months–and none of them had been a Diamond League assembly.
On Tuesday, the Memorial Van Damme assembly organizers had introduced that the “Olympic queen of athletics is coming to Brussels” as her first and simplest festival following Paris. This surprising information intended the Diamond League deliberate to violate their very own regulations to make an exception for the arena document holder–an athlete who had ditched all of the Diamond League circuit and used to be the primary athlete to decide to the enemy league, Grand Slam Monitor, for the 2025 season.
JUST IN: 2x Olympic 400m hurdles champion and WR holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone 🇺🇸 has been given a wildcard access for the ladies’s 400m (September thirteenth) and the 200m (September 14th) on the Diamond League ultimate in Brussels!! 👀💎 %.twitter.com/7ckTwcCkvG
— Owen (@_OwenM_) September 3, 2024
An afternoon later, it used to be clarified that there could be no such deviation from league laws. As in step with Diamond League regulations, McLaughlin-Levrone’s absence from all 14 Diamond League conferences (together with Zurich, wherein she isn’t entered) deems her ineligible to take one of the most international wild card spots that were granted to her.
World wild card rule
The qualification procedure for majority of athletes calls for them to amass issues all the way through the steady 14-meet Diamond League season to qualify for the overall (they should succeed in the highest six for box occasions, most sensible 8 for 100m to 800m and most sensible 10 for distances of one,500m and above). The World Wild Card Rule permits assembly organizers to ask 4 global athletes (two males, two ladies) to compete within the ultimate in spite of no longer gathering sufficient issues all the way through the season. World wild card athletes should have competed in a minimum of one steady Diamond League assembly all over the season, and should meet a minimum of one of the most following standards for his or her self-discipline:
- Global document holder
- Reigning global, Olympic or Diamond League champion
- Best 5 within the Global Athletics scores in their match
- Best 20 within the total Global Athletics scores
Eventually 12 months’s Diamond League ultimate, the 2023 Prefontaine Vintage, Athing Mu‘s wonder wild-card access created a stir, as she, too, had no longer competed in any regular-season Diamond League conferences. She used to be granted access into the 800m match, and ended up coming away with a brand new American and assembly document. However after McLaughlin-Levrone’s announcement sparked such large controversy, she’s going to don’t have any such success in evading the foundations. The hurdler will nonetheless be allowed to compete in Brussels in a non-Diamond League ultimate match, however can be expecting little festival in the ones races.